The official rulebook for the 2020-21 ESL Pro Tour has been released on the ESL website (click to read), and it contains information that might reveal the structure and format of Korea's GSL in 2020-21.
Code A returns? Code S to be a sixteen player tournament?
While AfreecaTV have released barely any information on GSL 2020-21, the GSL point distribution outlined in the ESL rulebook points to a significant change in format.
Points are now awarded to the top 52 players of a "GSL Season," whereas previous only the thirty-two Code S players received points.
Furthermore, the cutoffs for increasing amounts of points occur at 52nd, 40th, 28th, 22nd, and 16th place, but NOT 32nd. This suggests a move away from the old 32-player Code S format. While this could mean that the top-tier of GSL will expand to 52 players, I think it's more likely that it will be divided into a lower-division of 36 players and a top-division of 16 players.
Whether or not AfreecaTV would explicitly divide its competition into "Code A" and "Code S" is unknown, but I assume AfreecaTV would prefer to maintain its well-established "Code [Letter]" branding in any case.
The above changes would corroborate Solar's statements from his recent TL.net interview, where he said Code S would be returning with changes in format, and that "...the competition will be more fierce than last year."
The points table in the rulebook also suggests that the upcoming Super Tournament #1 will award direct spots/seeds in GSL Season 1 to the top four players, while the later Super Tournament #2 will only award points as in previous iterations.
cant sleep, and am awarded with a potential Code A return after...maybe five years?! Given the environment a Code A and a 16 person Code S makes good sense.
Also, the IEM China mixed-region event is confirmed for anyone who missed it (this was actually revealed on the initial announcement day, but ESL did a weird thing where additional info trickled out over like a few hours and it got overlooked).
On February 20 2020 19:40 Waxangel wrote: Also, the IEM China mixed-region event is confirmed for anyone who missed it (this was actually revealed on the initial announcement day, but ESL did a weird thing where additional info trickled out over like a few hours and it got overlooked).
Just curious: where did you see that originally?
Wonder what it means that it is for 16 players only, and how they're going to assign the spots.
If they bring back Code A five months after I leave Seoul, I will be equal parts ecstatic and heartbroken. I would totally move back for that though...
On February 21 2020 00:51 CreightonOlsen wrote: If they bring back Code A five months after I leave Seoul, I will be equal parts ecstatic and heartbroken. I would totally move back for that though...
On February 21 2020 00:51 CreightonOlsen wrote: If they bring back Code A five months after I leave Seoul, I will be equal parts ecstatic and heartbroken. I would totally move back for that though...
You can be our new Code A casting baldman ! Khaldor 2.0
On February 21 2020 01:06 Elentos wrote: One part of me is highly amused that even a big company like ESL will release a document that's an 8 page PDF where the last page is entirely empty.
If this is really the comeback of Code A, I wonder if this'll end up making the Korean scene look more stagnant than the way it's been until now.
On February 21 2020 00:51 CreightonOlsen wrote: If they bring back Code A five months after I leave Seoul, I will be equal parts ecstatic and heartbroken. I would totally move back for that though...
Trying to become the next Khaldor now, Creighton?
I gotta hit the gym if I wanna be like Khaldor. But seriously - after covering the GSL qualifiers last season, I was hoping to do the same again this year. Looks like there may be a shakeup though! Excited to see what the announcement is!
They probably should have announced all this stuff at least a month ago. Those weekly cup points are a lot more significant with how few points are being given out. Yes, more people qualify to IEM Katowice in 2021 than did past WCS Global Finals, but I feel like there is not going to be a huge difference in terms of points for the people on the cusp.
On February 21 2020 03:52 Swisslink wrote: Do you expect this #17-52 part to be played offline? Or better: couldn’t this just be an online portion to reduce the time they need a studio for?
Well it's their studio to begin with, better to use it. And I don't think they'll move away from having every part of GSL played offline. Doesn't feel right. Plus if this is in any way meant to create some sort of growth, it'd be good for the less experienced players to get some stage experience. Don't want one of those guys to reach the Ro16 and then just implode when there's a camera on them.
And if you want to assume the worst in people, playing offline also means they can't cheat to win.
On February 21 2020 04:12 Boggyb wrote: They probably should have announced all this stuff at least a month ago. Those weekly cup points are a lot more significant with how few points are being given out. Yes, more people qualify to IEM Katowice in 2021 than did past WCS Global Finals, but I feel like there is not going to be a huge difference in terms of points for the people on the cusp.
Given that they knew about the format changes, I think it's safe to assume the players also knew about the shift in point distribution. I think at least some of the players the cups will end up relevant for are already playing in them. At the end of the day though, it's 5 cup wins to make up the difference between Code S and (presumably) Code A. You need to win 45 cups to equal a Code S Ro4. So at the end of the day, some players can still be relatively comfortable even if they only perform well in 1 season of GSL.
On February 21 2020 12:57 ShowTheLights wrote: Need 32 in Code S
Code A level of play is a lot lower and wont attract as many viewers
you don't need 32 in Code S and I think these new numbers do a better job of making Code S actually prestigious while giving everyone else a chance to qualify.
Before it really seemed like 32 of the 40ish potential players in Korea were making it every season and leaving just a handful out. Now basically everyone good will get in and leave some room for some up-and-comers if they exist anymore
EPT
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