Hearthstone announced that the Masters Tour Indonesia is going to be relocated to Los Angeles. This is in response to the health concerns being posed by the coronavirus. The tournament is the second season of the 2020 Masters Tour series, and was originally set to be held in Bali.
In a statement, Hearthstone said that the decision was made in order "to protect the health and safety of our players, staff and everyone involved with the Masters Tour." They went on to say that while they are sad they won't be able to run the tournament as originally planned, "the safety of all participants is our top priority."
As mentioned, the tournament was supposed to be held in Bali. With this announcement, it's now going to be at the NGE Studios in Los Angeles. The date remains the same, which is March 20-22. Up for grabs is a prize pool of $250,000.
Hearthstone did admit that the change in venue means that travel plans need to be adjusted, which itself is difficult. Thus for qualified competitors who already managed to secure their flights for Indonesia and need to rebook to Los Angeles, Hearthstone said it will be giving these players as much as $250. All players need to do is submit documentation showing the rebooking.
The Masters Tour is going to be played over three days. On Day 1, there's going to be five rounds of Swiss Pairings with players who get three losses being eliminated from the tournament. Meanwhile, players that win all three matches move to Day 2, where there's going to be four more Swiss Pairings rounds. After the Swiss rounds, the top eight players then advance to the single-elimination playoff, which is scheduled for Day 3.
For this tournament, all matches are going to be played in-person and played using 4-deck, best of Conquest format with a ban. It’s also going to be bring your own device for everyone.
The Masters Tour is an invitation-only tournament where Masters Qualifier winners get a chance to play against the biggest names in Hearthstone esports. A Masters Tour consists of approximately 300 competitors vying for a share of the prize pool. Top players then get the chance to be part of the Hearthstone Grandmasters.
