[iMSystem]

The Battle.net World Championship, which will take place later this year, will be the culmination of more than 30 eSports events run by Blizzard and tournament organizers. These events are collectively known as the StarCraft II World Championship Series.

The goal of the StarCraft II World Championship Series is to identify a true global champion, as players enter and qualify through open tournaments starting at the national level. The National Championships are designed to allow local heroes to rise to the top and be recognized in their country. The top finishers at each National Championship will earn spots at their continental Finals events, which will be an all-out brawl between neighboring countries to decide who will represent their continent at the Battle.net World Championship.

Source: http://us.battle.net/sc2/en/blog/479...-4_4_2012#blog

[deL]

Oceania gets its own? Does SEA compete in Asia?

[UHF]

Asia
China, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan

Oceania
Australia, New Zealand

My country is not listed here; will I be able to participate in the StarCraft II World Championship Series?
We plan to accommodate as many countries as possible. More information about participating countries not listed here will be posted at a later date.

How do you define nationality?
For the 2012 StarCraft II World Championship Series, nationality is defined by your country of citizenship. Should you have multiple countries of citizenship you must choose one for the tournament year, and you will have to qualify through that country’s path in order to climb through the ranks.

[x5_Potter]

EDIT: I lose.

[deL]

So basically SG/TH/PH gotta wait until more info is released before they know if they can play :/ I assume they will be included in Asia though.

[NDG.Stitch]

This is awesome news, I hope the Asia qualifiers can be held in Singapore as well! It'll be a great place to hold it

I really hope that Strafe and others residing in foreign countries can participate in their current places, it just feels like they've grown there in Starcraft, and it makes sense that they will represent that area. Hope there will be more detailed and specific news about all of this soon! Can't wait!

Originally Posted by xGKingBenji

South America has its own qualifier, yet Taiwan, China and Korea are all pushed into the 1?

Does that seem a little... off to anyone else?

Absolutely agree with this.... All 4 of these countries play at completely different regions, skill levels, and such. It doesn't seem really logical to place them all in one qualifier. The population of just South Korea, Taiwan, and China is already a ridiculous amount. I suggest that there should be a new solution to this!

[asdfSchnitzel]

This is going to be pretty awesome

[iM tgun]

Good to see them finally going to qualifiers, as opposed to invitationals on ladder when a lot of people just don't maintain ladder on SEA :|

Quick Comments

deL:

u mad?

[Dox]

Wooooooooo~~~~~

[Benji]

South America has its own qualifier, yet Taiwan, China and Korea are all pushed into the 1?

Does that seem a little... off to anyone else?

[Apth]

Originally Posted by xGKingBenji

South America has its own qualifier, yet Taiwan, China and Korea are all pushed into the 1?

Does that seem a little... off to anyone else?

Possibly they've done it geographically < on the assumption that the continental qualifiers won't be online?

If it is all online, then I agree it's a bit silly.

[ToR.Arnor]

Originally Posted by xGKingBenji

South America has its own qualifier, yet Taiwan, China and Korea are all pushed into the 1?

Does that seem a little... off to anyone else?

Thats assuming each qualifier has the same amount of qualifying slot e.g. if 33%-50% of qualifying spots are given Asia I dont see this being a problem

[syfChadMann]

Originally Posted by xGKingBenji

South America has its own qualifier, yet Taiwan, China and Korea are all pushed into the 1?

Does that seem a little... off to anyone else?

I agree - but this could all be balanced out by the number of qualifying spots open to each region?...

[Bash]

Whoevers organising make sure to call dibs on Pimpson when you talk to blizz.

[Stallion]

theres oceania O.O so a straight off nz vs aussie? intense. Altho i fail to see how they will have 5 people compete there must be say 3 from each reagion to make 15 then an extra from na, eu, asia or thats how i think it'll go anyway

[ToR.Arnor]

Originally Posted by aLtStallion

theres oceania O.O so a straight off nz vs aussie? intense. Altho i fail to see how they will have 5 people compete there must be say 3 from each reagion to make 15 then an extra from na, eu, asia or thats how i think it'll go anyway

or 2 for OC, NA, SA and EU and 8 from Asia

[Asrathiel]

Ooooh we're not in the same one as Korea. I like!

