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![[image loading]](https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/1192119019289968651/1192168008576159905/CSLAN2_Logo.png?ex=65a817fa&is=6595a2fa&hm=2be3640a76ab449ef343bc5bbb63bfb73fd10bf0bcce69e5dd7d0fcfe555f513&)
It's the new year, and that means it's time for some fun new announcements! First of all, if you don't know who I am, I'm Airn and I host Chat StarLeague. I also cast a lot of community StarCraft, like CPL, NSL, BWCL, and more. I've been doing this for a couple of years now, and it's time for some exciting news.
Firstly, Chat StarLeague is back! We took December off, but we're back with CSL #24! 2 years of community tournaments and great games! If you haven't heard of it, it's a monthly tournament with a $60 prize pool. It's limited to 1800 MMR, but there are people who offrace, as long as you can show the offrace is below the MMR limit. I'd encourage everyone to come play, as CSL24 is also on my birthday weekend, so we are going to party HARD!
Find more info here: https://discord.gg/Unxyns5rkX or https://challonge.com/cslbw24
Last summer we ran CSLAN in Chicago, and it was a resounding success! The biggest public LAN of 2023, and everyone loved it. Now the question is, how do we top it? Well, the simple answer is go bigger.
Announcing 2 LAN events this year!
MTL- Location: Montreal Canada, Date: June 29th-30th 2024, Prize: $1500!
CSLAN 2: Location: Chicago IL, Date: August 24th-25th, Prize: $1500!
INFO DISCORD: https://discord.gg/Hy4fc3yumh
These are both over the summer so that people with families (yes, we're getting old) have a better chance of getting to the events. Now I know you're wondering "who's gonna be there?" Well, let me tell you some more exciting news. While it will be an open bracket for everyone who attends, there will be qualifiers and groups for 8 skilled players to get some travel money from me to get them to the events! These qualifiers are open to all foreigners of all level, and they will be seeded into the top 8 slots of the live bracket. There will be 2 qualifiers each day, one in an EU friendly time, and one in an NA friendly time. This way the most amount of people will be able to play and qualify into groups.
Format:
Double elim bracket, top 4 players from each bracket qualify into groups.
UB: Bo3 until the qualifying matches, which are Bo5
LB: Bo1 until the semi-qualifying matches, which are Bo5
MTL Qualifier dates:
Day 1: May 11th. EU quali-1100 Central Standard Time/1800 Central European Time. || NA quali- 1800 Central Standard Time/0100 Central European Time (next day)
Day 2: May 18th. EU quali-1100 Central Standard Time/1800 Central European Time. || NA quali- 2000 Central Standard Time/0300 Central European Time (next day)
Day 3: May 19th. EU quali-1100 Central Standard Time/1800 Central European Time. || NA quali- 1800 Central Standard Time/0100 Central European Time (next day)
CSLAN2 Qualifier Dates:
Day 1: July 6th. EU quali-1100 Central Standard Time/1800 Central European Time. || NA quali- 1800 Central Standard Time/0100 Central European Time (next day)
Day 2: July 13th. EU quali-1100 Central Standard Time/1800 Central European Time. || NA quali- 2000 Central Standard Time/0300 Central European Time (next day)
Day 3: July 14th. EU quali-1100 Central Standard Time/1800 Central European Time. || NA quali- 1800 Central Standard Time/0100 Central European Time (next day)
Not only are qualifiers open for everyone to play in, but they will also be open for everyone to cast as well if they like! Once the qualifiers are complete, the players will be put into 4 groups of 6 players each, where they will have ~2 weeks to complete their matches. Since they won't all be played at the same time, the replays will be collected and casted before the LAN event (as best as possible). The top 2 players from each group will be notified once the groups end, so that they can plan their travel to the event. Each player will be given a $1000 travel budget for reimbursement, and this will increase based on donations and sponsors.
IF YOU ARE CREATIVE! You are more than welcome to bring StarCraft related arts and crafts to the LAN event to sell. We did this last year at CSLAN, and people loved it! I encourage everyone who's creative to show off your talents! I do not request any cut of whatever you're selling, so you get to keep your profit. Please note that you're responsible for whatever you bring to sell, and if it seems you're selling in bad faith (bad quality, clear ripoffs, etc.) I reserve the right to ask you to leave with no refund.
+How do I attend?
Tickets will go on sale probably around early spring. Weekend cost will be $40/person, with a limited $60 tier that includes a shirt. Total I believe the venues support ~100 people, so that's where we'll top out tickets.
+What if I can't attend?
There will be a stream, of course. Once I know the links, I'll share them with you all.
+How can I support the event?
Firstly by attending. If you show up, it obviously helps with costs, but it also shows big companies that we still have passion left in us, and that means it's easier to get sponsors. If you are unable to attend, watching the streams is another big way to help show that BW isn't dead.
You are also able to donate directly via Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/platinumesports. This goes directly to continuing community esports, and making sure we can do LAN events for years to come!
+How can I help?
Well, firstly thank you for asking. I will need help with casters especially, but I'm also looking for volunteers to help out around the event. Volunteers get a free admission ticket for the weekend, and you'll be allowed to still experience the LAN. Please message me on Discord (AirneanachTV) and we can talk about how you can help. If you do DM me, please make sure you say it's related to the LANs, because I get a lot of spam "hey"s <3
+What's next?
Well, if you've talked to me, you know I'm a passionate idiot who is more interested in more StarCraft, so I'm finally stepping up and putting my money where my mouth is. Following CSLAN2, we will be starting a new foreigner pro league called CSLPRO. Original, I know. Having talked with a lot of the community TOs in the last month or two, it seems there's space for more foreign pro BW, and I'm here to bring it. This will be a year long circuit, with the finals being held at CSLAN each year. I hope to have more details for you in the spring in terms of format and such, but for now what I will say is that there will be a ladder segment, much like BSL. After that, players will be broken into CSLPRO or CSLSEMIPRO, depending on how they did. As for us Chobo players, there is already CSL. But, there will be a special CSL event for everyone below 1800. This is meant to bring the community together, and give a well structured and produced format for players of all levels.
2024 is going to be a great year to love BW, and my only hope is that you guys love it as much as I do! Make sure to share this with your friends, and have a great day!
~Airn and Esk4l4de
Platinum Esports