The 2008 World of Warcraft Arena Tournament is a competition based on the Arena System in World of Warcraft. However, as distinguished from standard Arena System matches, all teams participating in the tournament will be competing on regional tournament realms -- separate from the live realms -- for a spot to play at live events and win prizes. In addition, there is a registration fee to join. This new format provides a means for professional-level players to face off in a highly competitive environment that emphasizes strategy, skill, and execution over all other elements of play.

The tournament will consist of two rounds of regional qualifiers, followed by live regional finals. Winners of the regional finals will be invited to compete in a global world championship. The cash prize package for this tournament, including prizes awarded at the regional finals and world championship, amounts to more than $200,000.

This year's tournament will feature a new format. Participating players will now gain access to our dedicated tournament realms and be able to create up to three level-70 characters per registered account. This special realm will allow players to fully customize tournament characters with some of the best items available in the game. Additionally, we have moved from the 5v5 Arena format of last year and will be using the 3v3 Arena format for this year's competition. Please note that the standard 2v2, 3v3, and 5v5 Arena season games will continue as normal on the live realms and will not be interrupted by this tournament.

No, the tournament realm and the tournament itself are completely separate from the Arena seasons. Players who wish to compete in the Arena seasons for the coveted in-game prizes can continue do so as normal. The World of Warcraft Arena Tournament and the dedicated tournament realms are primarily intended for professional-level players seeking to prove their skills against the best teams in the world and compete for cash prizes.

Arena teams are groups of players who choose to fight together in Arena ladder matches in rated Arena battles. Rated Arena battles affect your ladder ranking, whereas skirmish battles do not.

• If you are not a part of a team, you cannot participate in rated Arena battles.
• Your team will obtain a ranking by playing at least 10 matches per week.

When you log in to the tournament realm you can recruit potential team members using the General or Trade chat channels in game or by searching on our dedicated tournament forums.

The tournament will start on March 31, 2008.

By signing up for the tournament, players will be granted access to special tournament realms. They will be able to create up to three new level-70 characters of any race and class combination on these realms. There will be special vendors available who will have epic gear for players to choose from for equipping tournament characters. These realms have been created for the sake of the tournament and will not have any PvE instances or Battlegrounds available. Only Arenas will be available at this time.

No.

Characters will have access to full sets of Arena armor and weapons, as well as items purchased with Honor such as the PvP trinkets. In addition, a selection of raid epics with the approximate power level of the Arena gear will also be available.

Upon entering the world with a new character, nearby NPCs in your starting area will outfit the character with gear, training, class-specific needs such as soul shards and hunter pets, and all the gold you'll need. In fact, everything your character will need to participate in the tournament will be located conveniently in your starting area.

Yes, there will be a large selection of permanent enchants and gems to choose from, including reputation-based head and shoulder enchants.

Arena teams are created in the same fashion as guilds. Special Arena NPCs called Arena Promoters will be available to help form your team. Talking to an Arena Promoter is like talking to a Guild Master NPC. You can create a team by purchasing an Arena charter, collecting the appropriate number of signatures on it, and then returning it to the Arena Promoter. Once the team is created, you can compete with your fellow teammates in the special tournament battlegroup.

The tournament will use the 3v3 format only, so you need at least three members including yourself.

Yes. You can have up to six players on your 3v3 Arena team for the online qualifiers. The additional players will act as "bench" players in case one of your starting three cannot play, or if you want to change the makeup of your team. If your team advances to the live events, however, you will have to choose three players to represent your team. These players can choose which characters they wish to play at the live event and may switch characters as needed.

You can participate in more than one 3v3 Arena team; however, you must meet the minimum play requirements to qualify for the tournament. Each player may only qualify for one team. If a player is a member of two qualifying teams, he or she must choose which team to play for. Each team must have three eligible participants to advance to the regional finals.

Each team must play a minimum of 200 games per qualifier. Each player, including "bench players," must participate in at least 30% of the team's total games to be eligible to advance to the regional finals. If a team were to play the minimum of 200 games, then each player on the team would have to have played in at least 60 of those games.

