Nathan "Kintt" Quinn, long-time Pandemic.WoW member and guest star on
Arenacast.net, has spread the word that the European WoW Forums have leaked info on this year's Tournament Realm - it's not as far away as you might have thought.
"Quinn: As usual, the euros break the news first, and the 2009 Tournament Realm has been announced. Detailed rules haven’t been released yet, but according to this forum post, signups begin Feb. 17th.
In an interesting move, Blizzard has gone away from the two seperate qualifiers they had this season, and instead will invite the top 1000 teams to a one week invitational ladder, following the six week long open competition. In true WoTLK fashion, players who participate in the TR will receive not only an Armored Murloc vanity pet, but also a sleek “Vanquisher” title for their live characters.
It remains to be seen whether or not the TR will actually begin the 17th, but from the looks of it, patch 3.1 will hit mid TR. Thats….. pretty typical, and creates a whole host of balancing issues (as if there weren’t enough already). Regardless, I’m sure a lot of people are excited about the announcement! Be sure to tune-in to the show tomorrow for an in depth discussion on the announcement, and what it means to the scene."
Kintt and Ohnoes are poised to make another run this year.
Keep in mind Pandemic.WoW will be looking to avenge last year's showing in this event, where they suffered what was arguably their first major championship defeat after coming in several spots shy of the qualifying position.
Divided lineups and roster controversy no more, the 2007 world #1 still has alot left to prove in working their way back to their former glory. Winning Blizzard's inaugural tournament would be a great place to start.
The question is, who will be the team's third? Early in season five, the team climbed to a #1 rating in all brackets playing DK/Rogue/Paladin-centric comps. Not willing to rely on one setup, however, Kintt and Ohnoes have since employed various guildmates from Deus Vox - including a few old friends from Tichondrius - and tested a slew of different options.
At this time, it's unclear whether the team is looking for a long-term lineup or solidity through numbers. If anything's certain it's that they won't be unprepared. With so many weapons at their disposal, will this be the season they pull back through?
More news will be posted as an official date and details are set.