Quick Comments

Mayo:

[nirvAnA]

damnit sg lumped with kr/cn/tw

still love what blizzard is doing, especially since wcg is gone now this looks like the new wcg (for sc2)

Quick Comments

EveVendetta:

exactly

[ToR.Arnor]

Originally Posted by nirvAnA

damnit sg lumped with kr/cn/tw

still love what blizzard is doing, especially since wcg is gone now this looks like the new wcg (for sc2)

Just curious Nirvana are there many players from Indonesia on this site?

because theyd could be included in Oceania ^_^

bl on being on the gosu side of the world T_T

[Stallion]

indonesia there was cruxBeast aka arwa now but i don't know any others

[nirvAnA]

For Indonesia there is hendry(jothree) and kottbullar from nGen but they aren't active.

PJ from Blizzard will be here soon to answer questions so if you have any feel free to shout out.

My questions:

What other countries will be under oceania?
Are philippines / Malaysia under Asia too?
Will it be online or LAN events for the national qualifiers?

[faithHunter]

Originally Posted by nirvAnA

For Indonesia there is hendry(jothree) and kottbullar from nGen but they aren't active.

PJ from Blizzard will be here soon to answer questions so if you have any feel free to shout out.

I see Kottbullar online most of the times and I also see Hendry Jothree online from time to time too. Just saying.

And it's sad that Indonesia isn't included in the country that can participate. Maybe it's because Starcraft II isn't that big in Indonesia compared to Australia and Singapore

[ToR.Arnor]

Originally Posted by faithHunter

I see Kottbullar online most of the times and I also see Hendry Jothree online from time to time too. Just saying.

And it's sad that Indonesia isn't included in the country that can participate. Maybe it's because Starcraft II isn't that big in Indonesia compared to Australia and Singapore

Im pretty sure if you cna prove to Blizzard the scene is big enough theyd do one! time to rally your friends

[iM tgun]

So is there any dates, even tenative, for this?

[PJ Blizz]

Originally Posted by tgun

So is there any dates, even tenative, for this?

Information regarding the dates will be announced next week. Keep an eye on sea.battle.net/sc2 for blog posts.

[deL]

Kottbullar is from Sydney, he is just Indonesian iirc.

[FSBenAD]

Hmm it does seem odd that they don't at least let all the SEA based players fight it out... But looking forward to hearing more about it and good to see they are giving opportunity for players from our region to shine.

[PJ Blizz]

Hi all,

If you don't know me already, I am the Blizzard eSport and Community manager for Australia and New Zealand. I will do my best to answer questions but as you know this is just the start of the announcements we will have regarding these events. There will be plenty of official updates in the coming weeks.

What other countries will be under oceania? NZ and Aus for the moment. I am looking to involve one or two misc countries also but nothing confirmed as yet.

Are philippines / Malaysia under Asia too? More information regarding how regions that do not have their own National event will be coming shortly.

Will it be online or LAN events for the national qualifiers?

National qualifiers can be either live or online - this year they will most likely be existing tournaments that will have seeds for the Blizzard National event.

-PJ

Quick Comments

	nirvAnA:
	ToR.Arnor:	BOSS MODE ENABLED <3
	Maynarde:	Welcome to the site Mr BlizzANZ
	Eddie:
	AxS.Sorathez:
	Dox:	pjizzle in the hizzle
	TCPLemminks:	Can I work with you PLZ <3?

[iMSystem]

Who will be casting (if at all) the online qualifiers for the SEA region?

Quick Comments

TAEdgE:

I VOTE SYSTEM CASTING

[PJ Blizz]

Originally Posted by System

Who will be casting (if at all) the online qualifiers for the SEA region?

This will be decided by the partners who are running the National qualifiers. Once they are announced then contact them if you are interested.

Quick Comments

iMSystem:

Thanks :)

[Baldie]

Love everything about this.

