Breaking Out Season 3
Watch the show live over at:
http://www.twitch.tv/feardragon64
Or catch the vods on the same day at:
http://www.youtube.com/feardragon64
http://www.twitch.tv/feardragon64
Or catch the vods on the same day at:
http://www.youtube.com/feardragon64
This May, Breaking Out Season 2 launched and spent eight weeks highlighting a different up & coming player in the North American scene each week. After spending some time learning about these players, we watched them duke it out in the Breakout Invitational, wielding a prize pool of over $2,150.
There's a common misconception that players in North America don't work hard, aren't motivated, and don't have much talent. Breaking Out looks to prove otherwise by highlighting some up & coming players that might not be on your radar yet. North America as a scene may be behind others like Europe and Korea, but we have the players with the talent to be better. We just need to give them the resources and the motivation to do so. The show seeks to show some of those players worth caring about and give them a bit more exposure. And of course, the invitational that has hit over two-thousand dollars doesn't hurt to motivate the players a little...
Breaking Out is about fostering growth in the local scene. I'm not going to lie to you. These guys are not WCS Grand Finalists or GSL Code S winners. But what they are is a group of hard working individuals who have the potential to be a "foreign hope" or top NA player given the right environment. If you haven't watched some of these guys play, this is your opportunity to see just how awesome some of their games can be. You might surprise yourself at how much fun you'll have cheering for these guys if you give them a chance.
Format
We're really excited to announce Season 3 of Breaking Out. Season 1 of the show broadcasted a whopping 6 days a week for 2 months, whereas Season 2 reduced it to 3 days a week for 2 months based on feedback from viewers. Season 3 is going to be taking it one step further after some more feedback.
Breaking Out Season 3 will run twice a week for one month. The broadcast time is planned to be Friday's and Saturdays at 6:00pm PST/9:00pm EST. Each day will highlight a single player, with two players covered each week. The show will run through the month of September, with qualifiers for the show taking up the majority of August. The exact date for the Invitational itself will be announced at a later date after consulting with the players for availability.
This new change will also come with a new format to support covering an entire player in a single day! Episodes will be longer on average but will feature a much higher production value. The format will be as follows:
- 1) Brief 3-4 minute interview to give you a feel for the player
- 2) Cover the player's XvZ matchup
- 3) Cover the player's XvT matchup
- 4) Cover the player's XvP matchup
- 5) Cover an AWESOME game from the player
- 6) A short 5ish minute fun segment featuring things like Karaoke, etc.
Interviews are fantastic but sometimes it can be hard to pay full attention to one person talk about themselves for an hour straight. Instead, small 3-5 minute clips will be interspersed throughout the show so you can get a better feel for the player in a shorter amount of time! I'm really excited to hear what you think of the new format so be sure to give your thoughts about it!
+ Show Spoiler +
Are you a player interested in being on Breaking Out? Well before we get into how you can qualify, first you need to register! Registration is an required part of being considered for the show no matter what qualification method you use. So, let's go over how to register.
Once you submit your application and it has been processed, we will respond to confirm or deny it. We are reserving the right to reject applications. However, the main reason we're doing so is to prevent players that already have a good bit of notoriety. Some good examples would be if for some reason Evil Geniuses' Huk or Acer's Scarlett applied, their applications would be rejected because I don't think anyone could argue they haven't already "broken out." If you have any question of whether you would be accepted or rejected, feel free to shoot an e-mail and ask. All applications will be considered by a small committee due to the arbitrary nature of issue.
Submit an e-mail to feardragon64@gmail.com with the following information by August 10th
- 1) Proof of North American Residency. Some examples of this are Drivers Licenses, Student ID's to NA universities, Passports, etc.
- 2) A picture of yourself meeting most, if not all of the requirements listed.
- 3) A link to your battle.net profile on the account you want considered for the ladder qualifiers. (Note this account will be publicized)
- 2) A picture of yourself meeting most, if not all of the requirements listed.
- 4) A 3-8 minute video of yourself answering the following questions(be ready for parts of this video to be used on the show!):
- a) What is your name, age & Starcraft 2 race?
- b) What do you do for a living?
- c) Tell us the most interesting fact about yourself that you can think of.
- d) Describe your playstyle for us.
- e) Why do you deserve the chance to be the next breakout player?
- f) What does Starcraft mean to you?
- a) What is your name, age & Starcraft 2 race?
