It's very long. I know. I'm sorry. Please leave comments and suggestions!
<3 Alisaunder
See the Calendar Post
for complete list of events, micro holidays,
tournaments and in game events.
WORLD OF WARCRAFT
Children's Week Holiday 2018
https://www.mmo-champion.com/content/7567-Children-s-Week-2018
by perculia https://www.wowhead.com/news=283984/childrens-week-holiday-2018
Children's Week 2018 runs April 30th through May 7th! This holiday boasts 10 cute battle pets for players to collect, as well as the challenging PvP achievement School of Hard Knocks. Read up on all the details in the Children's Week Guide.
World of Warcraft LARP?
https://mobile.reuters.com/news/picture/world-of-warcraft-comes-to-life-idUSRTS1PFDA
Vojtech Ruzicka, dressed as a character from the computer game "World of Warcraft", stands in a forest near the town of Kamyk nad Vltavou, Czech Republic, April 28, 2018. The web developer ditched his laptop and urban Prague lifestyle and decamped to the forest dressed as a blue-faced shaman for ...
Liveblog of the April 26 Battle for Azeroth Beta Q&A with Ion Hazzikostas
https://www.wowhead.com/news=283905/liveblog-of-the-april-26-battle-for-azeroth-beta-q-a-with-ion-hazzikostas
https://www.mmo-champion.com/content/7554-Developer-Q-A-with-Ion-Hazzikostas-Battle-for-Azeroth
Battle for Azeroth Release Date
August 14
BlizzCon 2018 November 2-3
BlizzCon 2018 will be November 2-3 at the Anaheim Convention Center! Wave one of ticket sales will be May 9th at 7 PM PT, and wave two will be on May 12th at 10 AM PT. Tickets are $199 each (plus taxes and fees) - limit 4 per order. You have until July 20 to edit the information on your tickets. The Benefit Dinner will be Thursday, November 1 and tickets are $750. Community Night is undergoing some changes, but there will still be a costume contest.
More info: https://t.co/BlDJnUpfsy https://t.co/yVVSmudS8l
May 16: Tickets to the pre-BlizzCon benefit dinner to benefit CHOC Children’s, which include BlizzCon admission, are limited in number and will go on sale . https://blizz.ly/2uJrAdt
BlizzCon eSports
https://www.mmo-champion.com/content/7500-BlizzCon-2018-November-2nd-and-3rd
This year’s show will once again commence with the esports action of BlizzCon Opening Week, taking place at Blizzard Arena Los Angeles from October 25 to 29, where the initial rounds of the StarCraft® II World Championship Series Global Finals, the Heroes of the Storm® Global Championship Finals, and World of Warcraft® Arena World Championship Finals will unfold. The competitions will culminate in Anaheim on November 2 and 3, where the champions of these tournaments along with those of the Overwatch® World Cup and Hearthstone® Global Games will be crowned.
Blizzard Balance Gifting Now Available
https://www.wowhead.com/news=283698/blizzard-balance-gifting-now-available
Tribute to BlizzCon Costume Contest Winner Kazplay in Battle for Azeroth
https://www.wowhead.com/news=283666/tribute-to-blizzcon-costume-contest-winner-kazplay-in-battle-for-azeroth
Blizzard Confirms No World of Warcraft On Xbox Or PS4
https://www.dvsgaming.org/blizzard-confirms-no-world-of-warcraft-on-xbox-or-ps4/
SpartySmallwood Interview with Morgan Day - Lead Encounter Designer
https://www.wowhead.com/news=283396/spartysmallwood-interview-with-morgan-day-lead-encounter-designer
Slootbag's Live Battle for Azeroth Interview with Morgan Day
https://www.wowhead.com/news=283358/slootbags-live-battle-for-azeroth-interview-with-morgan-day
Battle for Azeroth Muffinus Interview - Island Expeditions, Wrathion
We recently got to interview two members of the World of Warcraft team about the upcoming expansion Battle for Azeroth! With questions for Wowhead and the sites' users, we got a lot of new information from Jeremy "Muffinus" Feasel, Senior Game Designer for World of Warcraft, and Frank Kowalkowski, Assistant Technical Director on World of Warcraft.
https://www.wowhead.com/news=283330/battle-for-azeroth-muffinus-interview-island-expeditions-wrathion
Vanion Interview with Battle for Azeroth Devs
http://www.vanion.eu/news/unser-interview-mit-matt-goss-und-patrick-dawson-vom-bfa-media-event-18120
Buffed Interview with Battle for Azeroth Devs
http://www.buffed.de/World-of-Warcraft-Spiel-42971/News/Battle-for-Azeroth-Features-Entwickler-Interview-Michael-Bybee-Ely-Canno-1253868/
Gamereactor Interview with Battle for Azeroth Devs
https://www.gamereactor.eu/grtv/369983/World+of+Warcraft+Battle+for+Azeroth+Morgan+Day+Interview/
GamerBraves Interview with Battle for Azeroth Devs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZoqZpSyv3_g
Battle for Azeroth Collector’s Edition Novellas (Spoilers)
Blizzard announced the Battle for Azeroth Collector's Edition contents yesterday and today has followed it up with a closer look at the two novellas - Elegy and A Good War.
