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[D]The GSL - too top heavy in the prize payout? - Page 5

Forum Index > StarCraft 2 Tournaments
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Cel.erity
Profile Blog Joined September 2010
United States4890 Posts
October 11 2010 19:05 GMT
#81
For the health of eSports as a whole, it may be best to spread the prize a little bit more. However, having a huge first-place prize is what's best for the GSL, and it will draw more top names and more sponsorship. The thing is, SC2 is not poker, it is still growing and attempting to be legitimized, which means it will need some spectacularity to get off the ground. I would not be surprised to see season 4's payout be slightly more even.
We found Dove in a soapless place.
Scoop
Profile Joined August 2010
Finland482 Posts
October 11 2010 19:07 GMT
#82
Well it should make you try harder and it should attract a lot of players if there's a huge 1st prize instead of everyone getting a decent amount.
LaLLsc2
Profile Joined September 2010
United States502 Posts
October 11 2010 19:13 GMT
#83
Absolutely not, the big numbers help bring in the viewers. I was surprised to find out the round of 64 & 32 made anything at all...
Live and Let Live
Shinta)
Profile Joined July 2010
United States1716 Posts
October 11 2010 19:24 GMT
#84
If a 'top pro player' plays GSL 10 times and never makes top 8, he's not a top pro player.
For you to call any scene a 'professional' scene, you need to know that there will be a variety of professionals to compete. If nobody can compete with the top 4 players, then there isn't a professional scene, only 4 professional players. A professional is someone who gets paid to do what they do.
4 players getting all the money = 4 players playing professionally.
If a foreigner wants to try to get to the professional level, they start with their foundations and work their way up. It's like a Taiwanese baseball player trying to get into the Japanese baseball league or a European trying to get into the USA's NBA. You make sacrifices and practice your heart out, and if at the end of the day you aren't good enough, then you aren't good enough. Go back to your home country and play in your own country's tournaments.
The majority of Korea plays for fun, the players that play all day are the ones that are considered current top players. Just cause they are top players doesn't mean they are particularly 'professional' players just yet. The sc2 game hasn't developed enough to determine that kind of conclusion. The purpose of a big 1st place prize pool is to stimulate the WANT to be #1. If you're going to settle for #16 or #8 just cause you get a bit of money out of it, then you're not ever going to be good enough to become a professional.
People wanting to get 1st place will train and become good. People who want to get 16th place won't get good. So think about it again, where should the prize go?

Once there are a ton of 'professional' players, meaning the #16 is beating the #1 and there is actually a very competitive scene, then I'm sure GomTV will be more interested in investing more money into the overall prize pool, and make a professional league out of it.
Suteki Da Ne 素敵だね Isn't it Wonderful
Merikh
Profile Blog Joined June 2010
United States918 Posts
October 11 2010 19:25 GMT
#85
Add this link in the OP http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=141496
G4MR | I mod day9, djwheat and GLHF's stream
cerebralz
Profile Joined August 2009
United States443 Posts
Last Edited: 2010-10-11 21:13:09
October 11 2010 21:06 GMT
#86
Another thing to think about is that if this prize pool payout will be the same for all the different types of tournaments that Gomtv will run during the year.

there's the four ladder tournaments, the 2 world championships, and the 8-man blizzard cup. I doubt they will all have the same type of format.

I also wonder if there will be ONLY 32 S-class players and 64ish A-class players at any one time. It might be interesting to see the dynamic of people moving up or down. It also makes for the need to have opportunities to re-qualify for A-class should you lose and drop out. As far as the GSL post, there is no mention of additional open-style tournaments like this. Seems like after these three, the best way for foreigners to participate would be to be in the ladder tournaments, where you might place high enough to get into the GSL. That might be the new "open" in 2011.

It's yet to be seen how effective these tournaments will be, but due to the sheer volume of players and number of events, it seems that the GSL would benefit from a offline semi-pro league with a chance to make it into the prelims of the GSL.

