Starcraft II WCS North American champion on ropes due to internet outages

Starcraft II World Championship Series (WCS) 2013 North American champion Choi "Polt" Seong Hun narrowly advanced to the North American Premier League round of 16 after a nail-biting and controversial round of the 32 group stage earlier today.

An internet outage in the Austin, Texas, area prevented Choi from playing his first match against Ko "HyuN" Seok Hyun.

The tournament administrators awarded his opponent with an automatic victory when he couldn't log in. Choi's internet stabilized in time for him to play his second match against Lee "Revival" Dong Hyun, which he went on to win. Choi then went on to narrowly win in a back-and-forth final series against Woo "Sage" Kyung Chul.

The WCS players' guide book, a document distributed to players, teams, and tournament partners, states that, "Players must check in and be ready to play 30 minutes before their scheduled match time. Ready to play is defined as being ready to start the game within 60 seconds." If Choi’s internet issues had persisted, he would have been required to forfeit his second series, subsequently falling to North America’s Challenger League.

Choi earned $25,000 in prize winnings during the last WCS season. Had he fallen to Challenger League, he only would have been able to earn $1,800 for the season.

Blizzard’s World Championship Series will continue to run through October. The official schedule can be found at the official WCS site. The grand finals will be held at BlizzCon in Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, California, on November 8 and 9.