Global StarCraft II League
 | This article needs to be updated. (December 2015) |
 | |
| Sport | StarCraft II |
|---|---|
| Founded | September 2010 |
| Country | South Korea |
| Continent | Asia |
| Most recent champion(s) | Lee "INnoVation" Shin Hyung |
| Most titles | Jeong "Mvp" Jong Hyeon (4 titles) |
Global StarCraft II League (GSL) is a StarCraft II: Legacy of the Void tournament hosted by afreecaTV[1] and Blizzard Entertainment in South Korea. GOMeXp (formerly GOMTV) had hosted it until the last season of 2015. There is also an English language stream available. The tournament features two leagues, Code S (major) and Code A (minor). Code S and Code A are mainly cast by Dan "Artosis" Stemkoski and Nicolas "Tasteless" Plott, they are sometimes helped by Proleague caster Wolf Schröder.[2] The event is broadcast Wednesday to Friday on TwitchTV.
GOMTV used to run a house for select foreigners to live in while attempting to qualify for Code A. The house could accommodate up to 8 players. Players are responsible for travel to the GOM house, but all expenses other than food were covered by GOMTV.[3] The house closed in November 2012.[4][5]
As of the end of 2015 GSL Season 2, GOMTV has given away over 3.6 billion Korean won (over $3.1 million USD) from the individual GSL and Arena of Legends leagues in StarCraft II.[6]
GSL-MLG Exchange Program
Major League Gaming and GOMTV have announced a player exchange program between the tournaments. MLG will invite and provide travel for four Korean players every tournament and the players will be seeded directly into Championship pool. Starting from MLG Anaheim 2011 the winner of the tournament is given GSL Code S seed and top three non-Korean players (top four if the winner is Korean) are given Code A seeds.[7]
MLG Columbus 2011 was the first event to see Korean invites. Moon "MMA" Sung Won won the tournament and the other invites finished 2nd, 3rd and 8th. Non-Koreans players accepting Code A seeds were Johan "NaNiWa" Lucchesi, Marcus "ThorZaIN" Eklöf and Jian Carlo "Fenix" Morayra Alejo. They will participate in both GSL August and GSTL August team league. For the team league they will form a team F.United together with players from a Korean pro team WeMadeFox.[8]
It was thought that NaNiwa would have gotten the Code S spot for his second-place finish at the national finals at MLG Providence 2011, but it was revealed afterwards that Code S would not have been given out at that event.[9]
The GSL-MLG Exchange Program has since been nullified, as GSL is now partnered with IPL.[10] MLG CEO Sundance DiGiovanni has hinted at the Naniwa Code S scandal as possible reasoning for the breakup of the partnership.[11]
With the closure of IPL, the partner program between the two is now finished.
Since 2013, the GSL took over as the Korean part of the World Championship Series created by Blizzard Entertainment.
Main Events
2010 Open Seasons
The 2010 Open Seasons were the first tournaments for the GSL, featuring three initial events with an overall prize pool of 600 million Korean Won (approximately 500,000 USD) and a prize of 100 million Won for the winner. These attracted worldwide attention as they featured the largest prize pool in the history of e-Sports.[12] The purpose of the Open Seasons was to sort the players into Code S and Code A for the 2011 season.[13]
Sponsorship League
Sponsorship League is the regular tournament that is held multiple times a year. Code S is the major league and consists of 32 top players in Korea. Winner of Code S is crowned GSL champion. Code A is the minor league of 32 players. Winner of code A qualifies to Code S. Top seven Code A players and bottom eight Code S players participate in Up & Down Matches in groups of five players. Top two of every group qualify to Code S. Code A qualifiers are held before the start of a new season. Only top ranking players (called Code B) in Korean Battle.net server are allowed to participate. Foreign players are allowed to attend qualifiers without meeting the criteria though.
For the 2011 GSL November season, it was announced that the format would be changing to deal with certain issues that have come up in Code S and Code A.[14] A chart was later released that would illustrate the new format. The new format would be a dual tournament format, where players in Code S immediately drop to Code A, and would have to continue playing if they want to get back up to Code S.[15] The new GSL format means that there would no longer be a Code A champion.
