With BlizzCon finally upon us, the excitement has reached a fever pitch as personalities from the Championship Gaming Series converge on Anaheim, California for what is looking to be a BlizzCon that will go down in history. If you didn’t get a ticket to the much-hyped event, fear not, you can catch all of the action on DirecTV’s pay-per-view extravaganza, and you can watch a few of the tournaments via a live video stream on Blizzard’s site.

World of Warcraft is only one of the big draws at BlizzCon this year.

If you’ve been stuck under a rock for the last year, you’ll be pleased to know that this year’s BlizzCon is host to a very special surprise announcement. The speculation has been running rampant over what the surprise could be about. Many believe it has something to do with the highly anticipated Diablo III or StarCraft 2, while others believe it may be a new announcement concerning the company’s newest Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game (MMORPG).

“This weekend I would love to hear that they have a sexy WoW mobile app ready for the masses, or the name of the new MMO they are working on,” exclaimed Kat Hunter, General Manager of the SAN FRANCISCO OPTX. “However, all signs are pointing to a Diablo 3 announcement.”

In addition to making predictions, Hunter will be handling hosting duty for the event, alongside Geoff Keighley of Game Trailers fame and Becky "Aktrez" Young of the Girls Entertainment Network. The star-studded cast will bring viewers insight into the world of Blizzard, as well as previews and highlights of the event. Everyone is excited for the event, even the hosts.

“I’ve been preparing for this event over the last month,” explained Hunter. “I played a lot of Diablo 2 for the first time. I leveled a Paladin and Rogue to 29 which were the only classes in WoW I had never really spent much time with. Also I went back and watched a lot of the recent PvP videos from the teams we are planning to see at the tournament this weekend.”

Hunter is not the only member of the CGS staff that’s excited for the upcoming Blizzcon. Cami Vicencio, former CGS online personality and now a busy bee in the CGS office, will be on-hand at Blizzcon. She’s been getting in the Blizzard groove over the last few weeks to prepare herself for the epic event.

“I've been playing WC3 and SC just for s***s and giggles, but to be really honest and nerdy, I've been playing WoW,” said Vicencio. “There's a little office bet that was set up a couple weeks ago; it’s about whether or not I can level from 0 to 70 before BlizzCon. I'm at level 63 and a day away. I’ve got to get back to grinding.”

Will Cami make it from level 0 to level 70 in time?

While some are looking forward to the surprise announcement, the famous goodie bag that will be handed out to all guests of the event is also something that has sparked a lot of attention in recent years. Some will assuredly end up on eBay, but the Blizzard faithful will keep their goodie bags close to home as a memento of the event.

“I’m looking forward to the freaking goodie bags!” declared Vicencio. “I’m also looking forward to the ugly epic polar bear mount that I could use to give me a bigger e-peen in my guild.”

Whatever you’re hoping to get out of this weekend, it’s looking to be a fantastic time for all involved. Blizzard has a lot to live up to with the massive success of World of Warcraft and the first StarCraft. It should be interesting to see what the famed developers have in store for eager fans throughout the weekend.

Throughout the weekend, the CGS Live team will be behind-the-scenes at BlizzCon, bringing all the RTS action and World of Warcraft action directly to BlizzCon.com. *

djWHEAT and other hosts will be shoutcasting the Starcraft, Warcraft III, and World of Warcraft Arena competition directly from the BlizzCon floor. Tune in to BlizzCon.com on October 11-12 to follow the intense battles from home via live streaming video coverage.

Do you remember the amazing coverage we brought you of the CGS World of Warcraft 3v3 Arena Tournament? See the top Blizzard games played by the top Blizzard gamers – live shoutcasting coupled with in-game cameras and top-notch commentary.

*This will be competition coverage only; it is different programming than the all-access DirecTV extravaganza.