The International Gaming League is excited to present our first StarCraft II event

The International Gaming League ( IGL ) is excited to present our first StarCraft II event. Some of you may know that the IGL is my new organization and that I have been a long time supporter of StarCraft II and advocate for trying new things and finding new ways to sustain growth in eSports. Unlike my previous organization, IGL is very much focused on creating a structure and platform to build eSports using a 'bottom-up' approach. Currently, www.playIGL.com is now in Open Beta, but our Leagues, Ladders and Bracket systems are functional. Over the next 4 weeks, IGL will be supporting several game title communities through Show Matches and Launch Cups. Several of our ladders will open up and our full League Seasons will be announced shortly after.

The Show Match:
The Clarity Gaming and FXO.NA Teams have been very supportive and IGL and myself would like to personally thank both teams for their support and participation in this show match. This show match will use a different 'team' format then any other format offered. I understand that it may seem confusing at first and I am sure all of my documents, examples and outlines I have given each of the team Captains is making it appear more complicated then it needs to be.

Yes, this is a new format that will be tested and I am sure tweaked. To see examples of the new format and to better understand my thinking behind it, please click on the spoiler. This format was devised to encourage more use of each team's roster. A 'Team' effort must be structured for 'Team' events to be about the team and not a single player who can 'All Kill' the entire opposing roster. I wanted to still have the drama of a player that can make a 'run' on a team and win several matches in a row, but I also wanted to avoid teams being able to win a match using only 1 player. The first round of this format is the most unique. The first round consists of 2 matches (each a bo1). If the matches are split, with each team having a player win their match, those players will then meet in round 2. From that point, the format is similar to an 'All kill' format, but with limitations on the number of rounds a player may participate in and with Round 4 being the only 'best of 3' series of the match.

1 - Brackets - Fully functional 4 to 128 player/team single elimination or double elimination (sorry Carmac!) brackets to be used to run playoffs for leagues, special tournaments for ladders and weekly Cup series events (ie: playGAMES Series!)
2 - Ladders - Unlike most ladders, the IGL ladders will have 2 options for creating matches. A traditional 'create your own match' option as well as a 'Time Pool' option that allows teams/players to join a queue of teams, in which the IGL system then chooses your opponent and creates the match. Several of the game titles that we will be working with, will have automatic match information and reporting directly integrated into the system.
The best aspect of our Ladder system is that our ladders are 'Tiered'. This means no more searching through a list of 200 teams to find your team and activity levels on the ladder at less then 10%. Although you will be on a single ladder (ie SC2 ingame Ladder), you will be 'Tiered' into seperate standings tables of 30 or less teams/players. Every 7 to 14 days, the ladders will be re-Tiered and pruned (inactive teams removed). This will create specific identifies for each Tier and create more activity.
3 - Leagues - The big deal! The IGL leagues will be 'Divisional' and each Division will have it's own Logo Crest, Name and skill level requirements. The IGL League system is structurded to facilitate real growth in SC2 and eSports in general. Each division will have a playoff at the end of each regular season and 'Promotion and Relegation' matches (Up/Down) to determine the following season's divisional make up. Most game communities will start with an Open and Main Division and as more teams/players are added to the pool the Select and ultimately the Premier Divisions will open up.