Either that, or i would love for one of the ladder tournaments to be replaced by another open tournament like these three inital ones.
ThE_ShiZ
Profile Joined August 2010
United States143 Posts
Last Edited: 2010-10-11 21:18:06
October 11 2010 21:15 GMT
#87
Well, In other cases I'd say it is unfair that one or two winners makes it big while others just go home.

However, this isn't an issue about societal income distribution. It's a video game. If you're not the best, go home. The large prize pool is a great way to get people to bust their asses. Not every half-decent pro-gamer should b e getting money. It's a video-game for Heaven's sake. If you can't win then get a real job and be productive. Things like sports, games, and music should not have any sort of income security. Half the people I saw in GSL 1 performed so poorly I don't think they even deserved a penny.

A decent prizepool for top 16-32 would suffice. Everyone else underneath shouldn't really get anything, at least not much.
Anaconda Malt Liquor makes you oooooo....
sixfour
Profile Blog Joined December 2009
England11061 Posts
October 11 2010 21:22 GMT
#88
if anything, i think the jump from ro32 to ro16 is the awkward one. nothing wrong with a huge prize for first, having it as 100 million won is kind of cool
p: stats, horang2, free, jangbi z: soulkey, zero, shine, hydra t: leta, hiya, sea
Black Gun
Profile Blog Joined July 2009
Germany4482 Posts
October 11 2010 21:23 GMT
#89
On October 12 2010 06:15 ThE_ShiZ wrote:. If you're not the best, go home. The large prize pool is a great way to get people to bust their asses. Not every half-decent pro-gamer should b e getting money. It's a video-game for Heaven's sake. If you can't win then get a real job and be productive. Things like sports, games, and music should not have any sort of income security.


i couldnt agree less. for the development of any video game as an esport, it is absolutely crucial that a limited amount of top gamers can focus on this game 24/7. this can only be achieved by income security. basically the only way to provide this is a sponsored teamleague, just like proleague in bw.


"What am I supposed to do against this?" - "Lose!" :-]
teacash
Profile Joined September 2010
Canada494 Posts
October 11 2010 21:25 GMT
#90
Pool for 2nd season hasn't been announced yet.. It could be considerably different for all we know..

doubtful, but it's possible...
rod_zero
Profile Joined October 2010
Mexico4 Posts
October 11 2010 21:26 GMT
#91
I think Magic: the gathering torunament structure and prize pool are one of the best outthere for non-sport games.

The pro tour-circuit, the open tournaments, the national championships etc etc make it very competitive and diverse.

It atracted lots of people in the past from all over the world to play and cover themselves travel expenses to the tournaments.

Magic never had as many sponsors (in fact very very few) as e-sports has, and still many top players could live 5 or 4 years just playing.

Maybe gomtv and blizzard should look at it and learn a lesson or two.

Holcan
Profile Joined April 2010
Canada2593 Posts
October 11 2010 21:45 GMT
#92
you would have to take into context the taxes of tournament winnings in South Korea. I know in some countries its much heavier than other countries, in Canada it is very bad, in the States it varies state by State, in Denmark they are particularly harsh on tournament winnings.

Denmark is well-known for having one of the most heavy-handed taxation codes of any country in the EU. Peter Eastgate who took down $9.1 million when he won the WSOP last November, was taxed at a 45% rate for the first $4 million he earned and at 75% for the remainder of the money, leaving the youngest WSOP champion ever with an estimated $2.5 million in prize money.

The Danish Supreme Court ruled that a 35 year old unemployed man who had been making a living as an online poker player, would have to be taxed as a "professional gambler", similar to the tax rate of Peter Eastgate. Over the past year, he allegedly earned around €26,000 from playing at several online poker sites.


so this is a huge question, are they actually making that much money? or are they making a substantially lesser amount than advertised?
Reference The Inadvertant Joey, Strong talented orchastrasted intelligent character.
alan25
Profile Joined September 2010
United States379 Posts
October 11 2010 22:09 GMT
#93
whose paying for this event? are they breaking even? with all the streams and watchers how much are tehy getting in ticket sales?
cjgone
Profile Joined July 2010
United States62 Posts
October 11 2010 22:19 GMT
#94
I agree that the prize pool is not fairly distributed but then again, the event is every month. As long as high level players juggle between the top 8 places, they can make a very good salary per year.

