As our 2021 competitions draw to a close with DH SC2 Masters: Winter concluding this week we are on our way to finalizing the year standings, and looking ahead to Last Chance and Intel Extreme Masters: Katowice. We want to provide the latest thoughts from behind the scenes for where our thoughts are in relation to what is in store for our return to live competitions with audiences.

Roadmap to Live Play: IEM Katowice

Our return to live play will be our second EPT Championship where we will once again bring players together on the sacred ground of Katowice. We’ve been working all season to identify the right timeline to safely bring players and audience together and have our sights set on IEM Katowice 2022. We’ll gather together as a community once again for the most grand event of the year and crown our EPT SC2 2021-22 Champion in front of the live audience in Spodek. 

We’ll be looking for you to join us this coming February 25-28, 2022 and you can find tickets on sale here.

TLMC Map Updates

As recently seen, maps were updated on the ladder to include additions from the most recent TL.net Map Contest - a huge thank you Shopify for leading this initiative with us! We will be showing off these maps in the DreamHack SC2 Masters: Winter Season Finals to close out our 2021 tournaments with fresh scenery, new doodads, and previously untrodden ground (and air).

• 2000 Atmospheres
• Blackburn
• Berlingrad (TLMC15)
• Curious Minds (TLMC15)
• Glittering Ashes (TLMC15)
• Hardwire (TLMC15)
• Pride of Altaris (TLMC15)

Berlingrad by Skypirinha1

Slightly below average size & distance to the enemy in combination with lowground third base options favour aggressive play. Taking down the debris or mineral wall in front of the natural shortens the direct path to the enemy but weakens the defensive position in front of the natural.

Curious Minds by MiloOnFire

A smaller map with major tension on an open low ground expansion. Curious minds will try to control both Xel'Naga towers to prepare for incoming pressure.

Glittering Ashes by insidioussc2

A macro oriented, large and relatively spacious map.The more confined center opens up a bit once players destroy the destructible rocks. Side areas are secluded, but can be used for powerful multi-pronged attacks.

Hardwire by Agaton

A macro-map with rocks in the center that effectively narrows the possible ways to enter enemy territory. Once the rocks are destroyed, the map becomes more dynamic.

Pride of Altaris by 4096SP

Pride of Altaris favors defensive gameplay during the early-middle phases. As the game moves on, the action is directed to a central valley, where player will have to wrestle for control of several late-game expansions

As we mentioned at the beginning of the year, that’s not the only TLMC that will happen with Shopify and later this month we will talk more regarding what the future is for TLMC and map makers in the coming months as we head towards IEM Katowice and later our third season of EPT SC2.

That’s not all from Shopify—we have more this week with the return of Signature Series where we’ll go deep on understanding who our new generation of players are.

WHAT THE FUTURE HOLDS

As we close out the year 2021 and look towards our return to Katowice and live play, we are busy finalizing our plans for the EPT SC2 2022-23 season. Before we head off to celebrate the end-of-year holidays, we are aiming to run through our plans with updates for the coming season and what our full scheduling looks like. We have exciting adjustments in store and will aim to create more community moments on a bigger scale once more next season.

Enjoy DreamHack SC2 Masters: Winter Season Finals and we’ll be back for more information on competition, maps, and fun content before the year is out!