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On April 07 2019 08:52 William paradise wrote:Show nested quote +On April 07 2019 08:46 Die4Ever wrote:On April 07 2019 08:35 swarminfestor wrote: Boring series after all without audiences' cheer. I hope production could do something to bolster up the scene next time. they should add a fake cheer-track! /s this format sucks though, they could've at least had AM and EU meet for the playoffs bracket, the player pool is way too weak when split up like this agree with that i just dont see how the players themselves make up the skill difference though i mean how many years have the Koreans dominated. i just look to the future of the eu and na sc scene and see it dying off in the very near future. there no new young players coming up Scarlett and neeb are getting older special didnt even make it, and who beside serral in Europe can truly compete with the best in the world. it looks bleak. "i just look to the future of the eu and na sc scene and see it dying off in the very near future. there no new young players coming up"
literally the same thing in Korea, when's the last time Korea got a decent new player? except they have forced military service, so half the GSL is gonna disappear in the next year or so, and the other half not long after
EU and AM might end up both being stronger than Korea in a few years
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On April 07 2019 08:53 AzAlexZ wrote:LOL, the prediction well if we were all honest everyone prolly saw that coming Scarlett for whatever reason does not to well in studio play that just the way it is wish it wasnt so but it is what it is on to the next one.
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On April 07 2019 08:56 William paradise wrote:Show nested quote +On April 07 2019 08:53 AzAlexZ wrote:On April 07 2019 07:22 AzAlexZ wrote: Alright Neeb, Let's take this home 4-2 LOL, the prediction well if we were all honest everyone prolly saw that coming Scarlett for whatever reason does not to well in studio play that just the way it is wish it wasnt so but it is what it is on to the next one. I meant the map score prediction, this could have been 4-1 or 4-3 if Scarlett played worse/better in one (more) game
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On April 07 2019 08:55 Die4Ever wrote:Show nested quote +On April 07 2019 08:52 William paradise wrote:On April 07 2019 08:46 Die4Ever wrote:On April 07 2019 08:35 swarminfestor wrote: Boring series after all without audiences' cheer. I hope production could do something to bolster up the scene next time. they should add a fake cheer-track! /s this format sucks though, they could've at least had AM and EU meet for the playoffs bracket, the player pool is way too weak when split up like this agree with that i just dont see how the players themselves make up the skill difference though i mean how many years have the Koreans dominated. i just look to the future of the eu and na sc scene and see it dying off in the very near future. there no new young players coming up Scarlett and neeb are getting older special didnt even make it, and who beside serral in Europe can truly compete with the best in the world. it looks bleak. "i just look to the future of the eu and na sc scene and see it dying off in the very near future. there no new young players coming up" literally the same thing in Korea, when's the last time Korea got a decent new player? except they have forced military service, so half the GSL is gonna disappear in the next year or so, and the other half not long after EU and AM might end up both being stronger than Korea in a few years then sc as a premier esport is prolly going to not be a thing anymore sure you'll have some tournaments but 1-2 years down the road players should proly start looking for other areas where they want to go for there future.
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On April 07 2019 08:58 AzAlexZ wrote:Show nested quote +On April 07 2019 08:56 William paradise wrote:On April 07 2019 08:53 AzAlexZ wrote:On April 07 2019 07:22 AzAlexZ wrote: Alright Neeb, Let's take this home 4-2 LOL, the prediction well if we were all honest everyone prolly saw that coming Scarlett for whatever reason does not to well in studio play that just the way it is wish it wasnt so but it is what it is on to the next one. I meant the map score prediction, this could have been 4-1 or 4-3 if Scarlett played worse/better in one (more) game my bad misunderstood
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Northern Ireland25930 Posts
On April 07 2019 08:52 William paradise wrote:Show nested quote +On April 07 2019 08:46 Die4Ever wrote:On April 07 2019 08:35 swarminfestor wrote: Boring series after all without audiences' cheer. I hope production could do something to bolster up the scene next time. they should add a fake cheer-track! /s this format sucks though, they could've at least had AM and EU meet for the playoffs bracket, the player pool is way too weak when split up like this agree with that i just dont see how the players themselves make up the skill difference though i mean how many years have the Koreans dominated. i just look to the future of the eu and na sc scene and see it dying off in the very near future. there no new young players coming up Scarlett and neeb are getting older special didnt even make it, and who beside serral in Europe can truly compete with the best in the world. it looks bleak. You never know where the next person to burst out will happen. Serral is no prodigy phenomenon, he gradually improved over years and years in the EU scene.
