Negative voices in the community says that StarCraft is not at all the game it used to be. They tend to say that there less players, less offline tournaments and that it has lost its spark. I would like to take the opportunity in this column to prove them wrong on the majority of those points. I can honestly say that I have never seen StarCraft bathe in the glory this much in a long time. We all know StarCraft is a great game, but is it that great that seven years after the release it is still worth playing?
Yes.
Let me give you a quick reminder of what has happened with StarCraft in the last couple of months, and you will agree with what I said in the previous paragraphs.
GIGA LIGA and ESL Pro Series exposes the beauty of StarCraft
One of the main reasons for the growth of StarCraft in Europe the last couple of months, in Germany especially, is because of the game being a part of ESL Pro Series and the recent GIGA LIGA´exposure the game has received. The fifth GIGA LIGA stands between Mondragon and Goody, a match where many believe Mondragon will take home the first prize which is 2,000€.
Not just GIGA LIGA has given StarCraft exposure, but also the well known ESL. StarCraft won the spot in ESL Pro Series after beating C:C Generals with 3 points, and the European community loved it. The SC community is glad for whatever new tournament, league or ladder that comes along, since they know that gaming is not much without a competitve side. Although, I am not quite sure if they actually knew what success meant. The ESL is no doubt the most professional organisation when it comes to gaming. With over 400,000 registered users playing their 100+, they are surely an important cog in European gaming. What StarCraft has been missing for a long while is exactly this - professionalism.
Electronic Sports League - a professional organisation that likes StarCraft
The Electronic Sports League Pro Series welcomed the seven-year-old game with open arms, and created six different ladders to play on, plus the ESL Pro Series, a league with some of Germany's best players. This can, if all goes extremely well, lead to something much more. How about a European Nations Cup playoff in Leipzig for StarCraft as well as for all the other competitive games out there? Or maybe a clanleague with the absolute elite clans, similar to WarCraft 3 Clan League? It's not like the StarCraft community doesn't lack clans of that caliber, not at all. Let's have a look:You must have surely heard of the disbanding of the StarCraft squad of pro-Gaming [pG]. The administration were lacking elite gamers after their two hotshots FiSheYe and Breakdown left the team, and, surprisingly (mildly speaking) recruited the full roster of Templars of Twilight. After discussions with Mondragon, leader of Templars of Twilight, they decided to kick the previous members of pro-Gaming (apart from one Norwegian and a female player). And in a day, the undoubtedly best StarCraft team in the world (not counting the professional Korean teams) Templars of Twilight turned into pro-Gaming.
Why am I telling you this?, you might ask. Well, this happening opened up the clan scene in StarCraft, because of the old pG members had no new clan to go to immediately, and was now on the "trade table". Two of the old members, FiSheYe (pic) and Breakdown had already joined SSV Lehnitz before the ToT -> pG.bw endeavour, and could revel themselves in all the options they had in putting together their team of choice. FiSheYe, leader of the StarCraft squad of SSV Lehnitz, thought long and hard, and then recruited two more top German players. SSV Lehnitz was now looked upon as the team who were the obvious rivals against the new pG.Blackman, HellGhost and FroZ - a deadly combination
As some of the old pG teams moved back to their old clans, some were collected by new teams, teams who wanted a piece of StarCraft's magic. One of those were the American clan Trademark-Gamers [TmG], who announced in early August that they recruited HellGhost, FroZ and Blackman, all the old pG members, plus an impressive World Cyber Games merit list. The living legend Blackman was back, considered Poland's finest Zerg player. Now, they, along with SSV Lehnitz, opposed a threat to pro-Gaming, except for the few members. Lehnitz has four, Trademark-Gamers only 3.
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1 team died - 3 new were born
This means that the StarCraft scene received, after the pro-Gaming and Templars of Twilight merge/disbanding, three new exciting teams who can and most likely will belong to the elite. Some might say that what happened was really sad, but I was very pleased with what happened.
Here are now, standing on what may look as a very confusing time for StarCraft. Several new clans will fight for glory, and the European scene, heavily strengtened by GIGA LIGA and EPS in Germany, looks more competitive than ever. All that is missing now is more offline events, just like back in the old days. But who knows? With this development in just a couple of months, we might see StarCraft as a official game in both ESWC, WEG, ESL and (believe it or not) CPL.
WCG and BlizzCon - two marvelous offline events this fall
And if this was not enough, we have two very big offline tournaments to look forward to. One is the classic World Cyber Games, located in Singapore this year. A long way from Europe, but let's rejoice still, since next year (2006) the WCG Grand Final will be held in Italy, which surely can only benefit European gaming. And, just a couple of weeks before the WCG, Blizzard Entertainment will host their BlizzCon, in Anaheim, USA. Eight invited StarCraft players from around the world to compete for $10,000 and a trophy. I strongly believe that at least one, maybe two, Europeans will take place in the BlizzCon Invite StarCraft tournament.
I'm positive regarding the future of StarCraft. Are you?
Links to more information & sources
| ESL-Europe.net | - StarCraft in ESL Pro Series |
| Trademark-Gamers.com | - Home of Trademark-Gamers |
| SSVLehnitz.mthn.net | - Home of SSV Lehnitz |
| MeetYourMakers.com | - Home of MeetYourMakers |
