Starcraft II Dev Tracker

The 2019 WCS Challenger Season 1 Open Qualifiers are almost here, and we are now taking applications for Community Casters looking to cover the event! Think you’ve got what it takes? Read on for details, including how to apply for a spot.

How To Apply

Send your application to [email protected] by April 10th. Ensure that the subject line reads “Community Caster WCS “, and that the following information is included:

• Full name
• Discord handle
• Email address
• Broadcast language
• Broadcast channel
• Summary of your casting experience

Other Requirements

• Casters must broadcast the Open Qualifiers exclusively on Twitch.
• Casters must ...

Long have we waited. After seven qualifiers and six group stages combined for the Americas and Europe—with a cheeky IEM Katowice in between—we are about to embark upon the 2019 WCS Winter Finals. Six players from each region will be flying to California to compete live and in-person at Blizzard Arena Los Angeles this weekend in a king-of-the-hill-style bracket, where they will play for precious WCS points and their share of a USD $60,000 prize pool (USD $120,000 total across the Americas and Europe).

Schedule

The WCS Winter Finals will take place on Saturday, April 6 and Sunday, April 7, kicking off at 8 a.m. PDT/5 p.m. CEST each day. On day one, we will play out the WCS Winter: Americas, and on day two we’ll have WCS Winter: Europe.

The Top Six

The Americas (Saturday, April 6 - ...

We’re releasing a balance update for Versus that affects Forge and Cybernetics Core upgrade times, and Nydus Worms. The following changes are now live, including bug fixes.

VERSUS BALANCE

• The Testing tab is now disabled.

Protoss

• Forge/Cybernetics Core
  • Level 1 upgrade times increased by 15 seconds.
  • Level 2 upgrade times increased by 18 seconds.
  • Level 3 upgrade times increased by 22 seconds.

Zerg

• Nydus Worm
  • Nydus Worms now have 3 armor, down from 5, while under construction.

BUG FIXES

• Fixed an issue where the Nexus could gain additional energy from the effects of Chronoboost.
• Mineral values are now consistent on all bases in Port Aleksander LE.
• Updated the tooltip for Tim...

Now that the excitement of IEM Katowice and WESG are behind us, it’s time to dive into the StarCraft II World Championship Series (WCS) Winter Round of 8.

The Top 8

The World Championship Series (WCS) Challenger tournament is a crucial piece of the puzzle for aspiring and professional StarCraft II players alike. In addition to seeking the title of regional champion in the European and North American events, players can win prize money and those all-important WCS points, which count toward qualifying for the WCS Global Finals.

Here are all the details for Season 1 of the 2019 WCS Challenger tournament. 16 players in North America and another 16 in Europe will qualify for this season of WCS Challenger.

In each region:

• Four will qualify from their standings in the WCS Circuit after the WCS Winter Round of 8
• Four players will qualify from their rank in the Season 1 Ladder Race
• Eight players will qualify from the online open qualifiers

Requirements for Open Qualifiers

To compete in WCS Challenger Europe or North America Season 1, you must have achieved at least Master Leag...

For the first time ever in StarCraft II we’re teaming up with Twitch Prime to bring you some special loot to enhance your experience, including announcer and co-op commander Commander packs as well as all-new console skins, portraits, race banners, sprays, emoticons, and more!

We’re kicking things off with a tribute to the masterful zerg strategist Abathur. Starting today, Twitch ...

IEM Katowice is just around the corner! We have brackets, broadcast times, and...a surprise! You will have the chance to earn in-game loot simply by tuning in to Twitch for the first major tournament of the StarCraft II World Championship Series for 2019. $400,000 will be on the line for players, but you can earn these items simply by watching! Remember, the IEM Katowice War Chest is still available, which means you have the chance to earn War Chest XP and Twitch drops at the same time! Here’s everything you need to know about SC2 at IEM Katowice, including how to ensure you’ll earn your Twitch drops.

Brackets

IEM Katowice ...

GENERAL

• Abathur: Evolved Bundle is going to be available as a part of Twitch Prime offer starting later this month. Stay tuned for more details.
  • Abathur Co-op Commander
  • Abathur Announcer
  • “Live Now” portrait pack
  • “Live Now” portrait for Abathur
  • “Live Now” portrait for Swann
  • “Live Now” portrait for Vorazun
  • “Live Now” Zerg Banner
  • Evolved Zerg Console Skin
• A new Lowko Announcer is now available.
• A set of 8 comic portraits have been added for players who own War Chest: Katowice 2019 for at least one race.

BUG FIXES

General

• Queens can now properly spawn a Creep Tumor on ramps in certain Heart of the Swarm campaign missions, and Co-op Missions.

Co-op Missions

• Commander
  • General
    • Fixed an issue where incorrect portrait could ...