Last Sunday, the 28th of June, the 2009 Warcraft Regional Finals for Warcraft III:The Frozen Throne and World of Warcraft in Cologne, Germany came to an end. We have prepared for you a video page with an overview of all the matches that were played during the event. We have also updated our Gallery with more photos from the event. Make sure to check it out here!

Please check back frequently over the next few days as we will be updating this site with after-event footage and commentaries on the matches.

The 2009 Warcraft Regional Finals have come to an end! We shared exciting moments and thrilling matches with our visitors and viewers here at the venue in Cologne, Germany. Fast matches, breathtaking scenes and top performances shown by the participants of this tournament heated up the air in the halls of the KOMED venue during all three days.

The last day finished with the North American finals for both Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne and World of Warcraft. In the final rounds of Warcraft III, LongWalk defeated SonKiE a second and final time with 2:1, taking back home $5000.00 and a spot at the Grand Finals in Anaheim for his impressive performance during this event.

Set to fight it out in the Lower Bracket finals for World of Warcraft were TSG and EG. The match was played out relatively quickly as each team won every second round, making good use of all five potential rounds. In the fifth round, we found TSG playing very aggressively and cooldowns such as BladeStorm were used straight off the bat in order to put that extra little bit of pressure on EG. The tactic proved successful as they managed to drop Azael after a well-coordinated target-swap, securing their spot in the Grand Finals.

Waiting for TSG in the Grand Finals was SK Gaming US who considered themselves very well-prepared for TSG despite having never faced them in a tournament before. The rounds went by quickly as SK Gaming justified their high level of confidence by winning the match 3-1 in some very fast-paced rounds. Their use of Mass Dispel against Zilea's bubble won them the round as they proved to the world that they are currently the best American team in the world , receiving a reward of $15.000.00 for their title.

Finally we would like to thank all players, visitors, and spectators for their dedication and commitment. We hope that everybody had as much fun as we did on this great event here in Cologne. Make sure to check out our Regional Finals page here. Don’t miss the latest live coverage for this last tournament day on our forum thread for today. Additionally we have updated our gallery with more pictures showing impressions and emotions we were able to catch here for you.

The second day of the Regional Finals in Cologne, Germany is over with plenty of fast-paced and thrilling games and matches. During the first half of the day, the last four games of the EU Regional Finals took place and we were able to see the champions for both Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne – LucifroN -- as well as for World of Warcraft -- team x6tence from Spain -- who managed to come back from the lower brackets and take the title once again.

The second half of the day, the 2009 US Regional Finals started, bringing us a lot of exciting and fast-paced matches. For Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne SonKiE and LongWalk reached the semi-final of the upper bracket while ShrieK and CrunCher are fighting their way through the lower bracket. The upper bracket of World of Warcraft was dominated by the teams EG and the tournament veterans SK Gaming US while in the lower bracket the teams TSG and eMg managed to beat their opponents.

We also saw several contests down in the free gaming area and signing sessions with Tom Chilton. The venue was crowded with spectators cheering for their favorite players while following the breathtaking fights which took place live on stage.

Today, however, we will be watching the last set of US matches. Expectations are high as we are left with the above-mentioned players and teams to duke it out not only for the title of North American regional champions, but for a chance to visit BlizzCon and participate in the Grand Finals of 2009 in Anaheim, California.

Be sure to check out our Regional Finals page here. Don't miss the live coverage for this last tournament day on our forum thread for today and stay tuned for more exciting coverage and additional images in our Regional Finals gallery.

The second day of the 2009 Warcraft Regional Finals here in Cologne has already started and we already know the teams and players who won a safe place for the Grand Finals this year in Anaheim, California.

For WarCraft III: The Frozen Throne LucifroN, Nicker, and Grubby won their spots for the Grand Finals, while for World of Warcraft team Woah and x6tence, who just defeated eDawgs in the lower bracket semi-final, earned their tickets to BlizzCon in Anaheim where the Grand Finals will be held.

Today Grubby showed his strength in the EU Warcraft Regional Finals, defeating Nicker, a night elf player, quite quickly in the first game. After a fight between two huge armies in the second game as well, Grubby emerged victorious as well. Later on team x6tence, the winners of last year’s EU Regional Finals, crushed the eDawgs RMP team in three very fast and exiting matches in the lower bracket World of Warcraft Semi-Finals with 3:0, leaving eDawgs in the dust.

The Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne was staged between the two famous players LucifroN, winner of yesterday’s upper bracket, and Grubby, who got his chance for revenge after losing against LucifroN yesterday morning in the first Warcraft III game of the day. Grubby started strong and was able to beat LucifroN on the first map. LucifroN recovered quickly and showed his superior skills, defeating Grubby with 2:1 on the last two maps to become the winner of the Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne 2009 Regional Finals, taking home $5000.00 as a prize.

Spanish domination kept on going when team x6tence was able to defeat team Woah -- led by the famous Inflame -- in two breathtaking rounds, winning both times 3:2. A thrilling moment was the match where Woah lost their druid but still kept on going, finally resulting in the defeat of team x6tence in that round. After two rounds, x6tence won the World of Warcraft Regional Finals and received a $15,000 check from Tom Chilton.

Stay tuned and continue watching the beginning of the 2009 North American Regional Finals which will start in a few minutes with more exciting matches on our website for the Regional Finals and make sure to check out the live coverage on our forum thread.

The first day of the 2009 Regional Finals has seen plenty of action loaded matches for Warcraft III and World of Warcraft. European players Grubby and LucifroN and teams Woah and eDawgs have fought and won their first round matches in this amazing tournament here in Cologne, Germany.

One of the most energetic matches in WCIII’s first round was shown to us by Grubby, losing the first game against Happy (download the replay), struggling in the second, but recovering amazingly to eventually defeat Happy 2:1 thus keeping his title "King of the Orcs".

On the World of Warcraft Arena side, “Rest in many pieces” lost against eDawgs in an awesome second round battle featuring two RMP (Rogue Mage Priest) teams, a popular class composition for the European competitors. In the second game, both spectators and Blizzard staff watched breathlessly while the two surviving mages hunted each other with DaisyD from “Rest in many pieces” finally triumphing over his counterpart, Saori of eDawgs.

Players including Happy, SaSe, VortiX and Nicker as well as teams Rest in many pieces, SK Gaming EU, x6tence and aAa will continue battling each other in the Lower Bracket of this tournament, fighting for a chance to reach the finals.

We’ve updated our photo gallery for the Regional Finals with many awesome pictures. Check out our gallery to get an impression of the tournament location, visitors, shoutcasters and of course the players on stage. Be sure to continue following the exciting action in real-time from our Regional Finals live Internet stream. You can also check out the live coverage on our Forum thread for Day 1.

Stay tuned for further exciting coverage from the 2009 Regional Finals!

Today, Friday June 26th, the 2009 Regional Finals for World of Warcraft Arena and Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne will open its gates to both pro-gamers and visitors looking forward to the start of the competition. The expectations are high, and plenty of well-known players and teams have gathered in Cologne to fight for the European and North American Regional Finals title for 2009.

The first matches are slated to start at 14:00 CEST. Be sure to check out our Regional Finals site we’ve prepared for you with a detailed schedule and also our live updated brackets page for both World of Warcraft and Warcraft III.

Additionally we will provide you with live, up-to-date coverage on the Community Forums. Each day, we will be creating one forum thread and providing coverage, commentary, and perhaps a few responses to questions that come up during the event. See the Day One thread where we’re gathering some initial impressions from our pre-event coverage for your reading pleasure.

Starting this Friday, the 2009 Regional Finals featuring World of Warcraft Arena and Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne, will take place in Cologne, Germany. The best players and teams from the US and the EU will compete to determine which of them will win a much sought-after spot at the Grand Finals at BlizzCon in Anaheim, California.

