EPT![[image loading]](http://claritygaming.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/golden-thumb.png)
For those not already in the know, Jo “Golden” Myeong Hwan formerly of Team StarTale has retired from the professional StarCraft 2 scene and has begun a career in streaming until his military service begins in just under one year from now. One of his first attempts at attracting new followers to his twitch channel is the “APM League” which debuted Dec.28th sponsored by Ownaj along with Clarity Gaming.
In this first tournament, the winner of the match must have an APM of 200 or more to move forward. If the winner does not have an APM of 200 or more, and the loser of the match does, the loser moves forward. The reason for this according to Golden, is that it gives semi-pro or amateur players a chance to be successful.
“Here comes liar colossi” – Crank when referring to “SEEDBones” tactic of baiting Viking production from “noX” with only one Colossus in the RO8
This is an interesting point for a few reasons that I believe are worth mentioning. Forget the fact that it may or may not give lesser players a chance, the intention is there from an ex-professional Korean player to give NA amateurs a chance at competing in a tournament that he himself is hosting, in English no less. What reason would he have to do this? The answer is, viewers.
As many others are starting to realize including Golden, we as the StarCraft community need to stop taking ourselves so seriously. Yes, there are premier tournaments out there that feature only top-notch production, casters, players, and sponsors. However that shouldn’t stop someone from running their own tournament on what little to no budget they have and having fun with it. The Masters is arguably the biggest tournament in professional golf, but it doesn’t stop me from putting on a local tournament and having fun by doing shots at every tee box.
“Can I sleep?” – Crank as the first PvP begins between Clarity’s Shew and SethN in the RO8
The APM league did so many things well for its first attempt. Not everyone can devote more than a few hours into watching a tournament. By starting with a round of eight and every round being a BO1 until the finals which was a BO3, it hooked everyone into watching the entire tournament. There was also little to no downtime, another factor which influences a concurrent viewer count. Casted by Golden and Team Axiom’s Crank, the two put on a very entertaining show. As they gracefully navigated through the English language, everyone watching was so appreciative of their effort. The icing on the cake was the audio track (was that Final Fantasy?) during the unveiling of the APM scores, and the inevitable Jolly Roger to send home the losing player.
Since the tournament I’ve had a chance to speak with Golden and was able to ask him a few questions. (Edited for grammar)
Kerry “Halcyon” Murray – “What prompted you to start the league?”
Jo “Golden” Myeong Hwan - “I had originally planned a typical RO8 single elimination tournament. After thinking about it, I realized it was going to be the same as every other tournament so I began coming up with different ideas and landed on the APM rule.”
“What made you decide to target the NA scene? More specifically, the amateurs?”
“North American players are much more entertaining to viewers. Generally, Korean players have a higher skill level than NA players but that doesn’t matter. I’m looking for entertaining players, and that’s why I chose the NA scene even though English is a second language for me and admittedly not that great. There was no intention on targeting either amateur or pro players, it is a tournament for everyone.”
“I think everyone appreciates the effort you’ve made to think outside the box and do something different, it certainly breathes new life into the community. The first tournament was hosted by “Crank” and yourself, any plans on bringing in other guest casters?”
“I will try bringing in different co-casters similar to ”Crank”, “Hyun” comes to mind as a possibility. I think my brothers will help me out like I helped “Hyun” last week.”
“It is important to have friends that are supportive, I’m sure they will do everything they can to help. Can we expect to see more of the offbeat humor in future tournaments that was present in the first?”
“Of course. I have so many ideas rolling around in my head, you will see an entertaining 2014!”
“Sounds good, everything from the one-liners coming out of the two of you to the Jolly Rogers had everyone cracking up. A common question I’ve seen asked is if in future tournaments, the requirement will continue to be 200 APM or will it be adjusted?”
“The requirement will be 300 APM moving forward. The tournament is called the APM League for a reason, and I found that 200 APM was not a high enough threshold to really affect anything since no one was actually eliminated because of it. Viewers want to see people being eliminated due to the APM rule, while this may be bad news to players it makes it more interesting.”
“Yes I have to agree and think it is wise to increase the APM rule to 300, it will be entertaining to know players are APM spamming more than usual while still trying to play the game. Perhaps even switching to player camera’s during the game to show how they are spamming could add to the experience as well. What are the plans for the league in the future?”
“I won’t reveal any details at this time, but I can tell you APM League #2 is planned for mid-January.”
Jo “Golden” Myeong Hwan - “I had originally planned a typical RO8 single elimination tournament. After thinking about it, I realized it was going to be the same as every other tournament so I began coming up with different ideas and landed on the APM rule.”
“What made you decide to target the NA scene? More specifically, the amateurs?”
“North American players are much more entertaining to viewers. Generally, Korean players have a higher skill level than NA players but that doesn’t matter. I’m looking for entertaining players, and that’s why I chose the NA scene even though English is a second language for me and admittedly not that great. There was no intention on targeting either amateur or pro players, it is a tournament for everyone.”
“I think everyone appreciates the effort you’ve made to think outside the box and do something different, it certainly breathes new life into the community. The first tournament was hosted by “Crank” and yourself, any plans on bringing in other guest casters?”
“I will try bringing in different co-casters similar to ”Crank”, “Hyun” comes to mind as a possibility. I think my brothers will help me out like I helped “Hyun” last week.”
“It is important to have friends that are supportive, I’m sure they will do everything they can to help. Can we expect to see more of the offbeat humor in future tournaments that was present in the first?”
“Of course. I have so many ideas rolling around in my head, you will see an entertaining 2014!”
“Sounds good, everything from the one-liners coming out of the two of you to the Jolly Rogers had everyone cracking up. A common question I’ve seen asked is if in future tournaments, the requirement will continue to be 200 APM or will it be adjusted?”
“The requirement will be 300 APM moving forward. The tournament is called the APM League for a reason, and I found that 200 APM was not a high enough threshold to really affect anything since no one was actually eliminated because of it. Viewers want to see people being eliminated due to the APM rule, while this may be bad news to players it makes it more interesting.”
“Yes I have to agree and think it is wise to increase the APM rule to 300, it will be entertaining to know players are APM spamming more than usual while still trying to play the game. Perhaps even switching to player camera’s during the game to show how they are spamming could add to the experience as well. What are the plans for the league in the future?”
“I won’t reveal any details at this time, but I can tell you APM League #2 is planned for mid-January.”
“Golden” put it best on stream - “1500 viewers is really happy time for my life”. It was a happy time for everyone watching as well. Thanks to Golden and Crank for putting on a great tournament and catering to the NA scene. Congratulations goes out to Bones of SEED gaming for bringing home the top prize, taking out Clarity’s own Shew 2-0 in the finals.
Tournament VOD: http://www.twitch.tv/golden/b/490894434
Side note: During our interview Golden informed me of a showmatch he is casting this weekend called “Beathmatch” that I promised would keep details quiet about. All I can say is bring your sunscreen, you are not going to want to miss this!
About the Writer
This interview was conducted by Kerry Murray.
Make sure to follow him at https://twitter.com/ClarityHalcyon
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