The battle of the RTS gamers continues in the 2008 Digital Games, with Przemek “Paladyn” WadoĊ„ taking over first place in the European Warcraft III ladder.

Paladyn sports a 22-2 record, with a 10 game winning streak and 3200 points. Second place NaviGraF is mobbing around with a 15-14 record, 2930 points, and a 1W streak. Third place iesbly4eg is zooming up behind with a 16-3 record , 7W streak and 2720 points.

The RTS ladders promise to be among the most active in the DG program, so stay tuned for more updates about them as we get further into the competition. For now, congrats to Paladyn for leading the ladder!



Ladder play for the Digital Games runs until July 27, and registration is open for the duration of the ladders. Register to begin your journey in the Digital Games.

The first couple of days of the 2008 Digital Games ladders are complete, and RTS gamers are leading the charge.While activity has been slow on many of the titles requiring more coordination, Digital Games RTS titles are unique in that finding a server is not necessary (or alternatively, servers like Blizzard’s Battle.net and EA’s online service are always up).

Additionally, matches can be completed in a relatively short amount of time.This ease of use is borne out in the number of matches played in Warcraft 3: The Frozen Throne and StarCraft.

Currently, the Russian NaviGraF sits atop the European WC3 ladder with a 13-12 record, 2560 points, and a 1 game winning streak. His time on the top may be short lived, as the well-known Polish player Paladyn is in 2nd place with a 13-2 record and 2380 points.DreamS.SalaN (2020, 9-4, 3W) has a tenuous grip on 3rd place.

Right behind him is 4th place tp_uSports-aVa (1960, 8-5, 1L). The top 20 spots on the ladder are dominated by Russian and Ukrainian players.We’ll find out if any of the other European region countries represent themselves this well as time goes on.

Additionally, we’re seeing moderate activity on the StarCraft and Command & Conquer 3 ladders.

North American StarCraft stalwart Artosis is leading his region with a 4-1 record, including wins over Machine[Media], TeamLiquid (the entire TeamLiquid community? haha), GoShox, and goodbody. Keep up the great work!

We’re only two days into ladder play, and registration is open for the duration of the ladders. Ladder play ends June 27, so there’s still plenty of time to particpate. You will need to be a GGL member to participate in this competition. Register to begin.



After a long wait, the game titles for GGL’s Digital Games have been announced! With the announcement comes a site relaunch and news that ladder play runs from June 11-July 27.

Without further ado, here are the titles:

Counter-Strike 1.6 5v5
Soul Calibur 4 1v1
Command & Conquer 3: Kane’s Wrath 1v1
Burnout Paradise 1v1
NBA Live 08 1v1
NHL 08 1v1
Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne 1v1
Defense of the Ancients 5v5
Trackmania Nations Forever 1v1
Call of Duty 4 5v5

Exhibition games:

FIFA 1v1
MLB 08: The Show 1v1

For more information, rules, and dates related to the competition, visit the Digital Games site. You will need to be a GGL member to participate in the tournament, so register now to get started.

Of note is the poll that ran several months ago on the GGL site; six of the top eight games from the poll have been selected for the Digital Games program (though I question the polling audience, as DoTA, an incredibly popular game, ranked very low on the poll). Here’s the poll image (follow the jump): Continued…



Last week, Blizzard Entertainment launched a new site with some pretty radical changes, namely the introduction of a digital download store. For the first time, gamers can purchase digital copies of Warcraft III, Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne, and StarCraft Anthology. More games (Diablo) are promised to be added later on.

This is just what I needed. As someone who has lost or destroyed three copies of StarCraft, I can’t justify buying physical copies anymore. Now I don’t have to deal with awkward store clerks and waste gas when I need to get my Craft on.

Read: Blizzard Gets Its Digital Download On.



The E-Sports World Cup has left France.

ESWC boss Mattieu Dallon has made good on his promise to keep at least some semblance of the ESWC in its home country, however, and the organization today announced the ESWC Masters for July 4-6, 2008 in Paris Bercy.

ESWC Masters will be an invite competition for all the official ESWC disciplines, including Defense of the Ancients, Trackmania Nations, Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne, Counter-Strike 1.6 (mixed and ladies) and (hail to the king, baby!) Quake 3. The winners will all receive berths into the Grand Final.

Prizing, autoberth, and qualification details will be released at a later date.