IEM has announced that the first major Starcraft 2: Heart of the Swarm tournament will take place at the Intel Extreme Masters World Championship. We bring you all the details.
The transition to Heart of the Swarm is a delicate question. With the tournament season recommencing this March, in some cases before the expansion is even officially released, there is some doubt as to the level of play we can expect the pros to show. Those who remember the early days of Starcraft 2 will no doubt recall many imperfections that were gradually removed as the players mastered the game. Heart of the Swarm won't be so cataclysmic a change as Starcraft 2 was to Brood War, but the new dynamics and the more subtle changes in the game might give us a spectacle less enthralling that it otherwise might be. It's no mystery that some players have been focusing exclusively on Heart of the Swarm precisely to be better prepared for the new tournament season.
We're not complaining, however. The Intel Extreme Masters World Championship will be the first big tournament to pit competitors against each other for a meaningful prize. The play to come out will likely be the best those players are capable of producing.
IEM WC will take place in Hanover one week before the release of Heart of the Swarm, on March 5-6th, and will offer a total prize prize pool of $100,000.
You can also check out our earlier lineup of all the players who qualified for the World Championship.
Nerchio
MC
Grubby
Snute
Slivko
Vortix
Mvp
Sting
First
Kas
YongHwa
Symbol Dream
Socke
TLO
HasuObs
Xlord
Violet
Golden
Parting
Mana
Stephano
Ret
Lucifron
Source: ESL World
The transition to Heart of the Swarm is a delicate question. With the tournament season recommencing this March, in some cases before the expansion is even officially released, there is some doubt as to the level of play we can expect the pros to show. Those who remember the early days of Starcraft 2 will no doubt recall many imperfections that were gradually removed as the players mastered the game. Heart of the Swarm won't be so cataclysmic a change as Starcraft 2 was to Brood War, but the new dynamics and the more subtle changes in the game might give us a spectacle less enthralling that it otherwise might be. It's no mystery that some players have been focusing exclusively on Heart of the Swarm precisely to be better prepared for the new tournament season.
We're not complaining, however. The Intel Extreme Masters World Championship will be the first big tournament to pit competitors against each other for a meaningful prize. The play to come out will likely be the best those players are capable of producing.
IEM WC will take place in Hanover one week before the release of Heart of the Swarm, on March 5-6th, and will offer a total prize prize pool of $100,000.
You can also check out our earlier lineup of all the players who qualified for the World Championship.
Nerchio
MC
Grubby
Snute
Slivko
Vortix
Mvp
Sting
First
Kas
YongHwa
Symbol Dream
Socke
TLO
HasuObs
Xlord
Violet
Golden
Parting
Mana
Stephano
Ret
Lucifron
Source: ESL World
