Korea’s StarCraft League is about to launch into third season!

In the world of esports, South Korea is a league apart, a place without compare. Not only are esports a commonly accepted and popular hobby to the point even the US could hardly hope to match, the country has consistently produced incredibly skilled esports players across a variety of different esports titles, not just the RTS giant that is StarCraft and its expansions!

One of the most notably popular ones though, is one that isn’t quite as high profile in other places – StarCraft: Remastered. A Blizzard game like Overwatch and Hearthstone, the game has a thriving fanbase and huge cult following in Korea even nearly a decade after its release in 2010 – actually, there is even some scientific interest in the game, as some tech-companies are using it to help improve AI technology for non-gaming uses.

The main event series in Korea for the game is the KSL – the Korea StarCraft League. It’s a very big deal both there and internationally, and it’s about to start it’s third season early this year. After two successful seasons last year, the next one is going to start April this year.

© Blizzard Entertainment

The last two seasons were won by Seunghyun “Last” Kim and Zerg player Mincheol “Soulkey” Kim, and for the upcoming season, excitement is already on the rise – fans can’t wait to see who will be the next one to nab the tournament.

This newest season is going to take place in a new place as well – the newly established VSG Arena in the heart of the capital of South Korea, Seoul is a multipurpose esports arena – it’s even been called a cultural complex! – complete with state-of-the-art equipment, from audio tech to high-powered computers and epic monitors. The arena is set up with both fans and players in mind, so even live shows can take place there.

Now, with the third KSL season up and coming, that is, of course, what everyone is focusing on. Step 1 are the registrations – from March 8^th through to March 20^th, players can sign up for the competition. Then, online qualifiers are taking place on March 23^rd and 24^th, followed by another round of qualifiers – this time offline – on March 30^th.

© Blizzard Entertainment

These qualifiers are going to decide who gets the coveted spots in the official round-of-16 roster for the event. After a bit of a gap, the official season begins on April 18^th, with matches taking place every Thursday and Friday after the beginning match. Overall, the 16 competitors are going to be fighting for a prize pool of 80 million KRW which is roughly equivalent to 62k Euros – definitely a sizeable sum!

Over 8 weeks of competition are going to see one player emerge victorious – if you are interested in watching, all of the matches will be broadcasted through the official Blizzard Entertainment StarCraft channels on Twitch, and don’t worry – although there is a Korean broadcast, there is an English one as well!

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