Watch the action in-person by joining us at the KOMED Meeting Centre in Cologne's MediaPark or follow the action from wherever you are through our official Regional Finals website. Additionally, we've prepared for you a brackets page with all participants, which will be updated throughout the event. The newly added tournament schedule available from the Information Page will help you follow the action and our Community team will keep you updated during the entire event from our Forums.

Stay tuned for more information about this exciting event and we hope to see you there!

As the 2009 Warcraft Regional Finals approach, we are excited to announce that the tournament will be streamed live* on the official Regional Finals homepage (starting at 14:00 CEST on Friday June 26th through to Sunday June 28th). You’ll be able to follow the thrilling competition by watching the event live and shoutcasted by Rob Simpson from the Blizzard eSports team and three special guests from the ESL: Stuart “TosspoT” Saw and Daniel “LilLD.C” Claesson for Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne, and James “2GD” Harding for World of Warcraft Arena.

We will also be offering live coverage throughout the event, including news reports, articles and live updates from the Forums. Visit the Regional Finals website for more information!

*In order to view the action, you may need to install the Octoshape Flash plugin. After installing, you may need to restart your browser.

Next in our series of Regional Finals interviews is our discussion with Kintt of Team Pandemic where we talk about tournament preparation, teams to watch and what makes their 3v3 team unique. Read the full interview!

In our weekly E-Sports update this week we bring you news fresh from the front lines. Whether you are an Ensidia or SK Gaming WoW arena fan, or whether you prefer the clever tactics and micromanagement of Warcraft 3, we have you covered! Results from DreamHack Summer in Sweden, the ESL TV Invitational and NGL ONE's Play Day are just some of the goodies you can find news about below.

WoW: Ensidia wins Dreamhack Arena Tournament

Ensidia wins Dreamhack Arena Tournament beating SK Gaming in a nail biting final.

WoW: SK Gaming EU wins ESL TV Invitational

The ESL TV Invitational reached its' climax this week with the final round of their WoW Arena invitationals. SK Gaming wins the tournament by beating iNNERFiRE in an all out battle to the end!

WarCraft III: NGL ONE Play day

Coming up this weekend is another play day of the NGL ONE league with players like LucifroN from Spain, ReiGn from Korea and TH000 from China.

WarCraft III: LiiLD.C wins Dreamhack Summer

The Swedish Night Elf player Daniel Claesson better known as LiiLD.C Dreamhack Summer by beating the Swedish Human player Thorzain in the Finals.

WarCraft III: 91st edition of ZOTAC Warcraft III Cup

The Korean Night Elf player ReMinD won the 90th edition of the ZOTAC Warcraft III Cup. If you are a competitive player though, don't start slacking just yet as you don’t want miss your chance to sign up for the 91st edition of the ZOTAC Warcraft III Cup.

Welcome to this weeks' edition of the StarCraft II Q&A featuring a new part of the Map Maker special. We are looking forward to seeing a lot of creativity from map developers from around the world and here is another sneak peak on how the tool for implementation will look like.

We are excited to unveil the participants for the WarCraft III 2009 North American and European Regional Finals which will take place end of June in Cologne, Germany. Players from both continents have been battling for the available slots and proven themselves worthy of competing in these Regional Finals. In each of these two competitions held on the same weekend, eight WarCraft III players will fight for the title of Regional Champion. Three European and two North American players will have the chance to qualify for the Global Finals to be held at BlizzCon on August 21st and 22nd in Anaheim, California.

Here is a list of the EU participants:

Seed	Nick	Team	Race	Country
1	Happy	Team eG
2	SaSe	None
3	LucifroN	nGize
4	Grubby	Team eG
5	DeMusliM	nGize
6	ThomasG	nGize
7	VortiX	x6tence
8	Nicker	Bin Game

Here is a list of the US participants:

Seed	Nick	Team	Race	Country
1	srs[razer]sonk	Serious Gaming
2	LongWalk	None
3	BoX %)™	None
4	CrunCher	None
5	ShrieK	None
6	Unknownguru	None
7	HolyHuman	None
8	Deuce.	None

Make sure to check out our information page for the 2009 Warcraft Regional Finals!

This week’s eSports news covers both World of Warcraft and WarCraft III. We bring you news on the winner of week four in the ESL TV Invitational, an exclusive interview with SK US’s very own Ryan ‘Realz’ Masterson, the Zotac Cup #90, details about the NGL One: 1v1 Tournament and more information on the Dreamhack Arena Tournament!

WoW: iNNERFiRE wins week 4 of the ESL TV Invitational

iNNERFiRE has fought their way to the ESL TV Invitational grand finals by defeating Whoa in the fourth week. It looked like the WLD team of Whoa were set to take the fourth week for themselves, but the Bulgarian RMP team fought back, and in doing so claimed their ticket to the grand final. You can find out more about this story here.

WarCraft III: Zotac Cup #90 - June 13th

The Zotac Cup #90 is almost upon us. So, why not join the roster and sign up now. Time is of the essence!

WoW: Interview with Realz / SK US

TheDalaranInn.com brings you an exclusive interview with SK-Gaming’s very own Ryan ‘Realz’ Masterson. Find out where he began, what his career highlights have been so far and much, much more.

WarCraft III: NGL One: 1v1 Tournament

The NGL One: 1v1 tournament continues! For a list of upcoming games to be played on June 13th, be sure to check out the NGL One website.

WoW: Dreamhack Arena Tournament Participants

Dreamhack has announced six more teams who shall be participating in their very own Arena Tournament, which is being held on 13-16 june 2009. With 8 announced teams, and limited spaces, this is sure to be a great event. Check out the website for details of the registrants!

This year’s Warcraft regional finals are approaching fast, with the event set to take place on June 26th-28th in Cologne, Germany. Seeing the best players from Europe and North America battling it out on stage is definitely something you do not want to miss, and if you stop by, not only will you bear witness to the climactic finals, you’ll also be able to attend organised signings with World of Warcraft Game Director Tom "Kalgan" Chilton.

We look forward to seeing you there!

In just two short weeks, the Regional Finals will take place in Cologne! Attendees will be able to see the best teams from around the world compete in the World of Warcraft Arena and the Warcraft III:Frozen Throne tournaments. To help you find your way to this free-to-all event, we have provided travel information over on our new Tournament Information page. We look forward to seeing you there!

This week, for you reading pleasure, we offer you a rundown of the best players in WarCraft III, as well as the WC3L XV player awards and finals results. Not only that, but also some insight into the mind of the ‘Skillz to pay the Bills’ creator Peter Leopold, and much, much more! Find out all the juicy details on the Battle.net forums.

We're happy to announce that the Battle.net Mobile Authenticator, an extension of the same concept behind our Blizzard Authenticator, is now available in Europe.

An authenticator generates a one-time password, which you use in addition to an account ID and password to log in to World of Warcraft and other Blizzard Entertainment services. The Battle.net Mobile Authenticator performs this function for the recently launched Battle.net accounts -- only instead of a physical token, the application exists on your mobile phone for easy access.

The Battle.net Mobile Authenticator is now available as a free download for the Apple iPhone and iPod touch from the Apple App Store. Versions for other mobile phones are also in the works for the future. Please visit the Battle.net Mobile Authenticator FAQ for more information, or head to the setup page to get started after you've downloaded the application.

The 2009 Korean Warcraft III regional final series has begun. The event features the top eight players who advanced from the regional online and invitational ladders of the 2009 Warcraft III tournament, including the top two performers from last year’s regional. The tournament takes place in Seoul, Korea over several weeks, with online coverage starting at 18:00 KST (11:00 CEST) for each event day. Check out the timeline for the tournament below, along with the map pool, and don’t forget to keep track of these intense matches by following the bracket and checking out the broadcast on our hosting site. Good luck to all the players!