https://www.wowhead.com/news=283357/battle-for-azeroth-collector-s-edition-novellas-elegy-and-a-good-war-excerpts-sp
Pre-Purchase Battle for Azeroth and Get Legion Free
Blizzard has two special deals running related to Battle for Azeroth. You can pre-purchase Battle for Azeroth and get Legion for free ($49.99 / EUR 44.99) or buy the Complete Collection (base version of WoW, Legion, and BFA pre-purchase) for $59.99 / EUR 49.99. https://www.wowhead.com/news=283355/pre-purchase-battle-for-azeroth-and-get-legion-free
Xorothian Cultists Channeling Countdown Once More
On the Broken Shore, the Xorothian Cultists are casting Fel Channeling once more. With a countdown that leads to a date in late April, what are they counting down to this time?
https://www.wowhead.com/news=283254/xorothian-cultists-channeling-countdown-once-more
WoW Diary Kickstarter - A Book Covering Vanilla WoW's Dev Cycle
https://www.wowhead.com/news=283134/wow-diary-kickstarter-a-book-covering-vanilla-wows-dev-cycle
Before the Storm Novel Comes Out June 12
https://amazon.com/Before-Storm-Warcraft-Christie-Golden/dp/0399594094/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8
Before the Storm (World of Warcraft) Hardcover – June 12, 2018 by Christie Golden
Warcraft – Total War Public Beta Started
GameSpace.com https://www.gamespace.com/all-articles/news/warcraft-total-war-public-beta-started/
WarCraft – Total War is an ambitious fan mod for Medieval 2: Total War that has been in development for 8 years. The setting of the mod is based on Blizzard's RTS Warcraft III and contains large map containing dozens of iconic provinces, along with factions very distinct from each other such as the...
Warcraft 3 job listing hints at future updates
https://www.pcgamesn.com/warcraft-iii/warcraft-iii-future-updates
Warcraft 3 Version 1.29 is the Game's Biggest Patch in Years
https://www.engadget.com/2018/04/12/blizzard-gives-16-year-old-warcraft-iii-a-widescreen-makeover/
https://us.battle.net/forums/en/bnet/topic/20762137149
iPhone X was able to launch Warcraft II and SimCity
Check out this great video by YouTuber Hacking Jules where he runs Mac OS 8 on both an iPhone X and iPad (via Cult of Mac). Better yet, he uses this bit of retro fun to play Warcraft II and SimCity 2000! Hacking Jules did this with the help of the Basilisk II 68K emulator, and the whole thing is a fine demonstration of just how powerful these modern mobile devices are. In any event, enjoy!
https://www.macobserver.com/cool-stuff-found/mac-os-8-iphone-x-ipad/
Weekly Tournaments here
https://www.twitch.tv/back2warcraft
SUMMARY
NationWars V Finals happened!
WCS Austin June 1-3.
WCS Valencia July 12-14
WCS Montreal Sept 7-9
WCS Challenger Season 1
https://wcs.starcraft2.com/en-us/news/21613835/Everything-You-Need-to-Know-About-WCS-Challenger-Season-1/
https://t.co/RaeXplp5Di https://t.co/VtfaRB363Z
NATIONWARS V Begins! http://nationwars.tv/
4 Nations will try their best to lift the #NW5 trophy in the offline Finals in Paris, France on April 22! Tickets are available: http://bit.ly/FinalsNW5
The other breakout star so far of NationWars is Team Sweden's Sortof and Brazilian substitute player TerraN who All Killed Bolivia while Kelazhur was in flight to Korea.
Team USA fielded their power house Neeb for their matches on Day 3, and he All Cleared Bulgaria. Was good to see Neeb having a little fun. And the players you've never really heard of putting a good run in.
There were no significant upsets other than Mexico vs Korea, with most teams putting their lesser members in first to let them have screen time, and the team powerhouse to get a little more sleep in some cases.
Still in: Korea, Mexico, Poland, Ukraine, Finland, Brazil, USA, Netherlands, Germany, Sweden.
1xBet's Evgeniy Kiriushin: Embracing the fast-growing esports market
https://www.sbcnews.co.uk/esports-fantasy/2018/04/19/1xbet-evgeniy-kiriushin-embracing-esports-market/
Our esports portfolio has since expanded from two (StarCraft II and Counter-Strike) to five permanent sports (with the addition of Dota 2, League of Legends and Overwatch).
AWC SPRING FINALS VIEWER'S GUIDE
https://news.blizzard.com/en-us/world-of-warcraft/21664942/awc-spring-finals-viewer-s-guide
MYTHIC DUNGEON INVITATIONAL 2018
https://worldofwarcraft.com/en-us/news/21510318/the-mythic-dungeon-invitational-is-back-get-ready-for-the-proving-grounds
https://worldofwarcraft.com/en-us/news/21617653/mythic-dungeon-invitational-prepping-for-the-time-trials
https://raider.io/mythic-dungeon-invitational-2018
Proving Grounds ends March 13 at 7 a.m. PST (10 a.m. EST). Your goal is to complete a total of five level 23 Mythic Keystone dungeons over those two weeks. The format will be double elimination, giving teams a chance to regroup after a loss and bounce right back. The Mythic Keystone level will change over the course of the tournament, rewarding teams who can quickly crush easier dungeons and survive tougher ones.
Potential Story Spoilers will be in yellow. For full Alpha information see below links as I will only post bits I think interesting.
Information from https://www.mmo-champion.com/ and https://www.wowhead.com/
Pet Battles
https://blizzardwatch.com/2018/04/26/changes-announced-pet-battles-battle-azeroth/
User Recreates ‘Diablo II’ in ‘Starcraft II’ Mod
http://bloody-disgusting.com/news/3491418/user-recreates-diablo-ii-starcraft-ii-mod/
We’re still waiting on Blizzard to reveal whether or not they’re working to remaster Diablo II, but in the meantime, fans have turned to other means to get their updated fix of the 2000 classic: Modding. One such mod is The Curse of Tristram by egod123, which looks to recreate Diablo II using Starcraft II. The project has been in development since last year, and with no cease-and-desist letter in sight, things are looking promising.
