• Log InLog In
  • Register
Liquid`
Team Liquid Liquipedia
EDT 05:10
CEST 11:10
KST 18:10
  • Home
  • Forum
  • Calendar
  • Streams
  • Liquipedia
  • Features
  • Store
  • EPT
  • TL+
  • StarCraft 2
  • Brood War
  • Smash
  • Heroes
  • Counter-Strike
  • Overwatch
  • Liquibet
  • Fantasy StarCraft
  • TLPD
  • StarCraft 2
  • Brood War
  • Blogs
Forum Sidebar
Events/Features
News
Featured News
[ASL22] Ro24 Preview: Summer's End7Serral wins HomeStory Cup 2915Serral wins Maestros of the Game 244ByuL, and the Limitations of Standard Play3Team Liquid Map Contest #22: Results and Winners7
Community News
Weekly Cups (August 10-16): SHIN doubles2GSTL Returns in 2026!44Weekly Cups (Aug 3-9): Protoss get shut out7RSL goes to London! 2026 Offline Finals Nov 21-2212Weekly Cups (July 27-Aug 2): SHIN's big week0
StarCraft 2
General
Serral wins Maestros of the Game 2 Balance hotfix patch 5.0.16b (July 16) GSTL Returns in 2026! SC4ALL II: SC2 Player Announcement 6/8 - Maru Weekly Cups (August 10-16): SHIN doubles
Tourneys
Master Swan Open (Global Bronze-Master 2) 2026 GSTL Announcement PIG STY FESTIVAL 8.0! (13 - 23 August) WardiTV Mondays 2026 KungFu Cup Announcement
Strategy
[G] Having the right mentality to improve
Custom Maps
Nexus Wars 2021 GUIDE [M] (2) Industrial Park
External Content
The PondCast: SC2 News & Results Mutation # 539 Thunder Dome Mutation # 538 Media Blackout Mutation # 537 Hostile Territory
Brood War
General
BW General Discussion [ASL22] Ro24 Preview: Summer's End [Personal Project Share] Terran Defense v0.60 SC4ALL II: Brood War Player Announcement 3/4 - soO Rush's Odyssey Controversy
Tourneys
[ASL22] Ro24 Group C [ASL22] Ro24 Group B [ASL22] Ro24 Group A Small VOD Thread 2.0
Strategy
Odyssey Mineral Stack Saturation Fighting Spirit mining rates Any training maps people recommend? Simple Questions, Simple Answers
Other Games
General Games
Nintendo Switch Thread General RTS Discussion Thread Anyone here play Quakeworld back in the day? Stormgate/Frost Giant Megathread EVE Corporation
Dota 2
Official 'what is Dota anymore' discussion
League of Legends
[TL LoL EUW IHs] Teemo shall perish TSM pausing esports and CLG Dead
Heroes of the Storm
Heroes of the Storm 2.0
Hearthstone
Deck construction bug
TL Mafia
TL Mafia Power Rank TL Mafia Community Thread NeO.D_StephenKing vs This Guy From 1 Million Dance
Community
General
Artificial Intelligence Thread US Politics Mega-thread The Letting Off Steam Thread Russo-Ukrainian War Thread European Politico-economics QA Mega-thread
Fan Clubs
MarineLorD Fan Club The ShoWTimE Fan Club The herO Fan Club!
Media & Entertainment
Movie Discussion! Anime Discussion Thread Series you have seen recently...
Sports
Football (Soccer) Thread MLB/Baseball 2023 TeamLiquid Health and Fitness Initiative For 2023 NBA General Discussion Formula 1 Discussion
World Cup 2022
Tech Support
Computer Build, Upgrade & Buying Resource Thread Simple Questions Simple Answers FPS when play League Of Legend on laptop
TL Community
The Automated Ban List Northern Ireland Global Starcraft
Blogs
LOCKPICKING NOOB
LUCKY_NOOB
Chinese Gen Z: Between Dream…
TrAiDoS
Cathedral Of CS And NY pizza a…
FuDDx
Please support my new stand…
Peanutsc
Hello guys!
LIN1s
Customize Sidebar...

