BlizzCon 2026 to feature Classic Cup, HotS rematch

Blizzard’s Classic Cup will headline the legacy esports lineup at BlizzCon 2026, scheduled Sept. 12-13 at the Anaheim Convention Center. The cup will award a Classic Cup trophy based on points earned in legacy matches held across both days.

The headline legacy match is a Heroes of the Storm replay of the 2018 Global Championship Finals between Dignitas and Gen.G. Rosters are not identical to 2018; some original players return while others are absent.

James ‘Bakery’ Baker, a former Dignitas player who retired from competition in 2018 to work as a caster and later moved into team management, confirmed his return. On June 30 Baker wrote on Twitter: “9 years since my last competitive match, it is an absolute honor to be stepping onto the stage again alongside such incredible players. I cannot wait for BlizzCon.” Joshua ‘Snitch’ Bennet, who played for Dignitas in 2018, is not listed on the current legacy roster.

Other Classic Cup legacy matchups include a StarCraft: Remastered Brood War match between Lim ‘BoxeR’ Yo Hwan and Kang ‘Nal_rA’ Min, a StarCraft II Wings of Liberty-era match pitting Gregory ‘IdrA’ Fields against Jang ‘MC’ Min-chul, and a Warcraft III contest between Yoan ‘ToD’ Merlo and Zeng ‘TeD’ Zhuo. Nick ‘Tasteless’ Plott and Dan ‘Artosis’ Stemkoski will serve as captains.

Blizzard’s esports team described the Classic Cup as the centerpiece of the convention’s legacy programming. Results from the legacy matches will contribute to the overall Classic Cup score and trophy, rather than being treated solely as exhibition games.

BlizzCon will also host current esports events, including the Overwatch World Cup, the Hearthstone Masters Tour, the World of Warcraft Arena World Championship and Mythic Dungeon International. Qualifiers for several of those events remain underway and Blizzard plans to release brackets, full rosters and schedules ahead of the September dates.