A $163,000 team league begins in China this month

Country’s ace teams are gathering for the spiritual successor of the NEL, starting in one week’s time.

For a year now, the NetEase Esports League (NEL) has been the only high-profile team league in Hearthstone. Held in China, NEL offered a $32,000 prize pool split between the worthiest teams in the region and saw the rise of teams like Yolo Miracle, ViCi Gaming, Valiant Knighthood and Kapai-Cabbages to power.

The NEL format also supported up and coming teams, featuring a Challenger league and Up/Down promotion matches to give a chance to the new generation to prove itself.

This month, however, NetEase will be replacing the NEL with a different tournament. Dubbed Hearthstone Team Story (HTS), the new initiative will feature the meaty $163,000 USD total prize pool. Unlike similar tournaments like Archon’s ATLC, the distribution of the six-figure purse will be determined by a point system where teams who’ve accumulated higher score will take home a bigger slice. $47,000 extra (or 300,000 CNY) will go to the winner of the entire season.

Streamed exclusively on Zhanqi, HTS will feature eight of the hottest teams in China: Team Celestial, Edward Gaming, Invictus Gaming, ViCi Gaming, World Elite, Yolo Miracle, TongFu and Newbee. Between them, the roster harbors the majority of the Hearthstone talent in China, including TiddlerCelestial, ChinaYLD, Fuoliver, MieGod and more. Broadcast will be live each Mon-Thur at 14:00 CEST. The format is double round robin groups into a four-team playoffs bracket. The entire event will be played offline, similar to ESGN Fight Nights.