The second and final allotment of tickets for BlizzCon 2009 has now been sold out. We look forward to seeing all attendees in Anaheim, California! For those unable to attend in-person, online coverage of BlizzCon will also be offered via a DIRECTV Pay Per View event as an Internet video stream.

During the 2009 Warcraft Regional Finals, the best European and North American players will battle each other on stage in Cologne, Germany. Event attendees will also discover our dedicated gaming area, try our latest games, take part in contests, and much more. At the event, you’ll have the opportunity to challenge your friends in StarCraft II, the long-awaited sequel to StarCraft, and game stations will also be set up for Wrath of the Lich King. If you haven’t yet had the chance to step into Northrend or are wondering what’s new for your favorite StarCraft race, you can find out in Cologne June 26 - 28th.

If you were unable to purchase BlizzCon tickets during the first round of ticket sales, we just wanted to remind you that our second batch of BlizzCon 2009 tickets will be going on sale Saturday, May 30. Ticket sales are again scheduled to begin on Saturday at 19:00 CEST, so be sure to visit the ticket sales page then for a chance to get yours.

BlizzCon 2009 will take place August 21 and 22 at the Anaheim Convention Center, and tickets cost $125 each. For those unable to attend the show, in-depth coverage of BlizzCon will also be available as a Pay Per View Internet stream. For more information about the convention and the Internet stream, check out the official BlizzCon site.

We're glad to announce the winners of the Korean regional final of the 2009 World of Warcraft Arena Tournament. Teams "Shipit" and "Button Bashers" have successfully fought their way up the ranks through formidable adversaries en route to winning $15,000 and $6,000 respectively.

Each team will be invited to participate in the global final at BlizzCon for a chance to further showcase their skills, win cash prizes, and compete against the other top regional teams. For video coverage of the event please visit our hosting site. Congratulations to all the winners!

Rank	Team Name	Classes
1	Shipit
2	Button Bashers
3	SK-Korea
4	Without Dimension
5	Azshara
6	M Y T H
7	S Line
8	Tenacity

We’re glad to announce the winners of the Taiwan regional final of the 2009 World of Warcraft Arena Tournament. Below you’ll find the final rankings from the participating teams at this year’s event. Teams “D K P” and “all pass” proved their worth this weekend, rising above an elite field of competitors to claim the top spots in the tournament, winning $15,000 and $6,000 respectively. Their greatest challenge, however, still awaits at this year’s BlizzCon.

Each team will also be invited to participate in the global final at BlizzCon for a chance to further showcase their skills, win cash prizes, and compete against the other top regional teams. For video coverage of the event please visit our hosting site.

Rank	Team Name	Classes
1	D K P
2	all pass
3	Nearer My God To Thee
4	ROC
5	實力證明一切
6	Peace of Formosa PDH
7	KTM
8	我聞到雨的味道

The Battle.net Account features are now completely live in Europe! Starting today, World of Warcraft players in Europe can merge their World of Warcraft accounts into their Battle.net Account, enabling them to log into the forums, the Armory, and the game with their Battle.net account! The Battle.net Account also allows quick and easy access to all World of Warcraft accounts merged with it as well as providing access to StarCraft, Warcraft, and Diablo accounts associated with it.

Additionally, by merging their World of Warcraft Account into their Battle.net account, European World of Warcraft players may now participate in the Beta Opt-in, giving them the chance to join in the StarCraft II Beta test if their account is selected!

Head over to Battle.net and create your account or merge your World of Warcraft account in now.

We have added a new video showing unit death animations to the Developer's Corner.

For the past several months, players have been climbing their respective qualifying ladders, battling each other for a spot at the Regional Finals of the 2009 World of Warcraft Arena Tournament and the 2009 Warcraft III Tournament. On June 26 to 28 you can witness them clash for the top spots and a trip to the Global Finals at BlizzCon. To watch the excitement of the 2009 Regional Finals in person and witness the fast-paced action live on stage, you can join us at the MediaPark in Cologne, Germany. Experience the fascination of eSports at a top level and join other spectators to cheer for your favorite players.

For more information and all updates, check out the Regional Finals mini-site.

The initial allotment of tickets for BlizzCon 2009 has now been sold out. If you weren’t able to get tickets this time, you’ll have a second chance on Saturday, May 30, as another batch will go on sale then. Coverage of the gaming festival will also be offered by DIRECTV as a Pay Per View event, available both via satellite and Internet stream.

Just in case Saturday, May 16 isn’t circled on your calendar, here’s a quick reminder that BlizzCon tickets will be going on sale tomorrow. After our gnomish engineers in Southern California get to work and finish making the final preparations late Saturday morning, they’ll activate the ticket-purchase process and BlizzCon tickets will officially go on sale. If you are unable to purchase tickets tomorrow, a second batch of tickets will go on sale May 30. And for those unable to attend the show, in-depth coverage of BlizzCon will also be offered by DIRECTV as a Pay Per View event, available both via satellite and Internet stream.

BlizzCon 2009 will take place August 21 and 22 at the Anaheim Convention Center, and tickets cost $125 each. For further information about the convention, check out the official BlizzCon site, and keep an eye on the ticket sales page tomorrow for the chance to get yours.

The StarCraft II beta-test period is coming in the months ahead! If you’d like a chance to participate, now’s the time to let us know. Simply log in to your Battle.net account, and click “Beta Profile Settings” to go through the new beta opt-in process and upload a snapshot of your system specs. During this process, you’ll also have the opportunity to opt in to future betas for other Blizzard Entertainment games. Please note that even if you’ve opted in to our betas previously, you’ll need to complete this new process and upload your current system specs to have a chance to be invited.

For more information, see the FAQ -- or create a Battle.net account to opt in now. If you have an unused beta code from BlizzCon 2008 or WWI 2008, visit this site to enter your code.

Tickets to this year's BlizzCon gaming convention, being held on August 21 and 22 in Anaheim, California, will go on sale worldwide on Saturday, May 16 for $125 each, with a second block of tickets going on sale Saturday, May 30.

For those unable to attend, DIRECTV will once again be televising BlizzCon in high definition as a Pay Per View event, featuring coverage from the show floor, exclusive interviews, demos, and more. In addition, for the first time, players around the world will be able to watch the DIRECTV BlizzCon event as a Pay Per View Internet stream.

Check out the press release for further details, and head over to www.blizzard.com/blizzcon on May 16 or May 30 to buy your tickets. Please note that tickets should be purchased in US dollars either from the official BlizzCon US website or through the US Blizzard Store.

The Warcraft III 2009 invitational ladder has now ended. The top-six-ranked players from each invitational ladder will advance to join the top two performers per region from last year's tournament to compete in the regional finals. Please refer to the FAQ and Rules pages for information and guidelines about this year's competition. Good luck and thank you for participating!

The Warcraft III 2009 invitational ladder has begun. We’ve invited the top players from each regional ladder to compete. Please refer to the FAQ and Rules pages for information and guidelines about this year’s competition. Good luck!

• Europe
• Asia
• America

We’re pleased to introduce the Battle.net account -- a brand-new way for players to manage their Blizzard Entertainment games, make online Blizzard store purchases, and more using just one set of login information.

In the near future, World of Warcraft players will be able to merge a World of Warcraft account (or multiple accounts) with a Battle.net account, and begin logging in to the game, the Armory, and the forums using their new Battle.net account login information.

Some of the other benefits of the Battle.net account include:

• Fewer passwords to remember. One single login lets you access World of Warcraft (coming soon), the online Blizzard store, and more -- including upcoming games such as StarCraft II and Diablo III
• Opt in to upcoming Blizzard Entertainment beta tests. Put yourself in the running to be invited to test upcoming games
• Easy access to your classic games. Store your CD keys for classic Blizzard Entertainment titles, and then download the games whenever you wish
• And more to come... We’re planning to add more features in the future, including tools to help friends communicate between games and bring players closer together

At this time, signing up is completely optional -- but if you’re interested in taking advantage of the benefits of the Battle.net account today, check out the FAQ for more information, or create an account now.