I took a break from SC2 because burnout and whatnot, when I left Serral was a mid tier EU player, when I came back he was not just the dominant foreigner but was able to consistently beat S class Koreans as well.
Neeb had just switched to Protoss as well, and look how that’s gone for him. I never could have predicted how good he would get, I doubt anyone did at the time.
Maybe there’s new talent that’ll come in, or maybe a mid-tier pro will push on and gradually improve and surprise us.
As someone else mentioned I would love to see some kind of playoff tournament between the top finishers in EU and NA for sure.
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Northern Ireland25930 Posts
SC2’s had its sizeable niche as an eSport for quite some time and it still hasn’t fallen off a cliff despite ‘dedgame’ for years and years.
My main concern for its competitive future is Blizzard itself, considering they bankroll the WCS circuit, and if they’ll be allowed to keep doing it in perpetuity.
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On April 07 2019 09:02 Wombat_NI wrote:Show nested quote +On April 07 2019 08:52 William paradise wrote:On April 07 2019 08:46 Die4Ever wrote:On April 07 2019 08:35 swarminfestor wrote: Boring series after all without audiences' cheer. I hope production could do something to bolster up the scene next time. they should add a fake cheer-track! /s this format sucks though, they could've at least had AM and EU meet for the playoffs bracket, the player pool is way too weak when split up like this agree with that i just dont see how the players themselves make up the skill difference though i mean how many years have the Koreans dominated. i just look to the future of the eu and na sc scene and see it dying off in the very near future. there no new young players coming up Scarlett and neeb are getting older special didnt even make it, and who beside serral in Europe can truly compete with the best in the world. it looks bleak. You never know where the next person to burst out will happen. Serral is no prodigy phenomenon, he gradually improved over years and years in the EU scene. I took a break from SC2 because burnout and whatnot, when I left Serral was a mid tier EU player, when I came back he was not just the dominant foreigner but was able to consistently beat S class Koreans as well. Neeb had just switched to Protoss as well, and look how that’s gone for him. I never could have predicted how good he would get, I doubt anyone did at the time. Maybe there’s new talent that’ll come in, or maybe a mid-tier pro will push on and gradually improve and surprise us. As someone else mentioned I would love to see some kind of playoff tournament between the top finishers in EU and NA for sure. but that was one time if you were betting right now would you bet that a Korean would win yet another world title or a non Korean theres no depth i just dont see it thats just my opinion i think they went about the whole esport the wrong way they should have structured it after tennis or golf have 4 majors and some minors in between anyone can compete no region lock bs but whats done is done.
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On April 07 2019 09:05 Wombat_NI wrote: SC2’s had its sizeable niche as an eSport for quite some time and it still hasn’t fallen off a cliff despite ‘dedgame’ for years and years.
My main concern for its competitive future is Blizzard itself, considering they bankroll the WCS circuit, and if they’ll be allowed to keep doing it in perpetuity.
yea i dont see the profit in it for them to keep this goin people are going to stop buying warchest at some point and then that well goes dry.
