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GSL 2023: Significant contraction announced
February 23rd, 2023 19:15 GMT
![[image loading]](/staff/Waxangel/GSL/2023/2023overview.png)
AfreecaTV has announced the format and schedule for the 2023 season of the Global StarCraft II League (Korean post).
The GSL will undergo significant contraction in 2023, in terms of both prize money and tournament size.
Three seasons of GSL will be held with a total of ₩34,000,000 Korean Won in prize money per season, for a total of ₩102,000,000 Won paid out in 2023 (approximately $78,000 USD at the time of writing). The prior 2022 GSL featured three seasons of Code S, two Super Tournaments, and $430,000 in total prize money.
The 2023 seasons of GSL will consist of 16 players and be held in combined online/offline format. The round-of-16 and round-of-8 will be played online, while the semifinals and grand finals will be held live.
AfreecaTV said details regarding EPT points will be announced following ESL's announcement of its yearlong schedule (unclear if this refers to ESL's Feb 23 announcement).
While the exact dates have not been determined, AfreecaTV have announced a rough timetable for the three GSL tournaments:
- Season 1: April-May
- Season 2: June-July
- Season 1: September-October
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Does it means the Super Tournament will be conducted before season 1 begins?
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I anticipate a lot of retirement announcements. Most of the players are gone anyways and the prize pool is minuscule. There's no way players can support themselves while having a career in SC2.
On February 24 2023 04:25 swarminfestor wrote:
Does it means the Super Tournament will be conducted before season 1 begins?
There is no Super Tournament.
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Horrible but unsurprising. With only semifinals live, 16 players and a pitiful 8k for the winner makes me wonder if its even worth watching a tournament becoming such a shadow of itself.
I can already see the massive number of retirements coming.
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United States33511 Posts
On February 24 2023 04:28 geokilla wrote:I anticipate a lot of retirement announcements. Most of the players are gone anyways and the prize pool is minuscule. There's no way players can support themselves while having a career in SC2. Show nested quote +On February 24 2023 04:25 swarminfestor wrote:
Does it means the Super Tournament will be conducted before season 1 begins? There is no Super Tournament.
I typoed a year so there was some confusion
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On February 24 2023 04:28 geokilla wrote:I anticipate a lot of retirement announcements. Most of the players are gone anyways and the prize pool is minuscule. There's no way players can support themselves while having a career in SC2. Show nested quote +On February 24 2023 04:25 swarminfestor wrote:
Does it means the Super Tournament will be conducted before season 1 begins? There is no Super Tournament.
It is pretty sad that it has came to this eventually. Also, there was no sign of new blood coming from Korean scene.during the last couple of years.
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Dare we say 2023/2024 shall be our swansong?
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United States33511 Posts
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So many awesome memories watching the GSL, best SC2 tournament! seeing it reduced to this, hurts
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On February 24 2023 04:33 swarminfestor wrote:Show nested quote +On February 24 2023 04:28 geokilla wrote:I anticipate a lot of retirement announcements. Most of the players are gone anyways and the prize pool is minuscule. There's no way players can support themselves while having a career in SC2. On February 24 2023 04:25 swarminfestor wrote:
Does it means the Super Tournament will be conducted before season 1 begins? There is no Super Tournament. It is pretty sad that it has came to this eventually. Also, there was no sign of new blood coming from Korean scene.during the last couple of years.
The death of Proleague along with the region lock really killed any avenues for upcoming talent to make any money playing SC2. The gap was too big between them and the top players, had there been some type of availability to play in Foreignerland I think the KR scene would have been much healthier for a longer period of time.
Region locking was a decent idea but too strict. NA would have been perfect to add in some KR players but the criteria to determine that would have been really tough.
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Welp, wish I could say that I'm shocked and surprised by all of this but I'm not.
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I mean, let's be real here... If AAA eSports orgs are going bust, it shouldn't be a surprise for stuff as small as StarCraft to get chopped.
It's basically impossible to even call GSL the premiere tournament series now. Almost laughable to think of someone going to Korea to participate. It's just a Ro16 too?
It's really sad to see. I guess it's the end of an era.
Additional thought, I suppose we'll see a lot of career transitions, particularly for those coming out of the military. I think a lot of players will begin their military service soon too. I heard rumors somewhere of Innovation going to LoL, as a coach or something. His younger brother is the best AD carry in the world, so I suppose it can't be that hard to transition into something right?
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If they put in a battle pass they would make more then enough to keep KR scene going and make the ESL prize pool bigger. It wouldn't take too much effort to do really.
This is it boys. Actual deadgaem incoming. Enjoy the final season of Starcraft 2. It's been a fun 10+ years.
Hopefully Storm Gate blows up and is a worthy successor.
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United States33511 Posts
On February 24 2023 04:58 Blargh wrote:
I mean, let's be real here... If AAA eSports orgs are going bust, it shouldn't be a surprise for stuff as small as StarCraft to get chopped.
It's basically impossible to even call GSL the premiere tournament series now. Almost laughable to think of someone going to Korea to participate. It's just a Ro16 too?
