Blizzard outlines changes to the Summer Championship rules

New changes to the rulebook will allow coaches to communicate with their players during matches, and alters the residency requirement for eligible players.

In the recently released 2016 Summer Championship rules, Blizzard have made some big changes to the rules governing coaches communicating with their players during a match. In section 4.3 of the document, Blizzard outlined the 2016 changes:

4.3 (a) A team may have one coach. Blizzard, in its sole discretion, may allow each team’s coach to consult with the players on the team’s Active Roster during a match. ”

4.3 (c) Subject to Blizzard’s sole discretion, while coaching coaches may only view the games on the machines which their players are playing. If hardware is provided, coaches may communicate with their players during the games. ”

Although they are now allowing more access for coaches, Blizzard will still only pay for ONE sixth team member-- either the coach or the team manager, but not both.

Blizzard also changed the Residency Requirements for eligibility, requiring players to reside in their participating country for one month prior to the tournament's first match, rather than the previously outlined 6 months.

3.2(b) For the purposes of this Tournament, a “citizen” is a participant who is a citizen of an Eligible Country, and a “resident” is a participant who has resided in an Eligible Country for at least one month prior to the Tournament’s first match and through the Tournament’s last match.”

The main player that comes to mind is Korean resident and former Stellar Lotus player, Wiz. #FreeWiz became popular after the disbandment of Stellar Lotus, as Wiz lives in Korea but plays on and is dedicated to the North American server. Wiz has been unable to play on a North American team due to the previous six month rule. Now that it has been changed to only one month there could be a chance for such a talented player to join a North American team.

The 2016 Summer Championship will be held from June 18th to June 20th, in Jönköping, Sweden, with a prize pool of $500,000 USD.

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