Sonic Starleague 9 proves that Brood War lives on in Korea.

This article was originally published on GameSpot's sister site onGamers.com, which was dedicated to esports coverage.

SSL 9, the to-date largest Brood War competition in Korea following the transition to SC2 will not only feature a massive 20k USD prizepool, but it will also be broadcasted in the privately owned studio of the tournament organizer Hwang "Sonic" Hyo Jin and his company Sonic.TV. Operating through the Korean streaming service afreeca.co.kr, Sonic.TV has become the center of competitive BW in the game's professional homestead and has helped fill the void many avid BW fans felt when OGN officially announced that they would no longer support the game that had been their major draw for over a decade.

Aside from the shockingly large prize pool, SSL 9 will be one of the most stacked tournaments in recent BW history with players such as SKT1-legend Midas, and Jaedong's zerg protegé Killer. But the storyline that seems most obvious, for even the most casual fan of the esport, is the fact that the only two protoss players to have ever won more than one individual title, Bisu and JangBi, will be participating in the tournament.

On the topic of sponsors, Sonic.TV hasn't as of yet announced who will contribute to the substansial prize but ensures that the sponsor is a legitimate contributor.

"The 9th SSL will be held together with a large company that will surprise you all."

The first playday is schedule on the 4th of January next year. As of now, no English-speaking coverage has been announced for the three month long event, but the Team Liquid-based initiative Snipealot will be providing a re-stream of the afreeca-feed on Twitch.tv.

Source:Team Liquid

Image Source: Sonic.TV Facebook