TL.net ESPORTS Profile Joined July 2011 1 Post #1 GSL on Liquipedia

GSL Director, Chae Jung Won Interview with GSL Director, Chae Jung Won

By: TeamLiquid 2012 brought a lot of new changes to the GSL format, with the GSL announcing an entirely new road map for the year to come. GSL fans had many questions about the changes, and the TL staff was curious as well. With the Code S season just kicking off, the GSL's Director, Mr. Chae Jung Won agreed to answer some of our questions via E-Mail.



+ Show Spoiler [한국어 원문] + 2012년도에 GSL리그가 방식이 크게 개편 되었다. 리그 개수를 줄이고 각 리그의 기간을 늘린 이유가 무엇인가?



: 몇 가지 이유가 있다. 가장 큰 이유는 모든 e-sports가 마찬가지지만 해당 토너먼트가 발전하고 흥행하기 위해서 가장 중요한 것은 선수들의 경기력과 재미있는 대진이다. 선수들의 경기력은 준비할 시간과 공정한 방식에 영향을 많이 받는다.

하지만, 준비할 시간과 공정함은 리그의 속도와 큰 관계가 있다. 리그의 준비 시간이 많을수록 그리고 최대한 Bo1을 배제하고 최소 Bo3 로 경기를 만들면 선수들의 경기력이 향상될 것이라고 생각한다. 이러한 변화는 반드시 리그의 기간이 길어지는 것을 의미한다.

아울러 2011 GSL을 진행하면서 받았던 가장 많은 Feedback 중 하나였던 그룹 플레이의 Bo1에 대한 해결책이기도 하다. 그리고 리그 기간을 늘이면 자연스럽게 리그 개수는 줄어든다. 하지만 2012 GSL의 전체 경기 숫자는 오히려 2011년보다 늘어났다.

따라서 리그 개수는 줄어들었지만 훨씬 더 양질의 경기를 작년보다 많이 시청할 수 있다.



초기 방식에서 코드S유지를 쉽게 한 이유가 스타 양성, 팀들에게 안정적인 수익원 제공이라고 한 적이 있다. 한국의 스타2계에 어떤 변화가 있어서 옛날 방식을 포기한건가?



: 2011년의 SC II는 아직 걸음마 단계였으며 선수들과 팀은 자신들을 지탱할 만한 팬과 자본을 가지고 있지 못했다. 따라서 2011년의 GSL은 최대한 자주 선수와 팀들에게 기회를 제공하고 상금을 받아가도록 노력했다,

하지만 2011년 한 해 동안 GSL은 성공적인 선수들의 팬층을 만들었고 인기 선수를 가진 팀은 스폰서가 하나 둘 생기면서 안정적인 재정 지원을 받기 시작했다. 그리고 하나 둘 생겨난 GSL 우승자와 GSTL 우승팀에게는 많은 팬들이 생겨났으며

이것은 2012 GSL을 풍요롭게 만들었다고 생각한다. 마찬가지로 해외 대회와의 연계를 통해 자주 해외 대회에 진출하는 선수들이 많아지면서 한국 선수들의 재정적인 상태는 현재 많이 호전되었다.

2011년이 우리가 인프라를 형성하는 시기였다면 2012년은 성숙한 SC II 시장을 만들고 안정화 시키는 시기이다. 그 일환으로 리그 일정을 늘리고 방식을 바꿔 Code S 선수들은 많은 연습을 통해 경기를 치르고 자주 방송 경기에 등장하게 됐다.



새로운 리그 방식을 보면 코드S, 승강전에 외국인 시드를 늘리면서 이전보다 외국인들에게 주어지는 혜택이 많다. 이러한 결정을 내리게 된 이유는?



: Code S 시드는 사실 외국인만을 위한 시드는 아니다. 정확히 말하면 해외 대회들을 배려한 시드이다. 작년의 MLG Code S 시드와 비슷한 방식이라고 생각하면 된다. 하지만 작년에는 MLG에게만 Code S 시드를 주었지만 (게이머의 국적과 상관없이)

올해는 여러 해외 대회들을 종합적으로 고려하여 시드를 준비할 생각이다. 그 선수는 한국 선수가 될 수도 해외 선수가 될 수도 있다. 또한, 후원사에서 원하는 선수가 있다면 Code S 에 합류시킬 수 있는 역할을 하기도 한다. 이는 타 스포츠에서도 많이 도입된 방식이다.



