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BlizzCon Set to Host Gamers’ Big Battles

Coming soon: hard-core gamers for October event

Irvine-based Blizzard Entertainment Inc. is bringing two of the biggest online gaming competitions to Orange County.

The Anaheim Convention Center in October will host the Global Battle.net Invitational and the Global StarCraft II League Final.

The contests are based on Blizzard games and will be part of BlizzCon, an annual two-day gathering that typically draws nearly 30,000 visitors to Anaheim.

This year marks the first time the two competitions will be held outside of South Korea.

The competitions are expected to be top attractions at BlizzCon during its Oct. 21 and 22 run.

They will feature top-ranked professional players who are invited to participate.

Players will compete in games “StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty” and “World of Warcraft: Cataclysm.”

The prize between the two events totals nearly $300,000.

The StarCraft League is one of the world’s most-watched eSports competitions.

Since its inception last year, millions of viewers have watched broadcasts featuring intense matches between the professional players. The competitors make a living through sponsorships and by battling it out for cash prizes in tournaments.

Tickets to BlizzCon are sold out. Virtual tickets—which provide live coverage via pay-per-view TV—are available for about $40 at blizzcon.com.

Blizzard stages the annual gathering as a way to boost its brand among gamers and as a sort of corporate retreat for the company’s employees.

Some 1,200 Blizzard workers attend the convention and mix with fans.

The convention also gives die-hard fans a chance to gather and share their love of Blizzard’s three big game franchises, “World of Warcraft,” “StarCraft” and “Diablo.”

Attendees, many of whom deck themselves out as their favorite characters, get to play unreleased versions of Blizzard games. They also get first crack at Blizzard swag.

BlizzCon likely is not a moneymaker despite strong ticket sales.

Grand Finale

BlizzCon typically ends in grand fashion with notable music acts hitting the stage.

Past performers have included Tenacious D, the comedic rock band fronted by movie funnyman Jack Black, drummer Dave Grohl of Nirvana and Foo Fighters fame and aging rocker Ozzy Osbourne.

Blizzard is the largest software company based in Orange County with yearly sales of about $1.4 billion.

The company is part of Santa Monica-based Activision Blizzard Inc. and ultimately is owned by France’s Vivendi SA. Vivendi bought Activision in 2008 and combined it with Blizzard in a deal valued at about $10 billion.

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