Twitch introduced cheers as a way for fans to support their favorite streamers in a more personalized, celebratory way. Now, with the HGC in full swing and a bevy of new fans, Blizzard is looking to take full advantage of this system. Today, it was announced that the BlizzHeroes Twitch channel will include a dedicated HGC Cheer page that will track and reward fans when they support their favorite teams.

The biggest part of this announcement is that HGC teams will receive a portion of the bits that fans cheer for. Just like the individual team mounts that gave a portion of their revenue to said team, this initiative incentivizes teams for growing a fan-base and rewards them with another source of esports revenue.

Excerpt from the official announcement:

"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."

"...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."

You can find the official announcement here. While this program will clearly benefit the more popular teams with dedicated brands, it is up to the non-sponsored teams to start growing their fan base if they want to enjoy the perks of HGC Cheer.