Website Feedback

Closed Threads



Active: 5084 users

How interested would you be in watching competitive SC2 wi…

Forum Index > SC2 General
Post a Reply
1 2 Next All
TL.net Bot
Profile Joined June 2004
TL.net137 Posts
August 12 2024 20:47 GMT
#1
Discussion thread for front page poll: "How interested would you be in watching competitive SC2 without the ESL and GSL tours?"
CicadaSC
Profile Joined January 2018
United States1984 Posts
August 12 2024 21:03 GMT
#2
Why would I watch it without the big tourneys? The pro players would quit especially in Korea where they can't even stream on twitch.
Remember that we all come from a place of passion!!
Balnazza
Profile Joined January 2018
Germany1345 Posts
August 12 2024 21:58 GMT
#3
Without the big money tours (and offline finals), a lot of the current pro-scene would either die out or stop practicing as much. The game would probably devolve into what WC3 is currently, with just a very select handful of players basically playing every tournament that dedicated streamer like Wardi put together.
Those who can live from streaming will probably keep up some level of skill, but it wouldn't be nearly as high as it is today.
"Wenn die Zauberin runter geht, dann macht sie die Beine breit" - Khaldor, trying to cast WC3 German-only
Nakajin
Profile Blog Joined September 2014
Canada8990 Posts
Last Edited: 2024-08-12 22:28:58
August 12 2024 22:28 GMT
#4
I'm happy to follow a Starcraft competition if there's enough structure and stability to create a narrative I can get excited about (for something outside ESL/GSL see WTL obviously).
The level of competition is not hugely important to me, so pro players becoming part-timers isn't much of a problem. High-level Starcraft can be very fun even if the players aren't quite as sharp as before and I'm not sure I can see the difference anyway if I'm honest.

But if GSL or ESL end, I would probably not replace those with smaller ''one-off'' online events or weekly the likes of which Wardi or others are organizing. I have nothing against those, but nowadays I need something more than just Starcraft 2 to commit a lot of hours to watching.

If the scene is just grinding online tournaments I'll tune in once in a while because I obviously like watching SC2, but probably not as intensely as I've done in the last decade or so.
Writerhttp://i.imgur.com/9p6ufcB.jpg
sidasf
Profile Joined February 2023
106 Posts
August 12 2024 22:54 GMT
#5
If ESL drops SC2, the pro scene will completely die, as will viewership. There will be nothing left to watch. Most of our beloved SC2 pros will stop playing, the skill levels will drop, it will be nothing left but a few low level locally funded tournaments where people are drinking beer and bsing. Nothing like the thrilling high stakes tournaments we have now. I truly hope ESL can fund SC2 for another year or two, especially with players like Trap and Rogue coming back.
Poopi
Profile Blog Joined November 2010
France13014 Posts
August 12 2024 23:02 GMT
#6
I wouldn't watch sc2 without the KR scene, so I will probably just stop watching sc2 unless some "big" tournaments happen.
WriterMaru
WombaT
Profile Blog Joined May 2010
Northern Ireland27271 Posts
August 12 2024 23:44 GMT
#7
Depends entirely on what replaces it, who sticks around etc.

I still enjoy watching WC3, sure it’s past its peak but you’ve still got legends going at it in impactful matches.

If SC2 downsizes, but a good chunk of these players we’ve watched for years stick around, maybe a few new names crop up, well worth a watch even if it’s a bit smaller.

If basically everyone moves on to pastures new and it’s a case of watching which prior B/C tier players end up King/Queen of the new pile, I’m not crazy interested in that.
'You'll always be the cuddly marsupial of my heart, despite the inherent flaws of your ancestry' - Squat
Waxangel
Profile Blog Joined September 2002
United States33680 Posts
Last Edited: 2024-08-13 04:02:37
August 13 2024 02:48 GMT
#8
On August 13 2024 08:44 WombaT wrote:
Depends entirely on what replaces it, who sticks around etc.

