SEOUL, KOREA – June 15, 2018 – Get ready to raise your APM! Blizzard Entertainment today announced its upcoming plans for supporting StarCraft® and StarCraft esports, including a substantial game update for StarCraft: Remastered and the introduction of Korea StarCraft League (KSL), an official Blizzard-operated StarCraft league based in Seoul, Korea.
Introducing Korea StarCraft League
Korea StarCraft League will become Blizzard’s flagship esports tournament for the beloved real-time strategy game, which has been viewed by millions around the world across nearly two decades and considered by many to represent the pinnacle of esports competition.
“Korea StarCraft League represents Blizzard’s commitment to StarCraft and its fans all over the world, who continue playing, watching, and enjoying the game. We are thrilled to announce a brand new StarCraft league based out of Seoul, a city that lives and breathes esports,” said Mike Morhaime, CEO and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment. “Last year, we upgraded the classic strategy game with StarCraft: Remastered, and this year, we look forward to the best players in the world competing in the KSL.”
Korea StarCraft League will begin with registrations opening today and online qualifiers starting June 28. Korea StarCraft League will consist of two separate seasons in 2018, with a total prize pool of KRW 160 million (around $150,000 USD).
Anyone who wishes to compete in the tournament is welcome to register, but competitors must be present in Seoul for the offline qualifiers on July 1 in order to advance further in the tournament. The top 16 players to emerge from the offline qualifiers will advance to the main round to compete for the championship.
Starting with the round of 16, all KSL matches will be broadcast live in front of spectators. Details about the venue will be revealed at a later day. All Korean StarCraft League matches will be streamed exclusively on Blizzard Entertainment’s Twitch channels in both Korean and English.
For more information on Korea StarCraft League, including a full schedule, registration details, rules, and more, please visit the tournament’s official website.
New Ranking System and More Coming with Patch 1.22.0
The world’s most competitive 1v1 game demands an equally rigorous ranking system, so Blizzard Entertainment is proud to unveil details on Patch 1.22.0—the largest content update yet for StarCraft: Remastered. On top of a revamped ranking system, Patch 1.22.0 will introduce the Seasons tab, where players can view detailed stats about their competitive performance, and an upgraded Collections tab where they can access all the cosmetics they’ve acquired.
Players familiar with StarCraft II will feel right at home climbing the new ladder. After completing five matches as unranked competitors, players are assigned a rank, and will progress on the ladder based on their wins and losses. Player ratings are tracked after each match, and competitors earn new portrait borders for each rank they achieve. StarCraft is a game of consequences, so competitors should give it their all—demotion is possible, regardless of the highest rank achieved. More information about Patch 1.22.0 is available here.
軍臨天下》前瞻性聲明通常包括發行日期、特色與遊戲內容。可能導致Blizzard Entertainment 實際未來結果與由前瞻性聲明所指示的描述有重大差異的因素包括但不限於產品延誤以及Activision Blizzard 在最近年報表10-K和季報表10-Q 聲明中提及的額外風險因素。本新聞稿中的前瞻性聲明均以 Activision Blizzard和Blizzard Entertainment至新聞稿發佈之日掌握的資訊為基礎，Activision Blizzard 和Blizzard Entertainment 沒有義務更新任何此類前瞻性聲明。前瞻性聲明在做出時被認為正確，可能最終證明是錯誤的。這些聲明並不能保證 Activision Blizzard 未來的業績，存在風險、不確定性及其他因素，其中部分聲明超出公司控制範圍，並可能導致與當前預期存在重大差異的實際結果。