Team rankings will be available on WoW-Europe.com at the Armory and updated daily, with the tournament realm making up the Coliseum battlegroup.

Yes, there will be full character and team profiles for the tournament on the Armory. These profiles will be slightly different from those on the live realms to highlight the relevant PvP information more prominently.

There will be two online qualifiers that will run for six weeks each. The top four teams from each qualifier will advance to the regional finals. Each team will only be eligible to qualify for the regional finals once. If a team has already qualified during the first qualifier and places in the top four of the second qualifier, the next-highest-ranked eligible team will advance. The first two weeks of each qualifier will be used for practice. After the practice period, ratings will be reset and the tournament will continue for four weeks. To encourage team stability, there will be a 150 team rating penalty for any player additions to your team during the first two weeks after the practice period. Player rosters will be locked down during the final two weeks of the tournament, and no changes may be made to your team during that time. Please make any adjustments to your final team roster prior to the roster lockdown.

If a player qualifies with a team in the first qualifier and confirms his or her participation at the regional finals, he or she may not switch teams to play in the second qualifier. Doing so will void his or her eligibility for the tournament. These players may participate in the second qualifier for practice purposes only, but are not allowed to participate in rated games or eligible to qualify for the regional finals again.

Once the top teams from the qualifiers are determined, we will email the team and have it designate which three eligible players will attend the regional finals. The team will also be given the option to designate any of their eligible "bench" players as substitutes in case any of the original three members cannot attend the regional finals for some unforeseen reason. If a player is designated as a substitute, he or she will not be allowed to switch teams or qualify in the second qualifier. However, if a player is not designated as a substitute, he or she can sever ties with the first team and attempt to qualify with another team in the second qualifier.

The top four teams from each qualifier will make up the eight teams that will compete at a live regional event (time and date to be announced in the near future). The top teams from each regional final will be invited to represent their respective region at the global world championship.

Team members who are ineligible will be unable to play in the regionals, but the rest of that member's team can continue if they can field at least three eligible team members. Eligibility is determined by residence, percentage of total team games played, and other factors.

Each team will be responsible for ensuring that team members are eligible to compete. If a registrant is unable to participate in live events due to residence restrictions, this information will be brought to your attention when registering.

Teams should persist from season to season, and characters may persist as well. Full details will be announced at a later date.

The grand prize for the global invitational world championship will be $75,000 for the top team. The top team of each regional final will receive $15,000. For more information, check the complete breakdown of prizes.

To participate, you must:

• Have an active subscription to World of Warcraft with an account in good standing, meaning the account is not flagged, suspended, or banned for violating any of the Terms of Service, EULA, or other rules of World of Warcraft.
• Have World of Warcraft and World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade installed.
• Have a World of Warcraft account that has been upgraded to The Burning Crusade.
• Be the authorized account holder of the Account. “Authorized account holder” is defined as the natural person who registered the Account.
• Have a valid credit card to pay the per-competitor registration fee for the tournament, which is €15/£12 in Europe; 20,000 won in South Korea; $20 in North America; and NT$450 in the regions of Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau for each six-week qualification round that the competitor participates in.
• Reside in a country or territory that allows participation (you will see the full list when registering).
• Complete the required information on the registration page to register for the tournament.
• Meet all eligibility requirements listed in the rules. Players meeting these requirements will be allowed to participate in the tournament and will have access to the dedicated tournament realms in their region.

There are several reasons for the entry fee, one of which being that, as with most professional tournaments, the fee helps ensure that participants are invested in the competition and remain dedicated to it for the duration of the tournament. In addition, the stakes are higher for this tournament than for standard Arena play, with a total prize pool of more than $200,000 in cash prizes up for grabs. Furthermore, this new format should help provide professional-level players with a highly competitive, even playing field on the tournament realms.

To learn more about the Arena System, check out the Arena overview page. Also, we will post further news on our Arena Tournament website when we have additional tournament-related announcements to make.