I still enjoy watching WC3, sure it’s past its peak but you’ve still got legends going at it in impactful matches.

If SC2 downsizes, but a good chunk of these players we’ve watched for years stick around, maybe a few new names crop up, well worth a watch even if it’s a bit smaller.

If basically everyone moves on to pastures new and it’s a case of watching which prior B/C tier players end up King/Queen of the new pile, I’m not crazy interested in that.


I'd also find a War3-sized scene to still be enjoyable, but I do wonder if top SC2 players are less likely to stick around because they came up in a scene that was VERY well supported financially and have their expectations anchored quite high.
AdministratorHey HP can you redo everything youve ever done because i have a small complaint?
Blitzball04
Profile Joined June 2024
191 Posts
August 13 2024 05:29 GMT
#9
I watch the big tournaments. Saudi ones

Don’t really care for the KR scene for years.

I’m okay with just the ESL scene and their quarterly big tournaments such as dreamhack etc.
radracer
Profile Joined March 2020
United States77 Posts
August 13 2024 05:52 GMT
#10
Game is straight dead if GSL is gone. Just the ESL/Euros would be boring AF
old
Harris1st
Profile Blog Joined May 2010
Germany7362 Posts
Last Edited: 2024-08-13 06:46:50
August 13 2024 06:46 GMT
#11
If GSL ends but is kinda replaced with ESL Asia or something, I would still watch.
If ESL ends there would be nothing left. We had some good times and I'll always cherish the memories <3
Go Serral! GG EZ for Ence. Flashbang dance FTW
MJG
Profile Joined May 2018
United Kingdom1451 Posts
August 13 2024 06:47 GMT
#12
I'd probably still be watching if the only competition left was Rotterdam's Big Brain Bouts.

Unless another game comes along that captures my imagination like this one, I don't see why I wouldn't.
puking up frothing vitriolic sarcastic spittle
luxon
Profile Joined August 2012
United States117 Posts
Last Edited: 2024-08-13 07:19:12
August 13 2024 07:18 GMT
#13
ive been watching since 2010 and i'll stop when the korean scene disappears. maybe when the pro scene drops to 4.6k on NA, i'll go pro
WombaT
Profile Blog Joined May 2010
Northern Ireland27271 Posts
August 13 2024 08:01 GMT
#14
On August 13 2024 11:48 Waxangel wrote:
Show nested quote +
On August 13 2024 08:44 WombaT wrote:
Depends entirely on what replaces it, who sticks around etc.

I still enjoy watching WC3, sure it’s past its peak but you’ve still got legends going at it in impactful matches.

If SC2 downsizes, but a good chunk of these players we’ve watched for years stick around, maybe a few new names crop up, well worth a watch even if it’s a bit smaller.

If basically everyone moves on to pastures new and it’s a case of watching which prior B/C tier players end up King/Queen of the new pile, I’m not crazy interested in that.


I'd also find a War3-sized scene to still be enjoyable, but I do wonder if top SC2 players are less likely to stick around because they came up in a scene that was VERY well supported financially and have their expectations anchored quite high.

Aye, I guess plenty of these folks do love the game so might stick around even if it’s to just play part-time for tournies and stuff. Maybe wouldn’t be quite as high a standard in terms of gameplay, but sometimes that’s not actually the most watchable as a spectacle.

They’re very talented RTS players after all, we still haven’t seen too many top players migrate elsewhere, but even that next tier down (or even lower) were pretty immediately competitive in other recent titles.

If SC2 downsizes further, but still has a bit of money floating around my guess would be the top guys will stick around, or if not, just retire from competitive gaming and do something else.

