ESL, the world’s largest esports company, has confirmed it will host at least two premier US$100,000 Heroes of the Storm tournaments in conjunction with Blizzard Entertainment in 2016. Competitions will be held across two continents as part of the inaugural Spring season of Blizzard’s Heroes of the Storm Global Championship Circuit.

ESL will hold the first ESL Heroes of the Storm Championship at the ESL America Studios from February 27th – 28th, and the ESL Heroes of the Storm Championship – Katowice at the upcoming world-renowned Intel Extreme Masters Expo in Poland. Each tournament features a US$100,000 prize pool, and the top two teams at each of these ESL Heroes of the Storm Championships will directly qualify for a spot in the US$500,000 Spring Global Championship taking place this April in Korea.

“The ESL Heroes of the Storm Championships in North America and Europe will award US$200,000 across just two months. We’re excited to be working together with Blizzard Entertainment on these tournaments, and look forward to the Spring Global Championship and all that is beyond,” said Sebastian Weishaar, Senior Vice President International Business at ESL. “2016 will be an exciting year for the community and we look forward to bringing the best of the competitive scene to audiences both online and at the venues themselves.”

The ESL Heroes of the Storm Championship – Katowice will be preceded by four qualifier tournaments, the first beginning on January 23. The top two teams from each tournament will qualify themselves for the Championship event in Katowice, set to be played out March 5–6 at the Intel Extreme Masters Expo in co-operation with Intel and Dell. Solidified as the most-watched esports event of all time, the Intel Extreme Masters spectacle in Katowice will see its biggest yet installation in 2016 with top-tier competition across Heroes of the Storm, StarCraft II, Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft and more.

Publishers: The ESL