The Dawn of Starcraft: e-Sports come to the world stage
The Dawn of Starcraft: e-Sports come to the world stage

            
  
  
  
      

      

      
        Ars's own Jeremy Reimer is addicted to StarCraft—not so much playing, but  …
      

      
    



  

  
      
    
    
                      
                      
          
 The lights of the metropolis shine brightly on the clear summer night. Down on the bay, a crowd gathers around a giant outdoor screen. Spotlights flood the area as the audience, now exceeding 50,000 people, work themselves into a fever pitch. The two teams come out on stage to deafening cheers. Teenage girls scream as one idol from each team is chosen for the first round of combat. They each enter a booth. The music swells, and the video game begins. 
 It sounds like a science fiction story from the future. But this event actually happened in the past, in a place where such things have been commonplace for over ten years. This was the 2006 Proleague finals held in Seoul, South Korea. The game being played was StarCraft. 

    
          
                  
          
    
    
      The 2006 Proleague finals. Image courtesy Fighterforum.com

          
  
        
            

 When people first learn about the professional gaming scene in Korea, they typically believe it to be a curious cultural anomaly, something that could never be repeated anywhere else. But there are those who have watched this scene while growing up, and as adults have made it their life's goal to bring it to the rest of the world. They are passionate about it in a way that is inspiring and infectious. They are on a mission. What follows is a look at that mission—where it has been, and where it's going—through the eyes of a longtime StarCraft e-Sports fan.
The StarCraft 1 scene
 The year was 1999. A combination of government-sponsored inexpensive broadband, punitive tariffs on Japanese video game consoles (which at the time meant video game consoles in general), and the rise of "PC bangs" or gaming cafes where people played computer games, all combined at once to create something entirely new. Local tournaments at the PC bangs grew into larger and larger events, and when the Korean TV channel OnGameNet sponsored the first OSL championship, won by Canadian Guillaume "Grrrr..." Patry, there was no turning back. Patry became the first StarCraft superstar, appearing on talk shows and being mobbed by fans. 

          
                      
                  
                    
        
          
    
    
          
          

    
          
                  
          
    
    
      Guillame Patry playing a televised StarCraft match. Image courtesy 360quan.com.

          
  
        
            

 Patry's success inspired other foreigners to go to Korea to try their luck. Some, like Peter "Legionnaire" Neate and Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier achieved some success in the early years, but when they retired there were few others with the patience and dedication to replace them. Korean StarCraft became exclusive to Koreans.
 Non-Koreans players had only one tournament that mattered at all: the World Cyber Games. In the 2005 WCG USA championships, brothers Nick and Sean Plott were pitted against each other in the first round. Nick lost, but it was a blessing in disguise—while wandering the performance hall he became frustrated with the poor commentating and told the tournament manager that he could do better. He commentated the rest of the finals with an informed yet easygoing style—he was a natural in front of the camera. In the end, he was offered a job to come out to Singapore to commentate the world finals for WCG. Sean went on to beat Dan "Artosis" Stemkoski in a close game and win in the finals. For this he was awarded a trip to Singapore, where he nearly took a game off the 2004 champion from Korea, Xellos (Seo Ji Hoon). The USA finals were captured by filmmaker Brian J. Kim, and the world finals became the subject of a National Geographic documentary. 
 Following the finals, Nick went on to commentate other WCGs. His casts were popular enough that in 2008 the Korean Internet TV channel GOM TV asked him to come to Korea to do English commentary for a special tournament of the best Korean StarCraft players. The Star Invitational was a success, with over 75,000 views of the final match between Stork (Song Byung Goo) and upcoming phenomenon Flash (Lee Young Ho). It seemed like the rest of the world was finally going to start seeing why StarCraft was so popular in Korea.  

          
                  
                    
        
          
    
    
          
