With the global launch of Heroes of the Storm, the thrilling World Championship at BlizzCon, our Heroes of the Dorm collegiate tournament, and countless exciting matches that had us sitting on the edge of our seats, 2015 was a monumental year for esports in the Nexus. Now in 2016, we’re taking Heroes esports to a whole new level!

As announced at BlizzCon, 2016 kicks off the new Heroes of the Storm Global Championship Circuit. The best teams from Australia/New Zealand, China, Europe, Korea, Latin America, North America, Southeast Asia, and Taiwan will be competing in a seasonal format, with each of the three seasons—Spring, Summer, and Fall—culminating in a Global Championship event. In total, more than $4 million is on the line in the 2016 Global Championship Circuit.

With the first qualifiers and regional championships of 2016 getting underway, we’d like to share a breakdown of the Spring Global Championship and the events leading up to it. Read on to find dates and locations for some of our regional events, along with links to additional information.

Spring Global Championship Event

• Dates: April 1–3
• Location: Seoul, South Korea
• Partner: OGN
• Prize Pool: $500k USD
• Check back soon for more information

Australia/New Zealand – Season 1 Regional

• Dates: January 30 - February 28 
• Location: Preliminaries online; Finals live streamed from Sydney, Australia
• Partner: ESL
• Prize Pool: $20k USD
• For more infomation check out our forum thread.

China – Gold League

• Dates: January 15–24
• Location: Shanghai, China
• Partner: NetEase / NeoTV
• Prize Pool: $100k USD*
• For more information, visit http://gold.blizzard.cn/live-stream/ (Chinese)

Europe – Spring Regional

• Dates: March 5–6 (Finals)
• Location: Preliminaries online; Finals in Katowice, Poland
• Partner: ESL
• Prize Pool: $100k USD
• For more information, visit http://play.eslgaming.com/heroesofthestorm/europe/championship/katowice/

Korea – Super League

• Dates: January 12–March 20
• Location: Preliminaries online; Finals in Seoul, South Korea
• Partner: OGN
• Prize Pool: $200k USD
• For more information, visit http://www.playxp.com/heroes/ogn/superleague/ (Korean)

Latin America – Copa America

• Dates: January 25–March 19
• Location: Preliminaries online; Finals in Brazil
• Partner: VIU / BRMA
• Prize Pool: $18.5k USD
• For more information, visit http://esports.viustudio.com/heroes-of-the-storm-copa-america

North America – Spring Regional

• Dates: February 27–28 (Finals)
• Location: Preliminaries online; Finals in Los Angeles, California
• Partner: ESL
• Prize Pool: $100k USD
• Check back soon for more information

South East Asia – Spring Regional

• Dates: January 16–March 6
• Location: Preliminaries online and offline;  SEA finals online, cast live from Singapore
• Partner: AsiaSoft
• Prize Pool: $22.5k USD*
• For more information, visit http://esports.heroessea.com/en/index.html

Taiwan – Spring Regional 

• Dates: February 18–March 13
• Location: Preliminaries online; Finals in Taipei, Taiwan
• Partner: 4Gamers
• Prize Pool: $60k USD
• For more information, visit http://tw.battle.net/heroes/zh/blog/ (Chinese)

*Regional prize pools may vary; USD values according to exchange rates; see regional websites for local prizing.

We are extremely excited to share this sneak peek at our Spring Global Championship plans with you. Be sure to stay tuned here or at HeroesoftheStorm.com/esports as we plan to bring you more details on the Spring tournament and our upcoming Summer and Fall seasons!