GSL: A Story of Relentless Resiliency, and Community That Transcends Nations
In some ways the name Global Starcraft League is a bit of a misnomer. No Non-Korean player has ever taken a GSL Code S Title, and over the 13+ year history of the event, an overwhelming majority of qualified players have been Korean. That narrative gets turned on its head though when you take a look at the audience for the GSL, which is overwhelmingly Foreign dominated. Viewership for the English stream has always been much larger than that of the Korean broadcast. Even being based in Seoul doesn’t stop the foreign audience, as anyone who visits the Afreeca Freecup Studio in Gangnam will see. At least 2 out of 5 faces you see watching the GSL will be Non-Korean, a huge number considering the relative homogeneity of the Korean populace.
My girlfriend and I in Korea, with the Legendary casting duo of Tasteless and Artosis
Koreans didn’t take to Starcraft II the way that they did with Starcraft Brood War, which at a time was South Korea’s “de facto National sport”. There are many reasons why, but the scope of today’s article won’t cover them. Today we’re here to talk about the endless support we foreign fans have offered the GSL over the years, and how at the 11th hour, the foreign fans did what we always knew we could do, and what the Korean businessmen in charge never thought was possible, we saved GSL. Going into 2023, the Starcraft II world was rocked by the announcement of the circuit for the year, which saw a 50% prize pool reduction for the EPT Circuit, and a gut wrenching 80% reduction for the GSL. The GSL reductions went beyond the prize pool though, not only was the tournament to be reduced to a 16 player affair, but all matches were to be played online, except the Ro4 and Finals. The announcement sparked tweets of depression and desperation from those in the Korean scene, and dozens of videos from SC2 creators calling the situation for what it was, the beginning of the end for Starcraft II.
Classic voicing his displeasure with the GSL reductions
This surely signified the end of serious competitive play in South Korea, right? Wrong, while many Korean SC2 pros took the news hard, others decided they needed to give it their best shot this year, as it may be their last chance at glory. Afreeca, the owner and operator of the GSL decided desperate times call for desperate measures, and launched the first crowdfunding campaign in the history of the GSL. Seeing this as a chance to support the Korean pros who gave us so many years of entertainment with their gameplay, personalities in interviews, and who dedicated their lives to the game that we all love, the foreign fans sprung into action, and opened their wallets up wide. At the time of writing the monthly contribution to the GSL is sitting north of $13,700, which makes for a theoretical yearly total of over $160,000. While that number will surely fluctuate over the year, it’s still a staggering sum. To give you a point of perspective, the prize pool for GSL Season 1 was around $25,000 prior to the crowdfunding efforts, and around $18,800 was raised to support that, bringing the Season 1 prize purse up to over $40,000, even after Patreon fees. Season 2 on the other hand should see an even larger boost in prize money, as the crowdfunding will run between the seasons, generating excess.
Cure displaying his competitive spirit, even in the face of turmoil
The second shoe fell today when Afreeca announced that due to the support they have been receiving, GSL will be returning to the studio for all matches in Season 2. An announcement that even State, one of the GSL casters, was shocked to hear. At a time when this community had it’s back up against the wall, we stood firm, together, and helped create one of the most dramatic reversals in the history of this game. Seldom do we see companies walk back reductions, but when the support is as relentless as it has been, even stoic businessmen like those who run GSL have to bend to the wind.
This was a short sweet piece for me to write, but one that I wrote with a big smile on my face. All I can say is thank you, thank you to Afreeca for giving us the chance to support the GSL. Thank you to my fellow Starcraft fans for coming together at a time of need, and the biggest thank you to the Korean pro gamers who dedicated their lives to our entertainment.
