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Blizzard announces 2015 WCS changes

Forum Index > SC2 General
617 CommentsPost a Reply
1 2 3 4 5 29 30 31 Next All
Zealously
Profile Blog Joined October 2011
East Gorteau22261 Posts
Last Edited: 2014-10-31 22:52:37
October 31 2014 22:35 GMT
#1
Following the announcements made by KeSPA and SpoTV earlier today, Blizzard just announced their plans for the 2015 World Championship Series season. Stating a desire to improve the WCS experience and building a vibrant eSports ecosystem, the World Championship Series previously consisting of WCS EU and WCS NA will merge into a "WCS Premier League"

In 2015, StarCraft II WCS will consist of three primary leagues, each running three seasons: a new, unified WCS Premier League and two global individual leagues in Korea. WCS Europe, WCS America and other eligible countries and regions will merge into a single WCS Premier League with dedicated slots for players from different regions. In Korea, the GSL returns along with a new individual league from SPOTV Games and both will be open to players from around the world who want to take on the challenge of competing in the “Capital of eSports”.


[image loading]


  • Regional Qualifier matches will be played Online
  • Regional Challenger matches will be played Online
  • Premier League RO32 Group Stage will be played onsite at the ESL Studios. Four groups will be played in the ESL Burbank studio in the US, and four groups will be played in the ESL Cologne studio in Germany.
  • The 16 Players advancing from the RO32 will be compete onsite at a live venue location for the Season Finals event.


Blizzard had previously announced significant changes to the WCS system through region locking and prize money redistribution. Details of region locking available in spoiler below:

+ Show Spoiler +
WCS Premier League Residency Requirements

In order to compete in the WCS Premier League, all participants must be a resident of a country within the home regions for regional qualifiers into WCS Challenger. All participants in WCS will be required to verify their Battle.net account and proof of residency:

Eligible countries and regions:

Europe, Africa, Middle East
North America (USA, Canada)
China
Latin America
Oceania, Southeast Asia
Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau
*For eligibility inquiries regarding countries not listed above, you can contact esportsteam@blizzard.com

Battle.net account verification:

The country of residence in each player’s Battle.net account must show an eligible country within the region they wish to compete before the season begins.
The player’s BattleTag must match those of their public persona and be pre-approved by tournament administrators.
Participants are required to play all tournaments and ladder games from the country listed on the account during the tournament season. Blizzard will check IP connections at its discretion.
Participants that need to travel outside of their country of residence during the tournament will be required to provide details to Blizzard for review.
Proof of residency verification:

Eligibility for Citizens: If the player is a citizen of an eligible country for the WCS Premier League, the player must provide a copy of a valid photo ID with a current address within the country.

Examples of acceptable identification
Government-issued drivers license
Military photo identification card
Passport
Health card with photo (Canada, Australia, New Zealand)
Voter registration card with photo (Mexico)
Health card (Denmark)
Young Scot Card (Scotland)
Family book (Spain)
Bank card with owner’s signature and picture on reverse (Norway/Sweden)
Examples of non-acceptable identification
Expired identification
School-issued photo identification card
Gym membership card
Library card
Public transportation cards
Private ID cards
Eligibility for non-Citizens: If the player is a foreign resident of an eligible country for the WCS Premier League, the player must submit a copy of their passport along with a valid resident visa for the eligible country for an evaluation of their residency status. The visa must be acquired before the start of the qualifiers and is only considered valid if it allows the player to stay in the region, work in the region, and earn prize money in the region.

Examples of acceptable identification
Professional athlete visa
Work visa
Student visa
Examples of non-acceptable identification
Expired visa
Working holiday visa
General tourist/visitor visa


Source: http://wcs.battle.net/sc2/en/articles/2015-starcraft-ii-world-championship-series




TL;DR

WCS 2015 Summary

In summary, the 2015 StarCraft II World Championship Series will feature:

- A unified WCS Premier league with residency requirements
- Two global premier leagues in Korea: GSL by GOM eXP and SPOTV Games Individual League
- Updated WCS Global Events requirements for partner tournaments
- As before, the world’s best StarCraft II pros will compete in these leagues and global events to earn cash prizes and WCS points to bolster their individual rankings. We’ll continue to broadcast all of these top-level StarCraft II eSports competitions, and the entire system will climax at an exciting year-end championship tournament featuring the top-ranked players.
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AdministratorBreak the chains
The_Templar
Profile Blog Joined January 2011
your Country52797 Posts
October 31 2014 22:40 GMT
#2
A unified premier league? Whaaaaaaaaaat? O.O
Moderatorshe/her
TL+ Member
digmouse
Profile Blog Joined November 2010
China6329 Posts
October 31 2014 22:41 GMT
#3
Yep, here we go.
TranslatorIf you want to ask anything about Chinese esports, send me a PM or follow me @nerddigmouse.
sharkie
Profile Blog Joined April 2012
Austria18401 Posts
October 31 2014 22:42 GMT
#4
interesting...

