New cities and a new open format have been added to the eSports competition.

Red Bull Media House announced yestesrday the 2014 Red Bull Battle Grounds tournament schedule! Making its way through three cities this year, the popular StarCraft II eSports tournament has some excitement in store.

For the first time, Red Bull eSports events will be linked to Blizzard's StarCraft II World Championship Series. Competitors at Red Bull Battle Grounds 2014 events will battle not only for prestige and prize money, but also to earn WCS points. These points bolster each player's place in the WCS Standings which determine who competes in the WCS Global Finals for the title of Global StarCraft II Champion.

The first event takes place July 11-13 in Atlanta, Georgia, with registration opening up this summer. Next it will move to Detroit, Michigan between August 22-24, and finally will wrap-up in Washington DC during its September 20-21 grand finals.

More details about registration, formats and the WCS point breakdown will be revealed soon. Visit the official event site for the latest news and make sure to follow @RedBullESPORTS on Twitter, #BattleGrounds!

Ann "Cyliena" Hosler, Managing Editor