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Northern Ireland25930 Posts
On April 07 2019 09:09 William paradise wrote:Show nested quote +On April 07 2019 09:02 Wombat_NI wrote:On April 07 2019 08:52 William paradise wrote:On April 07 2019 08:46 Die4Ever wrote:On April 07 2019 08:35 swarminfestor wrote: Boring series after all without audiences' cheer. I hope production could do something to bolster up the scene next time. they should add a fake cheer-track! /s this format sucks though, they could've at least had AM and EU meet for the playoffs bracket, the player pool is way too weak when split up like this agree with that i just dont see how the players themselves make up the skill difference though i mean how many years have the Koreans dominated. i just look to the future of the eu and na sc scene and see it dying off in the very near future. there no new young players coming up Scarlett and neeb are getting older special didnt even make it, and who beside serral in Europe can truly compete with the best in the world. it looks bleak. You never know where the next person to burst out will happen. Serral is no prodigy phenomenon, he gradually improved over years and years in the EU scene. I took a break from SC2 because burnout and whatnot, when I left Serral was a mid tier EU player, when I came back he was not just the dominant foreigner but was able to consistently beat S class Koreans as well. Neeb had just switched to Protoss as well, and look how that’s gone for him. I never could have predicted how good he would get, I doubt anyone did at the time. Maybe there’s new talent that’ll come in, or maybe a mid-tier pro will push on and gradually improve and surprise us. As someone else mentioned I would love to see some kind of playoff tournament between the top finishers in EU and NA for sure. but that was one time if you were betting right now would you bet that a Korean would win yet another world title or a non Korean theres no depth i just dont see it thats just my opinion i think they went about the whole esport the wrong way they should have structured it after tennis or golf have 4 majors and some minors in between anyone can compete no region lock bs but whats done is done. Well do you want non-Koreans to be competitive or do you not?
If you don’t give Europeans or NA players anything they can realistically even get in the money in, never mind win, that gap just isn’t going to be closed at all.
It’s not quite the same now depth wise, I’d say the period when the Kespa players got good at SC2, and lots of notable Korean mainstays hadn’t retired, say of the top 50 players, 45+ would have been Korean, or something in that ballpark.
I do like the idea of having more open and regular tournaments of high prestige like the ‘grand slams’ in tennis to get a better idea of who the best in the scene are over a year.
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On April 07 2019 08:55 Die4Ever wrote:Show nested quote +On April 07 2019 08:52 William paradise wrote:On April 07 2019 08:46 Die4Ever wrote:On April 07 2019 08:35 swarminfestor wrote: Boring series after all without audiences' cheer. I hope production could do something to bolster up the scene next time. they should add a fake cheer-track! /s this format sucks though, they could've at least had AM and EU meet for the playoffs bracket, the player pool is way too weak when split up like this agree with that i just dont see how the players themselves make up the skill difference though i mean how many years have the Koreans dominated. i just look to the future of the eu and na sc scene and see it dying off in the very near future. there no new young players coming up Scarlett and neeb are getting older special didnt even make it, and who beside serral in Europe can truly compete with the best in the world. it looks bleak. "i just look to the future of the eu and na sc scene and see it dying off in the very near future. there no new young players coming up" literally the same thing in Korea, when's the last time Korea got a decent new player? except they have forced military service, so half the GSL is gonna disappear in the next year or so, and the other half not long after EU and AM might end up both being stronger than Korea in a few years
What are you guys talking about that EU and NA have no new blood? Showtime, Serral, Reynor, Elazer, Drogo, Neeb, HateMe, HeroMarine, DnS, Time and definitely a few more are all new blood. You don't go from "pick up the game" to pro in like a year. All these guys were HotS or later players. It's not like NA and EU is just full of people that have been playing since launch or something.
