Season 5 on the 2012 ladder is drawing to a close, and that means that all ladders will be locked soon.

Here’s what this means for you:

• During the 2012 Season 5 lock, you can’t be promoted or demoted from of your current league or division, and your bonus pool stops growing.
• Though you’ll be locked to a league and division, you'll still be able to play out your remaining bonus pool and compete for standing within your division until the end of the season.
• If you're pursuing a league promotion, then you still have a chance to get there. The 2012 Season 5 lock will go into effect on Thursday, December 27 at 8:59 a.m. CET.

The hidden ratings used to determine promotions and demotions will continue to be used for matchmaking purposes, and will continue to update during the 2012 Season 5 lock. So if you play significantly better or worse than your assigned league at the time of the lock, you may find yourself in a different league when 2013 Season 1 begins (after you play your first placement match). Your games during the lock still count.

The 2012 Season 5 lock also means that 2013 Season 1 is right around the corner. At 9:01 a.m. CET on Thursday, January 3, 2013 Season 1 will begin. Season milestone rewards will be locked in at this time, and bonus pools will reset. The game will continue doing matchmaking and league placement using results from the previous season.

We’ll see you in 2013!