OGN with $21,000 invitational featuring Trump, Hafu, Artosis

Picture courtesy of OGN.

The eSports channel OnGameNet revealed plans to broach into the new hype game Hearthstone about a month ago. Today, the Koreans revealed details for the tournament. Famous players from the Broodwar past will collide with the biggest warriors of the current Hearthstone scene including Hafu, Artosis, Savjz and Trump.

The esteemed Korean eSports organization OnGameNet made noise a couple of weeks ago with them hinting at a possible Hearthstone tournament to kick off their plans for the new Blizzard title. Now the first details got released to the public on media day, revealing the format, the players and the stakes.

The most interest is frankly sparking the player list that does not go for the conventional big Hearthstone assets, but combines Ex-Broodwar player with the cream of the crop from the competitive scene in Hearthstone. Players like Yellow or Grrr... might not have done a lot to raise their profile recently, with resumes as stacked they still should create a massive following. Yellow has the reputation of one of the best StarCraft: Brood War players in the world, although never really winning the gold medals. The long time rival of BoxeR was regarded as the best Zerg of his era, but unfortunately also received the nickname "King of Silver" due to his constant runner-up status in major events. Grrr... does not have this status, but he is widely regarded to be one of the best foreign players to ever step foot on Korean soil in the old Brood Wars time. The fact that he could claim the prestigious OSL title as the only foreigner to ever do that speaks volumes. The third Brood War player to receive and invite is Korean Gorush, who ended his career in Blizzard's RTS hit about nine years ago.

Joining these greats from the past in the eight-man invitational are current Hearthstone celebrities like Hafu, Trump, Savjz and Blizzcon champ Artosis. All four are famous either through their streaming efforts or by attending major events in Hearthstone like the Blizzcon event or being a part of ESGN's Fight Night.

Last of the eight chosen players is former WarCraft 3 pro Gerrard, who is now managing the PRIME organization. Of all eight he might be the least recognizable player, as he never really made the jump to reach global fame, although being a staple in the Korean leagues for quite a while. 

Complete Player list:

 

• Artosis
• Hafu
• Trump
• Grrr....
• Savjz
• Yellow
• Gorush
• Gerrard

 

Those eight will collide for a total of $21,500 USD with the winner receiving a check worth of close to $9,500 USD, the runner-up cashing in on approximately $4,700 USD. The biggest eye-raiser after the player list sure isn't the big prize pool, but the innovative format that OGN has come up with. The Quarterfinals, the first round of competition, will be played in a team format with two captains picking their squad. From that point forward the round will be decided in 1v1 clashes, 2v2 matches and an all-kill format, providing plenty of matches as a result. The winning team will advance and fight solo after that, all the way to the Grand Finals which will be held in a Best of Seven series.

StarCraft 2 casters DoA and Chobra will guide through the show in English, with the invitational going live on March, 16th. From that date on forward the shows will be presented weekly until the first ever OGN Champion is determined.

Source: OGN Facebook