We’re pleased to announce that the 2009 World of Warcraft Arena Tournament Registration is now open ! We recently answered a number of questions from the community regarding StarCraft II. Check out part 49 of the Q&A, along with the StarCraft II Q&A archive in the Battle.net forums.

We’re pleased to announce that the 2009 World of Warcraft Arena Tournament Registration is now open !
Remember, this year all participants in the tournament have a chance to earn the exclusive Armored Murloc in-game pet as well as the exclusive “Vanquisher” title, so get your team together and be ready for fierce competition.

For more information on the 2009 World of Warcraft Arena Tournament, take a look at our FAQ and remember to check back on the News Section for updates

Sign up now !

We’re pleased to announce that the 2009 World of Warcraft Arena Tournament is nearly here. Starting next week (February 17, 2009), players will be able to sign up to compete in this year’s exciting competition. The tournament will feature an online qualifier played on our special tournament realms. Top teams will proceed to their respective regional finals and compete for a chance to reach the global world championship – with cash prizes totaling over $200,000.

These realms have been outfitted with level 80 character templates and the latest epic gear from Wrath of the Lich King. As an added bonus, we have included exclusive rewards that players can earn by participating in the tournament, including an Armored Murloc in-game pet. Top teams will also contend for a chance to achieve the “Vanquisher” title for their live characters.

If you would like to demonstrate your arena prowess, or simply want a chance to earn the exclusive loot, please check back next week for more details – including eligible countries – and register!

We recently answered a number of questions from the community regarding StarCraft II. Check out part 48 of the Q&A, along with the StarCraft II Q&A archive in the Battle.net forums.

In order to give you a closer look at the fast-paced, intense, and exciting-to-watch multiplayer matches of StarCraft II, we’re creating a series of videos for the official website. In the first of our StarCraft II Battle Reports, you'll see two of Blizzard Entertainment's best players go head-to-head as the protoss and terrans while our commentators, StarCraft II lead designer Dustin Browder and eSports team member Robert Simpson, dissect and analyze the on-screen action for you.

Check out Battle Report 1 now!

We recently answered a number of questions from the community regarding StarCraft II. Check out part 47 of the Q&A, along with the StarCraft II Q&A archive in the Battle.net forums.

The Warcraft 3 spotlight’s second edition is out !
Find out the last changes in the Champions League of Warcraft 3, get to know THOO The “Unpredictable Strategist” and be sure not to miss the best E-sport events of this week !

Starting today we would like to spotlight interesting articles, interviews, videos and other great content on Warcraft III. Enjoy the first edition of this new feature!

In an ongoing endeavor to ensure a fair and fun online experience for all Warcraft III players, we will be escalating our efforts to remove cheaters from Battle.net. We have identified and closed over 7,700 accounts which were found to be using third-party hacks. The CD keys associated with these accounts are now restricted from playing any ladder games for 30 days (custom games, however, are still available). Repeat offenders will have their accounts closed and their CD keys permanently banned from Battle.net.

Going forward, we will take a hard-line stance against cheating in all Battle.net games, and we reserve the right to close the accounts and ban the CD keys of players who are caught cheating on Battle.net.

These changes are intended to promote fun and competitive play on Battle.net in both ladder and custom games. Cheating ruins the game experience for legitimate players, and we will not tolerate it.

We’ve just brought our brand-new Battle.net forums online. The new forums bring a host of new features and stability, as well as helpful tools for us to better moderate and organise posts. They’re available right now -- to access them, visit: http://forums.battle.net.

The forum login requirements remain the same. In order to post you will need an account created by a Battle.net supported game and a CD-key.

If you’re still looking for some posts or information from the old forums, we’ve left them up at the original address (http://www.battle.net/forums.shtml). The old forums aren’t open for posting, but if you’d like to copy a thread or back up some information, they’ll remain available until Tuesday, October 7.

The benefits of implementing these new forums are numerous, and we hope you’re as excited as we are to see this step toward the continued growth and support of our Battle.net community.

Thank you to everyone who reported the growing "tie-hacking" problem in Warcraft III ladder games on Battle.net. We have just released a patch to fix this problem, and we will reset the Warcraft III ladder in January at the beginning of the new tournament season to give all players a fresh start. In addition, we are banning the CD keys of top offenders for damaging the gameplay experience for players who seek fair and fun competitive matches on Battle.net.

The 2008 North American and European Warcraft Finals will be taking place this weekend, September 6-7. These events will feature the top eight qualifiers from the 2008 World of Warcraft Arena and Warcraft III tournaments for their respective regions. Attendees will also have the opportunity to try out demos of Wrath of the Lich King and StarCraft II on-site. Admission is free, so come by and check it out if you’re in the area.

Details for each event can be found below. The map pool for Warcraft III for both events, including the four winning maps from the Warcraft III Melee Map Contest, is as follows:

• Centaur Grove
• Echo Isles
• Melting Valley
• Road to Stratholme
• Secret Valley
• Terenas Stand
• Tidewater Glades

Europe
The European Warcraft Final will be held at the Círculo de Bellas Artes, Salón de Columnas, in Madrid, Spain, with doors opening at 10:30 a.m.

Here are the eight teams that advanced from the regional online qualifiers of the 2008 World of Warcraft Arena Tournament:

1. Mousesports
2. x6tence
3. Pure Cartoons
4. aAa Agita
5. Nihilum Plasma
6. Team Alternate
7. Triple Threat
8. Sik

1. ToD
2. Creolophus
3. KnOfF
4. LucifroN7
5. LiiLD.C
6. SaSe
7. Grubby
8. Happy

North America
The North American Warcraft Final will be held at the Hard Rock Cafe in Boston, Massachusetts, with doors opening at 9:30 a.m.

Here are the eight teams that advanced from the regional online qualifiers of the 2008 World of Warcraft Arena Tournament:

1. Dude I got it on FRAPS
2. duelists going for glad
3. Frag Dominant
4. Fnatic Orz
5. GOT GAME DOT COM
6. selective queuers
7. Magical Muffin Factory
8. Team FocaL dot org

1. nilk
2. KiWiKaKi
3. srs. sonkie[razer]
4. nGize. Yane
5. LastManDancing
6. nGize.ShrieK
7. h2o.Holyhuman
8. srs'Kowi[razer]

We’re excited to be able to showcase some of Blizzard’s games at this year’s Games Convention in Leipzig from 21 to 24 August. We’ll be providing playable demos of StarCraft II and Wrath of the Lich King, running tournaments and quizzes and providing some extra excitement with a Live Raid.

Many of you have participated in our “I <3 SC” Mosaic competition and now even more of you have the chance to become part of the exclusive “I <3 SC” club. Print out your “I <3 SC” signs or take out your t-shirts and join us at the Games Convention in Leipzig for the an official “I <3 SC” group picture at the Blizzard Booth. Meet up with other StarCraft fans at 16:00 on Friday, August 22.

Looking for a job at Blizzard? Our Game Masters will be at the booth ready to answer your questions about recruitment and working at Blizzard. Bring your CV along and talk to us about how you can start your career at Blizzard.

We look forward to seeing you at the Games Convention, in Hall 5 at booth number D01!

The Warcraft III 2008 invitational ladder has now ended. We’ll be inviting the top-six-ranked players from each invitational ladder to join the top two performers per region from last year’s tournament to compete in the regional finals. Please refer to the FAQ and Rules pages for information and guidelines about this year’s competition. Good luck and thank you for participating!

We have added a new planet bio, Mar Sara.

