ESL Gaming, the world’s leading esports company, has today revealed the full tournament schedule for its ESL Pro Tour in StarCraft® II, running from May 2022 to February 2023. The EPT in SC2 combines the past legacies of Blizzard, DreamHack, and ESL, ensuring an open ecosystem for everyone to participate and watch.
The circuit features three core ESL competitions: DreamHack SC2 Masters in Valencia, DreamHack SC2 Masters in Atlanta, and culminating at Intel® Extreme Masters Katowice 2023 where the official World Champion will be crowned. To allow for more flexibility in creating impactful esports moments while following the latest health regional guidance, current plans will see the return of fans at the DreamHack festivals, with a mix of online and LAN tournaments across the schedule.
With a total of over $1.3M in prize money up for grabs across the whole tour, the newly-announced calendar marks the third year of ESL’s partnership with Blizzard Entertainment, and will see closer collaboration with tournament organisers to support ESL’s ‘Zero To Hero’ player pathway.
The schedule also features the brand new introduction of partner tournaments that will see ESL Gaming working closely with TakeTV and Team Liquid as their tournaments – Home Story Cup 21, TSL 9, and Home Story Cup 22 – now join the ESL Pro Tour. These partners have a history of great contribution to the StarCraft® II community, and their inclusion in the ESL Pro Tour creates a more meaningful calendar for both players and viewers.
“We are proud to share the 2022/23 plans for our ESL Pro Tour SC2 tournaments,” said Shaun Clark, Director Product Management at ESL Gaming. “Our SC2 work with Blizzard Entertainment has gone from strength to strength, and we have some really exciting plans in the pipeline as we look to work closely with tournament organisers new and old.”
“ESL has been an incredible steward of StarCraft II esports,” said Joshua Owyang, Senior Manager of Global Esports at Blizzard. “We are thrilled with what is to come in 2022. It’s bound to be another brilliant year for one of the greatest competitive games ever.”
In line with all ESL Pro Tour competitions, the SC2 calendar supports players globally through Online Qualifiers and Regional competitions. The supported regions are Europe, North America, Latin America, China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau, Japan, Oceania, and Rest of Asia.
Stay up to date with the latest StarCraft® II news from the official website or via Twitter and make sure to follow ESL Gaming on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram.
