Todays mainstay of the StarCraft community, Team Liquid, announced that its upcoming StarCraft II tournament, the TSL3 (Team Liquid Star League) will be broadcasted in Korea by GOMtv. This will be the first time a “foreign” eSports tournament will be streamed to Korean audiences. Commentary will be provided by the popular Korean caster “Gisado.”
GOMtv released the following statement about the TSL3:
GomTV continued to act upon their interest in the non-Korean Starcraft II scene, announcing that they would provide live streaming and VOD services for Korean viewers of TSL3. This was the second major development to emerge this week regarding GomTV and the foreign Starcraft II scene, following previous news that GomTV would invite the winner of the Swedish Rakaka Logitech Tournament to compete in Korea. Earlier in the week, GomTV had released a statement regarding their future e-Sports plans following the present GSL season, which included unspecific remarks regarding their strong desire to cooperate with international tournaments.
GomTV provided a basic overview of the TSL3 tournament in their announcement, but did not provide specific details such as a possible Korean announcing team for their videos. Although the announcement came only days before the start of TSL3, Korean Starcraft II fans were already somewhat aware of the tournament through the reporting of the news site PlayXP.com
The TSL3 kicks off this Saturday, March 19th at 2:00 p.m. EDT. English commentary will be provided by Chill, Day9, djWHEAT, and Husky. To tune in, head over to TeamLiquidTV at the aforementioned time. To check out the player list and map pool click here.
The waiting is almost over for the tip-top players in Starcraft II. Blizzard has released information regarding the prestigious upcoming league, the Grandmaster League. The Grandmaster League will only consist of the top 200 players for each region and will launch two weeks prior to the beginning of the second season of the Starcraft II league. Below is more information regarding the league like the requirements to enter and stay in the Grandmaster League.
The Grandmaster League commences two weeks after the start of the second StarCraft II League season and is limited to the top 200 eligible players per region — it is truly the most prestigious Battle.net league for StarCraft II players and will determine who belongs at the top of the ladder. Qualification for this league takes place during the first two weeks of play following the start of a new season, after which potential Grandmaster League candidates must play one more match in order to receive their promotion. Keep in mind that play isn’t separated by league, so Diamond or Master League players will still have the same chance as before to face off against the Grandmasters.
Players must remain active to avoid being removed from the Grandmaster League. Grandmaster players who let their bonus pool pile up will automatically be removed from the league, making room for more active combatants.
FAQ
Q. How do I enter the Grandmaster League? A. To enter the Grandmaster League:
* There needs to be an open slot within the ladder. * You need to be in the top 200 players according to a rolling average of your skill rating. * You must be eligible.
Q. What does eligible mean? A. To be eligible, your unused bonus pool must be less than 180.
Q. Can I be removed from the top 200? A. Yes. If your unused bonus pool exceeds 270, you will be removed from the Grandmaster League.
Q. Is there a way to see who is in the Grandmaster League? A. Yes. Click on the in-game ladder icon, and then click “Grandmaster” to see the current season rankings.
Q. How active do I need to be to stay in the Grandmaster League? A. Your unused bonus pool must remain under 270. This means you can’t get three weeks behind. This is equivalent to roughly 45 games.
Earlier today co-founder of ESEA, Craig “Torbull” Levine, posted the prize breakdown for ESEA Season 8. This list included the prizes for each game and division. The total amount of payout continues to grow every season, with this season reaching a groundbreaking $62,050 total in prizes. StarCraft 2 will be making its ESEA debut this season with a total prize pot of $5,000. Here are the prizes for the invite divisions, and the new StarCraft 2 division:
Counter-Strike 1.6
Invite Division – $15,000
1st place – $7,000 2nd place – $2,300 3rd place – $1,800 4th place – $1,200 5th place – $1,000 6th place – $1,000
Team Fortress 2
Invite Division – $5,250
1st place – $2,520 2nd place – $1,100 3rd place – $870 4th place – $750
StarCraft 2
Open Division – $5,000
1st place – $2,800 2nd place – $1,200 3rd place – $600 4th place – $200 5th place – $100 6th place – $100
Today GOMtv released the new map pool for their upcoming Global StarCraft II Team League tournament. Scheduled to start on March 21st, the GSTL will feature nine maps, seven of which gamers are already familiar with (Crevasse, Crossfire SE, Metalopolis, Tal’Darim Altar, Terminus RE, Xel’Naga Caverns and the recently added ladder map Typhon Peaks). There are also two new maps that are being introduced.
