EPT
China's GHL bans Koreans,
Team Snake lose Sponsorship
More unfortunate news hit for Team Snake, and possibly Team DK too. In what appears to be an effort to protect their domestic scene, China's Gold Heroes League is banning all Korean players from participating in their upcoming season 2. Because of the lack of Chinese tournaments they can participate, Team Snake has stopped their contract with their Korean Heroes team.
The six-man team consisting of kinnu, ttst, kong, mongD, Jeongha, and duckdeok is now back to their old name: Team AsD. Despite being one of the most accomplished teams in Asia, with 1st place in GHL Season 1, 2nd place Storm League Season 2, and 3rd place in HSL 2015, the team had to have their contract terminated.
In a post on Korea's Inven Board, Snake's captiain kinnu wrote:
Hello? This is AsD's Kinnu.
Our contract with Team Snake has terminated, so I'm back here as Team AsD.
Koreans have been banned from participating in Gold League S2, and because it has become difficult for us to be involved in the Chinese scene, we terminated our contract with our sponsor.
We want to thank Team Snake for all the support they have given us so far, and thank you for all the fans who have cheered for us.
We are looking for new sponsors, so please contact us at bk1126@naver.com if you are interested.
P.S. The ban on GHL isn't just a ban on a team of five Koreans, but a ban on any Korean players.
Our contract with Team Snake has terminated, so I'm back here as Team AsD.
Koreans have been banned from participating in Gold League S2, and because it has become difficult for us to be involved in the Chinese scene, we terminated our contract with our sponsor.
We want to thank Team Snake for all the support they have given us so far, and thank you for all the fans who have cheered for us.
We are looking for new sponsors, so please contact us at bk1126@naver.com if you are interested.
P.S. The ban on GHL isn't just a ban on a team of five Koreans, but a ban on any Korean players.
When the news of Cloud 9 getting invited to Gold Heroes League Season 2 came out, people were anticipating a tournament where they can see NA, KR and CN get represented. It is unfortunate that none of the Korean teams will get to participate in it. With Gold Heroes League out of the picture and failing to qualify for WCA, it seems like we won't get to watch Team AsD play till next year.
Considering the fact that Gold Heroes League decided to ban both the winner (Snake) and runner-up (DK) of the previous season, it seems likely that China's GHL is trying to protect their domestic teams from getting overwhelmed by foreigners. It is yet unclear how Team DK will be affected by these decisions, but the prospect of the team retaining their sponsorship after BlizzCon and WCA is grim.
China was one of the few hopes Korean competitive teams had for securing a well-paying sponsor. Unfortunately, the overwhelming success of Snake and DK seems to have backfired. With China out of the picture, the Korean teams now have to hope for their local scene to pick up steam and have big-name companies to start investing in Heroes.
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/4rkQjho.png)
Gold Heroes League Season 1 Results