외국인 초청 선수들이 저조한 경기력으로 바로 탈락하는 모습을 많이 보여줬다. 이러한 상황에서 시드를 늘렸는데, 한국 팬들이나, 선수, 팀이 불만을 품지 않았나?



: 팀과 선수들은 불만이 없다. 반대로 생각하면 해외 대회에 한국 선수들이 이미 훨씬 많은 상위 시드를 받고 있다. 해외 선수들이 그것에 불만을 가지진 않는 것과 같은 이치다.(어쩌면 불만이 있을 수도 있지만….?)

월드컵을 예로 들면 이해하기 쉬울 것이다. 월드컵을 단순히 정말 FIFA 랭킹만으로 출전한다면 대한민국은 영원히 출전하지 못하고 남미와 유럽팀들만이 즐기는 스포츠가 됐을 것이다.

우리는 GSL이 단순히 국내 리그로 자리잡는 것을 원하지 않는다. 해외 선수들도 기회가 있다면 얼마든지 한국행을 결정할 수 있는 동기를 제공하고 싶다. 기회가 있어서 한국을 방문하고 한국 프로게이머 문화를 소화한다면 해외 선수들도 충분히 지금보다 강해질 수 있다.

GSL은 그런 기회를 제공하고 싶다. 그리고 그것은 비교적 작년 한 해 성공적이었다고 생각한다. (현재 많은 선수들이 한국 팀과 교류하여 한국으로 오는 것을 2년 전만 해도 상상이나 할 수 있었는가?



작년에 MLG와 성공적인 리그 교환 프로그램을 진행했는데, 2012에는 외국 대회와의 연계를 늘릴 생각인가? MLG외에 다른 대회과 협력 관계를 맺을 생각이 있는가?



: 당연하다. 작년에 가장 적극적이었던 것은 MLG였다. 그리고 MLG는 GSL과의 연계를 통해 서로 성공적인 결과를 가져갔다고 생각한다. 2012년은 보다 많은 해외 대회들과 연계할 생각이다. 그리고 가장 적극적인 대회들과 더욱 긴밀한 연계를 할 생각이다.

GSL은 언제나 열려있다. 해외 업체가 적극적인 연계를 원하면 우린 언제나 같이 일할 계획이 있다.



작년에 월드 챔피언쉽, 슈퍼 터너먼트가 큰 인기를 얻었는데, 올해로서 사라졌다. 이러한 대회를 개최하지 않은 이유가 무엇이며, AoL같은 대회로 대체 할 생각이 있는가?



: GOMTV 자체적인 평가로 월드 챔피언십은 우리도 매우 성공적이었다고 생각한다. 하지만 슈퍼 토너먼트는 그다지 성공적이었다고 보기 힘들었다.

올해는 월드 챔피언십은 미리 계획하고 있지 않다. 하지만 이것이 월드 챔피언십이 개최되지 않는 것은 아니다. 우리는 2012 GSL 정규 Tour를 발표함에 있어서 최대한 우리가 보장할 수 있는 대회들만 발표했다.

월드 챔피언십은 분명 성공적이었기 때문에 우리는 정규 투어와 상관없이 새로운 방식의 월드 챔피언십을 개최할 의지도 있다. 워낙 급변하는 국제 e-sports 이기 때문에 현재로서 모든 특별 대회까지 발표하지 못했을 뿐이다.

기다려주면 조만간 좋은 소식이 있을 것이다.

AOL은 정규 리그에서 해소하지 못한 조금은 이베트성의 리그와 여러 팬들이 원하는 매치 위주로 가져갈 생각이다. 역시 다양한 컨셉이 준비되어 있으니 실망하지 않을 것이다.





지금 까지 AoL을 어떻게 평가하고 있으며, 앞으로 어떤 식으로 운영할 계획인가? GSL처럼 곰TV가 가지고 있는 하나의 고정 브랜드로 키울 계획인가? 해외에서 편의상 AoL을 GSL이라고 부르기도 하는데, 이를 같이 분류하는 것이 맞는가?