The first new map is Dual Sight. Featuring 10 bases (2 gold) and 2 Xel’naga Watch Towers, this map is relatively small considering the previous maps GOMtv has used. The rush distance isn’t ridiculously close though, taking 28 seconds to move from natural expansion to natural expansion.
The other new map is called Xel’naga Fortress. The first thing that stands out about this map is that it’s a 3 player map. It features 12 bases (0 golds) and one Xel’naga watch tower in the center. The rush distance is is 29 seconds from natural to natural, so it’s almost identical in size to Dual Sight.
Anyone who follows eSports knows just how quickly StarCraft II is growing. It seems like every week there are tons of mini tournaments hosted by members of the community who put their own money on the line to attract players and viewers alike.
The great thing about these mini tournaments is that they are not too serious. For example, look at the Map of the Month series. This monthly tournament is unique because it doesn’t use standard ladder maps, but rather community made maps. This allows players to use unique strategies that may not be viable on the standard maps.
This month’s MotM tournament is scheduled for Saturday March 26 and will be broadcasted on iCCupTV. Be sure to tune in and keep an eye out for CompLexity’s own Stalife. He is sure to put on a good show, especially after coming off of such great wins in the scReddit Open and Frag for Cancer tournaments.
The bracket for the event will be provided as soon as it is released.
Behind The Screen is a new show that will be interviewing our very own Sam ‘FireZerg’ Prowse, live on March 17, 2011 at 11PM EST. Behind The Scenes will allow the community to get to know some of gamings biggest icons and what they’re like beyond the alias.
They will also be hosting a contest during the whole show, where the winner will receive a one hour coaching session with coL.FireZerg. If you are interested in entering the contest, you will have to go on their Youtube Channel and leave a question in their comment section regarding the interview. You will also need to subscribe to their channel. Or, you can ask your question in the chat room during the show but you will need to be a follower their Justin.tv Channel. The final requirement is that you need to be present during the live show or else the runner up will be announced as the winner.
Teaser Video
If you are interested in watching the interview live, you can view it from the stream below.
For more information regarding Behind The Scenes Episode 1 with coL.FireZerg, click here.
Without a doubt one of the most famous figures in the StarCraft II scene is Mike “Husky” Lamond. Known for his Youtube channel HuskyStarCraft where he provides commentary over high level competitive play, Husky has made a big splash in the scene by earning over 420,000 subscribers.
Just over this past weekend Husky was at the gaming convention PAX East where he met with fans, commentated over showmatches, and pitched in on the State of the Game Live panel where he discussed the growth of StarCraft II and eSports. At PAX, Husky was interviewed by G4tv, giving his take on “his love of the game, the growth of eSports and its community, as well as how he got started and what he’s looking forward to next.”
For the third week in a row CompLexity Gaming’s CrunCher has managed to hold onto his title as champion of The V. In a decisive 4-1 series versus Evil Geniuses’ LzGaMeR, CrunCher showed the audience his wide variety of builds utilizing tactics like gas stealing, quick Phoenix harassment, Warp Prism abuse, and fast Psy Storm.
Game one was held on Xel’naga Caverns. CrunCher opted to do a quick Phoenix build, where as LzGaMeR went with a Marine, Siege Tank, Hellion build. CrunCher’s air dominance allowed him to keep Lz’s worker count low, allowing for an easy win.
Game two was on Shattered Temple and saw CrunCher utilizing Warp Prisms to warp in High Templar into Lz’s worker lines. Lz focused on a Marine Marauder build, banking on mobility to net him the win. Much like game one, by keeping Lz’s worker count low, CrunCher handily took the win.
Game three was on Crossfire SE. CrunCher went with a standard four Warp Gate rush, planting the pylon just outside the destructible rocks. Lz went with a standard Marine Marauder build. As CrunCher started to bring down the destructible rock, Lz moved his army out seemingly oblivious to CrunCher’s aggression. Luckily for Lz, by moving out just then, he forced a base trade situation. Ultimately through some nice micro, Lz took the win.