So promising, in fact, that the author had started an IndieGogo campaign to offset the time needed to devote to the game, with the campaign finishing up with $1,902 USD (of the cheeky $6,666 goal) in donations. The mod is free to download, and will be released as a series of custom maps published through Battle.net arcade. In fact, according to the IndieGogo site, the beta is “just around the corner”. The author also streams their progress on their Twitch channel quite regularly, so if you’re keen, check it out.
https://youtu.be/hPHZKq9m-oM
Heroes of the Storm - Dark Nexus Event
https://www.mmo-champion.com/content/7530-Upcoming-Event-Dark-Nexus
HEROES OF THE DORM https://heroesofthedorm.com/
May 12. Four teams remain. Who will prevail? May 12, 2018 on Twitch. nter the Pick’em Challenge. Choose your favorite team. Earn rewards when they win. Between April 25th and May 11th, select one finalist as your Pick 'Em Champion and earn 1 loot chest.
Ben Brode Leaving Blizzard
https://www.wowhead.com/news=283729/ben-brode-leaving-blizzard
https://www.mmo-champion.com/content/7535-Ben-Brode-Leaving-Blizzard
SO YOU THINK YOU CAN CAST: HEARTHSTONE EDITION 2018
Starting March 13, we’ll review your submissions and reach out to shortlisted entrants with further instructions. The finalists will move on to cast the Hearthstone Collegiate Championship Playoffs for Spring, which will take place this April 28 – 29 2018.
Overwatch hackers get $10k fine, 2 years probation in South Korea
https://blizzardwatch.com/2018/05/01/overwatch-hackers-get-10k-fine-2-years-probation-south-korea/
by Matthew Rossi on May 1, 2018 at 4:00pm @MatthewWRossi
Back in January, thirteen people were arrested in South Korea for hacking Overwatch and fixing matches in the incredibly popular team shooter.
Overwatch League 2018: Stage 3 Week 2 Recap
https://www.mmo-champion.com/content/7521-Overwatch-League-2018-Stage-3-Week-2-Recap
OverWatch Uprising Returns April 10
https://blizzardwatch.com/2018/03/29/overwatch-uprising-returns-april-10-twist/
WoW Diary Kickstarter - A Book Covering Vanilla WoW's Dev Cycle
https://www.wowhead.com/news=283134/wow-diary-kickstarter-a-book-covering-vanilla-wows-dev-cycle
OTHER BLIZZARD RELATED STUFF
Sources for these news bits include:
https://news.blizzard.com/en-us
http://www.teamliquid.net/
And others.
Liveblog of the April 26 Battle for Azeroth Beta Q&A with Ion Hazzikostas
https://www.wowhead.com/news=283905/liveblog-of-the-april-26-battle-for-azeroth-beta-q-a-with-ion-hazzikostas
https://www.mmo-champion.com/content/7554-Developer-Q-A-with-Ion-Hazzikostas-Battle-for-Azeroth
Battle for Azeroth Release Date
August 14
BlizzCon 2018 November 2-3
BlizzCon 2018 will be November 2-3 at the Anaheim Convention Center! Wave one of ticket sales will be May 9th at 7 PM PT, and wave two will be on May 12th at 10 AM PT. Tickets are $199 each (plus taxes and fees) - limit 4 per order. You have until July 20 to edit the information on your tickets. The Benefit Dinner will be Thursday, November 1 and tickets are $750. Community Night is undergoing some changes, but there will still be a costume contest.
More info: https://t.co/BlDJnUpfsy https://t.co/yVVSmudS8l
May 16: Tickets to the pre-BlizzCon benefit dinner to benefit CHOC Children’s, which include BlizzCon admission, are limited in number and will go on sale . https://blizz.ly/2uJrAdt
BlizzCon eSports
https://www.mmo-champion.com/content/7500-BlizzCon-2018-November-2nd-and-3rd
This year’s show will once again commence with the esports action of BlizzCon Opening Week, taking place at Blizzard Arena Los Angeles from October 25 to 29, where the initial rounds of the StarCraft® II World Championship Series Global Finals, the Heroes of the Storm® Global Championship Finals, and World of Warcraft® Arena World Championship Finals will unfold. The competitions will culminate in Anaheim on November 2 and 3, where the champions of these tournaments along with those of the Overwatch® World Cup and Hearthstone® Global Games will be crowned.
Blizzard Balance Gifting Now Available
https://www.wowhead.com/news=283698/blizzard-balance-gifting-now-available
Tribute to BlizzCon Costume Contest Winner Kazplay in Battle for Azeroth
https://www.wowhead.com/news=283666/tribute-to-blizzcon-costume-contest-winner-kazplay-in-battle-for-azeroth
Blizzard Confirms No World of Warcraft On Xbox Or PS4
https://www.dvsgaming.org/blizzard-confirms-no-world-of-warcraft-on-xbox-or-ps4/
SpartySmallwood Interview with Morgan Day - Lead Encounter Designer
https://www.wowhead.com/news=283396/spartysmallwood-interview-with-morgan-day-lead-encounter-designer
Slootbag's Live Battle for Azeroth Interview with Morgan Day
https://www.wowhead.com/news=283358/slootbags-live-battle-for-azeroth-interview-with-morgan-day
Battle for Azeroth Muffinus Interview - Island Expeditions, Wrathion
We recently got to interview two members of the World of Warcraft team about the upcoming expansion Battle for Azeroth! With questions for Wowhead and the sites' users, we got a lot of new information from Jeremy "Muffinus" Feasel, Senior Game Designer for World of Warcraft, and Frank Kowalkowski, Assistant Technical Director on World of Warcraft.