The Sara system was initially catalogued by freelance prospectors and colonized by an expedition from Tarsonis several years later. Mar Sara formed the eighth of the thirteen core colonies of the Terran Confederacy. The Sara system was unusual for having two habitable planets, but Mar Sara was always a backwater colony compared to the more prosperous Chau Sara.

Mar Sara was one of the first planets to be infested by the zerg when they appeared in terran space. It was also the first planet on which the Confederates fought the advancing Swarm to any significant extent, although most of the actual fighting was done by local militia forces.

We have added three new pieces of artwork, two new screenshots, and one new wallpaper.

The Warcraft III 2008 invitational ladder has begun. We will be inviting the top players from each regional ladder to compete. Please refer to the FAQ and Rules for information and guidelines about this year’s competition. Good luck!

European Ladder
Asian Ladder
American Ladder

Warcraft III 2008 Tournament - Last Year's Top Performers
We're pleased to announce the top two performers from last year's tournament for each region:

Americas: nilknarf, KiWiKaKi
Europe: ToD, Creolophus
Asia: Moon, Remind

Based on their performance, these players have automatically qualified for their respective regional qualifier event. They will join the top-six-ranked players from each region's invitational ladder to form the final lineups. Congratulations and good luck!

The Warcraft III 2008 Tournament is now underway and competitors are furiously climbing the ladder. Below is the schedule for the tournament:

Ladders
Open: June 30 - July 11
Invitational: July 21 - August 8

Regional Finals
Korea: August 16-17 in Seoul, South Korea
North America: September 6-7 in Boston, Massachusetts
Europe: September 6-7 in Madrid, Spain

Global Finals
BlizzCon: October 10-11 in Anaheim, California

For more detailed information, please visit the FAQ and Rules pages.

The Warcraft III 2008 open ladder has now ended. We will be inviting the top players from each regional ladder to compete in the invitational ladder. Please refer to the FAQ and Rules pages for information and guidelines about this year’s competition. Good luck!

We’re excited to announce that our planned team-up with Activision, first made public back in December 2007, is now a reality. All regulatory and shareholder approvals have been granted, meaning Blizzard Entertainment -- along with the other companies that made up Vivendi Games -- is now part of a new organization called Activision Blizzard. While this transition doesn’t impact our games, websites, personnel, day-to-day operations, or development philosophies, the combined resources of Activision Blizzard will make it easier than ever for us to deliver the best games possible to our players around the world.

StarCraft: Brood War and Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne are coming to the 2008 Digital Games worldwide tournament as part of the real-time strategy (RTS) category.

Digital Games is a worldwide online tournament featuring competition in thirteen titles, with the best players receiving permanent online medals. Participants can represent their countries on ladders in five different worldwide regions, and can win medals at the country, region, and world levels. Top gamers may also have the chance to attend the Digital Games Grand Final event in China as part of the Olympic Games welcome events.

Ladder play is already underway, so you can sign up and put your skills to the test by visiting the Digital Games site at http://dg.ggl.com.

We're pleased to announce the 2008 Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne Battle.net ladder tournament. The upcoming competition will follow a similar format to the previous ones, using three invitational ladders hosted on the Kalimdor, Northrend, and Azeroth realms, each initially populated on an invitation-only basis by the world's most established and successful Warcraft III players. Each will function as a standard Battle.net solo ladder, with their own rankings displays and map pools. For more information and details on the tournament, please check out the FAQ.

With this past weekend's announcement of Diablo III, now is the perfect time to revisit the dark fantasy world of Sanctuary (or check it out for the first time). The Diablo II ladder was recently reset, wiping the slate clean and kicking off a new rush to level 99. In addition, the newly released patch 1.12a lets you play without having the Diablo II CD in the drive. To download the patch, either connect to Battle.net or visit the Patch Download page, and be sure to read the patch notes for further instructions.

Diablo II and its expansion, Lord of Destruction, are also now available for direct download via our online store, making it easy to replace lost CDs or to introduce the game to friends. You can also visit the Arreat Summit for Diablo II resources and information, including detailed item listings, formulae, build templates, and more.

Learn more about StarCraft II's main characters and their complex intertwining stories in the character biography of Zeratul, the second installment of our StarCraft II character biography series. We have also added one new piece of artwork and five new screenshots.

Twenty years have passed since the cataclysmic events of Diablo® II. Mephisto, Diablo, and Baal have been defeated, but the Worldstone, which once shielded the world of Sanctuary from the forces of both the High Heavens and the Burning Hells, has been destroyed, and evil once again stirs in Tristram....

Following the unveiling of Diablo III today at the Blizzard Entertainment Worldwide Invitational, we've launched the game's official website, with information about the places, characters, monsters, and adventures awaiting you upon your return to the world of Sanctuary. Some of the site's highlights include:

• The cinematic teaser trailer shown at the 2008 Worldwide Invitational
• A 20-minute gameplay demo video
• More than 60 screenshots and pieces of concept art
• Deckard Cain's journal, narrated by Deckard Cain himself -- stay a while and listen!
• And much, much more

With this past weekend's announcement of Diablo III, now is the perfect time to revisit the dark fantasy world of Sanctuary (or check it out for the first time). The Diablo II ladder was recently reset, wiping the slate clean and kicking off a new rush to level 99. In addition, the newly released patch 1.12a lets you play without having the Diablo II CD in the drive. To download the patch, either connect to Battle.net or visit the Patch Download page, and be sure to read the patch notes for further instructions.

Diablo II and its expansion, Lord of Destruction, are also now available for direct download via our online store, making it easy to replace lost CDs or to introduce the game to friends. You can also visit the Arreat Summit for Diablo II resources and information, including detailed item listings, formulae, build templates, and more.

Learn more about StarCraft II's main characters and their complex intertwining stories in the character biography of Zeratul, the second installment of our StarCraft II character biography series. We have also added one new piece of artwork and five new screenshots.

The Diablo II ladder has been reset, wiping the slate clean and beginning the rush to be the first to level 99! In addition to the reset we’ve also released Diablo II patch 1.12a, which removes the requirement to have your Diablo II CD in the drive while playing. To download the patch either connect to Battle.net or visit our Patch Download page, and be sure to read the Patch Notes for further instructions.

We have added a new planet bio, Char.

Char was formerly one of the thirteen core worlds of the Confederacy, but it is most notorious as the primary hive planet of the alien zerg. Upon its discovery, Char was found to be an inhospitable volcanic planet with thick ash covering most of its surface and tainting its acrid atmosphere. The hazardous environment is further intensified by extremely high levels of cosmic radiation from Char's volatile pairing of binary stars, a class VI F0 sub dwarf orbiting an M8 irregular variable.

We have added a new zerg unit, the baneling.

The baneling is a creature so bloated with fluid-filled sacs that it can barely walk; instead, it moves itself by tucking into a tight ball and rolling. However, this ungainly appearance belies the fact that the baneling is an extremely dangerous organism, one of several new zerg specialists recently seen on the battlefield. When a baneling gets close enough to an enemy, the creature triggers a reaction within its volatile chemical payload that causes it to explode with devastating force and shower the immediate surroundings with searing acid.

The storyline of StarCraft II takes place four years after the events of StarCraft: Brood War. We have prepared a two-part overview called The Story So Far, an opportunity for you to get up to speed with the characters, settings, and developments that lead up to StarCraft II. Read about Kerrigan's treachery as the Queen of Blades, Samir Duran's hybrid experiments, and the final events leading up to StarCraft II.

Tassadar's brave sacrifice had destroyed the Overmind, but countless rampaging zerg remained on Aiur and would surely overrun the surviving protoss. Zeratul offered sanctuary on Shakuras, the adopted home of the dark templar. Although the decision was difficult, Executor Artanis and the surviving members of the shattered Conclave agreed that their first duty was to save as many lives as possible.