Once you submit your application and it has been processed, we will respond to confirm or deny it. We are reserving the right to reject applications. However, the main reason we're doing so is to prevent players that already have a good bit of notoriety. Some good examples would be if for some reason Evil Geniuses' Huk or Acer's Scarlett applied, their applications would be rejected because I don't think anyone could argue they haven't already "broken out." If you have any question of whether you would be accepted or rejected, feel free to shoot an e-mail and ask. All applications will be considered by a small committee due to the arbitrary nature of issue.
+ Show Spoiler +
Similar to previous seasons, there will be a total of eight players on the show. In the interest of making qualifications as open as possible to everyone walking the different paths of life, we've opened up three different methods of qualification.
Qualification Methods
- The two registered players that hold the highest ranking on the North American ladder will be given a spot on the show. This does not mean you have to hold spot 1, 2 in GM. You just have to be the highest ranked of all those who are trying to qualify. The end time for the ladder qualification will be 11:59pm EST on August 24th.
- Four will qualify through two separate tournament qualifiers will be held for those unable to qualify through the first method. The first and second place finishers of both qualifiers will earn a spot on the show, meaning the top 2 will qualify. The first qualifier will be held on August 1st at 6:00pm EST. They will be hosted by the SC2 Up & Coming Podcast hosts, NanMan and MasterDalk. The second qualifier's date will be on August 10th at 4:00pm EST. This qualifier will actually be the ZOWIE NA Rumble and will take the two highest placing players that are registered for Breaking Out. In the case of a tie, those players will play it to determine who will qualify. For updates on the qualifiers, be sure to register.
Bracket for the first qualifier:
http://www.excello.net/tournament/5366/breaking-out-s3-q1/
Bracket for the second qualifier:
http://www.excello.net/tournament/5318/zowie-na-rumble-3/ - If you've been unable to qualify through the ladder or through the tournament qualifiers, one last qualification method is possible. The final two player spots will be awarded via invite. These players will be picked by a small committee and be decided by various factors including the answers given in their application video, performance in various tournaments, etc.
Currently Qualified Players
1) Zan(T) through Qualifier #1
2) JonSnow(Z) through Qualifier #1
3) PandaBearMe(Z) through Qualifier #2
4) Kif1re(P) through Qualifier #2
5) Bails(P) through Ladder Spot #1
6) Intense(T) through Ladder Spot #2
7) Midday(Z) through Invite #1
8) Kelazhur(T) through Invite #2
1) Zan(T) through Qualifier #1
2) JonSnow(Z) through Qualifier #1
3) PandaBearMe(Z) through Qualifier #2
4) Kif1re(P) through Qualifier #2
5) Bails(P) through Ladder Spot #1
6) Intense(T) through Ladder Spot #2
7) Midday(Z) through Invite #1
8) Kelazhur(T) through Invite #2
Be sure to remember in order to qualify, you MUST register. Don't forget to before the deadline(BY August 10th, NOT AFTER). We will be much more strict about this than last season.
The show eventually leads up into an eight man tournament that has a $1000 base prize pool that has payout even to last place. However, we do take donations for that prize pool to increase. The last two season through donations we were able to raise the prize pool about an additional $1150 through donations. If you'd like to contribute to the prizepool for the next Breakout Invitational, feel free to use the link below to do so!
$1,548.86 Updated 9/9/2014 10:00pm PST
Donators to this season's prize pool
FilthyRake - sWs - Crot4le - Casey Nicholas - Patrick Quist
FilthyRake - sWs - Crot4le - Casey Nicholas - Patrick Quist
Big thank you's go out to everyone that has made this possible. From those who helped with the art assets for this season and the last (Noobity, Sybert, MinnyMausGG) to those who have provided feedback and adminstration help(NanMan, MasterDalk, KurenTV), to the all the viewers of the previous seasons, I extend my thanks for helping to make this all possible. I also want to send a big thank you to all the players working hard in North America! Keep on fighting the good fight!
Q/A
I was in a previous season of Breaking Out. Can I apply again?
Breaking Out has a 1 season layout period. If you were a part of Breaking Out Season 1, feel free to apply! If you were in Season 2, you'll have to wait until Season 4!
Is this an actual tournament? All I saw was info on player interviews and such.
Good question! This is both a show and a tournament. The idea is that I spend a month doing a show talking about the players and letting people(including myself to be honest) get to know them, and THEN we have an 8 man tournament called The Breakout Invitational. The invitational has a base prize pool of $1000 and takes donations to be increased. The past two seasons it's over doubled the base prize pool to roughly $2150.
Can a player from Latin America participate?
If someone in Latin America is interested, they should feel free to apply as long as they feel comfortable communicating in English in extensive interviews. Unfortunately, the format relies very heavily on speaking good English at the moment.
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