https://www.wowhead.com/news=283330/battle-for-azeroth-muffinus-interview-island-expeditions-wrathion
Vanion Interview with Battle for Azeroth Devs
http://www.vanion.eu/news/unser-interview-mit-matt-goss-und-patrick-dawson-vom-bfa-media-event-18120
Buffed Interview with Battle for Azeroth Devs
http://www.buffed.de/World-of-Warcraft-Spiel-42971/News/Battle-for-Azeroth-Features-Entwickler-Interview-Michael-Bybee-Ely-Canno-1253868/
Gamereactor Interview with Battle for Azeroth Devs
https://www.gamereactor.eu/grtv/369983/World+of+Warcraft+Battle+for+Azeroth+Morgan+Day+Interview/
GamerBraves Interview with Battle for Azeroth Devs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZoqZpSyv3_g
Battle for Azeroth Collector’s Edition Novellas (Spoilers)
Blizzard announced the Battle for Azeroth Collector's Edition contents yesterday and today has followed it up with a closer look at the two novellas - Elegy and A Good War.
https://www.wowhead.com/news=283357/battle-for-azeroth-collector-s-edition-novellas-elegy-and-a-good-war-excerpts-sp
Pre-Purchase Battle for Azeroth and Get Legion Free
Blizzard has two special deals running related to Battle for Azeroth. You can pre-purchase Battle for Azeroth and get Legion for free ($49.99 / EUR 44.99) or buy the Complete Collection (base version of WoW, Legion, and BFA pre-purchase) for $59.99 / EUR 49.99. https://www.wowhead.com/news=283355/pre-purchase-battle-for-azeroth-and-get-legion-free
Xorothian Cultists Channeling Countdown Once More
On the Broken Shore, the Xorothian Cultists are casting Fel Channeling once more. With a countdown that leads to a date in late April, what are they counting down to this time?
https://www.wowhead.com/news=283254/xorothian-cultists-channeling-countdown-once-more
WoW Diary Kickstarter - A Book Covering Vanilla WoW's Dev Cycle
https://www.wowhead.com/news=283134/wow-diary-kickstarter-a-book-covering-vanilla-wows-dev-cycle
Before the Storm Novel Comes Out June 12
https://amazon.com/Before-Storm-Warcraft-Christie-Golden/dp/0399594094/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8
Before the Storm (World of Warcraft) Hardcover – June 12, 2018 by Christie Golden
WARCRAFT III
Warcraft – Total War Public Beta Started
GameSpace.com https://www.gamespace.com/all-articles/news/warcraft-total-war-public-beta-started/
WarCraft – Total War is an ambitious fan mod for Medieval 2: Total War that has been in development for 8 years. The setting of the mod is based on Blizzard's RTS Warcraft III and contains large map containing dozens of iconic provinces, along with factions very distinct from each other such as the...
Warcraft 3 job listing hints at future updates
https://www.pcgamesn.com/warcraft-iii/warcraft-iii-future-updates
Warcraft 3 Version 1.29 is the Game's Biggest Patch in Years
https://www.engadget.com/2018/04/12/blizzard-gives-16-year-old-warcraft-iii-a-widescreen-makeover/
https://us.battle.net/forums/en/bnet/topic/20762137149
iPhone X was able to launch Warcraft II and SimCity
Check out this great video by YouTuber Hacking Jules where he runs Mac OS 8 on both an iPhone X and iPad (via Cult of Mac). Better yet, he uses this bit of retro fun to play Warcraft II and SimCity 2000! Hacking Jules did this with the help of the Basilisk II 68K emulator, and the whole thing is a fine demonstration of just how powerful these modern mobile devices are. In any event, enjoy!
https://www.macobserver.com/cool-stuff-found/mac-os-8-iphone-x-ipad/
Weekly Tournaments here
https://www.twitch.tv/back2warcraft
STARCRAFT
SUMMARY
NationWars V Finals happened!
GSL (Global Starcraft League) Season 2 has begun its month long twice weekly tournament in Korea now that the Korean GSL Super Tournament has ended. Classic, Dark, Her0, and Stats made it to Round of 4 and Stats the long time Champion squeaked out a win over Dark. Recap here: http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/starcraft-2/532854-stats-wins-gsl-super-tournament
The WCS Qualifiers for Austin have been playing out in NA, EU and Asia as well on several Twitch streams 24/7 as players compete for spots in WCS Austin which is coming up.
The BaseTradeTV house in Korea (now known as Project: Unity) held a fund raising tournament, inviting several Korean Pros such as Stats, TY, Leenock, aLive, True, Ryung and Solar over. SpeCial, Elazer, Scarlett, SortOf, Zanster, PuCK, Hurricane and Lambo. The 3 days of play were broadcast on Scarletts Twitch stream. https://www.twitch.tv/scarlettm with a 4-3 Finals between TY and Solar http://liquipedia.net/starcraft2/Project_Unity
SC1: It is generally understood that because Flash (a long time SC1 bonjwa ) is so dominant as Terran that the map pool this season was literally designed to stop him. Flash has said that he was getting a little bored but that this gives him new challenge and has restoked his competitive fire, keeping him in the game. Flash was interviewed last month and an english translation posted on TeamLiquid, asking about his new 1-1-1 strat that brought him this dominant success, an 80% win rate, last season, and it was a fantastic article, about how far advanced his thinking really is. http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/brood-war/532336-strategy-flashs-starcraft-wakanda-in-afreeca
After Retirement. Rain posted a blog article on life after a professional gamer stops gaming. http://www.teamliquid.net/blogs/531962-6-years-after-retirement
TESPA COLLEGIATE STARCRAFT SERIES FINALS!
