WCS 2015 Changes: Residency Requirements, Ladder Wildcard removal and a complete reset

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

Blizzard Entertainment has announced their tentative plans for next years World Championship Series (WCS). While the full set of changes will be released at a later date, some important details have been announced today to assist in player decisions and preparation for 2015.

2015 will feature a complete reset - which means all points and standings will be annulled and everyone will have to start from scratch. All players will have to re-qualify for the WCS through the respective regional tournaments.

Due to the success of the regional tournaments, Blizzard has announced the abolishment of the Ladder Wildcard spots for the North American and European Series.

And finally, Blizzard will be adding a residency requirement to the WCS. This means that players will have to be legally eligible to reside in their selected region if they wish to play in the region's WCS. The move puts the WCS in line with Riot's League of Legends Championship Series which has required players to live in their region of participation since its inception.

Blizzard's move to impose residency requirements on their players comes after criticism by the Starcraft 2 and esports community and the overwhelming presence of Koreans flying to WCS whilst not living and fully contributing to the health of the North American and European scene. The new move has been largely welcomed but some aspects of the community disagree with the move.

Image credits: Blizzard Entertainment