The 2020 NHL Gaming World Championship starts next month, but how will it work, and what are gamers competing for? Let’s take a look at what you need to know for the upcoming NHL GWC.
Sign-Up and Start Date
The NHL Gaming World Championship returns for the third year, and sign-up for the event is currently underway. Players can sign up for the tournament on FACEIT, and the link for the sign-up can be found here. Opening round play for the event begins on March 11.
How Does the Tournament Work
First off, it’s important to note that Hockey Ultimate Team (HUT) will play a pivotal role for this year’s event. For the second consecutive year. gamers will use their HUT teams to compete in the GWC.
The tournament consists of four rounds. Here’s the round-by-round breakdown:
Round 1: Online Open Play
- Open to all eligible participants.
- Round 1 will take place over a four-week period beginning on Wednesday, March 11.
- Players will compete using an existing or newly created Hockey Ultimate Team (HUT).
- Each week, the top 32 players from each region on each of the Xbox®One and PlayStation®4 consoles (based on wins in up to 25 games and their in-game Skill Rating) will advance to Round 2.
- An in-game leaderboard will keep players apprised of their standing.
- Players who do not advance at the end of each weekly play period do not need to re-register and are eligible to play in the remaining qualification opportunities.
- The last chance to register for the final weekly play period is Sunday, March 29.
- This round is hosted by Electronic Arts and administered by FACEIT.
Round 2: Online Play-in Bracket
- Players who qualify for the European Union Online Play-in Bracket will play April 11 and April 18; for United States Online Play-in Bracket, April 18 and April 25; and Canadian Online Play-in Bracket, April 25 and May 2.
- NEW: Each round of the Online Play-in Bracket will be head-to-head, best-of-three (BO3).
- NEW: Players who advance to rounds 4-7 of the Online Play-in Bracket will collect cash prizes of between $200-$1,000 USD. Specific prizing listed in the Tournament Rules.
- This round is hosted by Electronic Arts and administered by FACEIT.
Round 3: Regional Final
- Each Regional Final will be an in-person tournament consisting of the top eight players from Round 2 for each Region (four per console).
- NEW: After hosting the Regional Final at its Stockholm studio for the first two years, Viaplay and NENT Group will bring the European Regional Final to Copenhagen, Denmark on Saturday, May 16.
- U.S. Regional Finalists will compete at NBC Sports studios in Stamford, CT., on Friday, May 22 and Canadian Regional Finalists will compete at Sportsnet studios in Toronto, Ont., on Saturday, May 30.
- Players will draft their unique HUT rosters from a pool of available Hockey Ultimate Team Items featuring NHL players. Once a player is drafted, that player is no longer available, resulting in squads with no duplicate players or duplicate clubs.
- All series will be single-elimination best-of-three. The top two finishers automatically qualify for the World Final.
- NEW: Players who finish in the third and fourth positions will play each other in a consolation round (best-of-three), with the winner also qualifying for the 2020 NHL Gaming World Championship Final™.
Round 4: NHL Gaming World Championship™ Final
- The World Final be played during the week of the 2020 NHL Awards™.
- Players will redraft unique HUT rosters from a pool of available Hockey Ultimate Team Items featuring NHL players.
- NEW: The 2020 NHL Gaming World Champion will take home a check for an NHL GWC record $60,000 USD.
- NEW: The World Final will feature nine players in a two-stage event. The first stage will feature a head-to-head round robin best-of-three series between the three third place Regional Finalists with the top two advancing to an eight-person bracket.
- NEW: The World Final will be played with the top eight competitors in a single elimination bracket consisting of head-to-head best-of-three series (1vs8, 2vs7, 3vs6, 4vs5, etc.).
For more news on the rules and schedule of the tournament, click here. For more NHL 20 news, be sure to keep checking out the SGO site.