StarCraft II revealed that Nation Wars is making a comeback this year. This is the sixth time this tournament has been held. A total of 16 countries, with three players representing each, are going to fight it out both online and offline.
Since its inception, a total of three countries have won the championships. Norway and Korea have two each, with France grabbing one win.
For this year, the schedule is:
- Registration phase: July 14-28
- Voting phase: August 3-18
- Qualifying matches: September 30-October 1
- Round of 24: October 3-6 and October 10-13
- Round of 16: November 12-17
- Round of 8: November 30-December 1
- Playoffs: December 8
Players having the rank of Grand Master for 2018 and 2019 on the North American, European, and Asian servers are given the chance to compete in the tournament. Countries which have at least three players who manage to register successfully are guaranteed to participate.
For countries that have more than three players registered, it is not Blizzard that makes the final decision. Rather it is the community that votes for the players. The three players that have the most votes after the voting phase are then considered the official representatives of their country. The fourth-ranked player is then considered the substitute player.
For the entire tournament, matches are to be played under an All-Kill Format, which is “winner stays on.” Unlike the typical team format, the entire lineup is not announced, only the first player of both teams. After the game, the winner gets to play again, with the loser being replaced by a teammate. Since the All-Kill format is played best-of seven, the first team that usually gets four victories is declared the winner of the match.
For the tournament itself, the Qualifiers follow a single-elimination bracket with the top eight teams qualifying for the round of 24. The next round then follows as round robin group with three teams. After that, the round of 16 has four double-elimination brackets, with the top two teams of each bracket moving to the Playoffs.
The Playoffs follow a single-elimination bracket, with the round of eight matches played online. However, the Semifinals and Grand Finals are to be played offline at the O'Gaming Studio. Like the previous round, the Playoffs are played in a best-of seven, with the Grand Finals played as a best-of nine.
Any thoughts on which country takes this year's championship?