Congratulations UC Berkeley! Nick M., Ryan Q., Clayton F., and Derrick X. !
https://www.twitch.tv/videos/255494564
Feb 17 - Apr 22, 2018. 4 teams will qualify to join our 12 SC2 teams for their share of $35,000 in scholarships & prizing. Brackets at https://compete.tespa.org/tournament/101/phase/1 currently on Round 7 of 15. At the end of the 8 weeks of round robin, the teams will be seeded into our Towers of Doom format with the conclusion being fought out in a single elimination bracket for a chance to earn their share of $35,000 in scholarships and prizing.
Blizzard's next shooter is PvP-focused, and probably not Overwatch 2
PCGamesN https://pcgamesn.com/overwatch/blizzard-pvp-shooter
Blizzard first started hiring for this project in November 2016, sending fans into a frenzy of speculation. At the time, we didn't know it would have a PvP focus, so an Overwatch campaign, or a StarCraft PvE shooter, emerged as the lead theories. This PvP focus seemingly puts the kibosh on either of those, ...
Blizzard job listing reveals more on new PvP game
Gamereactor UK https://www.gamereactor.eu/news/654973/Blizzard+job+listing+reveals+more+on+new+PvP+game/
As pointed out by PCGamesN, this may be a StarCraft shooter, since it sounds this way and StarCraft 2's director Dustin Browder has moved to work as director of this title. Recruiting for this project began in November 2016, so it's a long way in now, even if we hardly know anything about it. What do you ...
STARCRAFT 2 ADDS COMMUNITY MAP STORE 9 YEARS AFTER PROMISING IT
The WCS Qualifiers for Austin have been playing out in NA, EU and Asia as well on several Twitch streams 24/7 as players compete for spots in WCS Austin which is coming up.
The BaseTradeTV house in Korea (now known as Project: Unity) held a fund raising tournament, inviting several Korean Pros such as Stats, TY, Leenock, aLive, True, Ryung and Solar over. SpeCial, Elazer, Scarlett, SortOf, Zanster, PuCK, Hurricane and Lambo. The 3 days of play were broadcast on Scarletts Twitch stream. https://www.twitch.tv/scarlettm with a 4-3 Finals between TY and Solar http://liquipedia.net/starcraft2/Project_Unity
SC1: It is generally understood that because Flash (a long time SC1 bonjwa ) is so dominant as Terran that the map pool this season was literally designed to stop him. Flash has said that he was getting a little bored but that this gives him new challenge and has restoked his competitive fire, keeping him in the game. Flash was interviewed last month and an english translation posted on TeamLiquid, asking about his new 1-1-1 strat that brought him this dominant success, an 80% win rate, last season, and it was a fantastic article, about how far advanced his thinking really is. http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/brood-war/532336-strategy-flashs-starcraft-wakanda-in-afreeca
After Retirement. Rain posted a blog article on life after a professional gamer stops gaming. http://www.teamliquid.net/blogs/531962-6-years-after-retirement
TESPA COLLEGIATE STARCRAFT SERIES FINALS!
Congratulations UC Berkeley! Nick M., Ryan Q., Clayton F., and Derrick X. !
https://www.twitch.tv/videos/255494564
Feb 17 - Apr 22, 2018. 4 teams will qualify to join our 12 SC2 teams for their share of $35,000 in scholarships & prizing. Brackets at https://compete.tespa.org/tournament/101/phase/1 currently on Round 7 of 15. At the end of the 8 weeks of round robin, the teams will be seeded into our Towers of Doom format with the conclusion being fought out in a single elimination bracket for a chance to earn their share of $35,000 in scholarships and prizing.
Blizzard's next shooter is PvP-focused, and probably not Overwatch 2
PCGamesN https://pcgamesn.com/overwatch/blizzard-pvp-shooter
Blizzard first started hiring for this project in November 2016, sending fans into a frenzy of speculation. At the time, we didn't know it would have a PvP focus, so an Overwatch campaign, or a StarCraft PvE shooter, emerged as the lead theories. This PvP focus seemingly puts the kibosh on either of those, ...
Blizzard job listing reveals more on new PvP game
Gamereactor UK https://www.gamereactor.eu/news/654973/Blizzard+job+listing+reveals+more+on+new+PvP+game/
As pointed out by PCGamesN, this may be a StarCraft shooter, since it sounds this way and StarCraft 2's director Dustin Browder has moved to work as director of this title. Recruiting for this project began in November 2016, so it's a long way in now, even if we hardly know anything about it. What do you ...
STARCRAFT 2 ADDS COMMUNITY MAP STORE 9 YEARS AFTER PROMISING IT
http://in.ign.com/starcraft-ii-wings-of-liberty/121775/news/starcraft-2-adds-community-map-store-9-years-after-promising
https://www.engadget.com/2018/04/24/starcraft-ii-premium-arcade/
NationWars V Finals!
The Event began with an hour long DJ concert then a brief power outage and into the games!.
