Nine months ago Tyler (then Nony) defeated Mondragon to take the TSL2 and $10,000 in the largest online Starcraft: Brood War tournament ever. Since then, we've seen Starcraft 2 released and our community explode in membership and visitors. We feel that now is the perfect time to run TL's first large-scale Starcraft 2 tournament: the TeamLiquid Starleague 3.
We feel that the TSL is a nice bridge between two games we both love. New SC2 fans might recognize some of the top TSL2 players: Tyler, Idra, Morrow, Strelok, White-Ra, Ret, Sen, Fenix, Haypro, Tarson, TT1, Incontrol. The list goes on. You might also recognize a few of the commentators who weren't quite as famous back then: Artosis and Day9.
If you've never experienced a TSL, we hope you tune in over the next few months. We're adding a bunch of new wrinkles to our tournament. The prize pool is the largest we've ever had, and we're expanding the bracket to 32 players. For the first time ever, we're inviting selected top players from Korea to compete. We hope these changes will add a new level of competition and entertainment for our fans to enjoy.
Qualifiers and Invites
The TSL would not be the TSL if there weren't some sort of open qualification process. There are sixteen combined Europe and North American qualifier slots into the main 32 player draw. These will be filled through eight TeamSpeak TL SC2 Opens over the next two months. Eight winners will automatically qualify, and then the next eight players in order of rank points determined by consistent high finishes in these tournaments. Details can be found in the FAQ stickies of the TSL3 forum located here
We're going to be seeding three players into the draw: TSL2 champion TLAF-Liquid`Tyler, TSL2 runner up Mondragon, and TSL2 third place FnaticMSI.Sen. Additionally, we'll be inviting 13 top players from Korea and Asia to fill the rest of the slots. These players will be announced at a later date.
TSL3 Round of 32 - March 2011
The TSL3 begins Round of 32 broadcasts in March 2011 and will run through April 2011. The TSL3 will be broadcast through replay casting to solve time zone, lag, and scheduling issues between all the servers. The Grand Final will be broadcast live from the TL HQ in New York City. Both finalists will be flown to New York and stay at the HQ and play one best-of-seven for $15,000.
About Our Sponsor - PokerStrategy.com
PokerStrategy.com is a poker school and community. It's a place where you can learn poker from the very basics to advanced levels. They have an active forums in 18 different languages, and offers the chance for aspiring Poker players to learn from a beginner to a professional level.
**Please note: following offer is only available to non-US citizens and residents.
If you'd like to support PokerStrategy.com and TeamLiquid, you can get a free $50** to the poker room of your choice by registering and passing their poker quiz. If you do, please make sure to use this referral link so TL gets credit for the sign up. We will also need to track users from TL that pass the quiz for our raffle later on. Limit one per person.
A few words from our sponsor:
An interesting year has passed since we sponsored the last TeamLiquid StarLeague. StarCraft 2 was released, hundreds of thousands of new StarCraft fans emerged and TeamLiquid.net went through a phase of incredible growth and development. That’s why we are proud to be back and support the new tournament.
We see TeamLiquid and StarCraft as what we want to be for poker: the world’s best place to learn the game and talk about it. StarCraft is a beautiful game of strategy – and large events such as the TeamLiquid StarLeague help it being recognized beyond the core fan base.
Enjoy the games!
TSL3: What's next?
We'll have lots of exciting TSL3 news over the next few weeks. We'll be announcing the TSL3 commentators and the 13 Korean / Asian invited players as well. We will also be announcing the details about how to enter our TSL3 raffle -- we'll be sending two lucky people to South Korea for GSL Finals and a tour of the oGs-Liquid house.
TSL3 Qualifiers begin in one week, on January 8th, 2011 with the TeamSpeak TL SC2 Open #8 / TSL3 Qualifier #1.
You can qualify for one of the 16 spots by doing the following: 1. Winning a qualifier tournament. 2. Placing in the Top 8 of non-winners (ranking points).
Ties are broken with a playoff.
Who can qualify for the 16 EU / NA spots?
Players who do not reside in countries assigned to the Taiwan / Korea Battle.net servers can compete in the TSL3 Qualifiers. Players residing in SEA countries can compete.
Jan 08 - TeamSpeak TL SC2 Open #8 / TSL3 Qualifier #1 -
EU Server Jan 15 - TeamSpeak TL SC2 Open #9 / TSL3 Qualifier #2 - NA Server Jan 22 - TeamSpeak TL SC2 Open #10 / TSL3 Qualifier #3 - NA Server Jan 29 - TeamSpeak TL SC2 Open #11 / TSL3 Qualifier #4 -
EU Server Feb 05 - TeamSpeak TL SC2 Open #12 / TSL3 Qualifier #5 -
EU Server Feb 12 - TeamSpeak TL SC2 Open #13 / TSL3 Qualifier #6 - NA Server Feb 19 - TeamSpeak TL SC2 Open #14 / TSL3 Qualifier #7 -
EU Server Feb 26 - TeamSpeak TL SC2 Open #15 / TSL3 Qualifier #8 - NA Server
**You can enter all of them provided you don't live in a Korea/Taiwan server country.
If I win a tournament can I play in the others?