Jim Raynor's forces and the protoss cut a path through the zerg to reach an ancient xel'naga warp gate, the relic of an earlier age. Using the gate, Zeratul opened a connection to a second gate on Shakuras. During the battle, Raynor and some of the protoss were cut off, but Artanis and Zeratul led many other protoss through the gate to safety on Shakuras.

For more, check out The Story So Far Part 2: The Brood War. We have also added three new pieces of artwork.

We hope you enjoyed our April Fools' Day events. If you missed them, check out this year's jokes:

• New World of Warcraft Hero Class: Bard
• New StarCraft II Unit: Tauren Marine
• World of Warcraft on a Console
• Diablo Loot Piñata
• Forums: Bears and Buckets and Walruses, Oh My!

The deeds of every great hero inspire countless songs of triumph, virtue, and epic adventure. But although a heros glory endures in song, the creators of those songs are seldom remembered. After ages spent singing of the heroic exploits of others, the bards of Azeroth are finally stepping into the spotlight on their own terms, proving once and for all that while just about anyone can pick up a sword or cast a spell, only a true hero can vanquish evil with the power of ROCK! Check out this new class here!

Blizzard Entertainment is proud to announce its long-awaited return to console development with Molten Core: Unleashed!, a new console game based on the popular World of Warcraft 40-person raid dungeon. In Molten Core: Unleashed!, players will once again be challenged by the highly complex encounters of Molten Core and battle epic enemies such as Majordomo Executus and Ragnaros. Classic heart-stopping moments such as becoming the living bomb when facing the infamous Baron Geddon will be revitalized in this new version of the Molten Core experience designed exclusively for console systems. Check out the official press release for more information, and keep your eyes peeled for updates on www.blizzard.co.uk.

In the old Confederacy, terran marines were mostly criminals or rebels who had undergone mandatory neural resocialization. Freed from any previous allegiances or ideologies, these fearless soldiers stood ready to defend Confederate interests with their lives but exhibited an annoying tendency toward petty larceny, vandalism, and occasional cannibalism. Confederate authorities were unable to requisition enough reliable troopers in this way, and eventually recruiters turned to a new source of fresh meat for the grinder. Learn more about the Tauren Marine here!

The StarCraft II website has just been updated with new information about the zerg, the game's third playable race. You can now learn more about the nightmarish hydralisks and the agile and dangerous mutalisks, and can also catch up on the recent history of the Swarm. Also make sure to check out the newly added screenshots, concept art, and unit videos included in this first look at the zerg.

Over the years we have enjoyed watching our community show their creativity and create amazing maps and mods to our games. With StarCraft II we would like to encourage you to keep up the awesome work, so we’d like to give you a tool, you will enjoy working with. We have already answered questions in our Q&As but now it is your turn to tell us what your ideal StarCraft II Editor would look like!

We recently answered a number of questions from the community regarding StarCraft II. Check out part 31, the latest of the Q&A, along with the previous ones on the StarCraft II Q&A archive in the Battle.net forums.

We recently answered a number of questions from the community regarding StarCraft II. Check out part 28, the latest of the Q&A, along with the previous ones on the StarCraft II Q&A archive in the Battle.net forums.

We recently answered a number of questions from the community regarding StarCraft II. Check out part 27, the latest of the Q&A, along with the previous ones on the StarCraft II Q&A archive in the Battle.net forums.

Jim Raynor was a Confederate marshal on Mar Sara at the time of the first zerg incursions on that world. Despite bravely fighting the alien aggressors and saving many lives, he was arrested by Confederacy forces on the pretext of destroying Confederate property at Backwater Station. When he was subsequently liberated by Arcturus Mengsk's Sons of Korhal, an anti-Confederate revolutionary group, Raynor chose to fight alongside them...

Learn more about StarCraft II’s main characters and their complex intertwining stories in the character biography of Jim Raynor, the first installment of our StarCraft II character biography series.

The StarCraft II Community section of the official StarCraft II web site is now live. Here you’ll find up-to-date links to the latest developer Q&A batches, BlizzCasts, regularly updated community spotlights, latest forum discussions, and future community projects. Head over to the StarCraft II site now and check it out!

We recently answered a number of questions from the community regarding StarCraft II. Check out part 26, the latest of the Q&A, along with the previous ones on the StarCraft II Q&A archive in the Battle.net forums.

We have added a new terran unit, the siege tank.

The Crucio is the Dominion update of the immensely popular but aging Arclite siege tank. The Arclite was renowned throughout the Confederacy for its devastating firepower and stalwart emplacement/advance tactics. Originally designed to serve as a "final defense" security cannon, the siege tank adopted a two-stage configuration in its final form: a mobile assault mode and a deployed siege mode that brought its massive shock cannon to bear.

Read more about the siege tank here. We have also added two new artwork and one new screenshot.

We have added a new terran unit, the nomad.

The TF-620 nomad is an all-around workhorse that combines the functions of light manufacturing center and observation post rolled into one. A common sight among the fringe-world colonies, the nomad is a robust, air-mobile vehicle built to operate independently in all but the harshest climates.

Read more about the nomad here. We have also added four new artwork and two new screenshots.

We recently answered a number of questions from the community regarding StarCraft II. Check out part 24, the latest of the Q&A, along with the previous ones on the StarCraft II Q&A archive in the Battle.net forums.

The storyline of StarCraft II takes place four years after the events of StarCraft: Brood War. We have prepared a two-part overview called The Story So Far, an opportunity for you to get up to speed with the characters, settings, and developments that lead up to StarCraft II. Read about Arcturus Mengsk's pivotal betrayal, Kerrigan's ascension as the Queen of Blades, and Tassadar's noble sacrifice to save his people.

Over several decades the terrans established colonies, spread to other planets, and came into conflict with one another. In the decade after the end of the Guild Wars, the Terran Confederacy stood unchallenged in its supremacy over colonial space.

The terran colonies first became aware they were not alone in the universe when a gleaming fleet of protoss warships suddenly emerged over the Confederate world of Chau Sara. The advanced alien ships incinerated the planet's surface without warning.

For more, check out Part 1 of The Story So Far.

Of all the original StarCraft units brought back to StarCraft II, the Terran Ghost has undergone some of the most changes. The Terran Ghost wields new abilities such as Snipe and the upgradable EMP burst and cloak ability. Furthermore, the Ghost is also able to call down Drop Pods in addition to their classic Nuclear Launch ability. In addition, the Terran Ghost can be built early game, in a Barracks with a tech lab and a Shadow Ops as a prerequisite building, making it a Tier 1.5 unit.

These changes have brought about much innovation to the gameplay for StarCraft II and we encourage the community to add their feedback to these changes in our Battle.net forums!

We recently answered a number of questions from the community regarding StarCraft II. Check out part 20, the latest of the Q&A, along with the previous ones on the StarCraft II Q&A archive in the Battle.net forums.

We have added to our StarCraft II website a new protoss unit, the observer, along with five new artwork and two screenshots.

We recently answered a number of questions from the community regarding StarCraft II. Check out part 19, the latest of the Q& A, along with the previous ones on the StarCraft II Q&A archive in the Battle.net forums.

We have added a new terran building, the sensor tower, as well as six new pieces of artwork.

We recently answered a number of questions from the community regarding StarCraft II. Check out part 18, the latest of the Q& A, along with the previous ones on the StarCraft II Q&A archive in the Battle.net forums.

StarCraft Legacy has just posted an interview on the lore of StarCraft II. The interview covers player-submitted questions about the state of the universe at the onset of StarCraft II, and provides more details on some notable characters.

We recently answered a number of questions from the community regarding StarCraft II. Check out part 17, the latest of the Q&A, along with the previous ones on the StarCraft II Q&A archive in the Battle.net forums.

