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Category: SC2

Reynor takes the win at IEM Katowice 2021

Posted on by Nathan Bonello

It’s been a while since we’ve had a huge Starcraft event take place. This weekend however, we had Italian pro Reynor taking the win at IEM Katowice 2021. Here is our recap:

Final Standings + Winnings

  • 1st – $65,400 – Reynor – Team QLASH
  • 2nd – $32,900 – Zest – Dragon Phoenix Gaming
  • 3rd-4th – $17,900 – Maru – Team NV
  • 3rd-4th – $17,900 – PartinG
  • 5th – $10,500 – Dark – Dragon Phoenix Gaming
  • 6th – $10,400 – Rogue – Dragon Phoenix Gaming
  • 7th – $10,400 – TY – Afreeca Freecs
  • 8th – $10,300 – Clem – Team Liquid
  • 9th – $6,400 – Serral – ENCE
  • 10th – $6,300 – Stats – Afreeca Freecs
  • 11th –  $6,300 – HeRoMaRinE – mousesports
  • 12th –  $6,300 – INnoVation – KaiZi Gaming

Reynor takes the win at IEM Katowice – How did he do it?

Reynor started it all with a 2nd place in Group C, finishing the group stage with a 4-1 score line. With his placement in the group he was fit for a qualification spot in the playoffs. In the playoffs he matched against South-Korean player Stats in a best of 5. Reynor won the series 3-2 and progressed onto the next stage against Zerg player Dark. Despite another close series, Reynor managed to also win the Quarterfinals 3-2 to get into the Semifinals. Here he matched up against the talented Starcraft II player Maru. And for once more, Reynor gets into a close series where he eventually wins with a 3-2 score.

Screenshot
Credits: QLASH

Grand Finals

For his final opponent, Reynor had to battle it out against Protoss player Zest. Zest took the first map on Oxide, but Reynor replied with 3 map wins of his own to get into series point. Zest tried bringing it all back with a win on Romanticide, but Reynor was way too good, and finalized it all on Pillars of Gold to win the event.

Be sure to keep yourself update on all the imporant esports news by tuning into www.esportsguide.com!

IEM Katowice 2021 SCII – How to Watch: teams, schedule, streams, predictions

Posted on by Gabriel Sciberras

It’s been a while since the last competitive StarCraft II event. Accordingly, the final event of the ESL Pro Tour 2020/21 Circuit is almost here – IEM Katowice 2021. Indeed, you can sit back and enjoy knowing all the details in this episode of How To Watch!

Event Background

For some background, this online event forms part of the ESL Pro Tour 2020/21 Circuit. Also known as the Masters Championship 2021, this looks to be the ultimate event of the season. Accordingly, with $250,000 on theline, the event will run from the 20th February up to 28th February.

Credits: ESL StarCraft 2 Twitter

Bearing this in mind, the top competitors in the world have qualified for this stage:

  • A Group – TY, Maru, Clem, Solar, ShoWTimE, TBD
  • B Group – Serral, INnoVation, SpeCial, Dark, TIME, TBD
  • C Group – Reynor, Trap, Zest, HeRoMaRinE, Astrea, TBD
  • D Group – Rogue, Stats, Cure, PartinG, Neeb, TBD

Four spots remain to be claimed prior to the main event.

Format

Credits: Intel ExtremeMasters Twitter

In terms of format, there’s a lot to go through here. Currently, a Round of 36 is being played out between 16 players – 4 of which will claim the remaining spots in the Group stage as outlined above.

Following the completion of that, the main event kicks off on the 22nd February.

Starting with the Group Stage, the four groups of six will fight through a round-robin. Accordingly, that means each player will match up against one another once, in a best-of-three. Furthermore, at IEM Katowice 2021, teams are fighting to be in the top three of each group.

  • First gets a one-way ticket to the Quarterfinals
  • Second and third progress to a Round of 12

Following the Group Stage, an intense Playoff awaits us! The four heats have a Round of 12, Quarterfinals, Semifinals and Finals in that order. Matches will be played BO5 except for the Finals, which look to be an epic BO7 showdown.

And then finally, we will have our winner.

Schedule for IEM Katowice 2021

With how intense the schedule is, I’ve had to take a different approach then usual. In fact, ESL has the entire tournament schedule nicely summarized in the following illustration for you all. For more info, visit ESL’s event page.

katowiceschedule
Credits: ESL

Watch IEM Katowice 2021 stream on esportsguide.com

You can also watch the IEM Katowice 2021 live stream via our very own website. Providing an extensive list of the biggest esports together with streams for each esports match live today or upcoming matches.

