SOOP's official StarCraft esports league, the Google Play ASL Season 21, is kicking off its first week of the Round of 24 on the 23rd. Since its inception in 2016, the ASL—played on Blizzard Entertainment’s real-time strategy title StarCraft: Remastered—has cemented itself as Korea’s premier StarCraft esports league for 11 years. It has flourished into one of SOOP’s flagship original programs, bolstered by legendary players and iconic matches. This season, Google Play joins the fray as the official sponsor, adding to the excitement of the tournament.

The group stage draw for the Round of 24 is complete, and various matchups have been formed. Group A, starting on March 23 at 19:00, features Cho Gi-seok, Yu Seung-gon, Jung Yoon-jong, and Yoon Chan-hee. On the 24th, Group B sees Kim Min-chul, Kim Tae-young, Jung Young-jae, and Choi Ho-seon clash. Group C hits the stage on the 25th with Cho Il-jang, Yoon Su-cheol, Lim Hong-gyu, and Lee Young-han, with all eyes on the sole Protoss player, Yoon Su-cheol, to see if he can survive.

The 30th brings us Group D, where Lee Jae-ho, Kim Yoon-hwan, Kim Ji-sung, and Park Sung-kyun collide. On the 31st, Group E presents a four-Terran showdown between Yu Young-jin, Lim Jin-mook, Lee Young-ho, and Lee Young-woong, with the return of Lee Young-ho being a key point of interest. Finally, Group F on April 1 features Do Jae-wook, Shin Sang-moon, Kim Myung-woon, and Lee Jae-dong.

The Round of 16 will see the 12 survivors from the Round of 24 joined by seeded players Park Sang-hyun, Jang Yoon-chul, Kim Taek-yong, and Hwang Byeong-young. The group nomination ceremony follows on April 6 before the main event continues. The Round of 24 follows a single-match dual tournament format for each group of four. Matches 1 and 2 will be played on the 'Octagon' map. For the winner's and loser's matches, both players will each strike one map from a pool of 'Attitude', 'Match Point', and 'Jane Doe', with the final map determining the victor. The final match uses the same process with 'Knockout', 'Neo Silpide', and 'Pole Star'. The main Round of 16 features a mix of single and best-of-three matches, the quarter-finals are best-of-five, and from the semi-finals onwards, it’s a best-of-seven format.

ASL Season 21 will be held offline with a live audience at the FreecUP Studio in Daechi-dong, Seoul. Tickets can be purchased via Ticketlink every Thursday at 17:00. There are also match prediction events running for those watching from home.

For more details on the events, check the official SOOP ASL broadcast station. You can watch the live matches and catch up on VODs through the SOOP esports page.