To prepare for our New Season of Tournaments, the Blizzard Community Team is happy to announce this Map Creation Contest, adding winning maps into the Tournament Pool of Maps for our Tournaments. Each map will be judged by the Blizzard Development Team in terms of polish and balance. We look forward to reviewing the creative eSports style maps we'll be receiving!

For more information on how to submit your map, as well as prizes and rules, please check the contest page on the US Battle.net website.

We've just released the official StarCraft II Fansite Kit, a potential bonanza for those wishing to build their own StarCraft II related fansites. The downloadable kit contains the following content, including some assets you can’t find anywhere else:

• Art assets including screenshots, concept art, hi-res logos, and wallpapers
• Site design elements including borders, backgrounds, fonts, and stylesheets
• Exclusive content: Unit renders and forum avatars / Messenger images
• StarCraft II fact sheet and FAQ
• Sample StarCraft II text content
• Site building tips

We have added a new unit, the carrier, to the protoss section.

The massive carriers serve as operations centers for leaders of the protoss fleets. Heavily armored and shielded, carriers can punch their way through enemy blockades by unleashing flights of robotic interceptors at vital enemy targets. These maneuverable, computer-guided craft tear through enemy flight formations and relentlessly strafe slower ground targets with potent plasma charges.

Read more about the carrier here.

We have also added three new screenshots and two new pieces of artwork.

We recently answered a number of questions from the community regarding StarCraft II. Check out part 15 of the Q&A, along with the StarCraft II Q&A archive in the Battle.net forums.

We have added a new unit, the Battlecruiser, to the terran section.

These massive, heavily armored combat ships are virtual flying fortresses, built to keep the peace and dominate the space lanes of the Koprulu sector. Many commanders use battlecruisers as their command vessels during extended campaigns. There are several examples of vessels specifically refitted for this purpose, such as General Duke's Norad II and Norad III, as well as the battlecruiser Hyperion commanded by Jim Raynor.

Read more about the Battlecruiser here.

We've just released a StarCraft II gameplay video demonstrating the resourcefulness and sheer grit of the Terran forces. Get ready to see some of the Terrans' new and improved designs in action as they adapt to and counter their enemies' strengths and weaknesses.

Download the StarCraft II Terran Gameplay Demonstration video now!

We recently answered a number of questions from the community regarding StarCraft II. Check out part twelve of the Q&A, along with parts one through eleven in the Battle.net forums to find out more about Tier 1 units in the late game and player colors.

We have added a new unit, the Mothership, to the protoss section.

Protoss motherships are mighty vessels that were constructed centuries ago during the golden age of protoss expansion. They were intended to act as primary command ships to lead vast armadas of protoss explorers into the darkness of deep space and bring them safely home again. Those days are long gone, and the surviving motherships later became holy shrines to the protoss, representing an honored way of life and a part of the proud history of the protoss race.

Read more about the Mothership here.

As a result of our first RTS Community Summit, we are implementing Monthly Discussion Topics, in which the community as a whole, including all our popular StarCraft fan sites, will work together in consolidating fan feedback for the developers, so we really get the voice of the fans heard here at Blizzard.

Our first Monthly Discussion Topic for the month of September was decided unanimously by many of the top StarCraft II fan sites: The Mothership. Join us in the Battle.net forum and give us your opinion!

We have opened the European StarCraft Forums on Battle.net, offering European customers a platform for discussion of StarCraft, Brood War and StarCraft II in English, French, German and Spanish languages. Check out the StarCraft II Q&A and participate in the discussions on strategies, units and the latest StarCraft II news and rumors in the European StarCraft Forums.

Be one of the first to get your community sites into the Blizzard RTS Fan Site Program to receive exclusive news updates in relation to StarCraft, Warcraft III, StarCraft II, including events, contests, tournaments, and more! We want to hook up our community leaders and your members with the tools to expand your communities!

Register your fan site now using the Blizzard RTS Community Webform!

We have added a new unit, the protoss colossus, to the protoss section.

The towering colossus is a protoss robot design dating back to the bloody conflicts of the Kalath Intercession. It strides across the battlefield on four tall, slender legs which give it an extremely high level of mobility.

Read more about the colossus here.

The first European Championship of the World of Warcraft Arena, and the European Regional finals of the fifth Warcraft III Battle.net Season concluded in Hamburg today. After many exciting matches these players and teams managed to defeat all opposition to win their trip to the Global Finals at BlizzCon:

1st - Warders of the Melee
2nd - Log
3nd - Nashwan

1st - ToD
2nd - Creolophus
3rd - Grubby

Today is the first day of the European Regional Finals at the Congress Center in Hamburg, where the best European World of Warcraft Arena teams and the best European Warcraft III players will fight for the chance to compete in the Global Finals at BlizzCon. If you are not lucky enough to be in Hamburg to witness this exciting event live, you can tune in on the official site of GIGA 2, either in low-quality and for free or in high-quality with subscription to catch all the excitement of this tournament. See all Warcraft III results on our brackets page and check out the gallery for the latest pictures directly from the venue. You can find information on the players and teams as well as the schedule of the event on our European Regionals page!

Visitors to BlizzCon 2007 will be treated to the first-ever public hands-on with StarCraft II. Demo stations will be set up at the convention, and attendees can sample the new units and gameplay elements for themselves in multiplayer battles. We're excited to offer this exclusive opportunity to our players, and look forward to seeing you at BlizzCon.

The European Regional Finals are fast approaching! From June 22 to 24 you can witness the excitement of Player vs Player action at the highest level. Join us at the Congress Center in Hamburg to watch the best eight European World of Warcraft Arena teams fight for the very first time for the title of European Champion and a ticket to the Global Finals at the BlizzCon in August. At this event you won't only be witnessing Arena matches: the Warcraft III Battle.net Season 5 tournament is coming to an end as well and renowned players like ToD, the winner of this year's Worldwide Invitational, will compete in world-class matches with seven other amazing players for the European Championship. Three days of tense competitive gaming await you!

The North American World of Warcraft Arena and Warcraft III regional finals concluded this past weekend, with 3 arena teams and 2 Warcraft III players advancing to the global finals at BlizzCon this August 2-3.

Warcraft III Finalists: (View current bracket and replays)

1. mTw-nilk
2. mTw-KiWi
3. mTw-PaTo

World of Warcraft Arena Finalists:

1. THE HUKHUKHUKHUKHUKS
2. We lose cuz Daorok sux
3. Power Trip

Check out some of the coverage from the event below:

Amped eSports:

• Photo Gallery
• The Great UI Debate
• Leeroy Jenkins, Shoutcaster Extraordinaire
• Live from San Diego: Day One
• Live from San Diego: Day Two
• Flow Gaming: America's Best

• Jared 'Vhell' Coulston re-caps the first round of fights
• PvP Videos: Eminence vs PvE Clickers
• PvP Videos: Power Trip vs The Huks (Upper Bracket Finals)
• Pictures
• Updates for WoW Rounds 1, 2, and 3

• Warcraft 3: Season 5 American Regionals
• World of Warcraft: US Regional Finals Coverage

The first day of the Blizzard North American regional tournament is finished, and after many exciting matches, we've narrowed the field down to 3 World of Warcraft Arena teams and 3 Warcraft III players. The teams and players listed below will now compete for a trip to the Blizzard Global Finals, to be held August 3-4 at BlizzCon.

Warcraft III Finalists: (View current bracket and replays)

mTw-nilk
mTw-KiWi
mTw-PaTo

World of Warcraft Finalists:

THE HUKHUKHUKHUKHUKS
Power Trip
We lose cuz Daorok sux

Check back tomorrow to see who claims top honors for the American region and secures a place at the Global Finals at BlizzCon!.

The World of Warcraft and Warcraft III American regional finals will be held at the House of Blues on Saturday, June 2 and Sunday, June 3 in San Diego, California. Players will compete for cash prizes and a chance to attend the global finals at BlizzCon 2007. Check out the World of Warcraft and Warcraft III brackets to see who's playing who. If you are in the area, come and watch some epic competition. The event begins at 11 a.m. and admission is free.

