This is the full text of Max Krchmar's(in CSL) 8/24/2017 press release.

Do you play Smash Bros.?  Do you go to college?

If the answer to both of the above is yes, you’re in for a treat.

Announcing the Collegiate Starleague x Smash 4 Collegiate x The Melee Games partnership!

There’s never been a better time to be a college Smasher.  Two familiar grassroots leagues have now formally merged with CSL, a long-running tournament provider for a breadth of other games such as StarCraft, League of Legends, and Dota 2.  This partnership will usher in a new era of collegiate Smash -- travel stipends for qualifying teams at multiple levels of competition, strong media coverage, and full-day events dedicated solely to college students.

How will the leagues operate, and what’s gonna change?

Just like past seasons of TMG and S4C, the circuit will be focused around 5v5 crew battles.  However, due to full-day, independent tournaments allowing for much more scheduling flexibility, all CSL Smash events will also feature unsanctioned 1v1 (singles) brackets with cash prizes open to all college students, not just those who have registered a 5v5 team!

CSL Smash will operate in four stages of competition: local, regional, divisional, and national.

16 localities feed into 8 regions, which feed into 4 divisions:

The 16 local qualifiers, spread out across the US and Canada, will be open rounds.  This means that any school is able to register and compete in a double elimination 5v5 crew battle bracket.  They will take place in October and November. The top four schools from each local qualifier advances to regionals, which will occur in January and February, where they will battle against the top four schools from the locality closest to them geographically.

At regionals, only the top two schools will make it out alive, and from there they will advance forward to divisional championships, set to happen in March and April.  The winning team of each division then goes on to national finals...at Shine 2018 next August!

Possibly the biggest news of all--national finalists will be competing for a grand prize pool of $30,000!

This is but the first of many seasons to come under the CSL Smash umbrella.  We’re extremely stoked to make this happen, and we know it’s gonna be an awesome ride!  Smash is already a huge game on campuses worldwide--let’s see how much bigger it can get with real prize support and a well-oiled machine pushing it forward on a grand scale.