We're pleased to present a video interview with the StarCraft Invitational champion from the recent Blizzard Worldwide Invitational 2006 held in Seoul, Korea.
Nick "Tasteless" Plott, with Inside the Game, had the chance to chat with KTF's Nal_Ra soon his victory over teammate Yellow in the StarCraft Invitational. The Korean Protoss player discusses his feelings about winning the event, professional gaming, and a few of the opponents he faced along the way.
Download the Nal_Ra Interview through the Blizzard downloader.
Inside the Game's live streams have been recorded to media and are now available here on the GGL website. Be sure to check out and relive the excitement of some of the great games that took place at the Worldwide Invitational.
Blaze on February 24, 2006
Today's spotlight map, Nature's Call – Circle Defense, is a highly stylized and unique tower defense map you can play on your own or with a group of friends. Pick one of four races to play and defend your huge circle against a wide variety of incoming mobs. Check it out here.
Nebu on February 23, 2006
As part of this year's D.I.C.E. Summit (Design Innovate Communicate Entertain,
a yearly summit hosted by the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences), the D.I.C.E.
Celebrity Poker Tournament featured established pros of
both the game industry and the game of poker. While many familiar Blizzard faces participated in the tournament,
which was held in the largest private poker room in the United States, it was Mike Morhaime, president and
cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment, who prevailed until the final table. In the last round, Mike faced Scott
Fischman and Perry Friedman, both well-known World Series of Poker professionals, as well as Ray Muzyka of Bioware.
After a dramatic 45-minute battle, Ray emerged victorious, with Mike placing 2nd overall in the tournament.
Congratulations to both Ray and Mike on their strong performance in this year's tournament.
Nebu on February 22, 2006
On Saturday, February 18 -- Aaron Rosenberg met with BlizzPlanet, a fan site, to discuss details of the STARCRAFT: QUEEN OF BLADES pocket book.
You can read a transcript of the chat here.
SOLDIER on February 17, 2006
The Blizzard map team has been gracious enough to write another designer tutorial. This latest installation details how we go about creating our melee maps for ladder and melee bonus map play. For those interested in melee map design, this tutorial will hold some very useful information to help jumpstart your mapmaking career. It is also a good read for those non-map authoring types. Check it out at the Mod Support Site along with our other Designer Tutorial on creating a Tower Defense Map.
Blaze on February 17, 2006
In today's spotlight map, Hero Line War, you choose from 15 unique Heroes to defend against the waves of mobs that your opponents are sending at you. Check it out here.
SOLDIER on February 16, 2006
The Winter EverLAN event has ended and they have updated us with news and replays from the event. For full coverage of the event, please visit EverLAN on Battle.net or EverLAN.com.
SOLDIER on February 15, 2006
After reading through all submitted Battle Reports, we have finalized our winning selections. Below are the top winning entries we received. These reports were done very well and show a great knowledge of the game and illustrate some of the best matches of the Battle.net Season Three Finals. Congratulations to the winners!
Phreak - covering Rainman vs. WizPizSizZizz (Lordaeron)
T-Rider - covering FarSeer vs. Spirit_Moon (Kalimdor)
Blaze on February 10, 2006
Today's spotlight map, Dwarf Campaign, is a single-player RPG Campaign that sends the Dwarves of Khaz Modan on a quest to explore the unknown, in hopes of saving their ancestral homeland. Check it out here.
Nebu on February 10, 2006
On Saturday, February 18 -- Aaron Rosenberg will discuss details of the STARCRAFT: QUEEN OF BLADES pocket book.
Gamers that would like to learn more about the StarCraft universe will be able to chat directly with the book's
author. A plot summary, the book cover and chat details can all be found
here.
Araxas on February 4, 2006
The Blizzard Worldwide Invitational 2006 in Seoul, Korea has come to an end. The past three days were packed with tournaments, developer panels, opportunities to try out Blizzard's
upcoming titles hands-on, and a variety of Blizzard themed events. We hope everyone who was able to attend the event, or follow it on the audio and video streams, enjoyed the show.
After a resounding victory over his teammate Yellow, Kang Min of South Korea, known as "Nal_Ra", won the StarCraft Invitational tournament. Although Yellow put up a great fight, Nal_Ra's persistance and quick play skills was able to prevail over the BlizzCon champion's experience. Replays and tournament reports are available on the Worldwide Invitational Minisite.
Araxas on February 4, 2006
Coming back from the brink of defeat in the lower tournament bracket, Chun Jung Hee of South Korea, also known as "Sweet," has emerged as the Warcraft III
Battle.net Ladder Season Three champion! As the entrant into the finals from the lower bracket, Sweet had to win a seemingly impossible two straight series match-ups. In both matches, Sweet lost each of the first
games to his Orc opponent from the Netherlands, Grubby. Being one game away from defeat two times in a row, Sweet managed to come back and take the next two games in each match. With that final win, Ladder Season Three has now officially come to a
close. Congratulations Sweet!
In the coming weeks, keep an eye on the Battle.net web site for more information about Season Four. Next up in the schedule of events in Seoul, South Korea at the COEX Exhibition Hall, will be
a panel featuring World of Warcraft developers. This will be followed by the StarCraft finals later in the afternoon. For more information on the event, replays, and photos, visit the Blizzard Worldwide Invitational minisite. For internet audio and video coverage of the final day of the Blizzard Worldwide Invitational 2006, please
check out the Inside the Game live stream.
