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Active: 1650 users

Which "Premier Events" are the most prestigious?

Forum Index > SC2 General
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StuDToSs
Profile Blog Joined April 2009
116 Posts
September 15 2020 02:28 GMT
#1
According to my friend, he says that all the events I've listed below are around the same prestige. All I did was get them off of the Liquipedia page.

GSL
DreamHack Masters NA
DreamHack Masters Season Finals
IEM Katowice 2020
2019 WCS Global Finals

Which of these "Premier Events" are the most prestigious?
llllllllllIIIIIlllll
Profile Joined June 2020
Korea (North)26 Posts
September 15 2020 02:34 GMT
#2
IEM Katowice and WCS Global Finals are the most prestigious because they have the most money in prize pool $$ and it is a global event which features top players from foreign and korean regions
언젠가 ...
lesmissilerable
Profile Joined September 2020
3 Posts
September 15 2020 02:48 GMT
#3
On September 15 2020 11:34 llllllllllIIIIIlllll wrote:
IEM Katowice and WCS Global Finals are the most prestigious because they have the most money in prize pool $$ and it is a global event which features top players from foreign and korean regions


yea and compare this 2 event to Dreamhack Masters NA...
how is DH Masters NA a premier event? not even close...
yubo56
Profile Joined May 2014
690 Posts
September 15 2020 03:03 GMT
#4
On September 15 2020 11:34 llllllllllIIIIIlllll wrote:
IEM Katowice and WCS Global Finals are the most prestigious because they have the most money in prize pool $$ and it is a global event which features top players from foreign and korean regions

GSL has traditionally been considered to be even more prestigious, due to the level of competition (even though the prize pool is smaller). This was because Koreans were head and shoulders above all non-Koreans, to the degree that a tournament with the top 16 Koreans was harder to win than 8 Koreans and 8 non-Koreans. Additionally, GSL takes place over many weeks, which gives players more time to prepare for their particular opponent, unlike IEM and Global Finals, which play many matches each day over the span of a few days.

Nowadays, GSL is much diminished from what it was before, and I think most people won't claim it's that much harder to win than the top EU tournaments, and Koreans say they have their sights set on the global events as well. But you might still hear pro-GSL advocates from players who haven't followed the scene in a while
Jung Yoon Jong fighting, even after retirement! Feel better soon.
Anc13nt
Profile Blog Joined October 2017
1557 Posts
Last Edited: 2020-09-15 03:18:27
September 15 2020 03:16 GMT
#5
For me, I would say IEM WC = WCS Global Finals > GSL and these are the most important tournaments.

In terms of difficulty to win though, GSL Super Tournament and GSL vs the World are not too far off from the above but they don't pay as well and don't have as much history so they aren't as prestigious. WESG has a lot of money on the line but it is not as difficult of a tournament because they have too many players outside NA, EU and Korea.

On another note, in the past, I would have said winning a European WCS Circuit tournament is comparable in prestige to winning a tournament like HSC or Assembly Summer 2019 but I am not sure anymore because I think Clem, Serral and Reynor are all top 10 players now. More specifically, I think Rogue, Serral and Reynor are the top 3 players atm. So I agree with the above poster that winning EU Circuit tournament is not too far off in difficulty from winning a GSL at this point tbh.
QOGQOG
Profile Joined July 2019
834 Posts
September 15 2020 04:28 GMT
#6
On September 15 2020 12:16 Anc13nt wrote:
For me, I would say IEM WC = WCS Global Finals > GSL and these are the most important tournaments.

In terms of difficulty to win though, GSL Super Tournament and GSL vs the World are not too far off from the above but they don't pay as well and don't have as much history so they aren't as prestigious. WESG has a lot of money on the line but it is not as difficult of a tournament because they have too many players outside NA, EU and Korea.

On another note, in the past, I would have said winning a European WCS Circuit tournament is comparable in prestige to winning a tournament like HSC or Assembly Summer 2019 but I am not sure anymore because I think Clem, Serral and Reynor are all top 10 players now. More specifically, I think Rogue, Serral and Reynor are the top 3 players atm. So I agree with the above poster that winning EU Circuit tournament is not too far off in difficulty from winning a GSL at this point tbh.

