Today marks the end of the Heroes of the Storm alpha and consequently the start of its closed beta phase, with the biggest change to Blizzard’s upcoming MOBA title - aside from an influx of new players - being the introduction of ranked play.

A newly implemented in-game Hero League is going to serve as a ladder system for solo players. Avid Blizzard fans will recognize its appearance and functionality from titles such as Hearthstone, where players must battle against each other in the hope of climbing to the coveted rank 1. However, unlike Hearthstone, Heroes of the Storm will start players off at rank 50, and the standings won’t be reset every month. If you want to read all about the coming changes, check out the official Heroes of the Storm blog.

For those that aren’t satisfied with just solo play, ESL’s got you covered. We are already hosting weekly HotS competitions in both Europe and the Americas. Our weekly Go4Heroes Cup Series offers US$100 in prize money every week for the first place team as well as a spot in the 16-team monthly finals, which will reward first place contestants with US$250. Furthermore, first to fourth place will receive a slot in the first iteration of our ESL Heroes Major League.

On February the 1st, the ESL Heroes Major League will see eight teams per region compete, with them having qualified through the December and January Go4 monthly finals. The eight participants will fight for the US$4,200 prize pool as well as the chance to qualify for next season’s ESL Heroes Major League tournament. Additionally, all matches will be covered live on ESL TV.

If you don’t have access to Heroes of the Storm yet, make sure you change your Battle.net beta settings accordingly for your chance to be invited to the closed beta. You can then check in to the European and American Go4 leagues right away for your chance to make it to the ESL Heroes Major League in February.