          
KeSPA and Blizzard: the animosity begins
 The success of the Star Invitational led to three seasons of the Averatec-Intel Classic, with Nick and co-commentators lilsusie (Susie Kim) and Super Daniel Man (Daniel Lee).  However, KeSPA, the Korean e-Sports Association, put pressure on its players and teams to sit out Season 3, and when almost no players were allowed to participate, Season 4 was cancelled. Various reasons were given for this, but it was thought that KeSPA was not happy about the fact that Blizzard had been a major sponsor of the final season—the first time Blizzard had ever sponsored a StarCraft tournament in Korea—doubling the prize pool and making the tournament more attractive to players.
 Why would KeSPA be against Blizzard sponsoring a tournament?  Because at the time, KeSPA and Blizzard were in tough negotiations over the rights to broadcast StarCraft on television. For years Blizzard had paid little attention to the huge success that pro StarCraft had found in Korea, other than being happy that they sold lots of copies of the game there. In fact, it wasn't until 2005 that Blizzard finally released full support for the Korean language in the game! 
 What had happened was this: in 2007, KeSPA had started charging for the broadcast rights for StarCraft matches to TV stations OnGameNet and MBC. Blizzard argued that this money should go to Blizzard, and that Blizzard should have some control over how the tournaments were run. KeSPA refused to negotiate further, and things were at a standstill. This was a problem for Blizzard, as after a long delay, StarCraft 2 was about to be released.  
StarCraft 2 prepares to take the stage
 There was a 12-year delay between StarCraft 1 and StarCraft 2, and Blizzard had changed significantly in that time. There was much outcry when it was announced that StarCraft 2 would have no LAN play and would require a constant Internet connection to Battle.net at all times during multiplayer games. Blizzard claimed this was to cut down on cheating online (a common problem in StarCraft 1 was "maphacking," where people would run utilities to reveal the entire map while their opponents were still in the dark) and to allow players to follow each other's statistics, but many people saw it as a money grab, especially when paired with the fact that players living in different parts of the world were required to purchase multiple "regional" versions of the game in order to play with each other online. 

          
                  
                    
        
          
    
    
          
          
 Despite these concerns, anticipation for the release of StarCraft 2 ran high. When a multiplayer version of the beta was released, people immediately began playing online, and even started streaming their games live over the Internet using new services like UStream and JustinTV. There were even  tournaments during the beta, like the "Stars Wars" contest held in China where players from the United States, including Nick Plott, beat the Korean team only to fall to the home country favorites. 
 As the game neared release, Blizzard had another big announcement. While still unable to reach an agreement with  OGN or MBC, the two primary TV channels in Korea that sponsored and broadcasted StarCraft 1 tournaments, they finalized a partnership deal with GOM TV. It was a huge announcement: a global StarCraft 2 league called the GSL, with an unprecedented prize pool—tournaments would be held every month, and the champion would receive 100,000,000 Korean Won, or about $90,000 US, almost double the money that was awarded for StarCraft 1 championships. The tournaments would be broadcasted in Korean and English, with the latter commentated by Nick "Tasteless" Plott and Dan "Artosis" Stemkoski. While the tournaments would be held in Korea, everyone in the world was invited, and it was hoped that many non-Koreans would try out. 

    
          
                  
          
    
    
      The GSL finals being casted by Dan and Nick. Image courtesy GOM TV

          
  
        
            

 Blizzard was throwing down the gauntlet, effectively telling KeSPA that they intended to make StarCraft 2 a global e-Sport, with or without their help. KeSPA's response was to forbid any of their StarCraft 1 players from playing StarCraft 2 and launch a media blitz attacking the game and Blizzard itself. They even convinced the Korean government to threaten to give the game an "adults-only" rating for violence—ridiculous, as the level of violence was indistinguishable from its predecessor—forcing Blizzard to remove blood and burning flames from dead units in the Korean version. 

          
                  
                    
        
          
    
    
          
          
 Curiously, while most fans on English-language forums tended to be against Blizzard, people on the Korean forums were more likely to be critical of KeSPA. Still, the backlash had its impact—sales of StarCraft 2 in Korea were much lower than expected. Some people theorized that Blizzard was trying too hard to force the issue—the StarCraft 1 tournament scene had grown organically, through local tournaments organized by the PC bang owners. Blizzard wasn't helping the situation by charging PC bangs a monthly fee to play StarCraft 2, something that never existed for its predecessor. 
 The lawsuit between Blizzard and KeSPA could fill an entire article, and neither side is blameless in the matter. KeSPA continues to run StarCraft 1 tournaments as they have always done before, and GOM TV continues to have Blizzard's blessing to run StarCraft 2 tournaments in Korea, which are slowly growing in popularity. The lawsuit continues on interminably through the courts and seems headed towards arbitration. 

The GSL goes live
 The first ever GSL championship featured some impressive games from foreign players like Greg "Idra" Fields and Dario "TLO" Walsh, but was ultimately won by the Korean Kim Won Gi. He had once been a promising young StarCraft 1 player, but an illness in the family forced him to put his career on hold to help his mother with her fruit stand. When he started playing StarCraft 2 he took the nickname "FruitDealer." He played Zerg, at a time when Zerg was considered underpowered and Terrans had an arsenal of tools that could wipe Zergs off the map in the early game. When he took out Lee Jung Hoon in the finals and won the $90,000 prize, it was the culmination of a long-delayed dream. 

    
          
                  
          
    
    
      Art created by the StarCraft 2 team to celebrate FruitDealer's victory. Image copyright Blizzard Entertainment.

