For the first time in eSports, the audience will have the power to change the tide of the competition, at the Red Bull LAN Seattle. Taking place nightly from August 30th – September 1st, eight pro players of Blizzard Entertainment’s global eSports flagship, StarCraft II, will spar on a specially designed map that does what would be impossible in traditional sports: give the audience the choice to change the course of the game. Voting online at www.RedBullUSA.com/LAN, Red Bull LAN Seattle spectators – both on site and online – will choose to release game changing obstacles into the matches in this entirely new mode of play.
Created in collaboration between Red Bull, Day[9] and Blizzard Entertainment, this never-before-experienced map and mode transforms StarCraft II from spectator sport to audience interaction experiment. Hosted by StarCraft II superstar commentators, Sean “Day[9]” Plott of www.day9.tv, and Mike “Husky” Lamond, these diabolical hosts will serve as ringleaders, putting game changing scenarios to audience vote, wreaking havoc on player’s most masterful strategies. Coming from around the world to be the first to participate in this new format of competition, Red Bull athlete Ji Sung “Bomber” Choi will spar with other Red Bull LAN alums Shawn “Sheth” Simon and Chris “Illusion” Lee, as well as pro-gaming greats Geoff “iNcontroL” Robinson, Samayan “BlinG” Kay, Kyung Hyun “SeleCT” Ryoo, Tyler “NonY” Wasieleski and the Ukraine’s Oleskii “White-Ra” Krupnyk.
Throughout the weekend, the hosts will also choose random audience participants to come down and play alongside the gaming pros as teammates in a two-on-two battle. Players, both pro and amateur alike, will have to react not only to their opponents, but to the ever-changing conditions and whims of the spectators.
Kicking off August 30th – September 1st at the Grand Hyatt Hotel, Eliza Anderson Amphitheater, Red Bull LAN Seattle invites PAX attendees and eSports fans to the nightly exhibition, 8pm – 11pm PDT each evening. Fans witnessing the Red Bull LAN Seattle via live stream can make their voices heard by voting for these in-game actions online at www.RedBullUSA.com/LAN.
