The last twelve months of competitive HoN have been without doubt some of the best yet. With Bangkok's World Finals and Jönköping's DreamHack stage behind us, it is time to once more look forward; welcome to HoN Tour Season 4!
Paragon | Community Funding and Prizing
Community contribution has become a huge part of HoN eSports. Over the last year URSA, A.R.M.S., and 8-bit have helped to fund some of our biggest events. We’ve taken what we learned from these sets and created our most ambitious project yet - Paragon. In addition to set based avatar rewards like a courier, ward, taunt, and announcer pack, Paragon introduces something brand new - avatar upgrades. Once you own a Paragon avatar, five unique upgrades are unlocked in Plinko, allowing you to further enhance these already awesome avatars. Among these upgrades is the brand new Carnage Counter, which tracks your lifetime kills and assists with that avatar and displays your Carnage score proudly at your Hero’s feet. Check out more info on the Paragon avatars at Hontour.com/Paragon.
The Paragon set will tie directly in with the HoN Tour Season 4, releasing a new avatar with each cycle, starting July 28th with Emerald Empath. 25% of sales from the Paragon set be contributed to the HoN Tour Season 4 prize pool, with 20% of sales going to cycle prizing, and 5% contributing to the 2024 HoN Tour World Finals. With a hefty $8,750 base for each cycle’s prize pool and the backing of the Paragon set, we expect this season of HoN Tour to be the best yet! For more information head to Hontour.com for more full prizing details.
Season Structure | Format and Divisions
Starting on August 1st, teams will compete in the Season 4 Qualifiers, seeding teams into divisions based on their placement. During the course of the season teams will fight for HoN Tour points, Gold Coins, and cash. Each three-week cycle will feature two-week competitions in the Gold and Silver Divisions, while the Diamond Division will feature a new three-week format. In February, at the end of the eight cycles, the top team in points standing will advance directly to the 2024 HoN Tour World Finals, while teams in standings two through nine will play in the HoN Tour Playoffs for their opportunity to show off on the world stage. More details on the Playoffs and World Finals will be released at a later date.
As with previous HoN Tour Seasons, we want to provide the best level of competition for all skill levels. While professional players will aim for the eight-team Diamond Division, the Gold Division will once more hold a sixteen-team double elimination tournament for the more experienced competitors. On the other side of the divisions, the Bronze and Silver divisions have been combined into the new Silver Division, an uncapped single elimination tournament that allows open registration prior to each cycle. By eliminating the Bronze division we hope to improve team’s ability to quickly move through the ranks, including newly formed teams that seek to compete at the highest level.
Diamond Division | Season of More!
For the last three years Diamond Division has remained relatively consistent in format - a double elimination tournament. Last Season we reduced the division size from sixteen to eight, and this year we’re once more making a change, though one a bit more substantial. For Season 4 the Diamond Division will move to an eight-team Round Robin group stage, and a four-team double elimination playoff bracket. This change addresses concerns that spectators and players both shared, that there may not have been enough games at the top level. A move to a round robin group stage provides a significant number of games both within the division, but also for each team, while also providing the opportunity to schedule days in which a team is able to take a break from the demands of competition.
This change was accomplished by expanding the Diamond division to three weeks on, five days off, as opposed to the previous two weeks on, one week off schedule. The group stage will be played on a total of six days - two weekends, as well as one set of Tuesday/Thursday matches. There will be a total of twenty-eight two-game series (fifty-six games total) in each cycle’s group stage, providing many opportunities for teams to prove their skill, and a massive amount of competition coverage. In fact, Honcast will be live ten of the sixteen days every cycle, truly making this the Season of More.
At the end of the group stage the top four teams from the group stage will be placed into a double elimination playoffs bracket. Similar to the playoffs format at this year’s DreamHack Summer, teams will be rewarded for top placements in the group stage, as first and second in the standings are placed into the Upper Bracket, with third and fourth moved to the Lower Bracket. On the other side, teams at the bottom of the group will need to prove their worth, fighting for their Diamond Division standing. The bottom two Diamond teams will play against the top two Gold teams in best-of-three relegation matches, with the winner advancing to the next Diamond cycle. These matches will be played on the Tuesday and Thursday preceding the Diamond Playoffs. For full schedule please see the calendar on Hontour.com.
What’s Next? | Honcast Podcast, Direct Invites, and Qualifiers!
Now that you’ve got the details on the event be sure to tune in for today’s Honcast Podcast, live on Twitch at 2:00 PM EDT. Join BreakyCPK and his guests as they break down the new season format, and get the opinions of notable competitors. Additionally, direct invites to the Diamond Division will be announced live on the Honcast Podcast, so make sure to tune in.
Finally, if you haven’t signed up already, be sure to head on over to Hontour and sign up for the Season 4 Qualifiers, beginning August 1st. Grab four of your friends, create your team, and play in the best HoN Tour Season yet! Sign-ups close July 31st!
