Blizzard and ESL partner for StarCraft 2 and Warcraft 3: Reforged tournaments

ESL and Dreamhack have entered into an agreement with Blizzard Entertainment to host new tournaments for StarCraft 2 and Blizzard’s upcoming game Warcraft 3: Reforged. The tournaments will be part of ESL’s Pro Tour series, which also features Counter-Strike: Global Offensive.

The ESL Pro Tour for StarCraft 2 will take the place of Blizzard’s own StarCraft 2 World Championship Series. Blizzard launched StarCraft 2 in 2012, and since then the game has enjoyed a dedicated and competitive following. This means StarCraft 2’s global finals will be held at the Intel Extreme Masters in Katowice, Poland, from Feb. 28 to March 1.

For Warcraft 3: Reforged, Blizzard’s remaster of Warcraft 3, the ESL Pro Tour will be the game’s first major tournament series. Both ESL and Dreamhack will work with Blizzard to help build up the competitive platform for the game as it moves into its first year of release.

Real-time strategy titles like the original StarCraft were some of the earliest games creating massive competitive communities. Over the last several years, MOBAs like League of Legends, or shooters like Fortnite and CS:GO have dominated the esports scene. But with this new tournament partnership, and the release of Warcraft 3: Reforged on Jan. 28, it’s possible that RTSs could see an esports resurgence in 2020.