No one expected that o.o
TheBloodyDwarf
Profile Blog Joined March 2012
Finland7524 Posts
October 31 2014 22:45 GMT
#5
I dont know. WCS NA and WCS EU in same? That kind of sucks...
32 players in premier, so that means 32 premier spots less than now. That sucks
Fusilero: "I still can't believe he did that, like dude what the fuck there's fandom and then there's what he did like holy shit. I still see it when I close my eyes." <- reaction to the original drunk santa post which later caught on
Cheren
Profile Blog Joined September 2013
United States2911 Posts
October 31 2014 22:45 GMT
#6
There will still be Koreans in this, since all of the EU Koreans besides San have work visas that let them compete for EU spots. Hyun will likely compete for an EU spot since he lives in Germany, and of course we'll see Polt and violet compete for NA spots.
Cheren
Profile Blog Joined September 2013
United States2911 Posts
October 31 2014 22:45 GMT
#7
On November 01 2014 07:45 TheBloodyDwarf wrote:
I dont know. WCS NA and WCS EU in same? That kind of sucks...
32 players in premier, so that means 32 premier spots less than now. That sucks


Same amount of offline games, though.
Nerchio
Profile Joined October 2009
Poland2633 Posts
October 31 2014 22:45 GMT
#8
I like the changes
Progamer"I am the best" - Nerchio , 2017.
pure.Wasted
Profile Blog Joined December 2008
Canada4701 Posts
October 31 2014 22:46 GMT
#9
Wait what?

Kneejerk response: this is good. With regionlocked KR, this will help ensure that the foreigners who make it to BlizzCon at the end of the year are the ones who most deserve it. There'll be no farming NA while the real competition is in EU, for instance.
INna Maru-da-FanTa, Bbaby, TY Dream that I'm Flashing you
TheBloodyDwarf
Profile Blog Joined March 2012
Finland7524 Posts
October 31 2014 22:46 GMT
#10
On November 01 2014 07:45 Cheren wrote:
Show nested quote +
On November 01 2014 07:45 TheBloodyDwarf wrote:
I dont know. WCS NA and WCS EU in same? That kind of sucks...
32 players in premier, so that means 32 premier spots less than now. That sucks


Same amount of offline games, though.

But less premier spots. Less money for pros
Fusilero: "I still can't believe he did that, like dude what the fuck there's fandom and then there's what he did like holy shit. I still see it when I close my eyes." <- reaction to the original drunk santa post which later caught on
Cricketer12
Profile Blog Joined May 2012
United States13974 Posts
Last Edited: 2014-10-31 22:49:05
October 31 2014 22:47 GMT
#11
i dont know if i like this...
im guessing this is all in an attempt to give korea more blizzcon spots
Kaina + Drones Linkcro Summon Cupsie Yummy Way
Circumstance
Profile Blog Joined March 2014
United States11403 Posts
October 31 2014 22:48 GMT
#12
This combined with the previous announcement looks and feels like a slow phasing out of support for the foreign scene. Which really, really, really, really, REALLY sucks, because that's not only most of the audience, but also most of the WORLD.
The world is better when every background has a chance.
Liquid`Nazgul
Profile Blog Joined September 2002
22427 Posts
Last Edited: 2014-10-31 22:51:23
October 31 2014 22:48 GMT
#13
I like this a lot.

  • Unified league outside of Korea is really exciting to me. Grubby vs Violet, TLO vs HuK, Bunny vs Scarlett bring it on. I feel there is much more at stake being the best outside of Korea than there would have been with two separate regions. The stakes being higher can only be a good thing.
  • Additionally the regional qualifiers into live Ro32 are a huge improvement to the legitimacy of playing cross server for Taiwanese, Latin Americans, Chinese, etc. Now they can just play on their local servers and qualify directly into live Ro32.
  • Live on-site Ro16 as a legitimate event instead of Ro8 and even the finals played in the same studio in front of the same 20 people?
  • Same prizepool?!
  • I also like stricter rules on the visas as I will get more enjoyment out of both the Korean as well as the non-Korean region if several Koreans move back

Administrator
Zealously
Profile Blog Joined October 2011
East Gorteau22261 Posts
October 31 2014 22:49 GMT
#14
On November 01 2014 07:46 TheBloodyDwarf wrote:
Show nested quote +
On November 01 2014 07:45 Cheren wrote:
On November 01 2014 07:45 TheBloodyDwarf wrote:
I dont know. WCS NA and WCS EU in same? That kind of sucks...
32 players in premier, so that means 32 premier spots less than now. That sucks


Same amount of offline games, though.

