Hearthstone fans worried that the upcoming World Championships would leave a gap after such a clash of greatness, can take a deep sigh of relief. Blizzard just announced that the top tier of the Hearthstone Masters system, Hearthstone Grandmasters, will initiate mere weeks later on the 17th of May.

In a blog, the Hearthstone esports team also details the format of the Grandmasters tier, confirming leaks published by Inven Global a week ago. 48 players, evenly split across the regions Europe, Americas and Asia Pacific, will clash over the course of two eight-week seasons. Within a region, players are split into two 'divisions', each consisting eight players. At the end of each season, the top three players per division in a given region will fight for the title of seasonal champion. Each seasonal champion qualifies for the so-called Hearthstone Global Finals - a $500,000 event at the end of the year.

Although Blizzard has not confirmed the participating player list released by this publication, they have shared new info on how said player list is determined, and how new players can join Grandmasters. The inaugural season will consist of players "based on criteria including lifetime earnings, points earned during HCT 2018, seasonal points leaders, contributions to the Hearthstone community, and more."

The two players finishing last in their division at the end of Season 2 are 'at risk of relegation', with the top cash-earners in the Masters Tours program having a shot at replacing them in 2020. How exactly this works out, has not been detailed further.