Not really. While Serral, Reynor, and Clem might all be very strong, in GSL there are way more potential winners/championship tier players. Probably a dozen of them who could win a season without getting too outlandish or unlikely. Whereas Europe, there are basically two (or, very recently, three) actual contenders. Winning a GSL means beating at least a half dozen top tier players, an EU tournament, it's maybe two. Plus GSL is a longer tournament with serious prep time, making even non-contenders very dangerous (see: Zoun, Prince, etc.).
BerserkSword
Profile Joined December 2018
United States2123 Posts
September 15 2020 06:24 GMT
#7
In terms of raw prestige:

GSL Code S
Blizzcon/IEM
DreamHack

TL+ Member
vyzion
Profile Joined August 2016
308 Posts
September 15 2020 06:37 GMT
#8
I tend to just say the ones that pay the most money, because that's where everyone will be and where they will all be working their asses off for.
dbRic1203
Profile Joined July 2019
Germany2655 Posts
Last Edited: 2020-09-15 07:39:25
September 15 2020 07:38 GMT
#9
Is this a troll post?
It s even debatable if DH Masters EU would be up there with the biggest of tournaments, you stated. So not including it is absolutly fine. But adding the NA version instead can t be right.

In terms of Prestige I would rate them as follows:
GSL
BlizzCon/ Katowice
DH Masters Season Finals
GSL ST
DH Masters EU

Doyou Cup/ HSC/ TSL / Kubo etc...
DH Masters NA/ LatAm/ CH
DH Masters TW

DH Masters OCE
MaxPax
Slydie
Profile Joined August 2013
1923 Posts
September 15 2020 07:56 GMT
#10
On September 15 2020 13:28 QOGQOG wrote:
Show nested quote +
On September 15 2020 12:16 Anc13nt wrote:
For me, I would say IEM WC = WCS Global Finals > GSL and these are the most important tournaments.

In terms of difficulty to win though, GSL Super Tournament and GSL vs the World are not too far off from the above but they don't pay as well and don't have as much history so they aren't as prestigious. WESG has a lot of money on the line but it is not as difficult of a tournament because they have too many players outside NA, EU and Korea.

On another note, in the past, I would have said winning a European WCS Circuit tournament is comparable in prestige to winning a tournament like HSC or Assembly Summer 2019 but I am not sure anymore because I think Clem, Serral and Reynor are all top 10 players now. More specifically, I think Rogue, Serral and Reynor are the top 3 players atm. So I agree with the above poster that winning EU Circuit tournament is not too far off in difficulty from winning a GSL at this point tbh.

Not really. While Serral, Reynor, and Clem might all be very strong, in GSL there are way more potential winners/championship tier players. Probably a dozen of them who could win a season without getting too outlandish or unlikely. Whereas Europe, there are basically two (or, very recently, three) actual contenders. Winning a GSL means beating at least a half dozen top tier players, an EU tournament, it's maybe two. Plus GSL is a longer tournament with serious prep time, making even non-contenders very dangerous (see: Zoun, Prince, etc.).


GSL is just very different. I would give foreigners a very slim chance to win it, as they are not as used to the format with extensive prep-time for each opponent and would have to play abroad. The Scarlett vs Dark series is maybe the best example of how it can be done, but I don't think it is possible to fight through that many strong players relying on such gimmicks.

Likewise, the Koreans will not have an easy time winning vs Reynor and Serral in an EU offline event either, but the overall level is obviously lower.

How Clem in his current form matches with Koreans remains to be seen.
Buff the siegetank
algue
Profile Joined July 2011
France1436 Posts
September 15 2020 07:58 GMT
#11
On September 15 2020 12:03 yubo56 wrote:
Nowadays, GSL is much diminished from what it was before, and I think most people won't claim it's that much harder to win than the top EU tournaments, and Koreans say they have their sights set on the global events as well. But you might still hear pro-GSL advocates from players who haven't followed the scene in a while


I won't claim that it's not diminished compared to what it was before but the GSL's format in itself makes it the most prestigious tournament around. From a pro player perspective you dedicate months of your potentially short lived career for a tournament with a consistently high level of play where there is very little room for mistake.

Compare this to the Blizzcon tournament or IEM Katowice, since those tournaments only last for a few days it's too bad if you're eliminated quickly but at least you didn't waste weeks/months taking part in those.
rly ?
Anc13nt
Profile Blog Joined October 2017
1557 Posts
Last Edited: 2020-09-15 08:53:42
September 15 2020 08:50 GMT
#12
On September 15 2020 16:38 dbRic1203 wrote:
Is this a troll post?
It s even debatable if DH Masters EU would be up there with the biggest of tournaments, you stated. So not including it is absolutly fine. But adding the NA version instead can t be right.