Araxas on February 4, 2006
The grand finals of the Battle.net Ladder Season Three are underway. Entering the finals from the winner's bracket is the Dutch Orc player Grubby. Coming from the loser's
bracket is the hometown favorite Undead player Sweet, who had earlier been knocked to the lower bracket by Grubby. After defeating Showtime in the consolation finals, Sweet is back
in contention for the championship, albeit with the disadvantage of having to defeat his opponent in two straight best-of-three matches.
For more info check out the Worldwide Invitational Minisite. For live audio and video coverage, tune into Inside the Game, and see which of these two contenders will replace two-time
Warcraft III Ladder Season winner ReMinD as the new champion.
Araxas on February 3, 2006
Three matches remain in today's action on the Worldwide Invitational 2006 main stage. First off will be the second semi-finals in the StarCraft Invitational featuring KTF
teammates Yellow and Reach, who met in the finals at BlizzCon. Yellow emerged the victor there, though Reach will be out looking for a better result and a place in the
finals against the Protoss player Nal_Ra.
The evening will conclude with two Warcraft III matches. First will be the upper bracket finals between Grubby and Sweet. They advanced by defeating ShowTime and Farseer
in broadcasted matches earlier this morning. The winner of this match advances into the grand finals with the advantage of coming from the winner's bracket. The loser will
drop into the lower bracket where ShowTime awaits. ShowTime has kept his hopes alive, working his way through the lower bracket. In the process he defeated Phreak and
Farseer, ending both those players' ambitions of appearing in the finals.
Click here for current brackets and match replays. To watch and listen live to these exciting matches, tune into
Into the Game's live coverage of the event.
Sunday will be the grand finale of the Worldwide Invitational 2006. The grand finals in both the Warcraft III Ladder Season 3 finals and the StarCraft Invitational will
featured on the main stage, followed by a celebration and award ceremony bringing this year's festivities to a close.
Araxas on February 3, 2006
The second day of Blizzard's Worldwide Invitational 2006 in Seoul, Korea is now underway.
Yesterday, the opening ceremonies featured a performance by Korean pop bands including Jewelry, a speech by vice president Frank Pearce, and the introduction of the 16 gamers from across the globe who will be
competing in the Warcraft III and StarCraft tournaments at the event. Throughout the day, the opening rounds of the StarCraft and Warcraft III tournaments
took place, neither set of matches yielding a big upset as all the higher seeded players advanced to the semifinals.
The first match of today began with the Warcraft III game featuring the Undead player Sweet and the Orc player Farseer. Sweet emerged from the match with a convincing 2-0 win
and advances to the winner's bracket. He will face the winner of the Grubby vs. ShowTime match, which is about to begin. To watch and listen to this exciting match, tune into
Into the Game's live coverage of the event.
Araxas on February 3, 2006
An second batch of photos from WWI 2006 have been posted in the Worldwide Invitational media section. Check them out here.
Araxas on February 2, 2006
Today has seen the Korean StarCraft players dominating the Worldwide Invitational tournament. The top seeds won each match as Nada, Nal_Ra, Yellow, and Reach advance
to the second round which will take place tomorrow. The first round of the Ladder Season Three tournament is also underway, with Grubby, ShowTime, Farseer and Sweet into the next
round of the winner's bracket.
StarCraft and Warcraft III Replays have been posted on the Worldwide Invitational 2006 webpage. Check the brackets page to grab induvidual match replays or download all the available StarCraft replays and Warcraft III replays.
Araxas on February 2, 2006
An intial batch of photos from WWI 2006 have been posted in the media section. Check them out here.
Araxas on February 2, 2006
The Blizzard Worldwide Invitational is about to kick off at the COEX Convention Center in Seoul, Korea. The coming three days will feature hands-on demonstrations of
World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade and StarCraft: Ghost. The finals of the Battle.net Ladder Season Three tournament and an invitational tournament
featuring some of the world's best players will begin later in the afternoon. For more information, bios of the competitors, brackets, and tournament formats
please visit the Worldwide Invitational tournament webpage here.
Inside The Game will be covering the event live, including the opening ceremony which takes place at 12:30pm KST. The live audio and video stream can be found here.
Helcon on February 1, 2006
Driven by nightmares to the ruins of a mysterious tomb, Lord Aldric Jitan hopes to awaken a terrible evil that has slept since the fall of Tristram. Drawn by the growing darkness in the land, the enigmatic Necromancer, Zayl, stumbles upon Jitan's plot -- unaware that one of his own brethren has set these dire events in motion. Now, as the celestial Moon of the Spider rises, the nefarious demon, Astrogha, prepares to unleash his minions upon the world of Sanctuary.
Moon of the Spider is an original tale based on the award-winning, M-rated computer game franchise, Diablo. Moon of the Spider is intended for mature readers and is written by New York Times Best-Selling Author, Richard A. Knaak. To purchase Moon of the Spider, please visit the
Blizzard Online Store.
Driven by nightmares to the ruins of a mysterious tomb, Lord Aldric Jitan hopes to awaken a terrible evil that has slept since the fall of Tristram. Drawn by the growing darkness in the land, the enigmatic Necromancer, Zayl, stumbles upon Jitan's plot -- unaware that one of his own brethren has set these dire events in motion. Now, as the celestial Moon of the Spider rises, the nefarious demon, Astrogha, prepares to unleash his minions upon the world of Sanctuary.
