Professional esports competitors have a connection with fans unlike any in traditional sports. With that relationship in mind, Twitch and the Heroes Global Championship (HGC) are teaming up for a Cheering program that lets HGC fans support their favorite teams and organizations, while simultaneously unlocking loot for use on Twitch and in Heroes of the Storm^®.

HGC Cheer introduces a new way for fans to celebrate amazing HGC moments, offer direct support for HGC teams on Twitch, and express their HGC fandom in Twitch chat through Cheering with Bits. Fans who Cheer for teams can eventually access unique Twitch emotes along with in-game banners and other team-specific items for use in Heroes of the Storm. Twitch viewers will purchase Bits, a virtual good offered by Twitch, that can then be used to Cheer on HGC teams in chat on the BlizzHeroes Twitch Channel.

When fans Cheer for a team, a portion of the revenue Twitch receives from Bits goes to the team receiving the Cheers. The total number Bits used to Cheer throughout the remainder of the 2017 HGC campaign will be tracked—unlocking benefits for all HGC Cheer participants along the way. HGC teams will not only benefit directly from fans that Cheer for them, they’ll be represented on Twitch and within Heroes of the Storm in all new ways.

A dedicated HGC Cheer event page on Twitch will track all of the action and fans will know how close they are to the next Cheering goal by following the different kinds of progress:

• Team Progress: As fans Cheer for a favorite team, they’ll unlock team-specific cosmetic items like banners, sprays, and badges for use in Heroes of the Storm and on Twitch. Consistently Cheering for a team gives a fan additional items for that team. An HGC fan can start unlocking items for a specific team once they reach 100 Bits Cheered.

• My Progress: As fans Cheer for any team, they’ll unlock team-agnostic items like Loot Chests, mounts, and emotes for use in Heroes of the Storm and on Twitch based on the level of Cheering by that individual fan.

• Global Progress: All fans that support the program with any level of Cheering will receive special loot when the community as a whole hits global Cheering milestones.

Fans can throw their support behind any (or all!) of the 32 teams in the HGC by visiting the HGC Cheer event page for the details, grabbing some Twitch Bits, and Cheering their support for Heroes of the Storm esports. The whole program kicks off August 1 at twitch.tv/blizzheroes, just as the HGC’s Eastern and Western Clashes take center stage.