SOOP's flagship esports league, which has run for 11 years, begins its new season with the first week of the Round of 24.

SOOP (co-CEOs Choi Young-woo and Lee Min-won) will host the first week of the 'Google Play ASL Season 22' Round of 24 at Freec Up Studio in Daechi-dong, Seoul, starting Monday, August 17. This league is SOOP's original esports competition featuring Blizzard Entertainment's RTS game 'StarCraft: Remastered,' and it has established itself as the premier StarCraft league over the past 11 years. Google Play returns as the official sponsor this season, and with the Season 22 finals set to take place on a special ice rink stage, anticipation is building for the championship race in this new environment.

The opening match, featuring Group A of the Round of 24, will be held on August 17 at 7:00 PM. The participants are Yu Young-jin (T), Bae Seong-heum (Z), Kim Taek-yong (P), and Kim Yun-jung (P). A key point of interest is how Bae Seong-heum, who reached the main stage for the first time after consistently competing since Season 2, will perform against these veterans.

Group B matches follow on August 18 at 7:00 PM, featuring Jo Gi-seok (T), Kim Jae-hyun (T), Kim Sung-dae (Z), and Lee Young-han (Z). Kim Jae-hyun, returning to the ASL main stage for the first time in 11 years since the Daegukmin Star League, will compete for a spot in the Round of 16.

Group C, starting August 19 at 7:00 PM, features Do Jae-wook (P), Jung Kyung-doo (P), Jae-dong (Z), and Lee Young-woong (T). While Do Jae-wook and Jae-dong are favored to advance, the nature of the single-game dual tournament format leaves room for upsets by Jung Kyung-doo and Lee Young-woong.

The 12 players who advance from the Round of 24 will join Park Sang-hyun (Z), Shin Sang-moon (T), Lee Jae-ho (T), and Jang Yoon-chul (P)—who secured seeds from Season 21—in the Round of 16. The Round of 16 group selection ceremony will be held on August 31, followed by the start of the main Round of 16 schedule.

The Round of 24 this season uses a single-game dual tournament format with four players per group. Matches 1 and 2 will be played on the 'Knockout' map. For the winner's and loser's matches, players will each ban one map from the pool of '(4)Attitude SE', '(2)Colorless Fate', and '(2)Odyssey RE', and play on the remaining map. The final match will follow the same ban process using the '(4)Octagon SE', '(3)Aeolus', and '(4)Backroom' map pool.

'Google Play ASL Season 22' will be held offline with a live audience at Freec Up Studio. Tickets for on-site viewing can be reserved on a first-come, first-served basis via Ticketlink every Thursday at 5:00 PM; tickets for the first week of the Round of 24 opened on August 13 at 5:00 PM. A Drops event for viewers will also run throughout the tournament, with details available on the official SOOP ASL broadcast channel. Live broadcasts and VODs can be viewed via the SOOP esports page and the official ASL broadcast channel.