The HeroesCCL is proudly presented by Roll20!

Hey there CCL fans and friends!

CCL information has been out for about a week now and we’ve gotten so much great feedback from you about the CCL structure and rules. We’re loving it!

We wanted to share some of the most frequently asked questions that we’ve answered in Discord, on the Reddit AMA and on Michael Udall’s HotS Weekly show and put it all in one easy place.

To get the full picture of everything CCL, check out workhorse’s blog that introduces the whole league from top to bottom: https://wsdm.gg/CCL-Everything

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How will teams be selected?
8 Orgs will be given information about all players who apply to be Free Agents. They will be able to scout players in a series of Exhibition Matches that will be played before the Live Draft. Orgs will draft their players live on broadcast prior to the start of the regular season.

Who is casting?
Our casters for CCL are Grubby and DoA!

How does the prize pool work?
The CCL Prize pool will consist of 60% of any Twitch Bits, direct donations via Twitch and our Matcherino page, and merchandise sales (if any) contributed during CCL broadcasts throughout the entire season and up until the last moment of broadcast. The remaining 40% of cumulative Twitch Bits, direct donations and merchandise sales will go towards production staff cost and league expenses.

The Prize Pool will be distributed at the completion of the playoffs as dictated below:

1st Place Team: 40%
2nd Place Team: 20%
3rd Place Team: 10%
4th Place Team: 10%
5th Place Team: 5%
6th Place Team: 5%
7th Place Team: 5%
8th Place Team: 5%

The player stipends ($28,800) are also considered part of the prize pool for CCL and that money is being fronted by HeroesHearth/Wisdom as part of our Heroes of the Storm budget.

Do I have to be invited to Exhibition Matches to be drafted?
No. Orgs will be able to invite 15 players each to compete in a series of Exhibition Matches before the Draft so they can be scouted, but any player who is eligible in the Free Agent pool can be drafted.

Why are you doing a live player draft? Why can’t players just make a team and apply to compete?
A live player draft is the single most requested item we received from the community and it wasn’t even close. Opening the doors to new talent and increasing parity between teams was a huge priority to us, but was also asked for by the community. 

How does the drafting work?
Each Org will be randomly seeded and will select via snake draft where picks go in numerical order and then reverse numerical order - i.e., 1st seed gets first pick, 8th seed gets 8th pick and 9th pick, etc.

The Orgs will pick their 5 starting players and 1 substitute player during the draft broadcast.

What is an Org in CCL’s view? 
An Org is a group or individual whose goal is to manage the team of players they draft in CCL. The core responsibilities will be to make sure players receive their stipend money, set up practice schedules, help the team strategize and work together to build success - ie, all the things that the players would have to do themselves besides just practicing and playing the best they can.

An Org could be just one person, but they will have to establish a business (like an LLC) to be able to receive and distribute the player stipends and receive prize money.

Why Orgs? 
Orgs are here to ensure players are paid, manage the players directly, coordinate practice schedules, handle sponsorships, follow-through on marketing activations, and take off the team’s plate all that prevents players from being able to focus solely on playing. 

Will the Orgs have coaches?
We’ve received questions of whether Orgs will have coaches, admin staff, etc. and that is really up to the Org and how they choose to run themselves. We’re supplying the player stipends so an Org does not have to bring any additional monetary support to the table to be a part of CCL or supply additional player salaries.

What are you looking for when selecting Orgs?
We will be looking for Orgs that:
-Put their players’ needs first
-Have a genuine love for Heroes of the Storm
-Have a vision and passion for being in CCL

We will be interviewing and vetting every Org before offering them a spot in CCL and those will be the questions we will be asking.

Can I have an Org and play in CCL?
No member of an Org’s leadership team or administration staff will be permitted to compete in CCL as a Player at any time.

What if the Orgs don’t pay their players?
League stipends will be sent in monthly installments to Org leadership to distribute to Players. We have a full dispute process in the Org and Player Handbooks to ensure that all problems (including payments) are addressed if they occur.

