ESL have today announced their plans for the third and, as it stands, final season of its three-year EPT circuit. Significant changes to the circuit include the removal of one Masters season and the Last Chance tournament. In their place, TakeTV and Team Liquid's tournaments — HomeStory Cup and the Team Liquid Starleague — will be more closely integrated into the circuit and supported financially. The Season Finals events will also see a change in format, with DreamHack's classic Open Bracket returning to replace the 16-player format. The same 16 players will now instead be seeding into the third group stage.
The third season of the ESL Pro Tour will therefore feature these five events:
DreamHack SC2 Masters: Summer 2022 — $338,000 Qualifiers: May 3 - 8 Regionals: May 18 - Jun 5 DreamHack Valencia: Jul 1 - 3
HomeStory Cup XXIII July 21-24
TeamLiquid StarLeague 9 — (E/N: full announcement to follow soon!) July 29 - September 4
Current plans are for Season Finals events and IEM Katowice to be held offline and with an audience, but this is naturally subject to health guidelines and regulations.
Partner Events Integrated for the "Longevity" of StarCraft II
The biggest change to the 2021/22 circuit sees HomeStory Cup and TSL officially integrated into the EPT circuit, rather than being normal third-party events. ESL have announced that these tournaments would therefore receive a boost in EPT Points and financial support from ESL and Blizzard of up to $100,000 in total. The specific prize pools of these three tournaments remain unspecified as of yet.
The inclusion of TSL and HomeStory Cup into the official EPT circuit does not prohibit third parties from potentially adding further EPT events to the schedule, as NeXT or ASUS ROG did in 2021/22, for example. But these tournaments would not be supported financially and would award comparatively fewer EPT points.
EPT Extension Talks with Blizzard are Underway
ESL's announcement is particularly interesting on partner events, as it declares their inclusion "an important step for the longevity of competitive StarCraft II" — 2022/23 is, after all, the final season in ESL and DreamHack's EPT contract with Blizzard as things stand. Asked about this, Matt "Heyoka" Weber, lead product manager of the EPT for StarCraft II, confirmed that this was part of the consideration behind boosting the status of TakeTV and Team Liquid's tournaments:
"This is the third year of our announced partnership with Blizzard, so we're looking ahead to 'how can we work together to make sure players can compete'. And the way we see it is to work closer with people already doing it, instead of just kind of having our thing and their thing."
Asked about the likelihood of Blizzard continuing to sponsor the EPT circuit after the expiration of the current 3-year contract, Heyoka confirmed that talks with Blizzard were underway and that he was optimistic.
The full announcement can be found on the ESL Pro Tour website. They also released this YouTube video of Heyoka explaining their changes to the 2022/23 season.
Asked about the likelihood of Blizzard continuing to sponsor the EPT circuit after the expiration of the current 3-year contract, Heyoka confirmed that talks with Blizzard were underway and that he was optimistic.
On January 08 2022 01:37 tigera6 wrote: I like this, especially how the Season Final format is being changed to let more top players into the competition.
How has it changed? I can't find any info on the website or in the post above.
Open bracket season finals is amazing news. When I saw they were decreasing the amount of them I was disappointed but if that is the price to have them be open bracket then it is totally worth it. I hope they boost the season finals prize pool a little bit though because it will be hard for mid tier KR players who don't qualify from GSL performance to justify flying out for an open bracket event with the current prize pool and structure.
Nice, hopefully we can secure something for even more sc2 past next year!
Although, I noticed that they didn't say anything about regional ESL tournament (NA, EU, China, ect...), someone know if those will keep happening with the open bracket season final?
On January 08 2022 02:41 Nakajin wrote: Nice, hopefully we can secure something for even more sc2 past next year!
Although, I noticed that they didn't say anything about regional ESL tournament (NA, EU, China, ect...), someone know if those will keep happening with the open bracket season final?
You mean weekly? They also didn't say they were cancelled, so I'm assuming they are going strong :D
EDIT: Oh you mean with season finals and stuff? That what this whole posts was about lol. Regionals with season finals offline
On January 08 2022 02:41 Nakajin wrote: Nice, hopefully we can secure something for even more sc2 past next year!
Although, I noticed that they didn't say anything about regional ESL tournament (NA, EU, China, ect...), someone know if those will keep happening with the open bracket season final?
You mean weekly? They also didn't say they were cancelled, so I'm assuming they are going strong :D
EDIT: Oh you mean with season finals and stuff? That what this whole posts was about lol. Regionals with season finals offline
Nah but I mean they say that season final will go back to the Dreamhack open bracket format, but not if there will still be the regional season (that used to feed into the season final). Hypothetically they could abandoned it and just have open bracket season final.
I assume if they don't mention it, it's still on, but just to be sure.
On January 08 2022 03:14 Kalera wrote: The initial post mentions regionals. I imagine they will at least provide advanced seeding into the finals.