[Maynarde]

So excited for this, Blizz sure as hell knows how to run a good show! Will need to be pretty amazing to make me forget about the fact that there's no Blizzcon to go to this year

More than happy to cast games / help out the tournaments for Oceania in anyway.

[Baldie]

Originally Posted by Maynarde

More than happy to cast games / help out the tournaments for Oceania in anyway.

Likewise. Definitely what I want to become involved with eventually at an international level

[TAEdgE]

Looks pretty damn cool!

[deL]

Hmmm wonder if it's cos some of the SEA nations were having trouble getting a Visa :/

[fur]

Stoked. Eases the pain of the WCG passing.

Feel bad for the rest of Asia with South Korea not having an independent qualifier. Brutal.

[inFeZa]

Wow our own qualifier... i feel blessed blizzard... now how about a nice server with no shit latency too? thx.

[Maynarde]

Originally Posted by SQL.inFeZa

Wow our own qualifier... i feel blessed blizzard... now how about a nice server with no shit latency too? thx.

You're an angry angry man lol

[inFeZa]

Hey... i'm just sayin'! Would be nice that an entire continent get its own server.

[neKo]

Originally Posted by SQL.inFeZa

Hey... i'm just sayin'! Would be nice that an entire continent get its own server.

cool your jets mate

[Maynarde]

Originally Posted by SQL.inFeZa

Hey... i'm just sayin'! Would be nice that an entire continent get its own server.

That would be nice, but the ladder search time T_T

SEA is low pop enough already with Singapore etc in our server, Australia needs another 50 million people to justify our own server I think. Better start breeding inFeZdawg, I'll do my part.

[TASlowHands]

Originally Posted by SQL.inFeZa

Hey... i'm just sayin'! Would be nice that an entire continent get its own server.

Meh i'd rather we got merged with TW/KR, SEA search times are annoying at times and the matchmaking system seems to be slipping too, so often im matching up with people way better/worse than me

[inFeZa]

Originally Posted by Maynarde

Better start breeding inFeZdawg, I'll do my part.

my place, 2nite? kk gogogo

[Asrathiel]

Originally Posted by Maynarde

Better start breeding inFeZdawg, I'll do my part.

Woohoo, an excuse for more babies

Quick Comments

SLCN.NXZ:

This thread suddenly got a hell of a lot more awkard

[Strafe]

What about foreign nationals residing in Thailand?

[ROOTPetraeus]

Aus and NZ get their own!!!! go NZ

Quick Comments

	SPGDoG:
	ToRFutureBoy:	fo shizzle dizzle!

[TargA]

Hey PJ, what about Europeans that live and study in Australia. Are we eligible ?

[syfChadMann]

Originally Posted by TargA

Hey PJ, what about Europeans that live and study in Australia. Are we eligible ?

Said country of Citizenship... so unless you have dual citizenship - nope.. T_T
Might have to play EU Qualifiers..?

[PJ Blizz]

Originally Posted by TAChadMann

Said country of Citizenship... so unless you have dual citizenship - nope.. T_T
Might have to play EU Qualifiers..?

Yes, as above unfortuately. But there may be a online qualifier that you can participate in for the region you are a citizen of. Keep a eye on the EU battlenet sites for further info.

[TargA]

no worries, i will find me an aborginial prostitute and marry him when gay marriage is allowed in Australia.

Quick Comments

breadfan:

[Maynarde]

Originally Posted by TargA

no worries, i will find me an aborginial prostitute and marry him when gay marriage is allowed in Australia.

You know there's aboriginal FEMALES right? Marrying those is legal.

Quick Comments

	|Erasmus|:	Don't judge the man, maynarde... he's entitled to his choices.
	TCPLemminks:	What Emrasmus said

[Strafe]

You can't play online qualifiers for EU obviously from Australia.

[PJ Blizz]

Originally Posted by Strafe

You can't play online qualifiers for EU obviously from Australia.

If there is an online qualifier for your region and you have a EU account then you can enter -latency may be a challenge though.

