As we mentioned in the War Chest 6 announcement, we’re teaming up with Wardi (@Wardixo) and committing $150,000 of War Chest proceeds to a community-run tournament called War Chest Team League. Today, we’d like to share some details on the tournament.

Nine Casters, Nine Teams

We’ve tasked nine professional StarCraft II commentators to bring their top-tier casting chops and insider knowledge to recruit four-player teams to compete in the tournament. Look forward to teams captained by:

CatZ (@ROOTCatZ):

Very happy to see War Chests continued and to have been considered to take part in this event. I'll do my best to show good casts and force-feed/hydrate the players I draft well so that they, too, can show good games.

DeMusliM (@DeMusliM):

Zerg beats me :(, Protoss beats me :(, Terran beats me :(, at least I feel safe in this tournament, because these casters can't beat anyone :D

feardragon (@feardragon64):

I’m extremely pumped to be a part of this event and show the world how well I can backseat game pro players. I plan to support players after every game with a “why no storm” or “try microing better” to encourage them to be the best they can be.

Maynarde (@MaynardeSC2):

I'm super excited for this event, and I can't wait for my squad to dumpster my mates' players while wearing those beautiful new War Chest skins.

Nathanias (@nathanias):

My team will be going Plus Ultra this event, we look forward to showing good games for the fans. We look forward to lifting more this tournament than Rotti’s Phoenix.

PiG (@x5_PiG):

It's a welcome sight to see such a unique event being announced. I don't think the other casters have any chance, the pros I draft will wreak havoc and destruction on their "favourite players". They shouldn't feel too bad as they watch their rosters fall apart and choke under pressure. It's going to be just another day for us.

Rifkin (@RealRifkin):

Folks have been asking for this kind of event ever since I first got into event creation and tournament hosting. I've never had the resources to do it myself, so I'm beyond stoked to be part of this. Shout out to Wardi for taking on the headache that is organizing what should be the most hype event of 2020!

Rotti (@RotterdaM08):

As a sports fan I have always enjoyed fantasy competitions and drafts. To have this now with actual players in StarCraft and be a team Captain is honestly so freaking cool, I got very little to say other then I'M PUMPED AND LET'S GET IT ON. Magic Rotti picks inc wink

ZombieGrub (@ZGGaming):

This event is pretty cool and I guess my fellow casters are going to try to convince you that their team is best, but let's be real: first I got the best caster portrait in SC2, now I'm going to have the best caster team in SC2, so just go ahead and hand over the trophy.

Format Details

The tournament happens in two phases across eight broadcast days over the span of four weeks.

PHASE 1: ROUND ROBIN
In the first phase, each team plays against each other’s team in a Round Robin tournament. Each match will have its own prize pool, which will be split proportionally depending on how well each team did. Team captains will not play, but they will cast their team’s matches together with the opposing captain—definitely a recipe for fun, raucous trash talk. Matches are played best-of-five, and for every map a team wins, they’ll score a point toward qualifying for the next phase.

PHASE 2: PLAYOFF BRACKET
The top six points-earners will face off in a six team playoff bracket that awards prize money, bragging rights, and ultimately crowns the winner of War Chest Team League. As before, team captains cast the matches alongside their opponents.

For additional information, make sure to check out this thread over at TeamLiquid! You can also download the rules here.

Onward!

Ready to check out the tournament? Draft Day will be mid-July, and matches will take place from late July through late August. When the matches begin, tune in on YouTube to catch the action! For Korean viewers, Crank will be able to cast in Korean; you can check out their space on Twitch at http://twitch.tv/tvcrank