Blizzard's online game-matching service, Battle.net, had its best weekend ever with almost 500,000 games of Brood War played over its wires. Since the add-on pack for the popular Starcraft shipped almost a month ago, 1.5 million Brood War games have been played on the service.

　　Players slugged it out from Friday to Sunday to win the necessary ten open play wins each player would need to become eligible to compete in the tournament's three-month regular season. When the blood and dust cleared, over 38,000 players had met the quota to play in the Season 1 competition.

　　Why all the buzz over Brood War? Top players could win a piece of the prize vault with over US$20,000 in cash and prizes inside. Getting to the championships will be even tougher - only the top 16 finalists in season play will get there.

　　"Early participation in the Starcraft: Brood War ladder indicates that the tournament is on track to be the largest online event of its kind ever. More importantly, however, is that the competition is attracting the best players from around the world, which will create a true test of talents as the list of ladder players is eventually pared down to 16 gamers for the world championship," said Mike Morhaime, president of Blizzard Entertainment.

　　Each season, eligible players will fight it out to determine the 16 best players. At the end of the season, one season champion will be awarded in a single-elimination round-robin matchup. The top eight players from Season 1 and Season 2 will move on to the 1999 World Championship competition. The top three season champs will earn $3,000 in cash, and the 16 finalists in each season will gain some promotional prizes and a trophy. When the 1999 World Championship finals end, one skilled player will walk away with $10,000, and three finalists will earn $4,000. Not bad for being a StarCraft junkie, eh?

　　Schedule for Brood War competitions: Season 1Regular Season: January 8 - March 31, 1999Season Finals: April 1 - April 15, 1999

　　Season 2Regular Season: April 1- June 30, 1999Season Finals: July 1 - July 15, 1999

　　1999 World ChampionshipsAugust 2 - August 4, 1999