But less premier spots. Less money for pros


There is no more or less money going out to the players than before as I understand it.
AdministratorBreak the chains
Cricketer12
Profile Blog Joined May 2012
United States13974 Posts
October 31 2014 22:50 GMT
#15
On November 01 2014 07:48 Liquid`Nazgul wrote:
I like this a lot.

  • Unified league outside of Korea is really exciting to me. Grubby vs Violet, TLO vs HuK, Bunny vs Scarlett bring it on.
  • Additionally the regional qualifiers into live Ro32 are a huge improvement to the legitimacy of playing cross server for Taiwanese, Latin Americans, Chinese, etc. Now they can just play on their local servers and qualify directly into live Ro32.
  • Live on-site Ro16 as a legitimate event instead of Ro8 and even the finals played in the same studio in front of the same 20 people?
  • Same prizepool?!


whilst having some cool NA v EU matchups, i dont really understand the purpose behind such a drastic change to an otherwise mostly stable system
Kaina + Drones Linkcro Summon Cupsie Yummy Way
sharkie
Profile Blog Joined April 2012
Austria18401 Posts
October 31 2014 22:50 GMT
#16
On November 01 2014 07:49 Zealously wrote:
Show nested quote +
On November 01 2014 07:46 TheBloodyDwarf wrote:
On November 01 2014 07:45 Cheren wrote:
On November 01 2014 07:45 TheBloodyDwarf wrote:
I dont know. WCS NA and WCS EU in same? That kind of sucks...
32 players in premier, so that means 32 premier spots less than now. That sucks


Same amount of offline games, though.

But less premier spots. Less money for pros


There is no more or less money going out to the players than before as I understand it.


bloodydwarf means we used to have two premier leagues, now only one
so less money for pros indeed
brickrd
Profile Blog Joined March 2014
United States4894 Posts
October 31 2014 22:50 GMT
#17
so... wait what? i feel like we need more details still. are they going to be expanding/emphasizing the local challenger leagues or whatever qualifiers will lead up to the global premier? if the qualifiers stay out of sight and unhyped and full of players like avilo then i think this is kind of a bad/meh change, but if there's more going on "below" premier then it could be cool

but if this is literally just meshing AM and EU together then i'm not sure what to think... i mean it will be cool to have AM and EU favorites pitted directly against each other, but beyond that idk.
TL+ Member
myRZeth
Profile Joined June 2011
Germany1047 Posts
October 31 2014 22:51 GMT
#18
i love the unification but still just 32 spots?
not enough
sharkie
Profile Blog Joined April 2012
Austria18401 Posts
October 31 2014 22:51 GMT
#19
On November 01 2014 07:50 Cricketer12 wrote:
Show nested quote +
On November 01 2014 07:48 Liquid`Nazgul wrote:
I like this a lot.

  • Unified league outside of Korea is really exciting to me. Grubby vs Violet, TLO vs HuK, Bunny vs Scarlett bring it on.
  • Additionally the regional qualifiers into live Ro32 are a huge improvement to the legitimacy of playing cross server for Taiwanese, Latin Americans, Chinese, etc. Now they can just play on their local servers and qualify directly into live Ro32.
  • Live on-site Ro16 as a legitimate event instead of Ro8 and even the finals played in the same studio in front of the same 20 people?
  • Same prizepool?!


whilst having some cool NA v EU matchups, i dont really understand the purpose behind such a drastic change to an otherwise mostly stable system


stable? viewerships are dropping like crazy...
Change is needed, if its for better or worse - we'll need to wait to judge that
Circumstance
Profile Blog Joined March 2014
United States11403 Posts
October 31 2014 22:52 GMT
#20
I may have posted a bit hastily. I'll have to read more closely when I get home from work. But if Blizzard's stated intention is to get a finals with more than 16 Koreans, then this seems like a sure-fire way to do exactly not that.
The world is better when every background has a chance.
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