Blizzard announced the roadmap of competitive Hearthstone for 2023 today, and there's a piece of sad news for players residing in Mainland China: they are officially banned from pro games events.
Blizzard's Announcement
According to this announcement, there's a direct link between Blizzard's ending its agreement with NetEase and its decision to ban players residing in Mainland China.
However, at the same time, Blizzard denied suspicions that the prize pool reduction was because of the loss of NetEase as a Chinese publisher.
Blizzard's Announcement
Source: Blizzard