Can the Orgs make Player trades?
Orgs are given 2 player transactions per season and the transaction period begins when the Live Draft starts. All trades/transactions must be done prior to the beginning of Week 8 of CCL. All player transactions must be approved by CCL Admin.

What if I don’t like the team that drafted me?
Each Org receives two player trades/transactions per season that begins during the draft phase. That means there is a possibility of trades happening right as the draft is going on.

After the Live Draft, Orgs have 7 days to enter into an agreement with their drafted players. If a player refuses to sign on with the Org that drafted them, they will be deemed ineligible to play in CCL Season 1 and cannot be signed by another Org during the season.

What do Orgs get out of being in CCL?
A bunch of things! The Org handbook has this all spelled out, too.

-Each of the eight Orgs will be provided with a $3,600 Season 1 stipend to be the minimum foundation of player pay.
-At the end of the season, each Org will receive a 3% royalty based on all secondary sponsor revenue the league received during the season.
-Orgs will be allotted one presenting sponsor slot on-screen during their team’s series each week and during the playoffs.
-Orgs will be entitled to one chat command to push both the Org itself, as well as their presenting sponsor.
-Orgs will be entitled to one logo-based emote for chat and fan use.
-Orgs may retain, at most, 40% of the prize pool distribution that they receive, and the Players receive a minimum of 60% which must be split evenly.

How large are the rosters?
Each Org will draft 6 players, who will all receive the Player Stipend and a split of the prize pool. Teams will be permitted to swap Players in and out of games in a match before the in-game draft begins.

What are you doing to prevent stream sniping?
The main broadcast will be on a 1 minute delay, and players are required to adhere to that as well. In our handbook, each player is required to notify CCL Admin that they plan to stream so we can ensure they're using our overlay info and they have the 1 minute delay in place.

We take stream sniping very seriously and we'll be monitoring this closely as part of our Admin procedures.

If I’m not in NA, can I still play in CCL?
All games will be played on the North American server. We are allowing players from any region to sign up as a Free Agent.

What about an EU CCL?
We would definitely like to create CCL for EU! We’re focused on NA to really get this right and make it successful, and we have our eye on expanding if Season 1 goes well.

Why is the time so late for EU? Can't you make it earlier?
We originally planned CCL to be a NA league. Before announcing the league, we contracted our casters for the start time that we currently have. After announcing the league, players from all regions asked to participate and we permitted it with the understanding that the time we set for the league was set and could not be changed.

How will Season 2 work for the Orgs, teams, player swaps, etc.?
Our tournament license is for Season 1 so we’re not able to share our plans for the future seasons of CCL… yet. We have some really wild ideas and workhorse will get in trouble if he shares them, so that’s why Jules wrote this response.

Can we have watch parties/cast the games on our channel/co-stream if we’re not playing in CCL? Can I cast CCL in another language? 
Yes, you will be able to co-stream the main CCL broadcast on your own channels and host watch parties. You can sign up to be a part of the Co-Streamer Program here: https://wsdm.gg/CCL-Costreamer-App

Wait, can anybody costream or host watch parties?
Yes!

Would we be able to get a clean feed to co-stream/cast over?
Yes! This is part of the Co-Streamer Program. You will have to sign up to receive access to the clean feed information each week.

Other than Twitch Bits and watching, what are some of the best ways to keep supporting this?
Tell everyone! Seriously. Share our social media posts, post your favorite gameplay clips, host watch parties on stream or in Discord groups, follow the players who get drafted and watch their streams, engage with our sponsors, etc. It’s one of the biggest things that potential sponsors look for - an excited and engaged audience who loves the game.

 

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If you have additional questions you’re looking to get the answers for, you can ask in our Discord: http://discord.gg/heroeshearth or on our Twitter: https://twitter.com/HeroesHearthCCL.

We’ll see you with the next news update soon!