IEM Katowice 2021

Predictions

With regards to predictions, although some players are yet to qualify, there is already an idea of how these competitors stack up. In fact, across the entire season, players have been racking up points through their performances. Take a look for yourself at the top 10 scorers heading into this ultimate event:

  1. TY – 3162
  2. Rogue – 2845
  3. Serral – 2830
  4. Reynor – 2702
  5. Maru – 2405
Credits: Intel ExtremeMasters Twitter
  1. Trap – 2387
  2. Stats – 2330
  3. INnoVation – 2155
  4. Clem – 2127
  5. Zest – 1845

All 10 of these names are definitely threats and contenders to take it. Naturally, many look to TY as the favourite. However, placing third at the DH SC2 Masters Last Chance 2021 Qualifier has thrown some doubt. Indeed, competitive StarCraft II can be quite an ‘on-the-day’ esport – everybody needs to bring their A-game and fight to show their worth.

Here at esportsguide, we can’t wait to see how it all turns out.

For more esports news, visit: https://www.esportsguide.com/news

StarCraft II Esports 2021 – Esports Roadmap

Posted on by Gabriel Sciberras

It’s easy to say that the top tier competition for StarCraft II is the ESL Pro Tour. Accordingly, following up a successful season from this year, we can dive into 2021. In this episode of Esports Roadmap, we’ll be diving into the dates for StarCraft II Esports 2021!

StarCraft II Esports 2021 – Expanding

We’ll have to by month. Next year, the competitive season looks to kick off in May with their summer event. Note that IEM Katowice will take place in 2021.

DH SC2 Masters Summer 2021 – 11/05-06/06

  • Europe
  • North America
  • Latin America
  • Oceania & ROA
  • TW and HK
  • China

DH SC2 Masters Fall 2021 – 20/07-12/09

  • Europe
  • North America
  • Latin America
  • Oceania & ROA
  • TW and HK
  • China
SC Summer
Credits: ESL

DH SC2 Masters Winter 2021 – 21/09-14/11

  • Europe
  • North America
  • Latin America
  • Oceania & ROA
  • TW and HK
  • China

DH SC2 Masters Last Chance 2021 – 07/12-16/01/22

IEM Katowice 2021 – 02/23-28

GSL Season 1/2/3 – TBD

Global SC2 Masters 2021: TBD

There’s a tonne to look forward to as listed above. Besides those above, the Tier 1 events, many lower tier events will be hosted at the same time by third parties. Here at esportsguide we’ll be keeping our eye open.

In my opinion, StarCraft II has been in the same place for some time now – on the cusp of growth. StarCraft II Esports 2021 could be the next big step.

For more esports news, visit: https://www.esportsguide.com/news

IEM Katowice 2021 – Changes to CS:GO and WC3 Events

Posted on by Gabriel Sciberras

Heading into 2021, we have a tonne of esports events on our radar. Accordingly, IEM Katowice 2021 for CS:GO is on our list due to its electric atmosphere. This is not mentioning the StarCraft II and Warcraft III events that take place alongside it. Indeed, a new announcement from the organizers sheds light on the event.

Yes, you saw this coming. IEM Katowice will unfortunately not have its infamous live crowd. Besides that, not much is changing, however, as the Major CS:GO event will retain the same dates. Besides dates, the event will be played offline in Europe – no questionable online performances here.

Credits: Intel Extreme Master Twitter

For those who don’t know, here are the details for the CS:GO event:

  • $1,000,000 prize pool!
  • A shot at an advantage towards the Intel Grand Slam
  • 24 of the best CS:GO teams from all around the world
  • February 16-28th
Credits: ESL StarCraft II Twitter

At the same time, we also have details for IEM Katowice 2021 for SCII and Warcraft III. Let’s start with StarCraft II:

  • $500,000 prize pool
  • 36 of the best players in the world
  • February 23-28th

That’s a lot to take in, but at least ESL is letting us know months ahead of time.

For more esports news, visit: https://www.esportsguide.com/news

DH Masters 2020 Winter: Season Finals Update

Posted on by Gabriel Sciberras

The DH Masters 2020 Winter: Season Finals is currently ongoing. Indeed, it’s garnering all the attention of the competitive StarCraft II community. Organized by ESL and DreamHack, the five-day event is halfway finished. Read the following for an event update!

