DreamHack has announced today, after a tradition of hosting open StarCraft II tournaments across Europe, that for the first time ever DreamHack will host a StarCraft II competition in North America!
The second stop on the DreamHack ZOWIE Open tour of 2016 will be at DreamHack Austin, and in partnership with Blizzard Entertainment, DreamHack is excited to offer $50,000 and 5,000 WCS Circuit points for 96 players who will be onsite competing. As with the previous stop in Leipzig, Germany, 88 slots will be allotted to open sign-ups, and eight slots will be reserved for Blizzard-supported online qualifiers, which will see participants from around the globe win fully paid trips to compete live at DreamHack Austin. The entirety of the competition will be played out live at DreamHack Austin, DreamHack’s first ever North American event taking place at the Austin Convention Center from May 6-8.
Tournament Structure
•Dates: May 6-8
•Location: DreamHack Austin, Austin Convention Center
Prize Pool Breakdown
•Total: $50,000 USD and 5,000 WCS Points
•1st – $16,000 and 1,000 points
•2nd – $8,000 and 700 points
•3rd/4th – $5,000 and 450 points
•5th-8th – $2,000 and 300 points
•9th-16th – $1,000 and 150 points
Format
•Eight players from online qualification, 88 players from open signups.
•32 players (including eight from the qualifiers) will be pre-seeded into group stage 2.
•64 unseeded competitors from the open signup will compete in group stage 1, top 32 advance into group stage 2.
•32 players advancing from group stage 2 will compete in single elimination.
Match Format: Group stages are playing in dual tournament BO3 format. Single elimination is played in BO5 with BO7 Grand Finals.
Open Signups
88 slots in the tournament will be allocated to players who register through open signups. All players must be eligible to participate in WCS Circuit Events as outlined on wcs.battle.net. To sign up, please fill in your information HERE. Shortly after signing up, you will receive and email to confirm your slot in the tournament, or that you have been placed on the wait list should the tournament fill up before you complete registration.
Online Qualifiers
All WCS Circuit Events supported by Blizzard Entertainment feature eight slots reserved for regional qualification through the Passport Qualifiers. Qualification details and signups will be released on Monday, March 21st.
Tickets
Passes for visitors who wish to compete or spectate onsite are still available for each day of the event HERE. Viewers from around the world who aren’t able to make it out to Austin will be able to catch all the best games streamed online at dreamhack.tv. Stay tuned to open.dreamhack.se and @DreamHackOpen for more information, including the full tournament schedule, broadcast talent, and the list of competitors.