: AOL의 기본 기획 의도는 많은 팬들이 보고 싶었지만 GSL에서는 이루어지지 않는 매치들을 보여주는 것이었다. 그리고 이후에는 다양한 이벤트 매치나 새로운 기획들을 만들어내고 있다.

우리는 AOL을 GSL의 온라인 리그 경기 브랜드로 키워나갈 생각이다. GSL은 전 경기 오프라인 라이브로 진행되지만 AOL은 조금 더 유연하게 진행 될 예정이다. 선수들이 오프라인으로 경기를 치를 수도 있지만 기본방침은 온라인의 대전이다.

아울러 GSL에서 보기 힘든 여러 매치들을 시청자 투표 등을 통해 선정한 후 show-match 형식으로 진행할 수도 있다. AOL은 굉장히 유연한 기획이기 때문에 TL에서도 설문 조사를 통해 우리에게 새로운 기획 아이디어를 준다면 언제든지

대회로 진행할 수 있다.



GSL초창기에는 현지 관중이 적어서 많은 사람들이 걱정했는데, 2011년 말에 많이 늘어났다. 한국에서 스타2가 커지고 있다고 생각하고 있나? 2012년도에 어느정도 성장을 예측하고 있는지?



: 한국의 SC II 시장은 전 세계 SC II 시장 같이 나날이 발전하고 있다. 거기다가 2011년 말 새로운 리그 방식 개편으로 인해 보다 많은 사람들이 GSL을 즐기기 위해 현장을 방문하고 있다.

1년의 리그 진행으로 이 정도 성과를 낸 대회는 없다고 자신한다. 우리는 현재 최선을 다 하고 있으며 선수들의 경기력이 높아지고 현재 방식을 유지하며 제작 퀄리티를 높인다면 관중 숫자에 대한 문제는 없다.



많은 해외팬들이 리그 개수가 줄어든거나, 2011년에 비해 총상금이 줄어든 것을 걱정하고 있다. 혹시 재정적인 문제가 있었나?



: 위에서도 언급했지만 리그 개수가 줄어든 것이 실제 방송 일수나 게임 숫자가 줄어든 것이 아니다. 이것은 단지 리그의 기간이 늘어났기 때문에 1년에 개최할 수 있는 리그 숫자가 줄어든 것 뿐이다. (1년을 500일로 늘리면 개수를 늘릴 수 있다)

총 상금도 마찬가지다. 현재 우리가 발표된 계획에 따르면 5번의 GSL과 3번의 GSTL이 펼쳐지는데, 이 외에도 AOL 이나 월드 챔피언십과 같은 다양한 중소규모 이벤트 리그는 언제든지 개최 될 것이다.

SC II 는 현재 성장하고 있는 산업이다. 총 상금 규모나 리그 개수로 간단히 축소된다고 판단하지 말아달라. 조금만 계산해보면 규모가 늘어났다는 것을 알 수 있다.





스타1이나 외국의 스타2 대회에 비해 GSL이 큰 규모의 스폰서쉽을 확보하기 어려웠던 것 같다. 한국에서는 아직 스타2가 스폰서에게 그리 큰 매력이 없나?



: 특정 업체나 진영과 비교하여 대답하는 것을 원하진 않지만 질문 자체가 비교를 요하는 질문이라 어쩔 수 없음을 먼저 양해해달라. 자칫 싸움으로 번질까 조심스럽다.

SC BW의 스폰서와 GSL의 스폰서를 비교해보면 규모가 작다는 것은 어떤 것인지 잘 모르겠다. 실제로 1년에 유치하는 스폰서의 숫자를 비교해보면 훨씬 더 많은 규모의 스폰서를 GSL이 유치하고 있다.

GSL의 스폰서는 단지 한국 기업에 국한될 필요가 없다. 전 세계로 방송되고 있기 때문에 해외 기업들도 스폰서에 관심이 많으며 실제로 여러 글로벌 기업들이 스폰서에 대해 논의한 바가 있으며 현재도 논의 중이다.

TL 에 자주 오시는 분들은 아시겠지만, 지난 스폰서 중 펩시는 실제로 트위터를 통해 상당한 마케팅 효과를 거뒀으며 긍정적인 피드백을 받았다. 전 세계 글로벌 팬들이 24시간 펩시에게 감사 인사를 남기는 등 마케팅 측면에서도

유례 없는 발전이 이루어지고 있다.