Accordingly, running from 10-15th November, a total of $57,000 is on the line. It’s the third and final event for the ESL Pro Tour 2020/21 Circuit. With respect to the format, the Group Stage is complete. A total of eight players are now patiently waiting to fight through the single-elimination bracket.

First, here’s a quick look at how the group stage went:

DH Masters 2020 Winter Groups
Credits: Liquipedia

As you can tell, each group followed the classic outcome – one winner, one loser and two competitors for the second seed. Here’s how the competition will be stacking up for the single-elimination bracket at the DH Masters 2020 Winter:

dhsciibracket
Credits: Liquipedia

Nobody’s quite certain as to who’ll step up and claim the entire event. Looking back at the last event on the ESL Pro Tour, the Masters Fall, it will be noted that Reynor claimed the title there. Hence, he should easily be considered the favourite here.

Regardless, all 8 contenders have a great shot. Each finding podium placements all year, it’s the perfect opportunity to end a season with a bang.

Clem wins DreamHack Masters Winter Europe

Posted on by Nathan Bonello

This weekend we saw the conclusion of the DreamHack SC2 Masters 2020 Winter Europe, and with it, a great showing from Clem to take the win in the end.

Final winnings + Standings (Top 8):

  • 1st – $13,375 – Clem – Team Liquid
  • 2nd – $8,375 – Reynor – Team QLASH
  • 3rd – $5,875 – Serral – Ence eSports
  • 4th – $3,500 – HeRoMaRinE – mousesports
  • 5th-6th – $3,625 – Elazer – AGO Esports
  • 5th-6th – $3,500 – ShoWTimE – BIG
  • 7th-8th – $3,250 – Lambo
  • 7th-8th – $3,000 – SKillous – Cascade

Clem wins DreamHack Masters Winter Europe – How did he do it?

Group Stage

Clem kicked off the event with an astonishing performance in the group stage, ending in 1st place with 7 wins and 0 losses. This result was only replicated by Zerg player Reynor, which was one of the favourites to win the event.

Credits Starladder
Credits: Starladder

Playoffs

For his first match in the playoffs, he was matched against Denver, another frenchman. Both of the players had an excellent showing, and the best of 5 series went the distance; however, Denver’s Zerg was no match for Clem’s Terran. With this win, Clem progressed forward to meet another favourite at the event, Serral. Everyone that is familiar with Starcraft 2 esports knows how strong Serral’s Zerg is, and that was shown in the best of 5 series versus Clem as the series ended 3-2 in Serral’s favor.

Clem was now dropped into the losers bracket, where he met with ShoWTimE, a distinguished Protoss player. Clem took his defeat with Serral as a source of motivation, and with that, clean sweeped ShoWTimE, as he won the series 3-0. After that, Clem faced off HeRoMaRiNE, but he was no match for the young Frenchman as the series ended 3-1 in Clem’s favor. 

In the meantime, Serral met with Reynor in the Winners’ Finals, where he lost the series 3-2 and dropped down to the losers bracket. Here Clem had another opportunity to face off Serral, the Zerg player that demoted him down to the losers bracket. Clem took off with an excellent 2 game lead, but Serral responded with a win of his own. Eventually Clem came back from his loss and won the series on Deathaura.

Screenshot
Credits: DreamHack

Finals

His win here meant that he will face off the Italian Superstar Reynor in a best of 7. Clem felt extremely motivated and hungry to win, especially after his win versus the notorious Serral. After 1 map win from Reynor, Clem was unstoppable, as he won 4 maps in a row to win the series and the event.

Here’s what Clem had to say after his win:

We’re seeing a lot of new talents emerging within the Starcraft 2 community. And it was about time that the Frenchman won a big event like Dreamhack Masters Winter Europe. Hopefully for him and Team Liquid, the wins keep on coming in the coming events!

Be sure to keep yourself updated with www.esportsguide.com for more esports news!

Blizzard announce the end to major development updates to Starcraft 2

Posted on by Nathan Bonello

Blizzard has opted to announce that they will end their major development updates to StarCraft 2. Here is their announcement below:

What does Blizzard mean by “End to Major development updates”?

This means that purchasable content, such as Commanders and War Chests will not be getting produced anymore. However, Blizzard will still prioritize Season rolls and necessary balance fixes. With regards to StarCraft 2 esports, which is one of the game’s biggest features, will still be going strong throughout Blizzard’s partners, ESL and GSL.

ESL e
Credits: ESL

Blizzard announce the end to major development updates to Starcraft 2 – Why is this big news?

