Ladder seasons/StarCraft II

Battle.net seasons organize division tournaments.

Seasons are periodically locked before a new season begins. Players can still move up and down within a division but cannot jump from one league to another, and bonus points will no longer accumulate. However, their "hidden" rating will still be able to change (which affects the AMM and can result in a league jump in the new season). Season milestone rewards will be locked in at this time, and bonus pools will start over. Hidden skill ratings used for matchmaking and league placement will carry over from the previous season. Players will need to play a single placement match in the new season.

A player's career page lists their placement in previous seasons.

As of season 7, Blizzard has "relaxed" the AMM requirements, causing players to face opponents of somewhat higher and somewhat lower skill levels.

As of September 2012, seasons are named with a year as well as a number. For instance, season 8 is referred to as 2012 season 3.

Timeline
Season 1 was locked on March 22, 2011 and season 2 began March 29 of that year.

Season 2 was locked on July 5th, 2011. Season 3 started Tuesday, July 26, 2011.

Season 3 was locked on October 10th, and season 4 started October 25th.

Season 4 was locked on December 13, 2011 and season 5 started December 20, 2011.

Season 5 was locked on February 7, 2012 and season 6 began February 14, 2012.

Season 7 began on April 10, 2012 and locked Tuesday, June 5, 2012.

Season 8 started on June 12th. The grandmaster league would start one week later. As of October 2011, each season will now last for approximately two months, and Grandmaster league placement time will be reduced to one week (from two weeks) to account for the reduced season length.

Season 8, now referred to as 2012 season 3, closed September 6, 2012. On September 11, 2012 season 4 starts, and a week later, the grandmaster league will open for it.

2012 Season 4 closed Wednesday, October 24 and the next season opened Thursday, November 1st.

2012 Season 5 was locked December 26, 2012. 2013 Season 1 would open January 3, 2013.

2013 Season 1 Pool
In late 2012, four new maps were previewed.


 * (1v1) Akilon Flats
 * (1v1) Newkirk District

The two 1v1 maps were tested in the StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm beta.


 * (3v3) Backwater Complex
 * (3v3) Twisted Vern

2012 Season 4 Pool
For 2012 season 4, Blizzard changed Tal'darim Altar LE slightly, removing some of the destructible rocks.

The following maps were added:


 * (3v3) Silent Dunes (new map)
 * (3v3) Monsoon
 * (4v4) High Ground
 * (4v4) Megaton

The following maps were removed:
 * (3v3) Arakan Citadel
 * (3v3) Frontier
 * (4v4) Extinction
 * (4v4) Toxic Slums

Season 8 Map Pool
Blizzard experimented with a larger number of 1v1 maps, 8 in total. The maps were available June 8th, a week before the start of season 8.

The following maps were added:
 * 1v1
 * Condemned Ridge
 * 2v2
 * Desolate Stronghold

The following maps were removed:
 * 1v1
 * Metalopolis
 * Korhal Compound LE
 * 2v2
 * Discord IV
 * High Orbit

Season 7 Map Pool
The following maps were removed:


 * The Shattered Temple

The following maps were added:
 * Daybreak
 * Ohana (a fan-created map)


 * Metropolis (later removed due to performance issues)

Season 6 Map Pool
The following maps were removed:
 * Arid Plateau
 * Xel'Naga Caverns

The following maps were added:
 * Cloud Kingdom
 * Korhal Compound

Season 5 Map Pool
The following maps were removed:
 * (4) Abyssal Caverns
 * (4) Nerazim Crypt

The following maps were added:
 * (2) Arid Plateau
 * (4) Entombed Valley

Season 4 Map Pool
The map pool underwent significant changes in season 4.

Shattered Temple and Metalopolis returned to the map pool, with close spawn positions disabled. Two non-tournament maps -- Abyssal Caverns and Nerazim Crypt -- were be included. Players can veto these two non-tournament maps and still have a single veto remaining for the remaining maps, just as a player would in a major tournament.

The following maps were removed: Backwater Gulch, Searing Crater, and Typhon Peaks (1v1), Khaydarin Depths and Tempest (2v2).

The new pool consisted of these maps: 1v1 2v2
 * Abyssal Caverns (non-tournament)
 * Antiga Shipyard
 * Metalopolis (close spawns disabled)
 * Nerazim Crypt (non-tournament)
 * Shakuras Plateau
 * Shattered Temple (close spawns disabled)
 * Tal’darim Altar LE
 * Xel’naga Caverns
 * Lunar Colony V
 * Magma Core