The 2012 tour had the tournament format changed slightly, resulting in a longer season with slight changes with prize money in Code A. Due to the extended season, there will only be 5 GSL tournaments in the year.[16]
World Championship Series 2013
In 2013, the GSL and the OnGameNet Starleague (OSL) shared the duty as the Korean league for Blizzard Entertainment's World Championship Series (WCS) under the name "WCS Korea".[17]
World Championship Series 2014
OnGameNet having stopped its StarCraft II activities, GSL is now the only solo-league in South Korea and is running every season of WCS Korea under its own name again (GSL).[18]
World Championship
The World Championship was a yearly tournament that invites top eight non-Korean players to South Korea to play against the top eight Korean players. This is a two part tournament, the first being a Korea versus the World team tournament, the second being a 16-man single elimination tournament.[19]
The 2012 tour will not have a World Championship event.[16]
Super Tournament
Similar to the 2010 Open Seasons, the Super Tournaments are a 64-man tournament featuring a prize pool of 202 million Korean Won. Participants are determined by the total GSL points obtained throughout the year.[20]
The 2012 tour will not have a Super Tournament event.[16]
Blizzard Cup
The top 10 players of the year will compete in a tournament to decide the best player of the year in a two phase event including a group stage and a playoff stage. The 2011 event featured the top 5 players in terms of GSL ranking and champions of other events such as MLG, Blizzcon and World Cyber Games 2011.[21]
Special Events
Arena of Legends
The Arena of Legends are a special tournament series that are only available to premium users. They are generally online tournaments as opposed to the offline ones of the standard GSL. The first one featured four invited representatives of each race that was broadcast throughout the month of September 2011 on Saturdays and Sundays.[22] Another Arena of Legends tournament was announced on November 2, 2011 called the Team Ace Invitational featuring two players from each team battling it out to see who is the strongest ace.[23] The third Arena of Legends tournament was announced on December 27, 2011 called "Arena of Legends: King of Kong", featuring all of the non-champion runner up players from previous GSL tournaments.[24] A "Kong" is Korean for a pea, and refers to Hong Jin-Ho, a Brood War legend who was famous for getting second place.
Champions
Code S and other Major Tournaments
This is a list of all major GSL tournaments. They are considered equal by GOMTV and the winner of any of these tournaments is called a GSL champion.
| Year | Name of Tournament | Winner | Result of Final | Runner-Up |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | TG-Intel STARCRAFT II Open Season1 | Kim "Fruitdealer" Won Gi (TSL) (Zerg) | 4 - 1 | Kim "Rainbow" Sung Je (ST) (Terran) |
| 2010 | Sony Ericsson STARCRAFT II Open Season2 | Lim "NesTea" Jae Duk (IM) (Zerg) | 4 - 3 | Lee "MarineKing" Jung Hoon (Prime) (Terran) |
| 2010 | Sony Ericsson STARCRAFT II Open Season3 | Jang "MC" Min Chul (oGs) (Protoss) | 4 - 1 | Park "Rain" Seo Yong (TSL) (Terran) |
| 2011 | Sony Ericsson Global StarCraft II League Jan. | Jeong "Mvp" Jong Hyeon (IM) (Terran) | 4 - 0 | Lee "MarineKing" Jung Hoon (Prime) (Terran) |
| 2011 | 2nd Generation Intel Core Global StarCraft II League Mar. | Jang "MC" Min Chul (oGs) (Protoss) | 4 - 1 | Park "July" Sung Joon (ST) (Zerg) |
| 2011 | LG Cinema 3D World Championship Seoul | Jeong "Mvp" Jong Hyeon (IM) (Terran) | 4 - 2 | Lee "MarineKing" Jung Hoon (Prime) (Terran) |
| 2011 | LG Cinema 3D Global StarCraft II League May | Lim "NesTea" Jae Duk (IM) (Zerg) | 4 - 0 | Song "InCa" Joon Hyuk (oGs) (Protoss) |
