The Global Finals of the World Championship Series (WCS) will bring their glory and passion back to BlizzCon once again. Throughout 2014, the best players have gone head-to-head in the three WCS regions: America, Europe, and Korea. Based on how they place in each regions WCS League, players earn points that are tracked through the WCS Standings. Players can bolster their placement in the Standings by traveling to Global Events -- approved StarCraft II tournaments that reward additional points.
The journey to BlizzCon is a year-long process, and players competed for more than $2 million USD in WCS League and Global Events over the course of 2014. To review the full road to BlizzCon or get a glimpse of where your favorite player performed this year, head over to StarCraft2.com/WCS.
A Newb's Guide to StarCraft II eSports
Bracket
Prize Pool
$250,000 will be distributed among players as follows:
- 1st Place - $100,000
- 2nd Place - $50,000
- 3rd/4th Place - $15,000
- 5th - 8th Place - $7,500
- 9th - 16th Place - $5,000
Bomber is on a trajectory towards greatness this year. In 2014s WCS America, he was a quarterfinal drop-out in Season 1, climbed to runner-up of Season 2, and finished the year as Season 3 Champion. He snagged titles in 2 of his own Red Bull events along the way and is fighting on home turf. Gosu Trophy, watch out!
HyuN kept his number 1 position in the standings for almost the entire year. He was supposed to keep his comfy top spot, but faltered at the finish line. Now, he has to make it through four GSL Champions to make it to the Finals, but hes the sort of player who can do just that.
This is Zests breakout year. He slammed onto the StarCraft scene with consecutive victories in Season 1 of GSL and the GSL Global Championship. This star that burned so bright seemed to dim mid-year, but the KT Rolster Protoss reignited at the KeSPA Cup in September. Nothing can stop his shine now.
Everyone knows Polt as Captain America. He has a P1 Athlete Visa to live in the United States, trains in Georgia, and won three major tournaments in North America in 2013. The competition in 2014 proved a lot stiffer, with Bomber stopping Polt from reaching more than a few championships. Hell be at BlizzCon to prove hes the better Terran despite what the standings may say.
At times, MC looks like the most aggressive and dominant player in the world, but then hell run into games where it looks like hes sparring with a brick wall than an opponent. Min Chul was stopped three times this year in the finals of major tournaments, but that proves he has the consistency to make it far, and his victory in WCS Europe Season 1 proves he can be a champion.
San has one of the most interesting stories of any pro gamer. He started out his career in 2010 as a laughing stock after several high profile mistakes, including blocking his own Nexus expand with a Photon Cannon. He then shocked the world by beating Nestea, BoxeR, and Ensnare in one sitting. Since joining yoe Flash Wolves, hes come into his own and is a dangerous adversary.
TaeJa is famous for blooming in summer. Going back to 2012, he has always posted the best results when the weather is warmest. This year was no different, as he took home three titles in two short months. Even as the winds blow and the leaves fall, TaeJa is always in striking distance of another award ceremony. Will the frost come early this year or will the Southern California sun bring TaeJa to life?
StarDust may have the most appropriate ID of all StarCraft II pro gamers. StarDust made his career when he won the star-shaped trophy at DreamHack Open: Summer 2013. Since then hes been a regular presence on the tournament circuit and overcame all opposition in WCS Europe Season 2 of this year to cement his spot at the Global Finals.
MMA is our only returning BlizzCon Champion. Hes been here before and knows how to win, but a long time has passed since this veteran reached that level of glory. MMA is clearly headed in the right direction. He won both WCS Europe Season 3 and DreamHack: Moscow in the past two months. MMAs experience and iron will make him an intimidating opponent in the Round of 16.
There is only one type of story to tell about soO and its a tragedy. He has mustered arguably the most dominant performance in GSL history by losing four consecutive times in the Grand Finals. Because fate is cruel, soO also finished second at DreamHack Open: Stockholm 2014 in his last tournament before the Global Finals. Needless to say, he has a lot to prove and a giant chip on his shoulder coming into this competition.
jjakjis path to the Global Finals is one of the hardest to track. He has no tournament titles to his name or a gripping storyline of near misses. The answer to this puzzle is that he placed incredibly well in a lot of very difficult tournaments. He made the quarterfinals or better in six different tournaments, and came very near a trophy at DreamHack: Moscow.
CJ Entus herO started this year on fire. He blew through Intel Extreme Masters first two tournaments of the year to take home top prizes. 2013 WCS Global Champion sOs slowed his streamroll at the Katowice World Championship, but herO still took home a bevy of WCS points. He strung together a series of deep runs near the end of the year to cement his place at the Global Finals.
Classic crushed a lot of dreams in 2014 to get to the Global Finals. During his GSL Season 2 Championship run he defeated both Maru and soO, players who had been looking for a GSL title for a long time. Those defeats knocked Maru out of the running for the Global Finals, and almost prevented soO from scooting up the standings. Hell be at the Global Finals, ready to do it again.
The 17 year old LEnfant Terrible of StarCraft II globetrotted around the world this year to get himself into the Global Finals. Life has experience with all the players in the bracket, and while his performance in GSL has suffered, his performance in Global Events was excellent. He got one trophy this year at DreamHack Open: Bucharest and is looking for another to add to his collection.
INnoVations dreams of a return to the Global Finals in 2014 seemed to have been shattered when he dropped out of the GSL in the first season of the year. He pulled himself slowly back up onto the StarCraft II scene to cap the year with a win at the Season 3 GSL Finals.
Jaedongs performance at the 2013 Global Finals is one of the most amazing chapters of StarCraft IIs history. This year, however, he struggled to win when the most WCS points were on the line. In WCS America, Jaedong faltered but hit consistent semifinals in WCS Global Events. Slow and steady wins the race, and he managed to make it into the top 16 over rival Zerg, Snute.