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On April 07 2019 09:17 Wombat_NI wrote:Show nested quote +On April 07 2019 09:09 William paradise wrote:On April 07 2019 09:02 Wombat_NI wrote:On April 07 2019 08:52 William paradise wrote:On April 07 2019 08:46 Die4Ever wrote:On April 07 2019 08:35 swarminfestor wrote: Boring series after all without audiences' cheer. I hope production could do something to bolster up the scene next time. they should add a fake cheer-track! /s this format sucks though, they could've at least had AM and EU meet for the playoffs bracket, the player pool is way too weak when split up like this agree with that i just dont see how the players themselves make up the skill difference though i mean how many years have the Koreans dominated. i just look to the future of the eu and na sc scene and see it dying off in the very near future. there no new young players coming up Scarlett and neeb are getting older special didnt even make it, and who beside serral in Europe can truly compete with the best in the world. it looks bleak. You never know where the next person to burst out will happen. Serral is no prodigy phenomenon, he gradually improved over years and years in the EU scene. I took a break from SC2 because burnout and whatnot, when I left Serral was a mid tier EU player, when I came back he was not just the dominant foreigner but was able to consistently beat S class Koreans as well. Neeb had just switched to Protoss as well, and look how that’s gone for him. I never could have predicted how good he would get, I doubt anyone did at the time. Maybe there’s new talent that’ll come in, or maybe a mid-tier pro will push on and gradually improve and surprise us. As someone else mentioned I would love to see some kind of playoff tournament between the top finishers in EU and NA for sure. but that was one time if you were betting right now would you bet that a Korean would win yet another world title or a non Korean theres no depth i just dont see it thats just my opinion i think they went about the whole esport the wrong way they should have structured it after tennis or golf have 4 majors and some minors in between anyone can compete no region lock bs but whats done is done. Well do you want non-Koreans to be competitive or do you not? If you don’t give Europeans or NA players anything they can realistically even get in the money in, never mind win, that gap just isn’t going to be closed at all. It’s not quite the same now depth wise, I’d say the period when the Kespa players got good at SC2, and lots of notable Korean mainstays hadn’t retired, say of the top 50 players, 45+ would have been Korean, or something in that ballpark. I do like the idea of having more open and regular tournaments of high prestige like the ‘grand slams’ in tennis to get a better idea of who the best in the scene are over a year.
The tennis model makes sense of course, except financially which is the big thing.
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On April 07 2019 09:17 Wombat_NI wrote:Show nested quote +On April 07 2019 09:09 William paradise wrote:On April 07 2019 09:02 Wombat_NI wrote:On April 07 2019 08:52 William paradise wrote:On April 07 2019 08:46 Die4Ever wrote:On April 07 2019 08:35 swarminfestor wrote: Boring series after all without audiences' cheer. I hope production could do something to bolster up the scene next time. they should add a fake cheer-track! /s this format sucks though, they could've at least had AM and EU meet for the playoffs bracket, the player pool is way too weak when split up like this agree with that i just dont see how the players themselves make up the skill difference though i mean how many years have the Koreans dominated. i just look to the future of the eu and na sc scene and see it dying off in the very near future. there no new young players coming up Scarlett and neeb are getting older special didnt even make it, and who beside serral in Europe can truly compete with the best in the world. it looks bleak. You never know where the next person to burst out will happen. Serral is no prodigy phenomenon, he gradually improved over years and years in the EU scene. I took a break from SC2 because burnout and whatnot, when I left Serral was a mid tier EU player, when I came back he was not just the dominant foreigner but was able to consistently beat S class Koreans as well. Neeb had just switched to Protoss as well, and look how that’s gone for him. I never could have predicted how good he would get, I doubt anyone did at the time. Maybe there’s new talent that’ll come in, or maybe a mid-tier pro will push on and gradually improve and surprise us. As someone else mentioned I would love to see some kind of playoff tournament between the top finishers in EU and NA for sure. but that was one time if you were betting right now would you bet that a Korean would win yet another world title or a non Korean theres no depth i just dont see it thats just my opinion i think they went about the whole esport the wrong way they should have structured it after tennis or golf have 4 majors and some minors in between anyone can compete no region lock bs but whats done is done. Well do you want non-Koreans to be competitive or do you not? If you don’t give Europeans or NA players anything they can realistically even get in the money in, never mind win, that gap just isn’t going to be closed at all. It’s not quite the same now depth wise, I’d say the period when the Kespa players got good at SC2, and lots of notable Korean mainstays hadn’t retired, say of the top 50 players, 45+ would have been Korean, or something in that ballpark. I do like the idea of having more open and regular tournaments of high prestige like the ‘grand slams’ in tennis to get a better idea of who the best in the scene are over a year. yea i honestly think if they had gone the grand slam route at the start you would have a much bigger player base.
