Blizzard reveals plans for 2022 World of Warcraft esports

Blizzard revealed its plans for 2022 World of Warcraft esports in a tweet on Thursday, featuring the Arena World Championship, Mythic Dungeon International and Classic Arena Tournament.

Over $1.8 million in prizing across all three of these programs will be on the line.

Arena World Championship

The Arena World Championship event will begin on March 18. World of Warcraft esports teams from across North America and Europe will duke it out against each other in four open cups, with $10,000 in weekly prizes per region.

After these tournaments, the top eight teams with the most points will advance to the Arena World Championship circuit. This circuit features four weeks of round-robin matches and a $320,000 global prize pool.

The top four Arena World Championship circuit teams from each region will then battle for a spot in the grand finals for a prize pool of $300,000. Registration for the Arena World Championship North America and Europe are now open.

In its announcement, Blizzard noted that after concluding this third season, the schedule and details for the rest of 2022 will be shared with fans. New one-off events will be included to test out ideas for competitive World of Warcraft.

Mythic Dungeon International

World of Warcraft esports teams can now sign up for the Mythic Dungeon International Season 3 Time Trials. This phrase will begin on March 30 and the top 24 teams will head into the seasonal group stage. From there, players will compete for a share of the $30,000 weekly prize pool, alongside invitations to the Mythic Dungeon International global finals.

China’s top team and the champions of the Season 3 Last Stand Tournament will join these teams in fighting for the lion’s share of the $300,000 prize pool.

The Great Push returns

Last year, Blizzard introduced The Great Push tournaments. In 2022, The Great Push will return, but in the form of “a multi-weekend mini season,” according to the announcement. There will be an additional $210,000 in prizing after the Mythic Dungeon International global finals.

More information about the return of The Great Push will be revealed later this year, according to Blizzard.

Classic Arena Tournament

Alongside the main Arena World Championship and Mythic Dungeon International events, World of Warcraft will also see the return of the Classic Arena Tournament. Season 3 of the Classic Arena Tournament will feature teams across North America Europe battling in 3v3 matches in Burning Crusade Classic.

A combined prize pool of $100,000 will be on the line. Registration for North America and Europe is open until 12 p.m. ET on Feb. 9.

The return of on-site events

“One of the main questions we have received from players during the pandemic has been when we are returning to live, on-site events,” Blizzard said in the announcement. “While qualifying tournaments and each regular season are going to remain online, we are targeting a return to an in-person event in Summer 2022 that encompasses the Shadowlands Season 3 championships for both AWC and MDI.”

Blizzard added that a live tournament is important to the WoW Esports team and players. The hope is to celebrate the competitive World of Warcraft community through these events. Updates on whether or not an in-person event will be viable will be provided in the upcoming months.