Plenty of maybes there I suppose
'You'll always be the cuddly marsupial of my heart, despite the inherent flaws of your ancestry' - Squat
Balnazza
Profile Joined January 2018
Germany1345 Posts
August 13 2024 09:55 GMT
#15
On August 13 2024 11:48 Waxangel wrote:
Show nested quote +
On August 13 2024 08:44 WombaT wrote:
Depends entirely on what replaces it, who sticks around etc.

I still enjoy watching WC3, sure it’s past its peak but you’ve still got legends going at it in impactful matches.

If SC2 downsizes, but a good chunk of these players we’ve watched for years stick around, maybe a few new names crop up, well worth a watch even if it’s a bit smaller.

If basically everyone moves on to pastures new and it’s a case of watching which prior B/C tier players end up King/Queen of the new pile, I’m not crazy interested in that.


I'd also find a War3-sized scene to still be enjoyable, but I do wonder if top SC2 players are less likely to stick around because they came up in a scene that was VERY well supported financially and have their expectations anchored quite high.


I think expectations is definetly a thing. WC3 always had big offline events, but the most part of it was randomly thrown together online tournaments and team leagues, so the scene never was used to something like a GSL or the EWC. Hell, without consistent video-streaming at the time, we often didn't even really get to see some of the bigger tournaments or enjoy the storylines like we do in SC2.
Another example is Age of Empires 2. The game got carried for ten+ years by its community alone, everything was "crowd-made". Only in the last few years have there been offline tournaments and bigger online tourneys, since Microsoft and Redbull throw in some bucks. But if Redbull would stop that for example, the scene would be completly fine - because the fans are not used to having multiple offline events per year.

SC2 fans are "spoiled" that way. A year without offline events wouldn't be fine, it would mean doomsday. And without ESL, there would probably be a sizeable gap before figures of the community raise up to organize their own tournaments again and fill the calendar.

There was also the thing that when WC3 as a top-dog ended, the biggest reason for it was SC2 itself, there was something to jump ship to - something that immediately offered a lot more money aswell. I don't see that at the moment.
"Wenn die Zauberin runter geht, dann macht sie die Beine breit" - Khaldor, trying to cast WC3 German-only
baldgye
Profile Joined April 2011
United Kingdom1110 Posts
August 13 2024 10:20 GMT
#16
For me, I don't mind, but if the scene is going this route I hope that more tournaments become more relaxed and allow and encorage more players to cast alongside the casters.


Honestly one of the issues I have with most of the middle of the road tournaments and events, is the casting.
Blargh
Profile Joined September 2010
United States2103 Posts
August 13 2024 10:48 GMT
#17
What would even be left? If there were no replacements, the scene would be definitively dead. I'd probably spend more time watching BW though.
SoleSteeler
Profile Joined April 2003
Canada5472 Posts
August 14 2024 22:45 GMT
#18
I'll keep watching SC2 until it's completely gone. Without ESL/GSL it would be pretty lackluster though.
radracer
Profile Joined March 2020
United States77 Posts
August 15 2024 03:44 GMT
#19
Between it being a mostly 2 race game, the KR scene dwindling, so goes my interest. I still tune in for the big stuff, but usually turn it off if it goes into purely a T & Z game. Can only watch the same thing over and over so many times.
old
JimmyJRaynor
Profile Blog Joined April 2010
Canada17754 Posts
Last Edited: 2024-08-15 15:31:38
August 15 2024 15:20 GMT
#20
i will watch competitive SC2 forever. I find SC2LInks.com makes watching competitive SC2 very convenient. I highly recommend both TL.Net and SC2Links.com as great ways to conveniently and quickly keep up with the competitive scene.
On August 15 2024 07:45 SoleSteeler wrote:
I'll keep watching SC2 until it's completely gone. Without ESL/GSL it would be pretty lackluster though.

When it dies you can always watch EA NHL '94 competitive events! There is a big one in Toronto in late September. The last one sold out and had people hanging off the rafters.