I would like the top prize to be 75,000 instead, then the next being 30,000 then 10,000.
Hi
Blisse
Profile Blog Joined July 2010
Canada3710 Posts
October 11 2010 22:33 GMT
#95
Think of the number of people who try to qualify for the GSL, compared to the number of people who try to qualify for WPT. Also remember Poker gets revenue from buy-ins, and from Poker sites.

But it is a very sound complaint.
There is no one like you in the universe.
d3_crescentia
Profile Blog Joined May 2009
United States4054 Posts
October 11 2010 22:46 GMT
#96
Anyone that wants to make a comparison to the MtG proscene is forgetting one key factor - they have a product which you must pay for in order to compete. Release of new sets and a rotating list prohibited cards will ensure that people who are interested in competing professionally will continue to buy the goddamn cards. That's where the prize money is coming from, and that's why they can afford to have the kind of tournaments they do.

SC2 is a flat rate $60 for those of us in the US; in Korea WoW players get to play it for free. A substantial amount of money is more difficult to get when your business model is dependent on other people paying you for advertising as opposed to selling variants on the same product over and over again. A more equal distribution of prize money simply isn't feasible right now.
once, not long ago, there was a moon here
Benshin88
Profile Joined September 2010
United States183 Posts
October 11 2010 22:55 GMT
#97
Lol Round of 32 wouldn't even pay for plane ticket to S. Korea. If you live very far from S. Korea then Round of 16 might not even pay for your plane ticket to S. Korea.
Grond
Profile Blog Joined June 2010
599 Posts
October 11 2010 23:09 GMT
#98
On October 07 2010 01:50 FakeSteve[TPR] wrote:
Show nested quote +
On October 07 2010 01:46 sixghost wrote:
On October 07 2010 01:31 FakeSteve[TPR] wrote:
the question is, "too top heavy" for what? your arbitrary assessment of what's fair? why should people in the ro64 get paid more?

Too top heavy for the top 32/64 players to make enough money to support themselves


it is not the responsibility of the GSL to make sure people who only reach the top 32/64 are able to sustain themselves solely on their GSL winnings. what an asinine idea.

restructuring the GSL's prizepool to make sure underqualified players live slightly more comfortable is real high on GOM's list of 'dumb things we could do to ruin ourselves'



I think that is a very short sighted attitude. The more people that can support themselves with winnings the higher the level of play will become.
KiF1rE
Profile Blog Joined November 2009
United States964 Posts
Last Edited: 2010-10-11 23:20:18
October 11 2010 23:18 GMT
#99
On October 12 2010 07:55 Benshin88 wrote:
Lol Round of 32 wouldn't even pay for plane ticket to S. Korea. If you live very far from S. Korea then Round of 16 might not even pay for your plane ticket to S. Korea.


thats the biggest issue i have is i want the scene to go global for the biggest events, and in order to do that if your good enough to make round of 16 you should atleast make enough money to travel there, especially if they put global in the tournament name and then 90+ percent of the participants are from one country.

and besides the more people that can support themselves, gives them more time to practice and the level of play and competition will go up. also meaning that it will be more fun to watch for spectators.
DarkPlasmaBall
Profile Blog Joined March 2010
United States45270 Posts
October 11 2010 23:19 GMT
#100
I understand that such a large first place prize will cause a lot of hype for audiences, but I wonder if it will cause problems for the actual gamers...

I would think that most really good SC2 gamers- recognizing that they probably aren't the absolute best in the world at a game that's still in the early stages of development- would be more enticed by tournaments with decent level of payouts for the top 4-8 places, rather than just the top 2 places.

I assume that in the future, we'll see the payouts for the top 8 or so all get a little higher, so that more people figure it's worth their while to participate even if they know they won't win the entire GSL.
"There is nothing more satisfying than looking at a crowd of people and helping them get what I love." ~Day[9] Daily #100
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