Regionals are still happening, the 16 qualified players will now be seeded into the third group stage of an open bracket tournament instead of making up the entire Season Finals event. I've edited the post to include that bit now.
Glad to see there is hope for future support from Blizzard. Hopefully we can get a better cadence of map updates this year, with a mild finger cross for any sort of tiny patch at all(even just bugfixes would be nice at this point).
No tournaments after Katowice to May? That's crazy.
And why is it DH Summer when it ends in beginning of July? There's no DH Fall or Spring? Such a disappointment to see compared to League of Legends and CS:GO which has way more events.
On January 08 2022 04:30 geokilla wrote: No tournaments after Katowice to May? That's crazy.
And why is it DH Summer when it ends in beginning of July? There's no DH Fall or Spring? Such a disappointment to see compared to League of Legends and CS:GO which has way more events.
I mean, SC2 also made 0$ in years, at some point we gotta stop comparing us to esports that left us in the dust almost a decade ago. I'm for one I'm hype for one more year or SC2!
And the GSL + other online events will probably run before the season final.
On January 08 2022 04:30 geokilla wrote: No tournaments after Katowice to May? That's crazy.
And why is it DH Summer when it ends in beginning of July? There's no DH Fall or Spring? Such a disappointment to see compared to League of Legends and CS:GO which has way more events.
Weird. Almost as if LoL and CS:GO are two of the biggest esports in the world while SC2 is really small amd cam actually be glad that it still gets some money from Blizzard to finance these kind of events...
I love it all! I've been wondering how to encourage longevity as well and this sounds like a great first step. Outside of a circuit, sponsors, and 3rd party events...getting new blood into the game is probably the most important step. Difficult problem to solve.
Thinking out loud - if I was a billionaire - I'd offer huge cash prizes to young pros from other games to try to place or win tournaments.
I'm not a billionaire and have no money, so just supporting the scene in the little ways I can and bringing good energy are all I can do for now.
On January 08 2022 07:23 dbRic1203 wrote: 3 GSL Code S, 3 GSL ST and 2 DH events Seems like everyone who wants to make money from SC2 has to move to Korea
Have 3 GSLs been confirmed? I will be surprised if GSL doesn't have to downscale a bit too unfortunately... GSL definitely gets less viewers than Dreamhack events and this is an obvious downscale even if some of the news is positive. My guess is 2 GSLs and 2 Super Tournaments next year.
On January 08 2022 07:23 dbRic1203 wrote: 3 GSL Code S, 3 GSL ST and 2 DH events Seems like everyone who wants to make money from SC2 has to move to Korea
Last season you got 150$ in Europe just for a good qualifier. When you want to earn some money in GSL, you need atleast to get to Top 24 (or Top 16 for ST and it was just 500$ there). So if you are not someone who has a very good chance of going far, moving to Korea is definetly a bad idea financial-wise.
Can only hope that by the time HSC rolls around it will get to be fully in person to celebrate being fully integrated into the schedule
EDIT: I also assume that the folks at ESL/Blizzard wouldn't interfere with the atmosphere of HSC and let it stay as is despite having a more integrated roll.
On January 08 2022 12:50 chipmonklord17 wrote: Can only hope that by the time HSC rolls around it will get to be fully in person to celebrate being fully integrated into the schedule
EDIT: I also assume that the folks at ESL/Blizzard wouldn't interfere with the atmosphere of HSC and let it stay as is despite having a more integrated roll.
Some interference will definetly take place, mostly in the fact that I can't imagine HSC will stay invite-only as before. For years now HSC had barely any qualifiers, so we always got a mix of the world elite and some players that are just staples, but probably would never make it through a qualifier. Can't imagine they will just throw-out points for players who only got invited
Personally I dont see how they cut GSL a season shorter, maybe the Super Tournament but not the code S. GSL run on a separate deal and got different sponsorship, they dont fall under the same deal between ESL and Blizzard. The only connection between them are the EPT points and the spot from GSL into the DH Season Global Final. Speaking of which, if GSL stay the same, meaning the EPT points system advantage for KR in the coming season will be even bigger with more events and pts. They probably need to change that pts system a bit more.
On January 08 2022 07:23 dbRic1203 wrote: 3 GSL Code S, 3 GSL ST and 2 DH events Seems like everyone who wants to make money from SC2 has to move to Korea
Last season you got 150$ in Europe just for a good qualifier. When you want to earn some money in GSL, you need atleast to get to Top 24 (or Top 16 for ST and it was just 500$ there). So if you are not someone who has a very good chance of going far, moving to Korea is definetly a bad idea financial-wise.
Korea will have 6 Tournaments + 4 international Everyone outside of Korea will have 2 Regionals + 4 international Foreigners living in Korea would have 6 GSL + 2 Regionals + 4 internatinal Assuming codt of living is about the same (I know this is unrealistisch, nur mit every Pro gamer can live in Ukraine),tell me how it s a financially good idear not to go to Korea
Anyone know how Blizzard is still making money from SC2? Are people still buying skins in SC2?