Game four was on Metalopolis. CrunCher went with another quick air build, this time mixing in some Void Rays with the Phoenixes. Lz decided to stick with the Marine Marauder tactic that netted him game 3. Fortunately for CrunCher, Lz went light on the Marines meaning CrunCher had complete visibility of Lz’s base for most of the game. CrunCher was able to tech to Colussus and bring down Lz’s army for the win.
The last game was played on Typhon Peaks. CrunCher went with a Four Warp Gate rush against Lz’s Marine Marauder. Thanks to some clever force fields and some quick micro, CrunCher was able to catch Lz’s army out of position and bring the series home.
Both players showed a tremendous amount of skill and put on some great games. Congratulations to CrunCher for keeping his spot as champion of The V. Hopefully he can make it four weeks in a row.
The V
The compLexity Syndicate is proud to announce week 9 of our Starcraft 2, 1 v 1 initiative, called The V! This week, defending champion Abdulaziz “coL.CrunCher” Abed from CompLexity Gaming will take on Jacob “LzGaMeR” Winstead from Team EG. This will be CrunChers first week defending his title as the sole V Champion, after taking down Jeffrey “SjoW” Brusi last week in an early 5:00PM EST edition of the event. This week, CrunCher and LzGaMeR will battle it out at the standard time of 7PM EST.
Each week we will invite two professional SC2 players to square off for a $100 cash prize. The winner will return the next week to take on a new challenger. In addition, every week we will offer viewers the chance to enter to win great prizes, including the new Sound Blaster Tactic Headset.
Information
Date: 7:00 PM EST Format: Best of 7 Streaming:compLexityGaming.com Prize: $100.00 per week Casting: Shoutcasting by AskJoshy
Be sure to mark your calendars and check in every Friday night for some of the best 1v1 action in StarCraft 2! Tune in to see who can survive the longest in THE V!
compLexity Gaming: YOUR source for professional gaming news and entertainment!
At the last minute we had to make a quick lineup change as CrunCher had a family emergency(Everything is okay). With that happening, I(Popcorn) was the only one on who could play. The guys were all able to win their matches in a quick 2-0 fashion. For myself, I was able to win 2-1 and secure the 4-0 win for the team!
Pre Game
Today, coL.sc2 will be taking on Baneling Bust for ESEA 7:1. Last week the guys played Synaptic, where they came out on top 4-0, winning each set with a 2-0 score. Not much is known about Baneling Bust, their record says 0-3, but we are in week 7.
The match is confirmed to start at 10:00PM EST and ICCUP Fighting Spirit will be the starting map.
Lineups will be added in 15 minutes prior to the start of the match.
In a programming synopsis on the IMG Website, the schedule for MLG has been released. The stops appear to be similar to those of the past, with Dallas, Columbus, Raleigh, Orlando and Anaheim making their usual appearence and Rhode Island rounding out the field for the national championship.
MLG Pro Circuit 2011 Calendar
Dallas, Texas: April 1-3 Columbus, Ohio: June 3-5 Anaheim, California: July 28-31 Raleigh, North Carolina: August 26-28 Orlando, Florida: October 12-16 Providence, Rhode Island: November 18-20
Also mentioned is a 26 minute “weekly gaming magazine show” that will begin on May 6th and will be broadcast on television, as opposed to the typical live online feed.
Details
Duration: 52 x 26 minute weekly show starting 6th May 2011 and 6 x 52 minute event highlight show with 3 / 5 minute features available on request for local news and magazines. Rights:All Media rights including Digital and Fixed Media Territories:Worldwide ex-USA
The announcement states:
This weekly gaming magazine show will feature all the best action, news and gaming content from Major League Gaming. The MLG show will highlight the very latest from the world of competitive gaming, profiling the world’s leading gamers and gaming teams from every territory. Rumours from inside the gaming world will also be featured in the show alongside developments from leading games publishers and hardware companies. All the best plays and competitions from the past week from GameBattles will feature alongside tips and tricks from the world’s best gamers.
More information about the schedule as well as the weekly television show can be found by clicking here.
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coL.Ryze
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