Registration for this year’s tournament has officially opened, the items that will be available have been listed (HERE) and now it’s time to wait for the servers to actually come up. The initial challenge a player will face on the tournament realm will be deciding just what the hell to equip in terms of gear.

At first glance, everyone should notice NO 226 ITEMS IN SIGHT! No Betrayer, Sinister Revenge and Envoy should make physical damage come down a bit while every caster gets to do their own celebratory dance. Healers that have chosen to use Ice Living Crystals on live are sure to be unhappy as well. Trinkets have always had a huge impact in tournament play which goes back to warlocks and their Void Star Talismans so why should it be any different this time around?

Death Knights should be happy to see their ever loved Bandit’s Insignia is available. Darkmoon Cards, Grim Toll and Soul of the Dead are a few of the many good trinkets we’re sure to see in this year’s tournament. One other thing to remember when choosing trinkets is that humans will have the ability to use two trinkets while taking full advantage of their racial ability. I’m sure we’ll see plenty of human Death Knight’s wearing both a Bandit’s Insignia and a Darkmoon Card: Greatness as they continue their never ending quest for big numbers.

No engineering means goggles and rocket boots are no more which could have an impact on some players. The loss of other professions will have a very small impact on various character stats. The greatest loss of all is that there is no crab pet listed. Tournament action must of been too much for the poor bastards and they called it quits.

The most exciting part of the tournament realm for most is to see the game on an equal footing. No player will have access to additional gear outside of what Blizzard has made available. Class composition, skill and a splash of RNG, which we all know and love, will be the only deciding factors on the tournament realm. Are you prepared?

2009 Blizzard WoW Tournament, Igoaf, WoW, WoW esports