In terms of Prestige I would rate them as follows:
GSL
BlizzCon/ Katowice
DH Masters Season Finals
GSL ST
DH Masters EU

Doyou Cup/ HSC/ TSL / Kubo etc...
DH Masters NA/ LatAm/ CH
DH Masters TW

DH Masters OCE


i think in terms of what pros want to win (from some interviews I've read from a long time), my impression is that Blizzcon is the best, then GSL, then IEM WC and WESG is up there too because of the prize pool.

But yeah in terms of raw difficulty, the highest level is probably GSL, then IEM WC, then GSL Super tournament and then Blizzcon. Dreamhack EU is catching up in terms of difficulty but while the top 3-4 EU players are around as strong as top Koreans, there is a still a gap between Koreans and foreigners on average. That is why Serral and Reynor have been winning virtually everything in the EU Circuit ever since the start of 2018. I wouldn't be too shocked if both of them combined won something like 30%+ of the Korean/international tournaments but definitely not like 100% as with the european scene.
dbRic1203
Profile Joined July 2019
Germany2655 Posts
September 15 2020 09:10 GMT
#13
On September 15 2020 17:50 Anc13nt wrote:
Show nested quote +
On September 15 2020 16:38 dbRic1203 wrote:
Is this a troll post?
It s even debatable if DH Masters EU would be up there with the biggest of tournaments, you stated. So not including it is absolutly fine. But adding the NA version instead can t be right.

In terms of Prestige I would rate them as follows:
GSL
BlizzCon/ Katowice
DH Masters Season Finals
GSL ST
DH Masters EU

Doyou Cup/ HSC/ TSL / Kubo etc...
DH Masters NA/ LatAm/ CH
DH Masters TW

DH Masters OCE


i think in terms of what pros want to win (from some interviews I've read from a long time), my impression is that Blizzcon is the best, then GSL, then IEM WC and WESG is up there too because of the prize pool.

But yeah in terms of raw difficulty, the highest level is probably GSL, then IEM WC, then GSL Super tournament and then Blizzcon. Dreamhack EU is catching up in terms of difficulty but while the top 3-4 EU players are around as strong as top Koreans, there is a still a gap between Koreans and foreigners on average. That is why Serral and Reynor have been winning virtually everything in the EU Circuit ever since the start of 2018. I wouldn't be too shocked if both of them combined won something like 30%+ of the Korean/international tournaments but definitely not like 100% as with the european scene.


Absolutly. I put BlizzCon and KAto on same level as Katowice is replacing BlizzCon as the Global Finals. In WCS era it was obviously higher up. I completly forgot about WESG, as it was cancelled this year and I also realy dislike price pool distributions, where not everyone in the main event is paid and the winner gets more than 50% of the entire price pool.

In terms of Skill, I see Reynor and Serral on the same level as top 4 Kr and Clem even with the other GSL Contenders. All other foreigners* would probably struggle to make Ro16 atm, whil it wouldn t be a suprise to see 2-3 of them making it, just like Special and Scarlett in the past few years.

*those would be:
Special, Scarlett, Neeb, Heromarine, Showtime and maybe Time who would actually have a good shot in making it Ro16 with a bit of luck
and at least another 10 or so, who would have a decent shot in Qualifing for Ro24, but would most likely fail (players like Astrea, Drogo, Lambo, uThermal, Mlord and so on)

MaxPax
WombaT
Profile Blog Joined May 2010
Northern Ireland25883 Posts
September 15 2020 12:39 GMT
#14
For me it probably goes (old) Katowice then Blizzcon, although GSL may have slotted in the middle.

When Korea had like 45 of the world’s top 50 players I would have had GSL as the most prestigious

Katowice then became the top dog for me when this shifted a little and also how qualifiers worked. Basically all the world’s best at that moment made it, whereas Blizzcon you’d end up with early qualifiers slumping hard by the time it came around and hot players not getting the points to make it in.

Below that not too sure. WESG has a lot of money but misses a lot of the world’s best. The Korean qualifier for it is more cutthroat than the actual tournament. Dreamhack Season Finals would be up a lot higher than they are in my mind currently when they move to being offline at some stage.
'You'll always be the cuddly marsupial of my heart, despite the inherent flaws of your ancestry' - Squat
Harris1st
Profile Blog Joined May 2010
Germany6981 Posts
September 15 2020 12:49 GMT
#15
Pre 2018

GSL
Blizzcon World Championships
Katowice
Other International offline events (Dreamhack, Assembly, HSC, ...)
Foreign only events


Now:

Katowice World Championships
GSL/ Dreamhack finals (if Dreamhack finals were offline, I'd put it above GSL. But since it's not GSL is a smidge higher)
Dreamhack EU
ESL Gabe weekly
Dreamhack other regions
Go Serral! GG EZ for Ence. Flashbang dance FTW
deacon.frost
Profile Joined February 2013
Czech Republic12129 Posts
Last Edited: 2020-09-15 13:09:17
September 15 2020 13:04 GMT
#16
IEM Katowice Open(considering it will be changed IIRC) > GSL > (stay at) HSC > Blizzcon/new IEM Katowice > Korean friendly tournaments > Foreigner only tournaments

Yes, I put the open HSC over Blizzcon.