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On April 07 2019 09:22 Parrek wrote:Show nested quote +On April 07 2019 08:55 Die4Ever wrote:On April 07 2019 08:52 William paradise wrote:On April 07 2019 08:46 Die4Ever wrote:On April 07 2019 08:35 swarminfestor wrote: Boring series after all without audiences' cheer. I hope production could do something to bolster up the scene next time. they should add a fake cheer-track! /s this format sucks though, they could've at least had AM and EU meet for the playoffs bracket, the player pool is way too weak when split up like this agree with that i just dont see how the players themselves make up the skill difference though i mean how many years have the Koreans dominated. i just look to the future of the eu and na sc scene and see it dying off in the very near future. there no new young players coming up Scarlett and neeb are getting older special didnt even make it, and who beside serral in Europe can truly compete with the best in the world. it looks bleak. "i just look to the future of the eu and na sc scene and see it dying off in the very near future. there no new young players coming up" literally the same thing in Korea, when's the last time Korea got a decent new player? except they have forced military service, so half the GSL is gonna disappear in the next year or so, and the other half not long after EU and AM might end up both being stronger than Korea in a few years What are you guys talking about that EU and NA have no new blood? Showtime, Serral, Reynor, Elazer, Drogo, Neeb, HateMe, HeroMarine, DnS, Time and definitely a few more are all new blood. You don't go from "pick up the game" to pro in like a year. All these guys were HotS or later players. It's not like NA and EU is just full of people that have been playing since launch or something. yea EU and NA have some new blood, Korea doesn't though
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On April 07 2019 09:25 Die4Ever wrote:Show nested quote +On April 07 2019 09:22 Parrek wrote:On April 07 2019 08:55 Die4Ever wrote:On April 07 2019 08:52 William paradise wrote:On April 07 2019 08:46 Die4Ever wrote:On April 07 2019 08:35 swarminfestor wrote: Boring series after all without audiences' cheer. I hope production could do something to bolster up the scene next time. they should add a fake cheer-track! /s this format sucks though, they could've at least had AM and EU meet for the playoffs bracket, the player pool is way too weak when split up like this agree with that i just dont see how the players themselves make up the skill difference though i mean how many years have the Koreans dominated. i just look to the future of the eu and na sc scene and see it dying off in the very near future. there no new young players coming up Scarlett and neeb are getting older special didnt even make it, and who beside serral in Europe can truly compete with the best in the world. it looks bleak. "i just look to the future of the eu and na sc scene and see it dying off in the very near future. there no new young players coming up" literally the same thing in Korea, when's the last time Korea got a decent new player? except they have forced military service, so half the GSL is gonna disappear in the next year or so, and the other half not long after EU and AM might end up both being stronger than Korea in a few years What are you guys talking about that EU and NA have no new blood? Showtime, Serral, Reynor, Elazer, Drogo, Neeb, HateMe, HeroMarine, DnS, Time and definitely a few more are all new blood. You don't go from "pick up the game" to pro in like a year. All these guys were HotS or later players. It's not like NA and EU is just full of people that have been playing since launch or something. yea EU and NA have some new blood, Korea doesn't though yea non of those players except serral can anywhere near compete with Koreans and honestly, they proly will never be able to it really is minor league vs major yea you'll get one player out of a thousand but that doesnt make for great competition.
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Northern Ireland25930 Posts
Serral can go toe to toe with anyone and have a shot, and actually win tournaments that have the best Koreans there. Neeb’s done pretty well in the odd tournament
Below that you have players that can be competitive against the majority of Koreans, but don’t have that tournament winning consistency like Scarlett or Reynor. Reynor being a rare foreigner to make it into Code S through actually qualifying and even made it out of his group and he’s super young.
Sure it could be closer still, and there aren’t as many Korean players these days, still of the entirety of SC2’s existence this Period has the smallest gap between Korea and the rest of the world.
