Hearthstone Grandmasters 2022 introduces Trio format: How it works and what to expect

Hearthstone Grandmasters 2022 Season 1 is introducing the new Trio format, which will be featured in this weekend’s live broadcast starting March 4.

The first season of Hearthstone Grandmasters 2022 involves three weeks of gameplay before the playoffs. Last week, competitors duked it out under the Conquest format, with Wesley “lambyseries” Seek, Zakarya “xBlyzes” Hail and Frank “Fr0zen” Zhang becoming the regional champions.

Hearthstone Trio format

According to an announcement, Blizzard is experimenting with the new Trio format. “We are excited to see how the Trio format performs when played at the pro level and if well received then we’ll consider how to possibly implement it in other Hearthstone Esports tournaments,” Blizzard said.

The new Hearthstone Trio format involves five unique groups of three classes each. These groups, which can share one or two classes, are created by the Hearthstone Esports team. Players get to select one of the groups as well.

Competitors then submit three-deck lineups that feature each class within their chosen group. These group selections are private and “without any knowledge of what other players have selected,” according to Blizzard.

As for the scoring system, matches under the Hearthstone Trio format are best-of-five. Each winning deck becomes unavailable for the rest of the match.

Hearthstone Grandmasters 2022

Players will duel each other in the Trio format during the live broadcast starting March 4. After Friday’s matches, the top eight competitors will advance to a single-elimination tournament on Saturday. This will lead into the top four players battling on Sunday for the weekly crown.

The broadcast for Hearthstone Grandmasters Asia-Pacific will begin at 5 a.m. EST. Meanwhile, Europe will start at 10 a.m. EST and the Americas will kick off at 3 p.m. EST each day.

After this weekend’s matches, competitors will fight under the Last Hero Standing format between March 10-13. Players will then go back to the Conquest format in the playoffs between March 25-27.

Fans and supporters can catch the live broadcasts over on Hearthstone’s official YouTube channel. Interested players can also earn card packs during the tournament.