Players may see it differentluy

edit> offline > online, but was too lazy to incorporate this into that

edit2> criterias
opens have the biggest skill in them(usually), then offline eliminates ping issues(kinda, looking at nonexisting LAN mode), then more skill dominates less skill (Code S still has more better players than foreigner only tournaments). Blizzcon lost mostly because the winner of the IEM can lose the form but will occupy theplace over currently better player.
I imagine France should be able to take this unless Lilbow is busy practicing for Starcraft III. | KadaverBB is my fairy ban mother.
WombaT
Profile Blog Joined May 2010
Northern Ireland25883 Posts
September 15 2020 13:13 GMT
#17
On September 15 2020 22:04 deacon.frost wrote:
IEM Katowice Open(considering it will be changed IIRC) > GSL > (stay at) HSC > Blizzcon/new IEM Katowice > Korean friendly tournaments > Foreigner only tournaments

Yes, I put the open HSC over Blizzcon.

Players may see it differentluy

edit> offline > online, but was too lazy to incorporate this into that

edit2> criterias
opens have the biggest skill in them(usually), then offline eliminates ping issues(kinda, looking at nonexisting LAN mode), then more skill dominates less skill (Code S still has more better players than foreigner only tournaments). Blizzcon lost mostly because the winner of the IEM can lose the form but will occupy theplace over currently better player.

Those are largely my criteria but HSC is a bit high no?

It’s the players’ more casual, sociable tournament. We still see some great Starcraft but I never get the sense it’s a gigantic deal to most of the players
'You'll always be the cuddly marsupial of my heart, despite the inherent flaws of your ancestry' - Squat
Elentos
Profile Blog Joined February 2015
55555 Posts
Last Edited: 2020-09-15 13:30:00
September 15 2020 13:26 GMT
#18
On September 15 2020 22:04 deacon.frost wrote:
IEM Katowice Open(considering it will be changed IIRC) > GSL > (stay at) HSC > Blizzcon/new IEM Katowice > Korean friendly tournaments > Foreigner only tournaments

Yes, I put the open HSC over Blizzcon.

Players may see it differentluy

edit> offline > online, but was too lazy to incorporate this into that

edit2> criterias
opens have the biggest skill in them(usually), then offline eliminates ping issues(kinda, looking at nonexisting LAN mode), then more skill dominates less skill (Code S still has more better players than foreigner only tournaments). Blizzcon lost mostly because the winner of the IEM can lose the form but will occupy theplace over currently better player.

You are probably the only person in this universe who thinks HSC is more prestigious than Blizzcon. More fun, more entertaining I'll give you and HSC has often brought in good player pools too. But prestige is not even an afterthought there. Prestige always also has to do with presentation etc. and the champion of Blizzcon was the World Champion. That shouldn't even be close.
Every 60 seconds in Africa, a minute passes.
Poopi
Profile Blog Joined November 2010
France12904 Posts
Last Edited: 2020-09-15 13:42:06
September 15 2020 13:39 GMT
#19
I will take the GSL as the baseline for prestige. GSL = 100% / 1.0 (Code S)
Note that winning two 0.5 tournaments doesn't equal winning a 1.0 tournament.
BlizzCon = 1.25 GSL
IEM = 1.2 GSL
GSL = 1.0
GSL Super Tournament = 0.8 GSL
GSL vs The World = 0.75 GSL
Dreamhack Masters Season Finals = 0.70 GSL (because online)
WESG = 0.65 GSL
Dreamhack EU / WCS EU = 0.6 GSL
DH NA / other regions / etc. = < 0.33 GSL

WriterMaru
royalroadweed
Profile Joined April 2013
United States8301 Posts
September 15 2020 13:39 GMT
#20
I'd say GSL, IEM and the Global finals are the 3 most prestigious tournaments. Its hard to say which is the most prestigious because of the different formats. I'm tipping towards the GSL since the prepared format makes every player dangerous regardless of skill disparities.
"Nerfing Toss can just make them stronger"
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