Blizzard Entertainment Announces Korea StarCraft League

Get ready to raise your APM! Blizzard Entertainment today announced its upcoming plans for supporting StarCraft® and StarCraft esports, including a substantial game update for StarCraft: Remastered and the introduction of Korea StarCraft League (KSL), an official Blizzard-operated StarCraft league based in Seoul, Korea.

Introducing Korea StarCraft League
Korea StarCraft League will become Blizzard’s flagship esports tournament for the beloved real-time strategy game, which has been viewed by millions around the world across nearly two decades and considered by many to represent the pinnacle of esports competition.

“Korea StarCraft League represents Blizzard’s commitment to StarCraft and its fans all over the world, who continue playing, watching, and enjoying the game. We are thrilled to announce a brand new StarCraft league based out of Seoul, a city that lives and breathes esports,” said Mike Morhaime, CEO and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment. “Last year, we upgraded the classic strategy game with StarCraft: Remastered, and this year, we look forward to the best players in the world competing in the KSL.”

Korea StarCraft League will begin with registrations opening today and online qualifiers starting June 28. Korea StarCraft League will consist of two separate seasons in 2018, with a total prize pool of KRW 160 million (around $150,000 USD).

2018 Tournament and Prize Pools
Season 1​

• June 15 – Registration​

• June 28 – June 29 – Online Qualifiers​

• July 1 – Offline Qualifiers​

• July 19 – August 31 – Round of 16 through Semifinals​

• September 8 – Season 1 Finals​

Prize Pool: KRW 80,000,000 / roughly $75,000 USD

Anyone who wishes to compete in the tournament is welcome to register, but competitors must be present in Seoul for the offline qualifiers on July 2 in order to advance further in the tournament. The top 16 players to emerge from the offline qualifiers will advance to the main round to compete for the championship.
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Starting with the round of 16, all KSL matches will be open to spectators and broadcast live from the Hyundai Department Store Uplex, located in the heart of Shinchon in Seoul. Renowned as one of Seoul’s thriving “Youth Avenues” that attracts crowds of young people, Shinchon is home to three major universities, and is the site of numerous popular PC cafés, which were pivotal to the birth of competitive StarCraft in the early 2000’s. Korea StarCraft League matches will be streamed exclusively on Blizzard’s official Twitch channel and will be broadcast in both English and Korean.
For more information on Korea StarCraft League, including a full schedule, registration details, rules, and more, please visit the tournament’s official website.

New Ranking System and More Coming with Patch 1.22.0
The world’s most competitive 1v1 game demands an equally rigorous ranking system, so Blizzard Entertainment is proud to unveil details on Patch 1.22.0—the largest content update yet for StarCraft: Remastered. On top of a revamped ranking system, Patch 1.22.0 will introduce the Seasons tab, where players can view detailed stats about their competitive performance, and an upgraded Collections tab where they can access all the cosmetics they’ve acquired.
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Revamped Ranking System

• Competitors must complete five placement matches to earn their initial rank
• Players earn unique portrait borders as they advance through the ranks
  - Those who reach ranks B, A, and S will earn special portraits to mark their achievements
  - The Rank S portrait is also animated in the chat sidebar
  - All players who participate in a given season will also earn a limited-time portrait

• Competitors will be able to track changes to their MMR after every match
• The stakes are high—demotion is possible, regardless of the highest rank a player achieves each season!

Players familiar with StarCraft II will feel right at home climbing the new ladder. After completing five matches as unranked competitors, players are assigned a rank, and will progress on the ladder based on their wins and losses. Player ratings are tracked after each match, and competitors earn new portrait borders for each rank they achieve. StarCraft is a game of consequences, so competitors should give it their all—demotion is possible, regardless of the highest rank achieved. More information about Patch 1.22.0 is available here.
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