StarCraft II’s Pro Circuit Is About To Change In A Huge Way, Forever
For almost 10 years, StarCraft II esports has stood as the epitome of competition and community in the esports world. We are excited to share with you the next era of StarCraft II esports: ESL and DreamHack, together with Blizzard, will establish a brand-new competitive circuit for the next three years of StarCraft II esports.
– The Exciting Future of Starcraft II Esports, Starcraft2.com
After seven years, the StarCraft II World Championship Series has come to an end. But, as Blizzard puts it, StarCraft II esports is “respawning” in a new form thanks to a brand-new partnership with ESL and DreamHack.
In lieu of the storied WCS, Blizzard has announced a new StarCraft II ESL Pro Tour and DreamHack SC2 Masters. Both of these events will shape the game’s esports circuit from here forward, and will feature a new focus on feeding new talent into ESL “Open Cup” events through weekly tournaments that continue to feed and shape the playing field of the circuit’s six new annual international majors. Here’s an abstract of the structure:
Blizzard’s Role in all of this is, basically, to provide the prize money. Blizzard’s pledging to put up more than $1.2 million per year in this new circuit, and they’ll be juicing that pool up to $1.9 million for this upcoming 2020-2021 season to commemorate the 10-year anniversary of StarCraft II.
This is an exciting step for the StarCraft II pro scene, and I’m always all for watching new players enter the “big time”, so I’m looking forward to seeing where ESL and DreamHack take StarCraft II next.
