[PyeongChang 2018] Intel to host ‘StarCraft II’ tournament in lead-up to Olympics

Intel will host an international “StarCraft II” tournament in South Korea’s eastern county of PyeongChang in the lead up to the 2018 Winter Olympics that kicks off in the region next month.

The Intel Extreme Masters PyeongChang tournament for Blizzard Entertainment’s real-time strategy game will take place Feb. 5-7 at the Olympic Village in PyeongChang. Intel has yet to confirm a venue.

A total of 18 StarCraft II players who have passed the online qualifiers compete in the main tournament for a chance at the $150,000 prize pool, according to Intel.

Korean players set to compete in the esports tournament include Joo “Zest” Sung-wook and Kim “sOs” Yoo-jin. Other players come from Ukraine, Mexico, France, India, Colombia, the US, Australia, Poland, Brazil, Tunisia, Finland, China and Taiwan.

IEM PyeongChang was organized by Intel as an extension of “The Olympic Partner” sponsorship program, with support from the International Olympic Committee.

Alongside the “StarCraft II” competition, Intel will also be running game kiosks featuring Ubisoft’s action-sports title “Steep Road to the Olympics,” the official licensed game of the PyeongChang Winter Olympics, at the Olympic Village.

“Intel has been pushing the boundaries of esports for well over a decade and our goal is to bring esports to every global sporting stage,” said Gregory Bryant, senior vice president and general manager of the Client Computing Group at Intel.

“From the qualifying events to the groundbreaking Intel Extreme Masters tournament in PyeongChang, we see this as another important step in giving more people around the world a chance to experience the thrill of esports.”

As an official Olympic partner, Intel will also be powering the largest virtual reality event to date using the Intel True VR technology system throughout the Winter Games next month. Together with the Olympic Broadcast Services and South Korea’s mobile carrier KT, Intel will capture 30 Olympic events, offering both live and video on-demand content in VR to interested visitors.

By Sohn Ji-young (jys@heraldcorp.com)