          
  
        
            

 Meanwhile, the top players in StarCraft 1, like Flash (Lee Young Ho), Jaedong (Lee Jae Dong) and Stork (Song Byung Goo) continue to play the game they have been mastering for years, and (at least in public) show no indication of switching to StarCraft 2 any time soon. However, some former legends of the game who had fallen from glory decided they would leave KeSPA and try their luck in the new frontier of StarCraft 2. The biggest of these names were Nada (Lee Yoon Yeol), JulyZerg (Park Sung Joon) and the greatest StarCraft gamer of all time, Boxer (Lim Yo Hwan) 

          
                  
                    
        
          
    
    
          
          
The Emperor arrives
 Boxer was the first true superstar of e-Sports in Korea, and he essentially created the scene as it exists today. He was nicknamed the "Emperor of Terran" and was the first "bonjwa"—a term for a player that dominates over all others for an extended period of time—when he won two OSL championships in a row, the league created the "Golden Mouse" trophy in anticipation of his third win. He organized the first formal StarCraft 1 professional gaming team and found corporate sponsors, thus paving the way for a self-sustaining community of gamers who could dedicate their lives to practicing. He even invented the concept of refining strategies with a "practice partner"—someone to whom you would explain exactly what you intended to do in a game, and then continue to play over and over until you could beat them despite their foreknowledge. He authored a best-selling autobiography and his fan club grew to over a million members. He was (and is) personable and charming, the perfect face for e-Sports. When he announced he was switching to StarCraft 2, it was a big deal. 
 Boxer had gone through the usual path of a successful player in StarCraft 1: a rise from amateur status, a shining time of glory, then a slow fade as younger and hungrier players took over the top spots. He, like all Korean males, had to spend two years in military service before he turned 30. Instead of retiring from the game as expected, he formed a team of former players serving in the Air Force, called Ace. When he returned from service, everyone thought he would become a coach or a commentator, the usual path for players who were past their prime. However, what he wanted more than anything else in the world was to keep playing. 

          
                  
                    
        
          
    
    
          
          

    
          
                  
          
    
    
      The Emperor arrives. Image courtesy Fomos.

          
  
        
            

 When he appeared at the tryouts for the second GSL StarCraft 2 Open tournament, all eyes were on him. He breezed through the qualifiers and began his journey to the championship. In his way, however, was Nada, winner of six individual titles and statistically the best player of all time. Nada had also switched to StarCraft 2, and when two legends met in the Round of 8, it briefly crashed the Internet in Korea as millions of fans tuned in to see this epic matchup. 
 Boxer won, and his tears of joy were genuine. He had not been in a televised match for years, and had never defeated Nada in a major event. For him, winning this match was almost as good as winning a championship. However, he lost in the semifinals to NesTea (Lim Jae Duk), a former StarCraft 1 player who previously had very little individual success in his career and had already transitioned into coaching. After the final game, the GOM TV translator John (Jun Kyu "Junkka" Park) gave an impassioned speech that touched a nerve with thousands of people: 

First of all, I want to say that I have great respect for NesTea, not just because he won the tournament, but because this guy had the courage to do what he wanted to do, and prove he was right. I'm saying this because too many people, even in Korea, consider playing games a waste of time. I myself was unemployed for two years—about a half, a year and a half—before I joined GOM. All I did was play games at home, and my friends would say that I'm wasting my life. Well, who's laughing now? I ask them: "Can you honestly say, do you like your job?" And I ask them: "Do you have a fan who draws a fan art just for you?" That shuts them up. 
 So every time you feel ashamed of being a nerd because your friends, teachers, neighbors, or even parents think gaming's a waste of time, you remember: there's no such thing as wasting life as long as you have the courage to do what you like and be passionate about it. You remember: if NesTea listened to all of those criticisms, he wouldn't be standing there with a trophy. And you remember that even if you feel nobody around you supports you, I, Jay, Artosis, Tasteless, and everyone at GOM will support you. Why? Because we believe in e-Sports.


    
          
                  
          
    
    
      John the Translator's fan art. Image courtesy Kim Dingwall.

          
  
        
            

 John's speech was particularly meaningful for me. Inevitably, whenever I talk about my passion for watching professional StarCraft, there is a small but vocal group of naysayers, nattering nabobs of negativity, who look down upon watching video games as a waste of time, and scoff at the very mention of "e-Sports," as if comparing video games to "real" sports is ludicrous and laughable. 