I think competitive SC2 will keep going until Microsoft pulls the plug.
Ray Kassar To David Crane : "you're no more important to Atari than the factory workers assembling the cartridges"
1 2 Next All
Please log in or register to reply.
Live Events Refresh
Replay Cast
09:00
KungFu Cup 2026 Week 19
LiquipediaDiscussion
[ Submit Event ]
Live Streams
Refresh
StarCraft: Brood War
Hyuk 661
EffOrt 536
PianO 182
Killer 138
Soulkey 88
Mong 82
hero 79
Aegong 72
Dewaltoss 71
Shine 69
[ Show more ]
ajuk12(nOOB) 8
Light 0
Dota 2
canceldota127
League of Legends
JimRising 443
Counter-Strike
kRYSTAL_44
Super Smash Bros
Mew2King353
Other Games
singsing1699
ceh9926
ToD124
Trikslyr17
kaitlyn6
Organizations
Other Games
gamesdonequick557
[ Show 12 non-featured ]
StarCraft 2
• Berry_CruncH369
• StrangeGG 11
• AfreecaTV YouTube
• intothetv
• Kozan
• IndyKCrew
• Migwel
StarCraft: Brood War
• Light_VIP 15
• BSLYoutube
• STPLYoutube
• ZZZeroYoutube
Dota 2
• lizZardDota2288
Upcoming Events
Afreeca Starleague
50m
BeSt vs Paralyze
Jaedong vs Speed
Kung Fu Cup
1h 50m
Replay Cast
14h 50m
The PondCast
1d
KCM Race Survival
1d
Replay Cast
1d 14h
Escore
2 days
PiG Sty Festival
2 days
CranKy Ducklings
3 days
PiG Sty Festival
3 days
[ Show More ]
Patches Events
3 days
Sparkling Tuna Cup
4 days
PiG Sty Festival
4 days
The Patches Monday
5 days
GSL
6 days
PiGosaur Cup
6 days
Replay Cast
6 days
Liquipedia Results

Completed

CSLAN 4
CranK Gathers Season 4: BW vs SC2 Team League
Eternal Conflict S2 Finale

Ongoing

KCM Race Survival 2026 Season 3
K-JUNGMAN
ASL Season 22
Super Anchor Qualifying S3
CSL Season 22: Qualifier 1
RSL Revival: Season 6
PiG Sty Festival 8.0
META DYMY #4
Esports World Cup 2026
Esports World Cup 2026: LCQ
BLAST Bounty Summer 2026
BLAST Bounty Summer Qual
Stake Ranked Episode 3
XSE Pro League 2026
IEM Cologne Major 2026

Upcoming

Escore Tournament S3: W8
CSL Season 22: Qualifier 2
CSL 2026 AUTUMN (S22)
Acropolis #5
Acropolis #5 - TRS
Blizzard Classic Cup 2026
Acropolis #5 - GSA
HSC XXX
SC4ALL II: StarCraft II
Kung Fu Cup 2026 Grand Finals
RSL Offline Finals
Big Dog Cup 2026 Div 1
Stake Ranked Episode 5
PGL Masters Bucharest 2026
Thunderpick World Champ. '26
ESL Pro League Season 24
Stake Ranked Episode 4
1win Private Club #1
Logitech G Play Connect 2026
SL StarSeries Fall 2026
FISSURE Playground #5
BLAST Open Fall 2026
TLPD

1. ByuN
2. TY
3. Dark
4. Solar
5. Stats
6. Nerchio
7. sOs
8. soO
9. INnoVation
10. Elazer
1. Rain
2. Flash
3. EffOrt
4. Last
5. Bisu
6. Soulkey
7. Mini
8. Sharp
Sidebar Settings...

Advertising | Privacy Policy | Terms Of Use | Contact Us

Original banner artwork: Jim Warren
The contents of this webpage are copyright © 2026 TLnet. All Rights Reserved.