[Strafe]

Originally Posted by PJ Blizz

If there is an online qualifier for your region and you have a EU account then you can enter -latency may be a challenge though.

The latency isnt a challenge as much as it makes it completely impossible. With more and more people living in other countries than their birth country I really wonder why competitions keep limiting it to citizenship. I've been living in Thailand for 3 years and this will exclude me from participating in events like this and WCG for a silly reason. In my opinion there should be different criteria than citizenship. Is there any chance you will change it for this event in certain cases or that the policy in future events regarding this will be changed?

Quick Comments

	Another:	agree, some form of "Citizenship or X years" i think
	NDG.Stitch:

[iM tgun]

Originally Posted by Strafe

The latency isnt a challenge as much as it makes it completely impossible. With more and more people living in other countries than their birth country I really wonder why competitions keep limiting it to citizenship. I've been living in Thailand for 3 years and this will exclude me from participating in events like this and WCG for a silly reason. In my opinion there should be different criteria than citizenship. Is there any chance you will change it for this event in certain cases or that the policy in future events regarding this will be changed?

Agreed, it's very silly to base it on citizenship when there are people who will suffer a large amount from it.

[Another]

How is it decided what organisation will host the tournament that will be used as a qualifier?

[PJ Blizz]

Originally Posted by IrisAnother

How is it decided what organisation will host the tournament that will be used as a qualifier?

I can't go into the detail of business decisions but I can say I am sure you will be pleased with the partner we are working with. Gtg - Have a great Easter everyone!

Quick Comments

	Another:
	Bash:	i like this guy. NOW BRING PIMPSON TO AUS.

[LordByrnsy]

Yay ^_^ new tourny

[Dox]

How is PJ not an MVP yet

[nirvAnA]

oh PJ will get his own custom blue color ^_^

what country will the regional finals for Asia be held in? Would be awesome if it was in Singapore we get to see all the Korean pros here. I think there were plans for a big event in Singapore in the past!

Quick Comments

NDG.Stitch:

[inFeZa]

Originally Posted by PJ Blizz

I can't go into the detail of business decisions but I can say I am sure you will be pleased with the partner we are working with. Gtg - Have a great Easter everyone!

I'm sure dox is happy to help you too

Quick Comments

nirvAnA:

[inFeZa]

I think targa should play for australia here, i mean he pretty much has most of his SC2 career i believe ? Unless he wants to play in EU himself, hope he can get to make the decision .

[TargA]

Originally Posted by SQL.inFeZa

I think targa should play for australia here, i mean he pretty much has most of his SC2 career i believe ? Unless he wants to play in EU himself, hope he can get to make the decision .

yeah, I obviously dont want to play in the EU qualifier, timesone and delay makes it unbearable. Would be cool if they added something like " must have lived atleast 1 year in the country" or something similar. I can easily prove that with my passport : )

Originally Posted by NvPinder

Out of curiosity (as I have no idea), how difficult is it for someone like targa in australia or strafe in thailand to get citizenship (t)here? Is it a matter of it's a lot of paperwork and difficult, you don't particularly want to do it because you want to be 100% Norweigen/whatever, or is it practically impossible unless you marry?

Pretty much impossible t_t

Quick Comments

PiG:

[Frogmite]

Originally Posted by TargA

yeah, I obviously dont want to play in the EU qualifier, timesone and delay makes it unbearable. Would be cool if they added something like " must have lived atleast 1 year in the country" or something similar. I can easily prove that with my passport : )

They do the same for rugby in Singapore (95% foreigners in national team). You need to have lived 3 years in Singapore to be allowed to play for national team.
It could be a good idea to have these kind of rules for e-sport too.

Quick Comments

PiG:

[Flamga]

This is going to be awesome, for once I feel in the know

Mr PJ your awesome!!!

[EveVendetta]

I do hope more Blizzard peeps start popping up in sc2sea threads with awesome info and knowledge!

[Dox]

On the flip side, you're asking for an immeasurable amount of overhead if you take the time to validate each and every participant to prevent someone from flying to another region/country and stealing all of their qualifying spots. There's no happy medium here, this is the only way to keep the majority satisfied.

