by Waxangel


By implementing a partial region-lock in WCS 2014, Blizzard has tried to find a compromise between ensuring more representation from local competitors (i.e., foreigners), while allowing a limited number of Korean to remain and keep the overall skill level high.

WCS America was 2013's problem region, with even opponents of region locking being forced to admit that Koreans taking eight-of-eight qualifier spots in certain seasons was a bit excessive.

The new cutoff of a maximum of two non-resident Koreans qualifying per season of WCS America seems much more reasonable. Furthermore, the narrower bottleneck makes it so that the decision between GSL vs. WCS AM is no longer no-brainer for a Korean pro, and we may see less of them try to qualify for WCS America in the first place.

In theory, these are good, maybe even great changes to try and get WCS America to a good place between preserving regional competition (read: giving foreigners a chance) and maintaining a reasonable Korean presence. However, when you look at how the first season of WCS 2014 will work, it becomes clear that little has been done to change the current situation where Koreans take up nearly half the spots in WCS America.

No matter how much you tinker with the rate at which Koreans can enter WCS America, the much more significant factor is the number of Koreans that are already in the system. To begin, seven Koreans are already guaranteed to be in the first WCS AM Premier League of Season 1, having earned their seeds by placing in the top eight of 2013's final season. That seems like a more or less acceptable number. But behind them are 12 more Koreans that could also advance to Premier, via Challenger League.


These 12 Koreans are among the 24 players that would have earned Premier spots if Blizzard had kept the old Challenger League system intact. Instead, with Challenger being revamped in the new WCS year, they face one more hurdle in 24 new players who will be selected through regional qualifiers. A series of Bo5 deathmatches will be played to select the final 24 players to grace the new Premier season. Complicated? Think of it as last season's top 24 Challenger League players being given a seed into the final round of the new Challenger League.

The problem is in the format. Each of the 24 "old" Challenger players will he matched up 1v1 against one of the 24 "new" players who make it through the qualifier. Now, take into account that these 24 "new" players are all subject to the soft-region lock rules (meaning 21 of them will be foreigners), and that all of the Challenger matches will be "old vs. new"... You guessed it, our 12 Challenger Koreans are just a single Bo5 series win against a foreigner away from returning to Premier.

Given the track-record of foreigners going up against Koreans, saying 9/12 of the Koreans will win is a very reasonable estimate. That would put us at 16/32 Korean players in the new Premier Season, close to the 18 mark of the prior WCS AM Premier League. And this isn't even taking account the potential three "new" Koreans who could make it through the qualifiers as well.

From a fairness standpoint, it's completely understandable why Blizzard has decided to go down this path. The alternative would have been to selectively kick Challenger Koreans out of WCS America and give them some kind of consolation seed in the GSL. One can only imagine what kind of uproar that would have created in Korea and abroad. Given the way 2013 ended, with players having played out an entire Challenger League season with some non-specific promises made by Blizzard, grandfathering in the Koreans was the most diplomatic and fair choice that could have made.

At the same time, you have to wonder what's the use of doing something that's right in principle if it doesn't actually change anything. Let's take a look at Blizzard's reasoning behind the partial lock in the first place.


Opportunities and chances... It's true that at the qualifier and Challenger level, there are more spots available for local players. Unfortunately, it's dubious as to whether they have any more meaningful chances than before. A disproportionate share of rewards, whether it's prize money, spotlight, or glory, is locked away in the deeper rounds of Premier. And for all intents and purposes, those rewards are still guarded by an imposing wall of hungry, superbly-skilled Korean pro-gamers.


Sometimes, you have to break a few eggs to make an omelette (a western omelette, in this case), and Blizzard has declined to do so. There continues to be much debate in the community as to whether or not a lock is needed at all, and there will surely be many arguments about whether or not Blizzard made the correct decision in not taking more drastic measures. But if there's one thing that's crystal clear, it's the state of WCS America: Mostly the same as before.

Writer: Waxangel
Photo: GHOSTCLAW