I think the existence of WCS definitely helps this.
If you’re pursuing a demanding competitive activity, and basically you know the only way to make a living is to be close to the best in the world and compete vs a scene that has certain advantages like team houses, are you going to pursue that?
If the bar is set to be amongst the best of Europe and you can make a stable-ish living, that’s achievable and if you’re ambitious you push on from there.
Basically no elite sportsman goes from grinding to being Olympic champion, they gradually improve, maybe win their nationals, maybe win a European championship and even if they break their leg, well they’ve been the best at something in the whole or Europe.
Without some kind of regional competition you’re basically putting foreign pros into tough positions, either basically aim for being Olympic champion or bust, or do stuff like stream which cuts into their ability to practice properly and effectively and makes it less likely they bridge that gap.
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On April 07 2019 09:55 Wombat_NI wrote: Serral can go toe to toe with anyone and have a shot, and actually win tournaments that have the best Koreans there. Neeb’s done pretty well in the odd tournament
Below that you have players that can be competitive against the majority of Koreans, but don’t have that tournament winning consistency like Scarlett or Reynor. Reynor being a rare foreigner to make it into Code S through actually qualifying and even made it out of his group and he’s super young.
Sure it could be closer still, and there aren’t as many Korean players these days, still of the entirety of SC2’s existence this Period has the smallest gap between Korea and the rest of the world.
I think the existence of WCS definitely helps this.
If you’re pursuing a demanding competitive activity, and basically you know the only way to make a living is to be close to the best in the world and compete vs a scene that has certain advantages like team houses, are you going to pursue that?
If the bar is set to be amongst the best of Europe and you can make a stable-ish living, that’s achievable and if you’re ambitious you push on from there.
Basically no elite sportsman goes from grinding to being Olympic champion, they gradually improve, maybe win their nationals, maybe win a European championship and even if they break their leg, well they’ve been the best at something in the whole or Europe.
Without some kind of regional competition you’re basically putting foreign pros into tough positions, either basically aim for being Olympic champion or bust, or do stuff like stream which cuts into their ability to practice properly and effectively and makes it less likely they bridge that gap. i get what your saying but with golf and tennis you have 4 majors which most if not all the top and mid tier players go everytime then you have your mid to minor ones regionals and the like that players pick and choose those are the ones that the up and comers hone there talent they win a regional or something similar they hone there talent there and they dont have to be a big production.
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Northern Ireland25930 Posts
On April 07 2019 10:20 William paradise wrote:Show nested quote +On April 07 2019 09:55 Wombat_NI wrote: Serral can go toe to toe with anyone and have a shot, and actually win tournaments that have the best Koreans there. Neeb’s done pretty well in the odd tournament
Below that you have players that can be competitive against the majority of Koreans, but don’t have that tournament winning consistency like Scarlett or Reynor. Reynor being a rare foreigner to make it into Code S through actually qualifying and even made it out of his group and he’s super young.
Sure it could be closer still, and there aren’t as many Korean players these days, still of the entirety of SC2’s existence this Period has the smallest gap between Korea and the rest of the world.
I think the existence of WCS definitely helps this.
If you’re pursuing a demanding competitive activity, and basically you know the only way to make a living is to be close to the best in the world and compete vs a scene that has certain advantages like team houses, are you going to pursue that?
If the bar is set to be amongst the best of Europe and you can make a stable-ish living, that’s achievable and if you’re ambitious you push on from there.
Basically no elite sportsman goes from grinding to being Olympic champion, they gradually improve, maybe win their nationals, maybe win a European championship and even if they break their leg, well they’ve been the best at something in the whole or Europe.
Without some kind of regional competition you’re basically putting foreign pros into tough positions, either basically aim for being Olympic champion or bust, or do stuff like stream which cuts into their ability to practice properly and effectively and makes it less likely they bridge that gap. i get what your saying but with golf and tennis you have 4 majors which most if not all the top and mid tier players go everytime then you have your mid to minor ones regionals and the like that players pick and choose those are the ones that the up and comers hone there talent they win a regional or something similar they hone there talent there and they dont have to be a big production. In golf and tennis you can make a decent living as a top 200 player though. The 200th ranked player in the world (I just looked) in golf took home 190,000 euros from a tournament win that he got, alongside decent money here and there.