GSL은 2011년에 잘 성장했으며 2012년은 더욱 발전할 것이라고 생각한다.



올해 팀 리그의 비중을 늘린다고 했는데, 구체적인 이야기를 할 수 있는지?



: GSTL 대회를 3번 진행할 예정이다.

작년 하반기에 진행되었던 풀 리그 방식에서 듀얼 토너먼트 방식으로 전환 될 예정이다. 풀 리그 방식은 여러 팀이 자주 출연한다는 장점은 있었지만 경기 하나 하나의 긴박감이 떨어지며, 실제로 너무 신인 선수만 기용하는 팀들로 인해 흥미가 떨어졌다.

GSL 개인리그의 Code A 출전 선수를 늘렸기 때문에 신인에 대한 연습과 노출은 충분히 해소되었다고 생각하고, 이제 보다 팀들이 절실한 상황의 대회를 기획했다. 총 10주의 일정으로 GSTL은 진행 될 예정이며 첫 시즌은 1월 27일 개막할 예정이다.

아울러 GSTL 에 대해서 깜짝 놀랄 좋은 소식을 진행 중이니 기대해달라. 절대 실망시키지 않을 것이다.





2011에는 GSL이 주요 스타2 대회 중에 유일하게 자체 플레이어를 썼고, 유료 티켓 판매를 중심으로 리그를 운영했다. 하지만 연말에 Twitch.TV로 보다 나은 화질의 무료 방송을 제공하는 등 새로운 시도를 하는 모습이 보였다. 2012년에 새로운 방송이나 사업 방식을 시도할 계획이 있나?



: 해외 대회와의 연계와 비슷한 항목이다. 우리는 모든 해외 업체와의 파트너십에 열려있다. 서로 뜻이 같고 조건이 맞으면 언제나 연계를 진행할 의지가 있다. 2012년의 새로운 사업 방식 중 하나인 타 플랫폼 사용도 고려 대상이다.

물론 GSL의 자체 플레이어인 GOM PLAYER에 대한 개선도 지속적으로 진행 될 것이다. 해외 시청자들이 GSL을 시청하는 데 방해가 되는 요소가 있다면 언제든지 개선할 의지가 있으니 Feedback이 있다면 주저 없이 보내달라





현재 스타2 게이머들의 실력이 물론 훌륭하지만, 현재 선수들의 스타1 성적이 별로였다고 지적이 많다. 박지수, 고석현 처럼 스타 1군이었던 선수들이 코드A 예선을 첫 도전에 뚫고 있는 상황을 감안 할 때, 스타1 선수들이 대거 전환하면 기존 스타2 선수들이 살아 남을 수 있을거라고 생각하는가?



: 식상한 질문인데 SC BW 프로들의 인간 성능이 SC II 선수들보다 뛰어나진 않다. 이는 해외 선수들도 마찬가지다. 모든 선수들의 기량 차이는 결국 연습을 얼마나 할 수 있는가? 에 달려있고 SC BW프로들은 그 점에 대해서는 누구보다 앞선다.

따라서, 어떤 SC BW 프로들이 넘어온다 할지라도 그들이 SC BW성적이 뛰어나서 SC II 성적이 뛰어날 거란 논리는 동의할 수 없다. 다만 그들이 SC II를 SC BW만큼 치밀하고 끈기 있게 연습할 수 있다면 좋은 성적을 낼 것이라고 기대한다.

고석현과 박지수는 아직 검증되지 않았다. Code A에서 좋은 모습을 보였지만 Code S 에서의 경기력을 보고 판단하는 것이 옳을 것 같다.



TeamLiquid: The GSL format has changed a lot for 2012. What was the reasoning behind reducing the number of leagues and lengthening the duration of each league?



Mr. Chae: There are a few reasons. The biggest reason – and this applies to all ESPORTS – is to provide the interesting brackets and high quality of play from the players that are required for a tournament to grow and succeed. The quality of play from the players is affected strongly by the amount of time they have to prepare, and the fairness of the system.



At the same time, the amount of time to prepare and fairness of the league also affect the speed at which the league can proceed. We thought that if the players had longer to prepare, and if we removed BO1's and used BO3's at minimum, the quality of play from the players would improve. For those changes to occur, the length of the league had to increase.