Starcraft 2 NationWars V Finals have started! Last years runner up Netherlands vs last years champions South Korea! uThermal opened up against MMA with a 4 cyclone rush, burning down 33 harvesters and destroying MMAs simultaneous attack on hsis own base, and finished the kneecapped MMA off a few minutes later.! Round two, Soo the Korean zerg powerhouse came out and immediately found uThermal's 2 Rax proxy and then ignored it to build more drones? Another quick solid vitcory for Netherlands and now Innovation comes in! Also the opening DJ was quite good. Gave a show for over an hour. GO GO uTHERMAL!
Terran v Terran slaughter at 8 minutes is fierce w Banshees cyclones and ooh a medivac down in flames. Here comes Innovs Marines across the map! Hes seiging up! 3 medivacs lift his marines into the main! uThermal takes out the seige tanks and thats a lot of damage in uThermals main....
uThermal v Innovatiuon Round 2, uThermal sends 4 Cyclonmes across the map but Inno medivacs marines across and wrecks uThermal, Nrtherlands taps out. Ties the score 2-2. Optimus up vs Innovation!
Harstem came in next vs Inno, in a match so fast I blinked and missed it. Innov takes it 4-2 and Harstem revived to try that one more time in this best of 7.
3-2 sorry. Harstem starts a proxy gate at 4 minutes next to Innos main. Inno loses mining time but nothing else and is ahead on supply. 2 medivacs incoming with marines and mines. Liberator in Harstem's main. Army #2 incoming, marines and medi but nothing really coming of any of it. 4 medi marine harass with Libs. Harstem has no shield batteries, no air. Both n 4 base. One medivac down but Army #4 marches in with Liberators. Harstem just cant keep up and taps out 4-2.
Harstem revived for the final match. Cyclones attack his 3rd to stop it going up but harstem holds. Harstem upgrading and I desperately need popcorn. Here comes Innovations marines!
4-3 and Korea Revives Innovation. I have popcorn and Harstem is holding on 2 bases as Inno pokes with scout reapers. Cyclone marines coming in and no shield battery. Reaper still alive running loose in Harstems main. Oooh mine takes out Adept out of nowhere. Harstem on 3 bases and needs the supply. Disruptor shot hit nothing and adepts not upgraded and Inno cleans up Netherlands.
Korea wins once again!
Dark Horse Launches ... Starcraft Scavengers in July ...
https://www.bleedingcool.com/2018/04/18/dark-horse-quantum-age-she-could-fly-incredibles-2-starcraft-scavengers-july-2018-solicits/
An Ohio university is offering Starcraft esports scholarships
https://www.pcgamer.com/an-ohio-university-is-offering-fortnite-esports-scholarships/
Ashland University is offering scholarships of up to $4000 for qualified esports competitors. Ashland launched its collegiate esports program in February, when it announced Buchanan's hiring. The school said he has more than five years of competitive experience in esports and is ranked 40th in the US in StarCraft 2; he also works as a freelance StarCraft 2 coach and caster. Other games offered in Ashland's esports program include League of Legends, Overwatch, CS:GO, and Rocket League. Construction of a "gaming center" in the lower level of the school library, with 25 gaming stations equipped with PCs, accessories, and peripherals, is slated to start later this month.
The Pylon Show Debuts, a Starcraft Podcast by 2 Pro casters
https://www.twitch.tv/incontroltv
With Artosis and iNcontroL every Wednesday! Also available on YouTube and as a podcast.
Commentary and camerawork in the esports world; an interview with Insano
https://www.theroar.com.au/2018/04/09/rts-rookie-starcraft-addict-insanos-journey-icon/
https://www.theroar.com.au/2018/04/10/commentary-camerawork-esports-world-interview-insano/
What it’s like to commentate and control the in-game camera for an esports event.
StarCraft Esports WCS Challenger Season 1 Qualifiers
EU Round of 8 bracket + Finals: May 12, 5:00 - 15:00 PDT
NA Round of 8 bracket + Finals: May 13, 11:00 - 21:00 PDT
Qualifiers are underway and the Legendary (for behavior) streamer / troll Avilo was all over the Internet this morning after meeting himself in the brackets. Often known as "Fake Avilo", Avilo #2 reportedly trolled Avilo Prime hard, extending the game over several hours as he declined to win the game, until the observer fell asleep and the game was forced to be called by officials. Im looking for a vod of this to verify. The average game of Starcraft lasts 15-20 minutes but the longest game of Starcraft known lasted 8 hours and 40 minutes, with other famous matches lasting 2, 3 up to 4 hours 10 minutes. See the WCS Challenger Season 1 guidelines with the updated dates at https://t.co/x0DPFmj7CW
What does it take to make the most epic prop Psi-Blade ever?
Watch as @scrapshopprops and @MissHenchwench show you how it's done! https://t.co/SlOnSf3MtW
https://www.engadget.com/2018/04/24/starcraft-ii-premium-arcade/
NationWars V Finals!
The Event began with an hour long DJ concert then a brief power outage and into the games!.
Starcraft 2 NationWars V Finals have started! Last years runner up Netherlands vs last years champions South Korea! uThermal opened up against MMA with a 4 cyclone rush, burning down 33 harvesters and destroying MMAs simultaneous attack on hsis own base, and finished the kneecapped MMA off a few minutes later.! Round two, Soo the Korean zerg powerhouse came out and immediately found uThermal's 2 Rax proxy and then ignored it to build more drones? Another quick solid vitcory for Netherlands and now Innovation comes in! Also the opening DJ was quite good. Gave a show for over an hour. GO GO uTHERMAL!