Missed the excitement of the Worldwide Invitational? Now you can see the replays from the matches as well as photos taken throughout the event. See the exact match-ups on the new WWI Tournament Brackets page and then check out the complete StarCraft and Warcraft III tournament replays.

Here are the tournament results from WWI. The winners of the respective tournaments in ranking order are

Warcraft III Season 5 Asia Regional Finals
1. Moon
2. Remind
3. Shy

World of Warcraft Asia Regional Finals
1. Notorious
2. D E R tenacity
3. MYTH

Warcraft III Invitational
1. Tod
2. Fov

StarCraft Invitational
1. Bisu
2. Savior

For more information about the tournaments visit the tournament section on the WWI page. Replays from the StarCraft Invitational, the Warcraft III Invitational, and the Warcraft III Season 5 tournament will be posted on www.battle.net.

The Worldwide invitational 2007 was particularly exciting: the event opened with Mike Morhaime's announcement of the Blizzard's newest project, StarCraft II.

During the event, people who attended were able to enjoy performances from Korean singers such as the famous Psy, Lee Hyori, as well as Ivy, Maximum Crew, and Super Junior. Moreover, the famous Video Games Live orchestra made a special appearance, doing a live performance of music from Warcraft, World of Warcraft, and StarCraft!

Besides the tournaments, a many events were prepared for the attendees, including a cosplay contest, a trading card demonstration, discussion panels with developers, among others. If you want to catch a glimpse of the atmosphere during the Worldwide Invitational, you can find some photos of the events here.

World of Warcraft Arena Tournament: Notorious Dominates
The World of Warcraft Arena Regional Finals in Korea have been very impressive. Moreover, the last rounds of the competition have been particularly exciting. During the upper bracket finals, D E R Tenacity faced Notorious. In the end, the Notorious team proved its superiority, winning the first place. The top three teams were:

First place: Notorious
Second Place: DER Tenacity
Third place: Myth

All of these teams will participate in the Global Finals and will go on to face the top players around the world.

Warcraft III Tournament Finals
The Worldwide Invitational Warcraft III tournament is finished! The best players in the world faced each other in this exciting competition. During an incredible 3-match battle, Tod (Yoan Merlo – France) faced Fov (Cho Daehui – Korea). The Humans, lead by Tod, prevailed against the Undead, lead by Fov.

The Season 5 ladder finals also took place during this tournament. Spirit_Moon won the first place. The top three performers of these finals will participate in the Global Finals.

WWI StarCraft Tournament Finals: Bisu Wins!
We're pleased to announce the winner of the StarCraft WWI tournament: Bisu[Shield] (Kim Taekyong - Korea). Bisu's Protoss won in the final's third match thanks to an incredible rush against Savior's Zerglings. Both Korean players won one match, before Bisu finally won the third one in only a few minutes.

We have added new functionality to Battle.net that allows players to organize and join custom StarCraft leagues. These leagues support stat-tracking, custom icons, and replay uploading, among other features. Check out our StarCraft League page for more information on how to join a league or start your own.

The regional finals for Warcraft III and the World of Warcraft Arena Tournament are coming soon! Check out the locations and dates for each venue. If you are in the area, feel free to come by and see the top teams compete for a spot in the global finals at BlizzCon 2007.

Warcraft III Season 5 is now complete! After a month of fierce competition in the invitational ladder, we have selected the top players from the Azeroth, Northrend, and Kalimdor gateways to compete in the regional finals. Further details on the regional finals, such as when and where they will take place, will be posted in the near future.

Here are the top six performers from each region:

• Azeroth (Americas): Prae.ShrieK, sCa.Tagan)Guan, sCa.Tagan)LW, emissary, TeK-9.Obdurate, C5ipo7i

• Northrend (Europe): submarine, whydidichoseorc, Marakesh, streaksinthesky, mouz.GeiL.TitaN, fnatic.08-RdaM

• Kalimdor (Asia): Spirit_Moon, PrettyWorld, Shy, WE.Ige.Lyn, Check[Pooh], PhoeNix_WinNers

We will be releasing Patch 1.15 for StarCraft within the next few weeks. This patch introduces new functionality to Battle.net that allows players to organize and join custom StarCraft leagues. These leagues support stat-tracking, custom icons, and replay uploading, among other features. Check out the StarCraft LDK page for more information.

A year and a half ago, Blizzard hosted the first "BlizzCon," a convention celebrating the Warcraft, StarCraft, and Diablo game universes and the amazing community of players who contribute to their continued popularity. Today, Blizzard announced that BlizzCon will once again open its doors on August 3, 2007.

Highlights for this year's BlizzCon will include:

• Discussion panels with Blizzard game developers
• Competitive and casual tournaments, including a World of Warcraft TCG tournament
• Costume, machinima, and character sound-alike contests with great prizes
• Live orchestral performances of music from Blizzard games
• And many more exciting activities to be announced soon!

We are pleased to announce the top two performers from Season 4 for each region!

• Americas: KiWiKaKi, SonKiE
• Europe: Grubby, ToD
• Asia: ReMinD, Lucifer

We plan to look into adopting World of Warcraft's installer, updater, launcher, and/or downloader applications for the Mac versions of StarCraft, Diablo II, and Warcraft III in the future. This will lead to a change in the minimum Mac system requirements for online play; namely, we'll be raising the minimum supported Mac OS version to OS X 10.3.9 when the next major patch is released for these titles. Please see our Mac Update page for further details.

The Warcraft III Season 5 invitational ladder has begun. We have invited the top players from each regional ladder to compete in the invitational ladder. Please refer to the Season 5 FAQ for new information and guidelines about this season's competition. Good luck!

We are pleased to announce the fifth edition of the Battle.net Warcraft III ladder seasons. Based on the positive feedback we received for Season 4, we will be using a similar format for Warcraft III Season 5. Be sure to check out our complete coverage of Season 4, which concluded with an awarding of $10,000 and the Season 4 Global Champion Trophy to ReMinD for his comeback victory in the Global Finals event held in Cologne, Germany this past January.

The upcoming season will once again contain three elite ladders hosted on the Kalimdor, Northrend, and Azeroth gateways. These ladders will initially be populated on an invitation-only basis and feature the world's most established and successful Warcraft III players. Each ladder will function as a standard Battle.net solo ladder, with its own web interface displaying rankings, and its own map pools.

To ensure that all players eventually have the opportunity to compete for seeds in the final events, we'll be refreshing the player pool for each of the ladders at the end of the season. Inactive and low-ranking players from these tournament ladders will be replaced with top-ranked players on the standard Battle.net solo ladders. We intend to use this overall format for future Blizzard tournaments as well.

Ladders

For Season 5, each participant will play on the gateway closest to his or her own geographical location. The ladders for these gateways will have roughly 100-150 players on them, and there will be no restrictions for the AMM (automated matchmaking system). This means that the top player could be pitted against someone much lower on the ladder, but it also means that search times should be faster, as AMM searches will only be impacted by player availability.

Players

Each Season 5 player will receive a unique icon and will be able to view and play on the new ladders through Battle.net. Also, six players from Season 4 will be invited by Blizzard to participate in the Season 5 regional qualifiers based on their success in the Season 4 Global Finals.

Season

Season 5 will last approximately one month, and upon completion, Blizzard will arrange for the top players from each ladder to participate in the offline regional qualifiers. Those who succeed in the regional qualifiers will then go head-to-head in the global finals. Similar to Season 4, the Season 5 finals will be hosted at a dedicated event set up solely for the purpose of closing out the season with a bang. More information will be released in the future, including details on rules, scheduling, and prizes, so please stay tuned to www.battle.net.