StarCraft, being a very nostalgic and important franchise in the whole of Blizzard, is dear to many, especially RTS (Real-Time Strategy) fans. This year, StarCraft is celebrating its 10-year anniversary. And with it, Blizzard have released one of the largest-ever patches. This included upgrades to the map editor, as well as gameplay improvements to players all around the world.

This is sad news for the entirety of the StarCraft 2 community, but as Blizzard put it, this opens up a lot more opportunities for them to focus on the StarCraft universe as a whole. 

We cannot wait to see what Blizzard has in store for the future of StarCraft, but until then, be sure to keep yourself updated on www.esportsguide.com for more esports news!

Reynor wins Dreamhack Masters 2020 Fall

Posted on by Nathan Bonello

With the weekend coming to a close, we saw Qlash’s fearsome Zerg player Reynor wins the Dreamhack SC2 Masters 2020 Fall: Season Finals. Here is how he did it:

Reynor Featured
Credits: ESL

Reynor wins Dreamhack Masters 2020 Fall – How?

Reynor kicked off the event by topping his group with 2 wins in Group B (winnings versus both Nice and Stats). This result qualified Reynor to the Quarterfinals which were in a best of 5 format. There he played against “TY,” a player for Afreeca Freecs, which ended in favor of Reynor 3-1. This progressed him to the Semifinals, where he would meet Team Liquid Terran player Clem. 

Despite Clem’s recent performance versus Serral, Reynor’s Zerg was far superior, and he took the series 3-1 in his favor. His victory in the semifinals secured his spot in the Grand Finals versus Trap. Trap had been dominating dominating the tournament since the start and was definitely one of the favorites. The Grand Final went the distance as all 7 matches were played in order for Reynor to be crowned champion.

What’s next for Reynor?

Reynor has been playing exceptionally well this year, especially this summer. Qlash have certainly made a good choice picking up Reynor as he has been on a winning streak lately. Hopefully the youngster will stay consistent enough to continue placing well (or winning) in future events!

Be sure to stay tuned to www.esportsguide.com for more esports news!

TLO departing from Team Liquid

Posted on by Nathan Bonello

Starcraft Legend TLO has just announced that he will be departing from Team Liquid and quitting professional play. Here is the announcement:

If you would like to watch the whole video, click here.

TLO departing from Team Liquid – Why?

30-year old Dario “TLO” Wünsch has parted ways with Team Liquid to pursue a new challenge in esports. He has retired from professional play to work in an esports program manager position for Shopify.

TLO Dreamhack e
Credits: Dreamhack

Here’s what he had to say about his departure from Team Liquid:

It’s been an absolute honour to be with Team Liquid for over a decade. I’ll never forget the incredible experiences with the team and the friendships forged will last a lifetime!

TLO achievements with Team Liquid:

What’s next for TLO?

TLO has not yet specified what his new chapter in esports entails, however he has mentioned that he will try his best to participate in a few events in his free time, as well as attend fan related events. TLO has definitely left an impact on the Starcraft community, and will certainly be missed.

Make sure you don’t miss out on any important esports news by keeping yourself updated on www.esportsguide.com! 

Global StarCraft II League Season 3 2020 – How to Watch: event, stream, predictions

Posted on by Gabriel Sciberras

The Global StarCraft II League Season 3 is finally arriving. With $140,000 on the line and so much information to swallow, we’ve gathered all the details. Read on to learn How to Watch this upcoming event!

Taking place on the 29th August, the event acts as the third season. Accordingly, it’s a major staple of the competitive StarCraft II community. No teams are present as this is a 1v1 type event.

gsl
Credits: AfreecaTV

Here are some of the more well-known contenders:

  • Rogue
  • Stats
  • TY
  • Spear

Schedule and Format

All 28 competitors will go through a Group Stage, followed by a single-elimination bracket. Here’s a schedule for the first group stage:

gslii
Credits: Liquipedia

Streams for Global StarCraft II League Season 3

As it’s organized by AfreecaTV, the media company has their own streams:

Watch the the stream on esportsguide.com.

Watch the stream on esportsguide

Predictions

Keep a watchful eye on the following contenders who placed top four last season – all of them are threats who could win it all:

  • 1st – Rogue
  • 2nd – Stats
  • 3-4th – DongRaeGu
  • 3-4th – TY

Rogue and Stats have been at each other’s throats for a while now and I wouldn’t be surprised by another final between them. However, this also allows lesser competition to surprise them both by preparing exclusively for them.

For more esports news, visit: https://www.esportsguide.com/news.