Blizzard discontinues StarCraft 2 WCS to focus on new pro StarCraft 2 and Warcraft 3: Reforged

DreamHack and ESL just announced a 3-year partnership with Blizzard to host new ESL Pro Tour tournaments for StarCraft 2 and Warcraft 3: Reforged. ESL Pro Tour StarCraft 2 will replace StarCraft 2 World Championship Series (but still use the old ranking system and special format), while Warcraft 3: Reforged will be built on a “new competition platform” .

“We are proud that StarCraft 2 and Warcraft 3 are two of the most passionate and committed communities in esports history,” said Blizzard President J. Allen Brack. “Both ESL and DreamHack are longtime partners in our esports space, and we want to give our players, content creators, and fans this stable, long-term relationship to keep those things going. This community grows in the years to come.”

The first season of StarCraft 2 includes 7 tournaments, including 2 Intel Extreme Masters and 4 DreamHack tournaments, and the Master Championships final at Katowice 2021, with rankings and participation methods based on Blizzard’s WCS system. . Warcraft 3: Reforged tournament will be smaller: 1 ESL and 3 DreamHack tournaments, then 1 final tournament to follow. The new tours will have a total prize money of more than 4.6 million USD, of which more than 1.2 million USD per year is for StarCraft prizes.

The difference in tournament size as well as prize money reflects the appeal of the game. StarCraft 2 is one of the oldest and most popular esports games. Meanwhile, Warcraft 3: Reforged is just a remake, but still creates a new wind for professional gamers.

The switch to ESL and DreamHack means that the WCS mobile app is also coming to an end (it closed on December 31, 2019), while the WCS website will also close this year. In addition, Blizzard also said that they are “actively completing plans for Korea from 2020 onwards”. You can see details about ESL Pro Tour StarCraft 2 on starcraft2.com website.