Terran v Terran slaughter at 8 minutes is fierce w Banshees cyclones and ooh a medivac down in flames. Here comes Innovs Marines across the map! Hes seiging up! 3 medivacs lift his marines into the main! uThermal takes out the seige tanks and thats a lot of damage in uThermals main....
uThermal v Innovatiuon Round 2, uThermal sends 4 Cyclonmes across the map but Inno medivacs marines across and wrecks uThermal, Nrtherlands taps out. Ties the score 2-2. Optimus up vs Innovation!
Harstem came in next vs Inno, in a match so fast I blinked and missed it. Innov takes it 4-2 and Harstem revived to try that one more time in this best of 7.
3-2 sorry. Harstem starts a proxy gate at 4 minutes next to Innos main. Inno loses mining time but nothing else and is ahead on supply. 2 medivacs incoming with marines and mines. Liberator in Harstem's main. Army #2 incoming, marines and medi but nothing really coming of any of it. 4 medi marine harass with Libs. Harstem has no shield batteries, no air. Both n 4 base. One medivac down but Army #4 marches in with Liberators. Harstem just cant keep up and taps out 4-2.
Harstem revived for the final match. Cyclones attack his 3rd to stop it going up but harstem holds. Harstem upgrading and I desperately need popcorn. Here comes Innovations marines!
4-3 and Korea Revives Innovation. I have popcorn and Harstem is holding on 2 bases as Inno pokes with scout reapers. Cyclone marines coming in and no shield battery. Reaper still alive running loose in Harstems main. Oooh mine takes out Adept out of nowhere. Harstem on 3 bases and needs the supply. Disruptor shot hit nothing and adepts not upgraded and Inno cleans up Netherlands.
Korea wins once again!
Dark Horse Launches ... Starcraft Scavengers in July ...
https://www.bleedingcool.com/2018/04/18/dark-horse-quantum-age-she-could-fly-incredibles-2-starcraft-scavengers-july-2018-solicits/
An Ohio university is offering Starcraft esports scholarships
https://www.pcgamer.com/an-ohio-university-is-offering-fortnite-esports-scholarships/
Ashland University is offering scholarships of up to $4000 for qualified esports competitors. Ashland launched its collegiate esports program in February, when it announced Buchanan's hiring. The school said he has more than five years of competitive experience in esports and is ranked 40th in the US in StarCraft 2; he also works as a freelance StarCraft 2 coach and caster. Other games offered in Ashland's esports program include League of Legends, Overwatch, CS:GO, and Rocket League. Construction of a "gaming center" in the lower level of the school library, with 25 gaming stations equipped with PCs, accessories, and peripherals, is slated to start later this month.
The Pylon Show Debuts, a Starcraft Podcast by 2 Pro casters
https://www.twitch.tv/incontroltv
With Artosis and iNcontroL every Wednesday! Also available on YouTube and as a podcast.
Commentary and camerawork in the esports world; an interview with Insano
https://www.theroar.com.au/2018/04/09/rts-rookie-starcraft-addict-insanos-journey-icon/
https://www.theroar.com.au/2018/04/10/commentary-camerawork-esports-world-interview-insano/
What it’s like to commentate and control the in-game camera for an esports event.
StarCraft Esports WCS Challenger Season 1 Qualifiers
EU Round of 8 bracket + Finals: May 12, 5:00 - 15:00 PDT
NA Round of 8 bracket + Finals: May 13, 11:00 - 21:00 PDT
Qualifiers are underway and the Legendary (for behavior) streamer / troll Avilo was all over the Internet this morning after meeting himself in the brackets. Often known as "Fake Avilo", Avilo #2 reportedly trolled Avilo Prime hard, extending the game over several hours as he declined to win the game, until the observer fell asleep and the game was forced to be called by officials. Im looking for a vod of this to verify. The average game of Starcraft lasts 15-20 minutes but the longest game of Starcraft known lasted 8 hours and 40 minutes, with other famous matches lasting 2, 3 up to 4 hours 10 minutes. See the WCS Challenger Season 1 guidelines with the updated dates at https://t.co/x0DPFmj7CW
What does it take to make the most epic prop Psi-Blade ever?
Watch as @scrapshopprops and @MissHenchwench show you how it's done! https://t.co/SlOnSf3MtW
WCS Austin June 1-3.
WCS Valencia July 12-14
WCS Montreal Sept 7-9
WCS Challenger Season 1
https://wcs.starcraft2.com/en-us/news/21613835/Everything-You-Need-to-Know-About-WCS-Challenger-Season-1/
https://t.co/RaeXplp5Di https://t.co/VtfaRB363Z
NATIONWARS V Begins! http://nationwars.tv/
4 Nations will try their best to lift the #NW5 trophy in the offline Finals in Paris, France on April 22! Tickets are available: http://bit.ly/FinalsNW5
- Mexico, powered by Special who has been living in Korea for 2 years now and risen to Round of 4 in Tournaments and at BlizzCon 2017 as well but its said he cant play well until 3 days in when hes comfortable with the desk, chair, and mouse set up. At home hes AllKilled Korea once already. Will he have the 3 days in Paris he needs? Cham has shown unexpected skill, but against top players remains to be seen.
- Netherlands, powered by uThermal, a long time Pro currently extremely strong in the EU, and Harstem another long time Pro who All Killed twice in this NationWars should uThermal fall.
- South Korea, powered by soO, Innovation and Maru, all long time Starcraft Legends. Theyve joked that they expected the other two to win their matches for them, and lost once already in this NationWars to Special. Will their bruised pride light a fire?
- Finland, powered by Serral who already won a Championship this year and ticket to BlizzCon, and 2 Round of 4 finishes but hasnt exhibited dominance. Is skill and the Zerg race enough?
