We’re only two weeks into the new year, and ESL is already making huge moves, revealing their latest endeavour, a series of ESL Pro Tour events for Starcraft 2 and Warcraft 3: Reforged.
Announced in posts on made social media yesterday, the ESL Pro Tour will now feature – StarCraft II, and the currently in open beta Warcraft III: Reforged – joining ESL’s existing international CS:GO events.
The move comes as a boost for one of esports most foundational games in SC2. The classic real-time strategy title’s popularity has taken a hit in the face of competition from titles such as Dota 2 and LoL.
Both StarCraft titles remain firm favourites in Korea, where the game’s enormous popularity helped kickstart esports into the massive industry it is today. However, the game is often overshadowed on the international stage by the likes of League of Legends, Fortnite, CS:GO and others. SC2’s inclusion in ESL Pro Tour will bring a new audience to one of esports finest games.
The original Warcraft III was one of the most acclaimed RTS games of all time, with its dynamic modding scene giving birth to Dawn of the Ancients or DOTA, the game that created the MOBA genre. WC3: Reforged is a modern remake of the game and is anticipated to be a massive title on its eventual full release. The beta already attracts thousands of online players, and ESL Pro Tour will only help increase that hype.
Both games will join CS:GO at ESL and DreamHack’s existing events as part of the Pro Tour collaboration between the two companies. SC2 will kick off in February at Intel Extreme Masters Katowice, starting a three tournament tour across the year. Meanwhile, WC3: Reforged will have a single major tournament, with open qualifiers at DreamHack Anaheim and Jönköping in February and March respectively.
More information on the ESL Pro Tour is available on the official website. And for coverage news and analysis of all the events, follow Dart Frog on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
Feature image courtesy of ESL.
