BlizzCon 2026 reveals Classic Esports matchups including HotS Dignitas vs Gen.G rematch, kinda

Craig Robinson, Senior Editor

Last Updated: 01/07/2026

BlizzCon 2026 has revealed its esports lineup, and for fans of classic Blizzard titles there’s plenty to get excited about. The Blizzard esports team has revealed many classic matchups, featuring known rivalries and iconic moments from its legacy esports titles. The event takes place September 12th and 13th at the Anaheim Convention Center, with a Blizzard Classic Cup headlining the legacy esports content. There’s also the mainstay esports events like the Overwatch World Cup, Hearthstone Masters Tour, and World of Warcraft Championships.

The headline for UK esports fans is Heroes of the Storm’s return to BlizzCon. Dignitas and Gen.G are set to replay the 2018 Heroes of the Storm Global Championship Finals in a legacy match. It’s not exactly the same lineups, with UK-star Joshua “Snitch” Bennet not present on the Dignitas roster.

The teams have stacked lineups of BlizzCon veterans returning for a rematch years in the making. For you ardent UK esports fans, there’s the chance to see James “Bakery” Baker back on the BlizzCon stage. He’s one of the UK’s most celebrated HotS players and a former member of the Dignitas roster. He later retired to become a caster in 2018, and now works in Dignitas management, as one of the lingering UK connections after ‘Team Dig’ was bought in 2016 by the Philadelphia 76ers.

 The Heroes of the Storm scene was shut down shortly after that event, making this rematch a genuinely poignant moment for anyone who followed the game at its peak.

In addition, there’s other classics. The full Classic Cup Legacy Match lineup also includes notable names from across Blizzard’s esports history. Lim “BoxeR” Yo Hwan and Kang “Nal_rA” Min will return to the stage for a StarCraft: Remastered Brood War match. StarCraft II gets a Wings of Liberty era revival with Gregory “IdrA” Fields vs Jang “MC” Min-chul. Warcraft III rounds out the lineup with Yoan “ToD” Merlo vs Zeng “TeD” Zhuo, two decorated champions with a long competitive history between them. All of them were significant rivalries in their respective titles back in the day.

The Classic Cup runs across both days of BlizzCon, with Nick “Tasteless” Plott and Dan “Artosis” Stemkoski serving as captains. Points from the Legacy Matches will count toward the overall Classic Cup trophy, giving the nostalgic matchups a genuine competitive edge.

Beyond the Classic Cup, the road to BlizzCon continues for the main esports titles still not considered legacy. There’s the Overwatch World Cup, Hearthstone Masters Tour and both the World of Warcraft Arena World Championship and Mythic Dungeon International. Most of those events have ongoing qualifiers, and more details will follow as the September event approaches. 

Craig Robinson, Senior Editor

Craig began his career with Esports News UK back in 2015/2016, looking to write about a passion while studying at Manchester Metropolitan University. He stayed there for several years before moving on to other websites to begin his career after graduating. Now he's back, covering esports adjacent topics and UK stories.

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