The other breakout star so far of NationWars is Team Sweden's Sortof and Brazilian substitute player TerraN who All Killed Bolivia while Kelazhur was in flight to Korea.
Team USA fielded their power house Neeb for their matches on Day 3, and he All Cleared Bulgaria. Was good to see Neeb having a little fun. And the players you've never really heard of putting a good run in.
There were no significant upsets other than Mexico vs Korea, with most teams putting their lesser members in first to let them have screen time, and the team powerhouse to get a little more sleep in some cases.
Still in: Korea, Mexico, Poland, Ukraine, Finland, Brazil, USA, Netherlands, Germany, Sweden.
ESPORTS
1xBet's Evgeniy Kiriushin: Embracing the fast-growing esports market
https://www.sbcnews.co.uk/esports-fantasy/2018/04/19/1xbet-evgeniy-kiriushin-embracing-esports-market/
Our esports portfolio has since expanded from two (StarCraft II and Counter-Strike) to five permanent sports (with the addition of Dota 2, League of Legends and Overwatch).
AWC SPRING FINALS VIEWER'S GUIDE
https://news.blizzard.com/en-us/world-of-warcraft/21664942/awc-spring-finals-viewer-s-guide
MYTHIC DUNGEON INVITATIONAL 2018
https://worldofwarcraft.com/en-us/news/21510318/the-mythic-dungeon-invitational-is-back-get-ready-for-the-proving-grounds
https://worldofwarcraft.com/en-us/news/21617653/mythic-dungeon-invitational-prepping-for-the-time-trials
https://raider.io/mythic-dungeon-invitational-2018
Proving Grounds ends March 13 at 7 a.m. PST (10 a.m. EST). Your goal is to complete a total of five level 23 Mythic Keystone dungeons over those two weeks. The format will be double elimination, giving teams a chance to regroup after a loss and bounce right back. The Mythic Keystone level will change over the course of the tournament, rewarding teams who can quickly crush easier dungeons and survive tougher ones.
WARCRAFT ALPHA (Spoiler Free)
Potential Story Spoilers will be in yellow. For full Alpha information see below links as I will only post bits I think interesting.
Information from https://www.mmo-champion.com/ and https://www.wowhead.com/
Pet Battles
https://blizzardwatch.com/2018/04/26/changes-announced-pet-battles-battle-azeroth/
DIABLO
User Recreates ‘Diablo II’ in ‘Starcraft II’ Mod
http://bloody-disgusting.com/news/3491418/user-recreates-diablo-ii-starcraft-ii-mod/
We’re still waiting on Blizzard to reveal whether or not they’re working to remaster Diablo II, but in the meantime, fans have turned to other means to get their updated fix of the 2000 classic: Modding. One such mod is The Curse of Tristram by egod123, which looks to recreate Diablo II using Starcraft II. The project has been in development since last year, and with no cease-and-desist letter in sight, things are looking promising.
So promising, in fact, that the author had started an IndieGogo campaign to offset the time needed to devote to the game, with the campaign finishing up with $1,902 USD (of the cheeky $6,666 goal) in donations. The mod is free to download, and will be released as a series of custom maps published through Battle.net arcade. In fact, according to the IndieGogo site, the beta is “just around the corner”. The author also streams their progress on their Twitch channel quite regularly, so if you’re keen, check it out.
https://youtu.be/hPHZKq9m-oM
HEROES OF THE STORM
Heroes of the Storm - Dark Nexus Event
https://www.mmo-champion.com/content/7530-Upcoming-Event-Dark-Nexus
HEROES OF THE DORM https://heroesofthedorm.com/
May 12. Four teams remain. Who will prevail? May 12, 2018 on Twitch. nter the Pick’em Challenge. Choose your favorite team. Earn rewards when they win. Between April 25th and May 11th, select one finalist as your Pick 'Em Champion and earn 1 loot chest.
HEARTHSTONE
Ben Brode Leaving Blizzard
https://www.wowhead.com/news=283729/ben-brode-leaving-blizzard
https://www.mmo-champion.com/content/7535-Ben-Brode-Leaving-Blizzard
SO YOU THINK YOU CAN CAST: HEARTHSTONE EDITION 2018
Starting March 13, we’ll review your submissions and reach out to shortlisted entrants with further instructions. The finalists will move on to cast the Hearthstone Collegiate Championship Playoffs for Spring, which will take place this April 28 – 29 2018.
OVERWATCH
Overwatch hackers get $10k fine, 2 years probation in South Korea
https://blizzardwatch.com/2018/05/01/overwatch-hackers-get-10k-fine-2-years-probation-south-korea/
by Matthew Rossi on May 1, 2018 at 4:00pm @MatthewWRossi
Back in January, thirteen people were arrested in South Korea for hacking Overwatch and fixing matches in the incredibly popular team shooter.
Overwatch League 2018: Stage 3 Week 2 Recap
https://www.mmo-champion.com/content/7521-Overwatch-League-2018-Stage-3-Week-2-Recap
OverWatch Uprising Returns April 10
https://blizzardwatch.com/2018/03/29/overwatch-uprising-returns-april-10-twist/
WARCRAFT CLASSIC
WoW Diary Kickstarter - A Book Covering Vanilla WoW's Dev Cycle
https://www.wowhead.com/news=283134/wow-diary-kickstarter-a-book-covering-vanilla-wows-dev-cycle
OTHER BLIZZARD RELATED STUFF
Sources for these news bits include:
https://news.blizzard.com/en-us
http://www.teamliquid.net/
And others.
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