I barely watched WCS NA due to the time it was on. However it would be much better if it was region locked. However i think people living in SEA should be allowed to played in NA. If not then i think the level of play would be too small. The koreans in WCS EU has also been doing better and better. No fun having koreans win everything.

DannyJ

United States5110 Posts

September 27 2013 08:50 GMT

#42

I guess not. I'd never watch NA or EU.

Ragnarork

France9034 Posts

September 27 2013 09:49 GMT

#43

I think it should be done at some point.

For example, keeping the current Premier/Challenger league system, but reworking the qualifiers. Qualifiers should have cash prizes (of course not huge ones, but noticeable), and should be focused on the region's players.

Like say, divide into two qualifiers: one region locked which gives three quarters of the spots the qualifiers give, and one open to the other regions which gives the remaining quarter. This way, you'd have something a bit more meaningful for local players I'd think.

Still, I don't really think that would work well for NA, as we've seen there's not that much NA players that can go far once in Challenger league, but I'd like to think a better reward for qualifiers, and qualifiers more region-centered would be an improvement.

Bowzar

Sweden741 Posts

September 27 2013 10:36 GMT

#44

Im split. I can only think of two foreigners that deserve to go to Blizzcon but at the same time I would love to see Mvp, Jaedong, Taeja and Hero etc back in GSL battling against the best. I definitely wouldnt watch WCS NA for obvious reasons but I dont think the numbers would drop because Scarlett/other bad fan favorites would do better with the Koreans gone.

riyanme

Philippines940 Posts

September 27 2013 13:34 GMT

#45

Make four regions, obviously with the said restrictions
NA, EU, KR, ASIA (china, sea)

Double the pot money of KR. Compensate it by decreasing other regions.

Twice the amount of players represented on KR server on season finals or whatever.
NA (3), EU (3), KR (6), ASIA (3), WILDCARD(1)

DinoMight

United States3725 Posts

September 27 2013 13:41 GMT

#46

I think that spreading the talent out of Korea and into NA and EU is actually good for the game. I think it's fair to say that the skill level in the foreigner scene has increased tremendously in recent times. Koreans are not inherently better at StarCraft simply by virtue of being Korean... they're better because they train harder and have better practice partners. As they start playing with foreigners more, the foreigners will improve as well.

BaconofWar

United States369 Posts

September 27 2013 14:06 GMT

#47

Something that I learned when I watched the League of Legends worlds(please don't murder me) is that world championships become so much more interesting when everyone does everything differently. Watching regional metagames smash into each other is so incredibly interesting, and it also allows those who play differently to play better. One of the issues with Sc2 is stagnation, and watching every individual region deal with a different metagame in their own way is so phenomenally interesting.

Wingbladez

United States2 Posts

September 27 2013 14:28 GMT

#48

Considering its what the majority of the viewers want to see and it doesn't negatively change the fairness of the tournament, they should region lock it.

Koreans help the talent in NA become better
Playing against a good Korean once or twice a year doesn't improve your skill all that much.

Increase the Korean prize money
That would set a bad precedent where it is accepted that Koreans are better than everyone else, therefore they should win the tournament.This is bad for players who rely on their confidence to get them through the tournament and very unfair for a serious competition.

I won't watch NA and/or EU anymore
Seems to be a vocal minority of people who feel this way when you look at the poll.

Hayl_Storm

The Shire633 Posts

September 27 2013 14:33 GMT

#49

I'm split on this: on the one hand, I value the quality of games over everything; but on the other, maybe if all the Koreans had to play in KR it would be better...

chuiboy

55 Posts

September 27 2013 14:54 GMT

#50

Obviously no...

kochanfe

Micronesia1338 Posts

September 27 2013 15:24 GMT

#51

Residency. Not citizenship. Also, exceptions should be made for players from Australia, Taiwan, and China (or perhaps an entirely new region?)

Dontkillme

Korea (South)806 Posts

September 27 2013 16:32 GMT

#52

If the WCS player pool was all American I can tell you the quality of the games are going to deteriorate.

Incubus1993

Canada140 Posts

September 27 2013 16:44 GMT

#53

Residency only, if you want to play in a particular region you should have to physically live there. It's the most simple and fair way to run it. That way the NA scene can actually develop because lower level players will have far more incentive to compete and improve instead of just getting discouraged by the flood of much better lower level korean players who wake up early in the morning to own everyone.

Personally I would scrap a lot of the broadcast time on the challenger leagues and some qualifiers. WCS hogs way too much of the game up so newer players have such a narrow window of opportunity to achieve goals and if they fail that's it for a long time, we need to find a better balance between individual tournaments and leauges and WCS.

for_the_swarm

United States48 Posts

September 27 2013 17:05 GMT

#54

"residency/citizenship restrictions" is just a nice way of trying to ban koreans. NA and EU wouldnt care as much if Australians or Taiwanese players tried to qualify every season because they are not a legitimate threat to win every season..

If there is a region lock, NA scene might just die. I for one would not watch NA at all. I cannot name top 10 NA players and i live in the US!

DavoS

United States4605 Posts

September 27 2013 17:17 GMT

#55

If The International and LCS have taught me anything, it's that having a region compete amongst itself gives players/teams realistic goals, which makes improving a lot easier than having to instantly become world class. Give it a year of being region locked and we'll see foreigners fighting a lot harder and with more to show for it

Sum41

Chile345 Posts

September 27 2013 17:18 GMT

#56

if they change the format to region locked, that would assume that NA players suck and will never has a chance, it would be a bad idea a regression to what happened in BW, where korea was apart from the world only because foreigner were whinning about how strong koreans are, and in those times they had the right to do it, because in korea they played the game professionally, and foreigners were all amateur who couldn't live of gaming, now it has changed the good foreigners are well paid, and they should keep up with koreans. so there is no reason for them to whine about how good koreans are, they have to train more, or in a different way to get good results against korean players.

xxpack09

United States2160 Posts

September 27 2013 17:55 GMT

#57

IMO, residency is easily the best way to demarcate it. Citizenship is pretty silly though.

Ansinjunger

United States2451 Posts

September 27 2013 20:01 GMT

#58

Very interesting conversation on Nathanias' twitter. (I checked him cuz I saw him cheering for Titan in chat).

https://twitter.com/ROOTnathanias

Also HuK clarified. https://twitter.com/LorangerChris

"He's saying that they will for sure region lock. Just to clarify," "He" meaning Slasher, I believe.

I personally don't believe the pendulum needs to completely swing back the other way, if much at all. WCS in 2012 culminated in a bop. And what of Korean players on foreign teams, like MMA? He most likely gets to stay in WCS, but does Mvp? Is being a fan favorite gonna give an unfair advantage? Too many questions with imperfect answers.

ladysman09

237 Posts

September 27 2013 21:16 GMT

#59

There should be a Korean Qualifier/Invite system for the non Korean WCS regions. like only 4 or 5 can qualify or be invited.

Mocking

Brazil52 Posts

September 27 2013 21:21 GMT

#60

i want quality in the games, we are seeing foregins improving better than never because of the high skilled players they have in their wcs region. So i still prefere how it is.