Also, it is an answer to the most frequent feedback we received during the 2011 season, regarding the use of best of one during the group stages. As the league gets longer, naturally the number of leagues in a year goes down. But in terms of individual games, the 2012 GSL will actually have even more games than 2011. The number of leagues may have dropped, but you will be able to watch a great number of high quality games than in 2011.





You've mentioned that the early format of easy Code S retention was for the purpose of creating stars and providing stable income for some of the teams. What changed in the Korean Starcraft II industry that led you to leave this format in November?



Starcraft II was still just learning to walk in 2011, and teams and player did not have the capital or fan bases to support themselves. Thus, in 2011, the GSL tried to give as many opportunities to the teams and players as possible, and give out prize money.



However, during 2011, the GSL developed fanbases for successful players, and teams with popular players started gain sponsors and steadier financial support. The fans that sprung up around GSL and GSTL champions have created a rich environment for the 2012 GSL season. Similarly, cooperation with overseas tournaments has led to more players participating frequently overseas, further improving the financial situation of Korean players.



If 2011 was a year where we built up our infrastructure, 2012 is the time to make a mature SC II market and stabilize it. As a part of that, we've expanded our schedule and changed our format, so Code S players can play games with a lot of practice, and appear frequently on broadcasts.





The new league format has introduced foreigner seeds in Code S and the Up-Down matches, offering even more benefits for foreign players. What led to this decision?



The Code S seed isn't just for foreigners. To be exact, it's a seed we offer in consideration of foreign tournaments. You can think of it as similar to the Code S seed available to the MLG winners last season. However, compared to last year when we only gave Code S seeds to MLG winners (regardless of their nationality), this year we're going to consider many foreign tournaments together when awarding this seed. The players could be a Korean players or a foreign players. Also, it is a way to include players in Code S that the sponsor might desire. This is a method that has been used in other ESPORTS as well.





Many of the invited foreign players show poor games and are knocked out quickly. Taking this into consideration, aren't some of the Korean players or teams unhappy with the increased foreign seeds?



The teams and players have no qualms. If you think about it the other way, Korean players already receive a higher number of seeds, and better placed seeds as well in foreign tournaments. It's the same principle as how foreign players don't have any complaints about that (although, I guess there may be some discontent?).



If I can use the World Cup as an example, it might be easier to explain. If the World Cup went purely by FIFA rankings, Korea would never be able to play, and it would have become a tournament that only South America and Europe enjoyed.



We don't want GSL to only establish itself as a Korean national league. We want to offer an incentive for foreign players to come to Korea, if they should ever have the opportunity. I think if they use the opportunity to come here and take in Korean pro-gaming culture, then they can become stronger than they are now.



GSL wants to provide those kind of opportunities. Also, I think that we were relatively successful at that last year. Two years ago, could you have imagined so many foreign players working with Korean teams and coming to Korea?





You had a successful league exchange program with MLG last year. Are you planning to increase your cooperation with foreign tournaments this year? Any plans to partner with tournaments other than MLG?



Of course. MLG was the tournament that most actively approached us last year. I think we both achieved successful results from our partnership. We want to partner with more foreign tournaments in 2012. And we want to have deeper cooperation with the tournaments that are the most active in working with us. The GSL is always open to opportunities. If any foreign organization approaches us aggressively, then we're always open to working together.





The World Championship and Super Tournament were quite popuar last year, but they were cut from this year's plans. Why were these tournaments removed, and will Arena of Legends style tournaments take their place?



Internally we also evaluated the World Championship as being very successful. However, we did not think the Super Tournament could be seen as very successful.



This year, we are not planning for a World Championship in advance. However, that doesn't mean we will not hold a WC. With our 2012 GSL announcement, we only announced the tournaments we could guarantee.



Because the World Championship was successful, we have the desire to hold a World Championship regardless of our regular GSL Tour. Because international ESPORTS is changing day to day, we were just unable to announce all special tournaments ahead of time. If you wait a little, we should have some good news for you shortly.



We plan to use the AoL as a kind of special event league to implement ideas that can't be done through the regular leagues, and we want to steer it towards the matches many fans desire. We've prepared a variety of concepts for the tournament, and you won't be disappointed.