Quick Comments

Bash:

my thoughts exactly.

[ToR.Arnor]

Originally Posted by Dox

On the flip side, you're asking for an immeasurable amount of overhead if you take the time to validate each and every participant to prevent someone from flying to another region/country and stealing all of their qualifying spots. There's no happy medium here, this is the only way to keep the majority satisfied.

This was a big issue a few years back (the game was Quake?) I think the story was some European pro was on holidays discovered Aus Qualifiers were on a roflstomped everyone into oblivion.

[Strafe]

I don't think it's more effort to prove citizenship than the fact that I live here for 3 years. It would be equal overhead in my opinion. I could question your Aussieness when you win the some Aussie only tournament and you'd have to show your passport. If I claim to live here for 3 years I could show my passport.

For a sport so global and people that move around more and more I feel it's really out of date to run things by citizenship.

[NvPinder]

Out of curiosity (as I have no idea), how difficult is it for someone like targa in australia or strafe in thailand to get citizenship (t)here? Is it a matter of it's a lot of paperwork and difficult, you don't particularly want to do it because you want to be 100% Norweigen/whatever, or is it practically impossible unless you marry?

[TASlowHands]

Originally Posted by NvPinder

Out of curiosity (as I have no idea), how difficult is it for someone like targa in australia or strafe in thailand to get citizenship (t)here? Is it a matter of it's a lot of paperwork and difficult, you don't particularly want to do it because you want to be 100% Norweigen/whatever, or is it practically impossible unless you marry?

I think you have to live here in aus for four years before you can become a citizen. I dont think I can get it yet. I guess it would depend on Targa's visa and how long he's been here

[ToR.Arnor]

Originally Posted by NvPinder

Out of curiosity (as I have no idea), how difficult is it for someone like targa in australia or strafe in thailand to get citizenship (t)here? Is it a matter of it's a lot of paperwork and difficult, you don't particularly want to do it because you want to be 100% Norweigen/whatever, or is it practically impossible unless you marry?

TargA is currently on a student visa I believe his 2nd year? from memory (I work in a net cafe so most the people are on some kind of visa/residency) after 3 years you can apply for residency and then its a variable time to have your application of citizenship approved.

TargA would need to finish his degree then get a job in his field (obtain a working visa) to apply for residency (since they dont wanna risk someone bombing out and mooching off the government).

I think it is possible to skip working visa and go straight to temp residency (eg getting a non field related job- theres a guy at my work with a Nursing Degree lol) but its a case of proving you have financial security

No idea how the Thailand government works but if Strafe was in Aus he'd easily he able to get perm residency being a cashed up Pro Poker player

[Strafe]

Originally Posted by NvPinder

Out of curiosity (as I have no idea), how difficult is it for someone like targa in australia or strafe in thailand to get citizenship (t)here? Is it a matter of it's a lot of paperwork and difficult, you don't particularly want to do it because you want to be 100% Norweigen/whatever, or is it practically impossible unless you marry?

I wouldn't even get citizenship here if I married a Thai woman. It's hard to obtain citizenship even if you live here for 20 years. Basically you would have to pay off a lot of corrupt officials and have connections in order to get it.

[inFeZa]

So, let me get this straight, If I wanted to play in the qualifiers I'd have to play in an NA qualifier because i am an American Citizen, but I've been living in Australia for 18 years, purchased a SEA copy of the game (i know it has NA access, but what if it didn't, or I was from Europe instead), and instead of playing in my region I'll have to play on NA at like 3am or something?

Cool.

[dippa]

Originally Posted by SQL.inFeZa

So, let me get this straight, If I wanted to play in the qualifiers I'd have to play in an NA qualifier because i am an American Citizen, but I've been living in Australia for 18 years, purchased a SEA copy of the game (i know it has NA access, but what if it didn't, or I was from Europe instead), and instead of playing in my region I'll have to play on NA at like 3am or something?

