On January 18th, AfreecaTV CEO Seo Soo-Gil called on fans of Brood War to pressure a 'relevant gaming company' into facilitating the start of ASL5. The request came as part of a reply to a post on Mr. Seo's AfreecaTV profile page, which thanked AfreecaTV for holding the ASL and APL (PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds) tournaments. The translation is as follows:

Thanks you for the encouragement, [username redacted].



It's true, in terms of just business, ASL is in the red, and our world first APL is also deeply in the red. But it's not about business, it's about creating culture where our BJ's (streamers) and users get together to create content, and that's way more valuable than a balance sheet.



Everyone called BW a dead game, but the ASL has revived it as a culture that fans around the world enjoy. Battlegrounds was considered difficult to turn into an esport, but I'm happy and satisfied that we're the first to step up to the challenge.



However... as with ASL4, ASL5 is going through a rough patch. The cooperation of the relevant game company is important, but it just isn't working out. The important thing here is the voice of StarCraft 1 fans. I request our users to strongly urge that relevant game company to start ASL5.



AfreecaTV is already ready to start ASL Season 5.



Everyone had left Brood War, saying it couldn't make money, all the companies had left, but it was able to revive itself through ASL. The reason that it was able to live again as memory and culture for fans in their 20's to their 40's was because of streamers and gamers who love Brood War.



Make your voices heard.



I want to start ASL Season 5 quickly. It saddens me.