How do you rate the AoL tournament so far, and how do you plan to run it in the future? Will it be a regular brand under GomTV, similar to the GSL? Many people are calling the AoL the GSL out of convenience; is it correct to group them together?



The original intent behind the AoL was to offer the matches fans wanted to see, but just didn't happen in the GSL. After that, we planned out a variety of event matches and new ideas.



We plan to develop the AoL as the online league brand of GSL. We broadcast all GSL games live and "offline," while the AOL will be more flexible. The players can play "offline" as well, but the base format is to play online.



It's possible we could pick out some matches that would be difficult to see in the GSL and have fans vote on them and then broadcast them in a show-match format. The AoL is a very flexible production, so if TeamLiquid wanted to hold a poll and submit an idea to us, we would be open to using that idea for a tournament as well.





There were worries about poor live audience turnouts during the early days of the GSL, but we saw an increase towards the end of 2011. Do you think the SC II market is growing in Korea? What kind of growth do you foresee in 2012?



Like the global market, the Korean SC II market is advancing day by day. Also, with the introduction of the new league format in 2011, more people are coming to enjoy the GSL live. I'm confident that no tournament has succeeded as much in one year. We are trying our best at the GSL. If the quality of play increases, the format stays the same, and quality of production increases, then we shouldn't have any trouble with drawing an audience.





Some fans are worried about the reduction in the number of leagues, and the decrease in total prize money compared to 2011. Are there financial problems?



Like I mentioned before, the reduction in the number of leagues doesn't mean the number of broadcast days or individual matches has gone down as well. It just means the period for each league has increased, and we can't hold as many leagues per year (if you increased the length of a year to 500 days, we can increase the number of leagues).



The same goes for total prize money. We've officially announced five GSLs and three GSTLs, but we are always ready to hold small to mid-size tournaments like AoL or the World Championship.



SC II is a growing industry. You can't judge it just by the number of leagues or total prize money. If you calculate a little, you will know that we've actually expanded this year.





It seemed that the GSL had difficulties acquiring large sponsorships compared to Starcraft 1 leagues or foreign Starcraft 2 leagues. Is Starcraft II unattractive to sponsors in Korea at this time?



I don't want to draw comparisons with different industries, but it's unavoidable in answering this question. So my apologies in advance. I would like to be cautious, in case this starts an argument.



I don't know what you mean when you say that GSL sponsorships are smaller than Brood War sponsors. If you look at the numbers for sponsorships in a year, the GSL acquires much more sponsorships.



GSL sponsors don't need to be limited to Korean companies. Because it is being broadcast worldwide, international companies also have a lot of interest. We have discussed, and are presently discussing possible sponsorships with international companies.



Frequent TeamLiquid visitors will know that Pepsi achieved significant marketing effects through Twitter, and received positive feedback. With fans from around the world leaving thank you tweets 24/7, it's an unprecedented development in marketing.



The GSL grew well in 2011, and we think it will develop more in 2012.





It was announced that more weight would be put on team competition this year. Could you spare any details?



There will be three GSTL tournaments this year.



We plan to switch from the full-league format from second half 2011 into a double elimination tournament format. The full league had an advantage in that many teams could appear often, but individual matches lacked excitement, and teams that employed too many rookie players which decreased the entertainment value of the tournament.



Because we increased the number of players in Code A, we think we have sufficiently addressed the problem of offering exposure and practice for new players. Now, we have planned a tournament where teams face off under more dire circumstances. We will hold the GSTL over a 10 week schedule, and the first season will kick off on January 27th.



Also, we have some good news regarding the GSTL that will be sure to surprise you. Look forward to it, we guarantee it won't disappoint.





GSL was the only major Starcraft II tournament in 2011 to use its own video player, and operate around online ticket sales. However, you also tried some new things towards the end of the year, such as offering a better low-quality stream through Twitch.TV. Are you looking to make any other new ventures in 2012?



This is similar to the question about partnerships with foreign tournaments. We are open to partnerships with any foreign organization. If we have the same objectives, and the conditions are correct, then a partnership is always possible. As part of a new business model for 2012, we are open to using other platforms as well.



Of course, we are planning to continue to improve our propriety platform, GOM Player. If there's anything that interferes with international viewers watching the GSL, we are always looking to improve ourselves, so please don't hesitate to send us feedback.