Cool.

welcome to the last 10+ years of wcg qualifiers in australia

[Dox]

Not to derail the derailment, but try to keep it on topic so PJ doesn't have a 10 page thread about citizenships to come back to on Tuesday.

[Asrathiel]

Originally Posted by TargA

Would be cool if they added something like " must have lived atleast 1 year in the country" or something similar.

Agreed entirely... surely it would be easy to change the requirements to 'citizen/long term resident'

[syfChadMann]

Originally Posted by EveStitch

Absolutely agree with this.... All 4 of these countries play at completely different regions, skill levels, and such. It doesn't seem really logical to place them all in one qualifier. The population of just South Korea, Taiwan, and China is already a ridiculous amount. I suggest that there should be a new solution to this!

I totally agree - but I think it will be sorted out by qualifying spots? like.. perhaps Korea/Asia has 8 spots - but Aus/NZ only has 2... either way, it's the same as WCG - where alot of good Korean's miss out for some scrub from estonia to play... either way, its a good chance for unknown (internationally) players to get some exposure and promotes the game and blizzard in many different markets simultaneously. So if there are equal qualifying spots - doesn't worry me too much - but it'd be sad that so much talent in one area has to fight for a spot - I feel bad for Sen..

[Dox]

This thread is getting really disappointing.

Quick Comments

	TAEdgE:
	Maynarde:

[TargA]

Originally Posted by Dox

This thread is getting really disappointing.

Since everyone agrees with me, lets march to blizz HQ and demonstrate.

[dippa]

putting citizenship to one side - i'm super super super excited for this event.

really looking forward to seeing what they're going to put together. i've also heard that there's going to be something done for the countries that miss out (like thailand/malaysia etc) so hopefully it should be sweet

[inFeZa]

I'm not demanding it be changed or protesting etc.. as probably are the rest of the players; i'm just giving my open opinion.

It is blizzard's tournament and i respect that, they make the rules for it and they co-ordinate it how ever they want, but opinions of players should be respected too.

As for WCG i feel it is a bit different as it mostly is representing your country, as far as i know (correct me if i'm wrong) i feel that this blizzard tournament is more representing an individual and his team more so than the country he came from.

Besides that tiny motherfucking issue in the whole global tournament, it still is going to be amazing no matter what happens.

[TAXanT]

This looks great, huge news!

[QEDjuslai]

cool best thing that ever happend so far

[IcedTea]

Yep. This looks like its going to be amazing.

[SmirkToT]

I heard that the Asia one will go to China(or it's the world one i am not sure).

Blizzard sometimes hear ppl sometimes no.
very weird


Hear, they listen to whiners. Map pools are becoming bigger and bigger asses(i wonder How Korhal Compound wins tlmc )
on the other hand, they dont bring back the liked feature win/loss counts.

[zendex]

Please give , , , , , , , Burma/Myanmar their own regional thanks.

EDIT: Seriously, the division of regions is really off... way off.

Should have been:
Region 1: US+CA
Region 2: EU
Region 3: CN+TW
Region 4: KR
Region 5: SEA+ANZ

More logical IMO.

[nirvAnA]

I agree with zendex, it should follow the region lock thing. but blizzard may have other considerations to work with e.g geographical distances, availability of venues etc and that may be one reason why some countries dont have qualifiers and the segregation is done differently.

also im quite certain anz's sc2 population is more than the whole of sea's (south east asia) combined. that being said im really looking forwad to this tournament and for more details to be announced.

[Strafe]

I also agree with Zendex. Screw Africa.

Quick Comments

	zendex:	lol wut africa haha
	x5.Revenant:	Grow up already.

[Another]

does anyone know if jazbas has NZ citizenship?

[NvJazBas]

Originally Posted by IrisAnother

does anyone know if jazbas has NZ citizenship?

I do I was born in NZ ^^

[ToR.Arnor]

Originally Posted by xGKingJazBas

I do I was born in NZ ^^

JazBas not really Korean? my world is shattered T_T

[yongming]

still no info on wcs sg?

[SFTAElessar]

Sounds awesome!!!!!