I do like the idea for Starcraft to have 4 grand slam equivalents a year for sure, but I think they should be put over and above the existing WCS tournaments and given prestige above those.
Spread them across the world and have a giant open bracket like IPLs used to have alongside players already qualified; would be great.
You wouldn’t even have to step on toes to do it either, you could collaborate with the few existing tournaments as well. Just make IEM Katowice the European ‘grand slam’ for example, maybe replace one of the non-GSL GSL tournaments with one and make that grand slam Korea. Add one in the US and probably China or somewhere else in Asia other than Korea for the other.
I dunno, it’s not perfect and I’m spitballing. It’s been a problem all throughout SC2 that the best (foreigners especially) don’t clash enough. Serral won Blizzcon, which was great. I think most SC2 fans want to see him and the best Koreans facing more regularly, in tournaments that matter.
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On April 07 2019 10:42 Wombat_NI wrote:Show nested quote +On April 07 2019 10:20 William paradise wrote:On April 07 2019 09:55 Wombat_NI wrote: Serral can go toe to toe with anyone and have a shot, and actually win tournaments that have the best Koreans there. Neeb’s done pretty well in the odd tournament
Below that you have players that can be competitive against the majority of Koreans, but don’t have that tournament winning consistency like Scarlett or Reynor. Reynor being a rare foreigner to make it into Code S through actually qualifying and even made it out of his group and he’s super young.
Sure it could be closer still, and there aren’t as many Korean players these days, still of the entirety of SC2’s existence this Period has the smallest gap between Korea and the rest of the world.
I think the existence of WCS definitely helps this.
If you’re pursuing a demanding competitive activity, and basically you know the only way to make a living is to be close to the best in the world and compete vs a scene that has certain advantages like team houses, are you going to pursue that?
If the bar is set to be amongst the best of Europe and you can make a stable-ish living, that’s achievable and if you’re ambitious you push on from there.
Basically no elite sportsman goes from grinding to being Olympic champion, they gradually improve, maybe win their nationals, maybe win a European championship and even if they break their leg, well they’ve been the best at something in the whole or Europe.
Without some kind of regional competition you’re basically putting foreign pros into tough positions, either basically aim for being Olympic champion or bust, or do stuff like stream which cuts into their ability to practice properly and effectively and makes it less likely they bridge that gap. i get what your saying but with golf and tennis you have 4 majors which most if not all the top and mid tier players go everytime then you have your mid to minor ones regionals and the like that players pick and choose those are the ones that the up and comers hone there talent they win a regional or something similar they hone there talent there and they dont have to be a big production. In golf and tennis you can make a decent living as a top 200 player though. The 200th ranked player in the world (I just looked) in golf took home 190,000 euros from a tournament win that he got, alongside decent money here and there. I do like the idea for Starcraft to have 4 grand slam equivalents a year for sure, but I think they should be put over and above the existing WCS tournaments and given prestige above those. Spread them across the world and have a giant open bracket like IPLs used to have alongside players already qualified; would be great. You wouldn’t even have to step on toes to do it either, you could collaborate with the few existing tournaments as well. Just make IEM Katowice the European ‘grand slam’ for example, maybe replace one of the non-GSL GSL tournaments with one and make that grand slam Korea. Add one in the US and probably China or somewhere else in Asia other than Korea for the other. I dunno, it’s not perfect and I’m spitballing. It’s been a problem all throughout SC2 that the best (foreigners especially) don’t clash enough. Serral won Blizzcon, which was great. I think most SC2 fans want to see him and the best Koreans facing more regularly, in tournaments that matter. thats pretty good ideas actually wish it could get some traction.
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Northern Ireland25930 Posts
I have the odd moment of lucidity haha
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