I'm wondering because Blizzard won't financially support pro SC2 forever. They need a way to make money from SC2 to justify putting in money into the pro scene of SC2.
On January 08 2022 19:51 xelnaga_empire wrote: Anyone know how Blizzard is still making money from SC2? Are people still buying skins in SC2?
I'm wondering because Blizzard won't financially support pro SC2 forever. They need a way to make money from SC2 to justify putting in money into the pro scene of SC2.
If they ever plan on releasing another RTS, keeping the scene going would for sure pay off and build excitement for that. Otherwise I'm not sure, but it is pennies compared to what they spend on other games
This is really good news -- glad to see that there is also a conversation of keeping the competition alive even past 2023. Atlanta is relatively close to me.
On January 08 2022 07:23 dbRic1203 wrote: 3 GSL Code S, 3 GSL ST and 2 DH events Seems like everyone who wants to make money from SC2 has to move to Korea
Last season you got 150$ in Europe just for a good qualifier. When you want to earn some money in GSL, you need atleast to get to Top 24 (or Top 16 for ST and it was just 500$ there). So if you are not someone who has a very good chance of going far, moving to Korea is definetly a bad idea financial-wise.
Korea will have 6 Tournaments + 4 international Everyone outside of Korea will have 2 Regionals + 4 international Foreigners living in Korea would have 6 GSL + 2 Regionals + 4 internatinal Assuming codt of living is about the same (I know this is unrealistisch, nur mit every Pro gamer can live in Ukraine),tell me how it s a financially good idear not to go to Korea
Again: If you are not a top 20 player in korea, you won't get any money from GSL. On the other hand, if you still participate in regional events, you will have to play at difficult hours and maybe even with lag. Don't know if that really pays out. For someone like Serral definetly, but Bly or PtitDrogo? Probably not.
On January 08 2022 07:16 vyzion wrote: I love it all! I've been wondering how to encourage longevity as well and this sounds like a great first step. Outside of a circuit, sponsors, and 3rd party events...getting new blood into the game is probably the most important step. Difficult problem to solve.
Thinking out loud - if I was a billionaire - I'd offer huge cash prizes to young pros from other games to try to place or win tournaments.
I'm not a billionaire and have no money, so just supporting the scene in the little ways I can and bringing good energy are all I can do for now.
i know exactly how they can solve that problem!!! BALANCE THE F'ING GAME lol
On January 08 2022 07:23 dbRic1203 wrote: 3 GSL Code S, 3 GSL ST and 2 DH events Seems like everyone who wants to make money from SC2 has to move to Korea
Have 3 GSLs been confirmed? I will be surprised if GSL doesn't have to downscale a bit too unfortunately... GSL definitely gets less viewers than Dreamhack events and this is an obvious downscale even if some of the news is positive. My guess is 2 GSLs and 2 Super Tournaments next year.
This is not entirely true. If my maths is correct, each of the three current DH events awards $210000 across the regionals and season finals; and DH:LastChance is $42000, for a total of $672K.
The changes proposed are having no DH:LC and only 2 DH events with regionals, but they are $338K each, for a total of $676K.
On January 08 2022 07:23 dbRic1203 wrote: 3 GSL Code S, 3 GSL ST and 2 DH events Seems like everyone who wants to make money from SC2 has to move to Korea
Have 3 GSLs been confirmed? I will be surprised if GSL doesn't have to downscale a bit too unfortunately... GSL definitely gets less viewers than Dreamhack events and this is an obvious downscale even if some of the news is positive. My guess is 2 GSLs and 2 Super Tournaments next year.
This is not entirely true. If my maths is correct, each of the three current DH events awards $210000 across the regionals and season finals; and DH:LastChance is $42000, for a total of $672K.
The changes proposed are having no DH:LC and only 2 DH events with regionals, but they are $338K each, for a total of $676K.
There's a lot more to the costs of a tournament than just the prize money, of course if we're comparing online events vs offline events then it might balance out (then again offline events generate more income too), but either way you gotta pay for commentators and production crew and stuff
I really love the new season finals format, since it allows for regional competition online similar to what we currently have which is fun, and global offline for season finals instead of online season finals. Very happy with that. Also, Heyoka said that they might announce more partner events with less EPT points (eg ASUS Rog) which i think is great.
On January 08 2022 04:30 geokilla wrote: No tournaments after Katowice to May? That's crazy.
And why is it DH Summer when it ends in beginning of July? There's no DH Fall or Spring? Such a disappointment to see compared to League of Legends and CS:GO which has way more events.
I mean, SC2 also made 0$ in years, at some point we gotta stop comparing us to esports that left us in the dust almost a decade ago. I'm for one I'm hype for one more year or SC2!
And the GSL + other online events will probably run before the season final.
SC2 is only 7th on esport earnings now and got toppled by PUBG and a mobile game called Arena of Valor.... They all have some major tournament with a multimillion dollar prizepool, so yeah I think we can be happy with this schedule
EPT