| 2011 | LG Cinema 3D GSL Super Tournament | Choi "Polt" Sung Hoon (Prime) (Terran) | 4 - 0 | Moon "MMA" Sung Won (SlayerS) (Terran) |
| 2011 | Pepsi Global StarCraft II League July | Lim "NesTea" Jae Duk (IM) (Zerg) | 4 - 0 | Hwang "LosirA" Kang Ho (IM) (Zerg) |
| 2011 | Pepsi Global StarCraft II League August | Jeong "MVP" Jong Hyeon (IM) (Terran) | 4 - 1 | Kim "TOP" Jung Hoon (oGs) (Terran) |
| 2011 | Sony Ericsson Global StarCraft II League Oct. | Moon "MMA" Sung Won (SlayerS) (Terran) | 4 - 1 | Jeong "Mvp" Jong Hyeon (IM) (Terran) |
| 2011 | Sony Ericsson Global StarCraft II League Nov. | Jung "jjakji" Ji Hoon (NSHoSeo) (Terran) | 4 - 2 | Lee "Leenock" Dong Nyung (FXO) (Zerg) |
| 2011 | 2011 Blizzard Cup | Moon "MMA" Sung Won (SlayerS) (Terran) | 4 - 3 | Park "DongRaeGu" Soo Ho (MVP) (Zerg) |
| 2012 | 2012 Hot6ix Global StarCraft II League Season 1 | Park "DongRaeGu" Soo Ho (MVP) (Zerg) | 4 - 2 | Jung "Genius" Min Soo (MVP) (Protoss) |
| 2012 | 2012 Hot6ix Global StarCraft II League Season 2 | Jeong "MVP" Jong Hyeon (LG-IM) (Terran) | 4 - 3 | Park "Squirtle" Hyun Woo (StarTale) (Protoss) |
| 2012 | 2012 Monsieur J Global StarCraft II League Season 3 | Ahn "Seed" Sang Won (LG-IM) (Protoss) | 4 - 1 | Jang "MC" Min Chul (SK Gaming) (Protoss) |
| 2012 | 2012 Hot6ix Global StarCraft II League Season 4 | Lee "Life" Seung Hyun (StarTale) (Zerg) | 4 - 3 | Jeong "MVP" Jong Hyun (LG-IM) (Terran) |
| 2012 | 2012 Hot6ix Global StarCraft II League Season 5 | Kwon "Sniper" Tae Hoon (MVP) (Zerg) | 4 - 3 | Ko "Hyun" Seok Hyun (TSL) (Zerg) |
| 2012 | 2012 Blizzard Cup | Lee "Life" Seung Hyun (StarTale) (Zerg) | 4 - 2 | Won "PartinG" Lee Sak (StarTale) (Protoss) |
| 2013 | 2013 Hot6ix Global StarCraft II League Season 1 | Shin "RorO" No Yeol (Samsung KHAN) (Zerg) | 4 - 2 | Kang "Symbol" Dong Hyun (AZUBU) (Zerg) |
| 2013 | 2013 WCS Korea Season 1 MANGOSIX GSL | Kim "Soulkey" Min Chul (WoongJin Stars) (Zerg) | 4 - 3 | Lee "INnoVation" Shin Hyung (STX SouL) (Terran) |
| 2013 | 2013 WCS Korea Season 3 JOGUNSHOP GSL | Baek "Dear" Dong Jun (SouL) (Protoss) | 4 - 2 | Eo "soO" Yoon Su (SK Telecom T1) (Zerg) |
| 2013 | 2013 HOT6 Cup | Jeong "Rain" Yoon Jong (SKT T1) (Protoss) | 4 - 2 | Kim "Soulkey" Min Cheol (WoongJin Stars) (Zerg) |
| 2014 | 2014 HOT6 Global StarCraft II League Season 1 | Joo "Zest" Sung Wook (KT Rolster) (Protoss) | 4 - 3 | Eo "soO" Yoon Su (SKT T1) (Zerg) |
| 2014 | 2014 HOT6 GSL Global Tournament | Joo "Zest" Sung Wook (KT Rolster) (Protoss) | 4 - 3 | Won "PartinG" Lee Sak (SKT T1) (Protoss) |
| 2014 | 2014 HOT6 Global StarCraft II League Season 2 | Kim "Classic" Doh Woo (SKT T1) (Protoss) | 4 - 2 | Eo "soO" Yoon Su (SKT T1) (Zerg) |
| 2014 | 2014 HOT6 Global StarCraft II League Season 3 | Lee "INnoVation" Shin Hyung (SKT T1) (Terran) | 4 - 2 | Eo "soO" Yoon Su (SKT T1) (Zerg) |
| 2014 | 2014 HOT6 Cup | Kim "sOs" Yoo Jin (JinAir Greenwings) (Protoss) | 4 - 1 | Lee "MarineKing" Jeong Hoon (MVP) (Terran) |
| 2015 | 2015 Global StarCraft II League Season 1 | Lee "Life" Seung Hyun (KT Rolster) (Zerg) | 4 - 3 | Won "PartinG" Lee Sak (yoe Flash Wolves) (Protoss) |
| 2015 | 2015 SBENU Global StarCraft II League Season 2 | Jung "Rain" Yoon Jong (mYinsanity) (Protoss) | 4 - 1 | Han "ByuL" Ji Won (CJ Entus) (Zerg) |
| 2015 | 2015 HOT6 Global StarCraft II League Season 3 | Lee "INnoVation" Shin Hyung (SKT T1) (Terran) | 4 - 2 | Han "ByuL" Ji Won (CJ Entus) (Zerg) |
| Regular Season | World Championship | Super Tournament | Blizzard/HOT6 Cup | Open Season |
- 2011 GSL October took place in Anaheim, California during Blizzcon. This was the first GSL final to take place outside South Korea.[25]
- 2012 Hot6ix GSL Season 5 took place at IPL 5 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Code A
There will be no more Code A champions due to the format change in 2011 GSL November.