It's really sad to see. I guess it's the end of an era.
welp, there goes the Big Gabe to Korea plan 
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On February 24 2023 05:01 PresenceSc2 wrote:
If they put in a battle pass they would make more then enough to keep KR scene going and make the ESL prize pool bigger. It wouldn't take too much effort to do really.
This is it boys. Actual deadgaem incoming. Enjoy the final season of Starcraft 2. It's been a fun 10+ years.
Hopefully Storm Gate blows up and is a worthy successor.
Activision isn't interested in putting together anything just to better their game. They need a direct profit motive and there's none to be had for SC2.
Even if SC2 esports keeps drawing players to the game, where is there money to be made from it? That's their logic. It's just a waste of resources to keep investing in something just because the fans and players love it. That's how modern Activision/Blizzard thinks.
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Hate to see the deadgame-meme become a reality.
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On February 24 2023 05:06 Vindicare605 wrote:Show nested quote +On February 24 2023 05:01 PresenceSc2 wrote:
If they put in a battle pass they would make more then enough to keep KR scene going and make the ESL prize pool bigger. It wouldn't take too much effort to do really.
This is it boys. Actual deadgaem incoming. Enjoy the final season of Starcraft 2. It's been a fun 10+ years.
Hopefully Storm Gate blows up and is a worthy successor. Activision isn't interested in putting together anything just to better their game. They need a direct profit motive and there's none to be had for SC2.
This is just polemics. Do like Wardi and create your own events. That'll be tough though because Wardi does an abolutely spectacular job. A more practical thing would be to just donate $$$ to his events.
Red Alert 3 and C&C 4 came out around the same time as SC2. How is EA's esports support for those titles? How are the Relic//Sega CoH2 live events doing? What is up with AoE esports these days?
It is great to have all these pie-in-the-sky theories about what you expect from a publisher. The reality is... if you are thoroughly dissatisfied then play an RTS that has better esports support.
Over the past 15 years, Activision has done a better job supporting their RTS's than any major publisher.
As a consumer all I can do is pick my best option... ATVI's RTS games are it.
I am thankful to ATVI that we have another year of SC2 esports to watch. During the down time between major events I anticipate watching Wardi's events.
On February 24 2023 04:58 Blargh wrote:
Additional thought, I suppose we'll see a lot of career transitions
career transitions out of the "SC2-only" niche have been a smart move for a long long time. many years ago Incontrol made the smart move of rebranding himself as the "Strategy Game" guy. This allowed him to get involved in C&C and other big strategy titles.
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On February 24 2023 05:18 JimmyJRaynor wrote:Show nested quote +On February 24 2023 05:06 Vindicare605 wrote:On February 24 2023 05:01 PresenceSc2 wrote:
If they put in a battle pass they would make more then enough to keep KR scene going and make the ESL prize pool bigger. It wouldn't take too much effort to do really.
This is it boys. Actual deadgaem incoming. Enjoy the final season of Starcraft 2. It's been a fun 10+ years.
Hopefully Storm Gate blows up and is a worthy successor. Activision isn't interested in putting together anything just to better their game. They need a direct profit motive and there's none to be had for SC2. This is just polemics. Do like Wardi and create your own events. That'll be tough though because Wardi does an abolutely spectacular job. A more practical thing would be to just donate $$$ to his events. Red Alert 3 and C&C 4 came out around the same time as SC2. How is EA's esports support for those titles? How are the Relic//Sega CoH2 live events doing? What is up with AoE esports these days? It is great to have all these pie-in-the-sky theories about what you expect from a publisher. The reality is... if you are thoroughly dissatisfied then play an RTS that has better esports support. Over the past 15 years, Activision has done a better job supporting their RTS's than any major publisher. As a consumer all I can do is pick my best option... ATVI's RTS games are it. I am thankful to ATVI that we have another year of SC2 esports to watch. During the down time between major events I anticipate watching Wardi's events.
Wardii's tournaments work because they are very small in cost and scale compared to the relatively gigantic operations that GSL and ESL are.
If you want a peek at what "sustainable" Starcraft 2 looks like then yea he's a good one to look at.
But without larger funding for the more fun events that draw in the big viewers, smaller scale stuff like Wardii's is all we're going to eventually be left with. And I hate to break this to you, but none of the players that play in Wardii's tournaments see it as a form of sustainable income for them. His tournaments are a nice side addition to have while the big tournaments provide the main course for everyone.
I can guarantee you that this sort of negative impact on the scene WILL roll downhill. If the top events that keep the fans engaged are no longer around or are drastically reduced in scope, the drop in engagement from the community that will result will impact tournaments like Wardii's too eventually.
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On February 24 2023 05:15 Riquiz wrote:
Hate to see the deadgame-meme become a reality.
Deadgame meme existed for over 10 years. We should be content with how long the game lasted
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EPT![[image loading]](/staff/Waxangel/GSL/2023/2023prize.jpg)
![[image loading]](/staff/Waxangel/GSL/2023/2023format.jpg)
