Looking back over the last year of the top level of Starcraft 2 competition paints a picture of volatility at the top level of the game. Consider the last five seasons of the premier competition in Korea. In the last twelve months there have been two seasons of GSL and three seasons of WCS, with the compositions of the top 8 looking like:

GSL 2012 S5: Creator, HyuN, INnoVation, Soulkey, MarineKing, Ryung, Leenock, Sniper

GSL 2013 S1: INnoVation, Symbol, Curious, PartinG, Soulkey, TaeJa, RorO, MC

WCS 2013 S1: Soulkey, PartinG, sOs, KangHo, RorO, INnoVation, Bomber, Symbol

WCS 2013 S2: Maru, Symbol, Soulkey, INnoVation, Rain, SuperNova, Bomber, First

WCS 2013 S3: Dear, Trap, jjakji, Maru, Soulkey, Rain, soO, PartinG

Adding up the numbers, out of 40 possible top 8 spots, there were 25 unique players. Soulkey was the only player to appear in all five Ro8s, then INnoVation on four, Parting and Symbol three each, RorO, Bomber, Rain and Maru each on two, then 17 players who each made top 8 only once in five tournaments.

Of course, Starcraft 2 has a few excuses for the inconsistencies in the top 8 ranks. Think of what’s happened in the last year:

GSL Season 5 was the first season to feature KeSPA players

Heart of the Swarm launched between GSL 2013 S1 and WCS 2013 S1, and was patched several times since

Three people on the list, TaeJa, MC and Ryung moved to non-Korean divisions after WCS S1

That’s a lot of change for a short time.

Brood War: OSL

In comparison, how does Starcraft compare with its predecessor, Brood War? Well, let’s look at the rounds of 8 for the last five seasons of the Brood War OSL:

2010 OSL S1: Flash, TY, Movie, Pure, ZerO, EffOrt, ForGG, Kal

2010 OSL S2: Action, Jaedong, Stork, Sea, free, ZerO, Flash, Leta

2010 OSL S3: Hyuk, Fantasy, Calm, Mind, Modesty, Kal, HiyA, Stork

2011 OSL: Fantasy, Hyuk, Hydra, Modesty, SoO, Killer, JangBi, Flash

2012: JangBi, Mini, hyvaa, ZerO, Shine, Flash, Fantasy, SoO

Well, OK, that’s 28 unique players in 40 possible spots, with Flash making four appearances, Fantasy three, and Kal, JangBi, Modesty, Hyuk, ZerO, SoO and Stork appearing twice each. Seems to compare quite well with SC2.

Brood War: MSL

What about the last five tournaments from OSL’s sister competition, the MSL?

2009 MSL S3: Jaedong, Stats, Hwasin, Kal, Light, Kwanro, BeSt, Flash

2010 MSL S1: Flash, MVP, free, HiyA, great, Calm, Midas, Jaedong

2010 MSL S2: Flash, ForGG, Calm, Fantasy, Light, EffOrt, Sea, Jaedong

2010 MSL S3: Jaedong, Snow, Calm, Hydra, ZerO, Stork, great, Kal

2012 MSL: Jaedong, Grape, Calm, ZerO, Mind, Hydra, Leta, Flash

Well, that’s 25/40, the same as Starcraft 2. Jaedong made all five Ro8s, Flash and Calm made 4, Kal, Light, great, hydra and ZerO got two each.

Brood War: The Last Year

But! It’s a bit unfair to compare two separate competitions that took place over two to three years, with one competition in a single year. What if we combined the last three OSLs with the last two MSLs?

In that case, we finally have Brood War slightly in the lead, with 22 unique Ro8 participants compared to the GSL/WCS’s 25.

Anyone for Tennis?

In the last 5 Grand Slam Mens Open events (one each of Wimbledon, the French and Australian opens, and two US opens) the 40 possible top 8 spots were taken by 20 unique players. Djokovic and Ferrer advanced five times each, Murray four, Berdych, Federer and Tsonga three, Wawrinka, Robredo and Nadal two a-piece, and then there were eleven single appearances.