| Year | Name of Tournament | Winner | Result of Final | Runner-Up |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Sony Ericsson Global StarCraft II League Jan. | Kim "TOP" Jung Hoon (oGs) (Terran) | 4 - 3 | Byun "Byun" Hyun Woo (ZeNex) (Terran) |
| 2011 | 2nd Generation Intel Core Global StarCraft II League Mar. | Hwang "LosirA" Kang Ho (IM) (Zerg) | 4 - 3 | Kim "SuperNoVa" Young Jin (oGs) (Terran) |
| 2011 | LG Cinema 3D Global StarCraft II League May | Choi "Bomber" Ji Sung (ST) (Terran) | 4 - 2 | Jeong "MVP" Jong Hyeon (IM) (Terran) |
| 2011 | Pepsi Global StarCraft II League July | Kim "Puzzle" Sang-Joon (ZeNEX) (Protoss) | 4 - 2 | Kim "Tassadar" Jung Hoon (NSHoSeo) (Protoss) |
| 2011 | Pepsi Global StarCraft II League August | Kim "GanZi" Dong Ju (SlayerS) (Terran) | 4 - 3 | Lee "MarineKing" Jung Hoon (Prime) (Terran) |
| 2011 | Sony Ericsson Global StarCraft II League Oct. | Lee "Curious" Won Pyo (ST) (Zerg) | 4 - 0 | Kim "Oz" Hak Soo (FXO) (Protoss) |
Special Tournaments
Champions of special tournaments are not considered GSL Champions.
| Year | Name of Tournament | Winner | Result of Final | Runner-Up |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | GomTV All-Stars Invitational 2010 | Han "Kyrix" Joon (Zenith) (Zerg) | 2 - 0 | Lee "MarineKing" Jung Hoon (Prime) (Terran) |
| 2011 | Arena of Legends | Lee "MarineKing" Jung Hoon (Prime) (Terran) | 4 - 1 | Park "DongRaeGu" Soo Ho (MVP) (Zerg) |
| 2011 | Arena of Legends: Team Ace Invitational | Jeong "MVP" Jong Hyeon (IM) (Terran) | 3 - 2 | Kim "GanZi" Dong Ju (SlayerS) (Terran) |
| 2012 | Arena of Legends: King of Kongs | Park "DongRaeGu" Soo Ho (MVP) (Zerg) | 4 - 1 | Hwang "LosirA" Kang Ho (IM) (Zerg) |
Team League
GOMeXp (then GOMTV) also used to run a team league named GOMTV Global StarCraft II Team League (GSTL) however with the switch of Proleague to StarCraft II, GOMeXp decided to stop running its team league at the end of 2013.
See also
- StarCraft II StarLeague
- GOMTV Global StarCraft II Team League
- StarCraft professional competition
- Electronic Sports
References
- ^ Paas-Lang, Christian (4 October 2015). "GSL 2016 to be run by AfreecaTV". thescore esports. Retrieved 26 December 2015.
- ^ Miller, Patrick (November 2, 2010). "eSports Update, 11/2/10: GSL Round of 8, MSI Master's Cup". PC World. Retrieved 12 January 2011.
- ^ GOMTV Foreigner House Tour
- ^ http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/closed-threads/380368-gom-house-discontinued-by-gomtv Teamliquid article reporting the closing (EN)
- ^ http://www.thisisgame.com/esports/nboard/162/?n=38430 Thisigane article reporting the closing (KR)
- ^ GOMTV information on esportsearnings.com
- ^ "MLG and the GSL Create Groundbreaking League Exchange Program". May 13, 2011.
- ^ "Fenix Will Join Naniwa and Thorzain in Korea". June 22, 2011.
- ^ Official MLG Statement Regarding the Naniwa Code S Issue
- ^ GSL Partners with IPL
- ^ MLG CEO on Kespa Deal
- ^ Team Liquid GOMTV
- ^ GOMTV: GOMTV
- ^ GOMTV presents GSL November
- ^ New GSL Format
- ^ a b c GomTV 2012 GSL Tour Changes - Korean
- ^ http://us.battle.net/sc2/en/blog/9355170 Blizzard's announcement of the 2013 WCS season
- ^ http://wcs.battle.net/sc2/en/articles/wcs-2014-announced Blizzard's article about 2014 WCS
- ^ GOMTV: GOMTV
- ^ News: GOMTV
- ^ GOMTV presents Blizzard CUP
- ^ Introducing: The Arena of Legends - new tournament!: GOMTV
- ^ GomTV Announces the Team Ace Invitational
- ^ Arena Of Legends - The King of Kongs
- ^ Press Release: GSL October Final at BlizzCon
External links
- GOMEXP
- GSL's Broadcast on TwitchTV
- The GSL on Liquipedia
- Picasa - GSL
- GOMTV on e-Sports Earnings
- GOMTV Studio Photosynth Image
- GSL Delicious Stack