Though Starcraft II gamers are skilled, some people point out that they did not perform very well in Starcraft 1. With A-Teamers such as ForGG and Hyun making it through the Code A qualifiers on their first tries, do you think the current Starcraft II player base can survive a mass switch from Starcraft 1 players? (This interview was performed before ForGG's Code S games on January 10th).



That's a question that's been asked to death. The human capabilities of BW pros is not higher than that of Starcraft II pros. This is the same for foreign players as well. The skill difference between players boils down to how much they can practice, and Brood War progamers have a huge advantage in that respect.



Even if the BW pros switch to SC II, I can't agree with the logic that they will be good just because they were good at BW. However, if they can apply the same kind of meticulous and tireless practice to Starcraft II, then I look forward to them producing good results.



Hyun and ForGG have yet to be proven. They have been good in Code A, but it's correct to judge them only after seeing their Code S games.



Mr. Chae: There are a few reasons. The biggest reason – and this applies to all ESPORTS – is to provide the interesting brackets and high quality of play from the players that are required for a tournament to grow and succeed. The quality of play from the players is affected strongly by the amount of time they have to prepare, and the fairness of the system.At the same time, the amount of time to prepare and fairness of the league also affect the speed at which the league can proceed. We thought that if the players had longer to prepare, and if we removed BO1's and used BO3's at minimum, the quality of play from the players would improve. For those changes to occur, the length of the league had to increase.Also, it is an answer to the most frequent feedback we received during the 2011 season, regarding the use of best of one during the group stages. As the league gets longer, naturally the number of leagues in a year goes down. But in terms of individual games, the 2012 GSL will actually have even more games than 2011. The number of leagues may have dropped, but you will be able to watch a great number of high quality games than in 2011.Starcraft II was still just learning to walk in 2011, and teams and player did not have the capital or fan bases to support themselves. Thus, in 2011, the GSL tried to give as many opportunities to the teams and players as possible, and give out prize money.However, during 2011, the GSL developed fanbases for successful players, and teams with popular players started gain sponsors and steadier financial support. The fans that sprung up around GSL and GSTL champions have created a rich environment for the 2012 GSL season. Similarly, cooperation with overseas tournaments has led to more players participating frequently overseas, further improving the financial situation of Korean players.If 2011 was a year where we built up our infrastructure, 2012 is the time to make a mature SC II market and stabilize it. As a part of that, we've expanded our schedule and changed our format, so Code S players can play games with a lot of practice, and appear frequently on broadcasts.The Code S seed isn't just for foreigners. To be exact, it's a seed we offer in consideration of foreign tournaments. You can think of it as similar to the Code S seed available to the MLG winners last season. However, compared to last year when we only gave Code S seeds to MLG winners (regardless of their nationality), this year we're going to consider many foreign tournaments together when awarding this seed. The players could be a Korean players or a foreign players. Also, it is a way to include players in Code S that the sponsor might desire. This is a method that has been used in other ESPORTS as well.The teams and players have no qualms. If you think about it the other way, Korean players already receive a higher number of seeds, and better placed seeds as well in foreign tournaments. It's the same principle as how foreign players don't have any complaints about that (although, I guess there may be some discontent?).If I can use the World Cup as an example, it might be easier to explain. If the World Cup went purely by FIFA rankings, Korea would never be able to play, and it would have become a tournament that only South America and Europe enjoyed.We don't want GSL to only establish itself as a Korean national league. We want to offer an incentive for foreign players to come to Korea, if they should ever have the opportunity. I think if they use the opportunity to come here and take in Korean pro-gaming culture, then they can become stronger than they are now.GSL wants to provide those kind of opportunities. Also, I think that we were relatively successful at that last year. Two years ago, could you have imagined so many foreign players working with Korean teams and coming to Korea?Of course. MLG was the tournament that most actively approached us last year. I think we both achieved successful results from our partnership. We want to partner with more foreign tournaments in 2012. And we want to have deeper cooperation with the tournaments that are the most active in working with us. The GSL is always open to opportunities. If any foreign organization approaches us aggressively, then we're always open to working together.Internally we also evaluated the World Championship as being very successful. However, we did not think the Super Tournament could be seen as very successful.This year, we are not planning for a World Championship in advance. However, that doesn't mean we will not hold