Most
likely if you are here
reading this you are a fan of World of Warcraft at least in some sense
of the word. Thus is stands to reason that you have, by now, heard of
the stunning bomb that Blizzard recently dropped regarding BlizzCon
2012. That’s right ladies and gentleman BlizzCon 2012 has
taken a huge hit with the nerf stick. So huge is this nerf stick, that
BlizzCon 2012 has altogether been axed from the schedule this year.
Sadly, Blizzard fans everywhere will have to wait till the year 2013 to
get their annual BlizzCon fix once again.
Why No BlizzCon 2012?
style="padding: 5px; float: right; width: 250px; text-align: center;"> href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/228181" target="_blank">width="245">BilzzCon
2012 has been cancelled.
If you are like me, the first
question that probably crossed your mind is why will there be no
BlizzCon to sustain us this year? Blizzard claims that the primary
reason for making this decision was to focus heavily on Diablo III,
World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria, and Starcraft: Heart of the Swarm
in order to get them all into player’s hands as soon as
possible. While this is probably mostly true, and it did calm my nerd
rage to some extent, I still feel the explanation here was lacking.
However, if the above mentioned games do make their debut earlier than
expected, all will be mostly forgiven.
Despite the let down of no
BlizzCon 2012 there is a consolation prize of sorts that may serve to
appease at least some of the masses, the Battle.net World Championship.
So what is this peace offering that Blizzard has deemed to offer us in
place of BlizzCon 2012? Continue reading onward for a brief overview of
the convention based on the few and far between details that have been
released.
Battle.net World Championship
Overview
What
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The Battle.net World
Championship is the event Blizzard is putting focus on this year in
lieu of BlizzCon 2012. Here fans will be asked to gather from around
the world to compete in prestigious competition in some of
Blizzard’s most loved games. By hosting this competition,
Blizzard hopes to draw in some of the words most pro-gamers to show off
their mad skillz for the world to see. During this event both the
Starcraft II and World of Warcraft Arena World Championship tournaments
will take place until a World Champion is decided.
Based on a four tier system,
with each tier feeding directly into the one above it, with the World
Championships at the top with each player having to take the same
course to get to the top as the next the World Championships are
happily moving away from the invitational’s seen in 2011. The
overall structure of the system will look much like this:
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4 - World Championships
the World Championship 32 players will have advanced to be
allowed to compete for the title of World Champion.
3 - Five Conteinental Championships
the continental level five distinctive regions will compete including;
North and South America, Asia, Europe, and the
“rest” of the world. Each match will have its own
live audience to provide the appropriate audience noises throughout the
competition.
2 - 15-16 National Championships
the national championships a champion for each country represented will
be crowned in the hopes of creating local heroes and grow local
markets. Currently 15 to 16 countries are being
considered for participation based off the current Starcraft population.
1 - Grassroots National Qualifiers
first tier of this competition will not be run directly by Blizzard but
instead in conjunction with existing eSports organizations. Held
exclusively on the Wings of Liberty expansion pack Blizzard hopes to
expand the sport by making as many people interested in participating
in the event.
As you can see, this World
Championship won’t be BlizzCon (sorry guys, put away your
Murloc caps and Blood Elf ears for next year), the Battle.net World
Championship will still hopefully manage to bring gaming fans together
for a fun and competitive time. So where is this epic competition
taking place?
Where
Thinking that you will simply
replace BlizzCon 2012 by traveling with your guild to the Battle.net
World Championship? You may want to think again. Unless you are already
living in the vicinity of the Asian continent, the Battle.net World
Championship may be a tad bit out of most player’s reaches.
Taking place somewhere in Asia, this locale will certainly make many US
fans used to having BlizzCon inside the country very sad pandas.
When
Sadly no official date has been
released for the Battle.net World Championship. However, Blizzard in
their recent press statement has made the claim that it will take place
sometime at the end of 2012. If this date holds up throughout the year
remains to be seen and any official date will likely take place more
towards the middle of the year as planning for this event progresses
and more information is available.
Conclusion
While the Battle.net World
Championship will be a PvP gamer’s paradise, it will likely
hold little appeal for those fans who enjoy the casual and multifaceted
atmosphere of BlizzCon. However, despite this, the Battle.net World
Championship should still give many fans something to look forward to
this year. As for the rest of us, we will hold out hope that the lack
of BlizzCon this year will mean an even bigger and better event next
year.
How do you feel about BlizzCon
2012 being axed and will you considering attending the Battle.net World
Championship? Share your thoughts with us in the comment section below!
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