No, you cannot. You cannot secretly play under another name -- this will result in disqualification from the TSL and future TL events.
What about banned or previously disqualified users?
Banned users (for any reason) cannot enter these tournaments. Do not try to circumvent by creating smurf accounts. We will find you, and you will be disqualified from the TSL and future TL events. Additionally, previously disqualified abusers from TSL2 still serving out their punishments cannot play as well.
Can I enter all eight qualifiers?
Yes. Anyone who can enter one qualifier can enter all eight. You do not have to play all eight, but your chances increase as you play more.
Do the TeamSpeak TL SC2 Opens / TSL Qualifiers still have $200 prizes?
Yes. The TSL qualification and ranking points are additional prizes. The TeamSpeak TL SC2 Opens are stand alone events. If you qualify for TSL and do not wish to participate, you can decline and we will give the spot to the player with the next highest number of points.
What is the Map Pool for the TSL Qualifier tournaments?
Shakuras Plateau, Metalopolis, Xel'Naga Caverns, Lost Temple, and Scrap Station. Please note that Blistering Sands, Desert Oasis, Jungle Basin, Delta Quadrant, Steppes of War, and Kulas Ravine are removed from the qualification map pool.
What about hackers / cheaters / abusers?
Any sort of cheating may result in disqualification from the TSL and from future TL events. We take cheating very seriously, and we will hand out harsh punishments.
These details will be released closer to the first broadcast date in March.
Live final in New York? Can I come to it!?
Sorry, but currently there are no plans to have a venue where fans can watch the final live. We may have a fan meet with the players before the final but no live audience. Maybe for TSL4!
Why are you guys doing invites for Korea / Asia?
We looked at the logistics of running TL Opens for Korea / Asia and decided that it was too complicated. Language barriers, time zones, and publicity are all huge challenges and we felt that for TSL3 we would not be able to run an open qualifier that was up to our standards. Maybe we can for TSL4, but definitely not now.
Why don't you allow everyone including Chinese/Koreans to join the TL Opens on US/EU?
We would have preferred doing something for everyone, but we have to be realistic. We are not ready and capable to deal with a hundred progamers playing our US-EU Open tournaments on borrowed accounts without us having a clue who is who. Such a tournament would be a logistical nightmare, with many players not able to communicate with their opponents or admins. Instead, we have chosen for a system that we know we can deliver on, and we will work to improve on it as we gain more experience. Everyone wants Chinese and Koreans to participate, including us. But right now, we're not ready.
From our standpoint it is a choice between an invite system for Korea / Asia or no players from there at all, so we chose invites.
What about the TSL2 abusers? Are they allowed to play in TSL3?
No, they are not allowed to play in TSL3, but they will be allowed for TSL4. If they attempt to smurf for TSL3 or play illegally, they will be given an even harsher punishment. You can read the thread about the TSL2 abusers here.
Who are the 13 mystery Korean / Asian invites?
We will announce the invited players at a later date.
Who are these three seeds?
Tyler won the TSL2, taking home $10,000 and defeating players like Tarson, Idra, and Mondragon. He placed high in several MLG events in 2010 and currently plays for TLAF-Liquid.
Mondragon finished second in the TSL2, defeating players like Brat_OK, Fenix, and Sen. He was considered one of the best players outside Korea for Starcraft: Brood War. Mondragon is not "officially active" in Starcraft 2 but has played 500 games (3100 rated). He will be active and practicing for TSL3 -- he didn't accept his seed to just lose in the first round.
Sen finished third in the TSL2 and is currently one of the top international Zergs. He qualified for GSL3, where he advanced to the Round of 32 before losing in a close series with GSL2 Champion IM.NesTea. Sen currently plays for FnaticMSI.
Who drew that portrait of Tyler?
Glider, TL member since 2003, draws a lot of portraits. He's going to be doing a sketch of every single TSL qualifier. We'll be sending the originals out to the players -- yet another incentive to qualify! If you want to watch the Tyler portrait teaser again, here it is: + Show Spoiler [Video] +
How do I help support TL and PokerStrategy.com?
You can play in the qualifiers, tune into the broadcasts, and tell your friends about the TSL. If you live outside the US, you can register at Pokerstrategy.com, take their quiz, and get a free $50. By doing this you'll also enter our raffle to win a trip to Korea for GSL Finals and a tour of the oGs-Liquid house. Make sure to use this Referral Link so we can track you properly.
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