The WCS Winter Championship in StarCraft II: Legacy of the Void is set to take place during Intel Extreme Masters Katowice, and kicks off this Wednesday the 2nd of March. A lot is at stake, with 32 talented players vying for some amazing prizes. US$150,000 in prize money, 10,000 valuable WCS points and a WCS Global Playoffs seed are on the line during the four-day event - check out our survival guide to get prepared.
Key information
- Where? Auditorium on Friday, Spodek arena on Saturday (find the map here) in Katowice, Poland
- When? 2nd of March to 5th of March 2016
- Homepage: Intel Extreme Masters homepage
- Stream: http://www.twitch.tv/esl_sc2
- 32 top-tier StarCraft II players compete for US$150,000 in cash, 11,000 WCS points and a WCS Global Playoffs seed
The players
We can’t wait to see this incredible mix of pros battle in Katowice. Players have been invited based on WCS standings, their performances in the European and North American qualifiers as well as regional challengers.
The round of 32 bracket has already been drawn - you can check out the matchups below.*
Click to enlarge*
*Unfortunately, Bly will replace VortiX in the bracket, due to a family emergency.
Broadcast team
We’re happy to have some of the most dedicated hosts, commentators, analysts and observers on board to bring you the WCS Winter Championship.
The full talent lineup for the event is as follows:
- Host: Paul “ReDeYe” Chaloner
- Desk Host: Shaun “Apollo” Clark
- Analyst: Geoff “iNcontroL” Robinson
- Commentator: Kevin “Rotterdam” van der Kooi
- Commentator: Nathaniel “Nathanias” Fabrikant
- Commentator: Brendan Valdes
- Commentator: Benjamin "Demuslim" Baker
- Observer: Alex “funka” Verrier
Click to enlarge
Full schedule
All times are given in CET (UTC+1) and may vary due to match lengths.
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 2ND (not open to public)
-
~12:00 to ~22:30 CET: Round of 32 matches
THURSDAY, MARCH 3RD (not open to public)
- ~12:00 to ~15:00 CET: Round of 32 matches
- ~15:00 to ~22:30 CET: Round of 16 matches
FRIDAY, MARCH 4TH (auditorium)
- ~12:00 to ~17:00 CET: Round of 16 matches
- ~17:00 to ~23:00 CET: Quarterfinals
SATURDAY, MARCH 5TH (main stage)
- ~12:00 to ~13:40 CET: Semifinal one
- ~13:40 to ~15:20 CET: Semifinal two
- ~15:20 to ~17:40 CET: Grand final
You can find the complete schedule on the Intel Extreme Masters site.
ESL Fantasy
Play for free in the public fantasy bracket challenge for the WCS Winter Championship! Predict the winners and score of each match during the tournament and prove your knowledge of the StarCraft II scene. Earn points for every correct winner you picked and additional points if you also predicted the correct score for that matchup. Or, if you just want to play against your friends, create your own private bracket challenge!
Sign up for the ESL Fantasy StarCraft II challenge here!
Interviews
We’ve conducted a series of interviews in anticipation of the big tournament as well as asked Apollo what he expects to see in Katowice - take a look.
- Apollo takes a closer look at the WCS Winter Championship
- "I won't let you down this time!": an interview with Choi "Polt" Seong Hun
- "I think this is the first time when making it to BlizzCon is actually very realistic": an interview with Grzegorz "MaNa" Komincz
- "Legacy of the Void brought so many things that made me regain passion for the game": an interview with Juan "VortiX" Moreno Durán
Social media
Don’t miss a beat by following our Intel Extreme Masters and StarCraft II social media accounts:
- Intel Extreme Masters Facebook page
- Intel Extreme Masters Twitter account
- ESL StarCraft II Facebook account
- ESL StarCraft II Twitter account
- WCS Winter Championship hashtags: #WCS, #IEM
We can’t wait to get started at the WCS Winter Championship during Intel Extreme Masters Katowice. Make sure to tweet us your predictions!