          
                  
                    
        
          
    
    
          
          
 Here's the thing: it doesn't matter what they think. 
 I could argue that any human activity that involves competition and has win-loss records, teams, sponsors, dedicated practice time, salaries and cash prizes qualifies as a sport. I could point out that it is a myth that competitive StarCraft players aren't engaged in physical activity—I've seen players sweating profusely, moving their hands at over 400 actions per minute—on average!—and being physically exhausted after long matches. I could talk about all this, but I won't. There's no point. 
 What I will mention instead is how much pure enjoyment I've had over the years watching StarCraft played at the highest level. From the early days—long before YouTube—I would seek out pro StarCraft replays and listen to ".RWA" files (Replays with Audio) created by other fans like Manifesto7. I would read forum threads on Teamliquid.net, the largest English-language StarCraft fan site. Later I would watch YouTube videos of Korean matches with English commentary provided for free by fans such as NukeTheStars and RanshidDA. I would stay up until 3 AM to watch Jaedong play Flash in OSL and MSL finals, restreamed live from Korea by well-connected fans. It was just me and a few other weird people like me, but our numbers kept growing, and now it seems like it's reached the tipping point. A global, professional StarCraft scene isn't just a dream anymore. It's actually happening. 
 In Korea, the StarCraft 2 scene has become a place for many former StarCraft 1 players—both legends and near-unknowns—who wanted a place where they could find success, away from the iron grip of KeSPA. For the first time, the players were allowed to form an association similar to those in professional sports. For a brief time, it seemed like Korea would become the only place for professional StarCraft 2, just as it had for the original. Foreign players believed that the only way to make a living playing the game was to go to Korea, try out for the biggest tournament around, and compete against Koreans on their home turf. Some, like Idra and fan favorite Jonathan "Jinro" Walsh, had some success, making it to the Round of 8 and the semifinals respectively. Others, like TLO and Joseph "ret" de Kroon, didn't get very far and decided to return home. 

          
                  
                    
        
          
    
    
          
          
 But returning home didn't mean what it used to mean. Back in StarCraft 1's heyday, a few foreigners had made the pilgrimage to Korea to try and make it, but none had lasted very long. When they returned they were amateurs again, because there was no such thing as a career playing StarCraft outside of Korea.  
 This was about to change.  
The future arrives
 While Nick continues to cast the GSL from Korea, his brother Sean "Day[9]" Plott, the winner of the 2005 WCG USA final, has reached similar levels of fame with his Day[9] Daily shows on JustinTV. These shows help both new and experienced players understand the game better and even showcase hilariously and deliberately crazy games on his "Funday Monday" shows. Sean does the work of at least three people: producing his show, commentating dozens of international tournaments, and completing his Masters degree in Mathematics all at the same time. He's suddenly in great demand, because the international StarCraft 2 scene is starting to explode. 
 All kinds of announcements have happened just in the last few months. It started when Idra unexpectedly left Korea despite doing really well in the GSL. He was anticipating the announcement of the NASL, the first professional StarCraft league in North America. Then IGN announced that they were going to create their own StarCraft 2 league. Players from Team Fnatic revealed that they were creating the first Team House in North America, where their players could live together, practice the game, and talk StarCraft all day long, just like in Korea. A new StarCraft 2 league, the TeSL, has just been formed in Taiwan, with games broadcasted on live television and the tournament sponsored by 7-11.  
    The foreign scene has reached the point where a curious role reversal has happened: Korean professional players are entering foreign tournaments, and not necessarily expecting to win easily as they did with StarCraft 1 at WCG. The TSL3, an online tournament created by Teamliquid.net and sponsored by PokerStrategy.com, is being broadcasted in English by popular names like Blake "Chill" Muzar, Marcus "DjWHEAT" Graham, Sean "Day[9]" Plott, and Mike Husky. It is also being rebroadcasted in Korean by GOM TV. The time zone inequity now works the other way around: it is Korean fans who are getting up at 3 in the morning to watch a StarCraft tournament. "It's what you guys do for us, right?" said a representative from GOM TV when discussing the matter with a TeamLiquid administrator. "Maybe it's our turn." 

          
                  
                    
        
          
    
    

        
        
          
          
 It feels like the international professional StarCraft scene is happening organically, just like it did in Korea all those years ago. Local tournaments are being played every day for prize pools anywhere from $100 to $2,500, giving new players a chance to make a name for themselves before working their way up to larger tournaments, then challenge themselves to qualify for the big prizes. These big prizes are getting very large indeed: $34,500 in total for the TSL3, a rumored $150,000 for the IGN league, and a whopping $400,000 for NASL. Teams are forming. Sponsors are being found. Stories of future legends are being written. The only difference is that in Korea it happened in the local PC bangs, whereas now it's happening over the Internet so that the entire world can join in. 
 And join in they are. At the recent TSL3, viewership broke all previous records as over 50,000 people tuned in at once to watch the matches in the round of 32. They may not have all been in one stadium, but they were cheering just as hard as if they were. 
 For StarCraft and e-Sports, the future is now. 


          
                  

                  
          






  
  
          
  

  
    

    
      I'm a writer and web developer.  I specialize in the obscure and beautiful, like the Amiga and newLISP.
    
  



  
    
    
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