a WC. With our 2012 GSL announcement, we only announced the tournaments we could guarantee.Because the World Championship was successful, we have the desire to hold a World Championship regardless of our regular GSL Tour. Because international ESPORTS is changing day to day, we were just unable to announce all special tournaments ahead of time. If you wait a little, we should have some good news for you shortly.We plan to use the AoL as a kind of special event league to implement ideas that can't be done through the regular leagues, and we want to steer it towards the matches many fans desire. We've prepared a variety of concepts for the tournament, and you won't be disappointed.The original intent behind the AoL was to offer the matches fans wanted to see, but just didn't happen in the GSL. After that, we planned out a variety of event matches and new ideas.We plan to develop the AoL as the online league brand of GSL. We broadcast all GSL games live and "offline," while the AOL will be more flexible. The players can play "offline" as well, but the base format is to play online.It's possible we could pick out some matches that would be difficult to see in the GSL and have fans vote on them and then broadcast them in a show-match format. The AoL is a very flexible production, so if TeamLiquid wanted to hold a poll and submit an idea to us, we would be open to using that idea for a tournament as well.Like the global market, the Korean SC II market is advancing day by day. Also, with the introduction of the new league format in 2011, more people are coming to enjoy the GSL live. I'm confident that no tournament has succeeded as much in one year. We are trying our best at the GSL. If the quality of play increases, the format stays the same, and quality of production increases, then we shouldn't have any trouble with drawing an audience.Like I mentioned before, the reduction in the number of leagues doesn't mean the number of broadcast days or individual matches has gone down as well. It just means the period for each league has increased, and we can't hold as many leagues per year (if you increased the length of a year to 500 days, we can increase the number of leagues).The same goes for total prize money. We've officially announced five GSLs and three GSTLs, but we are always ready to hold small to mid-size tournaments like AoL or the World Championship.SC II is a growing industry. You can't judge it just by the number of leagues or total prize money. If you calculate a little, you will know that we've actually expanded this year.I don't want to draw comparisons with different industries, but it's unavoidable in answering this question. So my apologies in advance. I would like to be cautious, in case this starts an argument.I don't know what you mean when you say that GSL sponsorships are smaller than Brood War sponsors. If you look at the numbers for sponsorships in a year, the GSL acquires much more sponsorships.GSL sponsors don't need to be limited to Korean companies. Because it is being broadcast worldwide, international companies also have a lot of interest. We have discussed, and are presently discussing possible sponsorships with international companies.Frequent TeamLiquid visitors will know that Pepsi achieved significant marketing effects through Twitter, and received positive feedback. With fans from around the world leaving thank you tweets 24/7, it's an unprecedented development in marketing.The GSL grew well in 2011, and we think it will develop more in 2012.There will be three GSTL tournaments this year.We plan to switch from the full-league format from second half 2011 into a double elimination tournament format. The full league had an advantage in that many teams could appear often, but individual matches lacked excitement, and teams that employed too many rookie players which decreased the entertainment value of the tournament.Because we increased the number of players in Code A, we think we have sufficiently addressed the problem of offering exposure and practice for new players. Now, we have planned a tournament where teams face off under more dire circumstances. We will hold the GSTL over a 10 week schedule, and the first season will kick off on January 27th.Also, we have some good news regarding the GSTL that will be sure to surprise you. Look forward to it, we guarantee it won't disappoint.This is similar to the question about partnerships with foreign tournaments. We are open to partnerships with any foreign organization. If we have the same objectives, and the conditions are correct, then a partnership is always possible. As part of a new business model for 2012, we are open to using other platforms as well.Of course, we are planning to continue to improve our propriety platform, GOM Player. If there's anything that interferes with international viewers watching the GSL, we are always looking to improve ourselves, so please don't hesitate to send us feedback.That's a question that's been asked to death. The human capabilities of BW pros is not higher than that of Starcraft II pros. This is the same for foreign players as well. The skill difference between players boils down to how much they can practice, and Brood War progamers have a huge advantage in that respect.Even if the BW pros switch to SC II, I can't agree with the logic that they will be good just because they were good at BW. However, if they can apply the same kind of meticulous and tireless practice to Starcraft II, then I look forward to them producing good results.Hyun and ForGG have yet to be proven. They have been good in Code A, but it's correct to judge them only after seeing their Code S games.