Ostojiy on MLG: 'Dark and active environment can be incredibly draining'
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Ostojiy. Photo by: omgyumyum.com
Read GosuGamers guest writer and It's Gosu player Christopher "Ostojiy" Ostojic's retroperspect article on the MLG Pro Circuit 2011, its pros and cons from a player perspective.
"2011 was a momentous year for Major League Gaming, with record breaking viewership, attendance and prize pools. While Starcraft did not hold the centre-stage at Dallas, events like Anaheim and Providence showed why Starcraft is the largest eSport in the world. During the grand finals it is common for every seat in the convention centre to be filled with Starcraft fans. Arguably the most difficult tournament format in the professional Starcraft scene is MLG’s infamous Open Bracket, which challenges not only the Starcraft skills of a player, but also their endurance and level of focus through potentially three gruelling days of gaming.
This past year the 256 player Open Bracket featured the top talent in North America, most of the European powerhouses and many Korean progamers. While the majority of players in the bracket do not have a high chance at winning prize money (a top 8 placement), in a double elimination-best of three format, upsets are common occurrences. The MLG tournament has evolved from being won by the best North American players to a competition dominated by foreign talent. The top 12 at MLG Providence featured only two North Americans – HuK and IdrA – both of whom trained extensively in Korea.
In addition to the sheer talent at every MLG, the bracket is open so a total of six best-of-three series must be played in order to proceed to the Championship Bracket. A single dropped match places you in the losers bracket, where nine rounds are required to be played to advance. This system has been criticized for favouring certain players as in the championship round there are a total 16 seeded players and only 12 players from the open bracket. Because of the nature of the seeding and points system, simply by having a high seed at an early MLG means a high placement (and more points for succeeding MLGs) regardless of whether or not you win any games, thus making it almost impossible to fall out of the top 16."
Ostojiy. Photo by: omgyumyum.com
Read GosuGamers guest writer and It's Gosu player Christopher "Ostojiy" Ostojic's retroperspect article on the MLG Pro Circuit 2011, its pros and cons from a player perspective.
"2011 was a momentous year for Major League Gaming, with record breaking viewership, attendance and prize pools. While Starcraft did not hold the centre-stage at Dallas, events like Anaheim and Providence showed why Starcraft is the largest eSport in the world. During the grand finals it is common for every seat in the convention centre to be filled with Starcraft fans. Arguably the most difficult tournament format in the professional Starcraft scene is MLG’s infamous Open Bracket, which challenges not only the Starcraft skills of a player, but also their endurance and level of focus through potentially three gruelling days of gaming.
This past year the 256 player Open Bracket featured the top talent in North America, most of the European powerhouses and many Korean progamers. While the majority of players in the bracket do not have a high chance at winning prize money (a top 8 placement), in a double elimination-best of three format, upsets are common occurrences. The MLG tournament has evolved from being won by the best North American players to a competition dominated by foreign talent. The top 12 at MLG Providence featured only two North Americans – HuK and IdrA – both of whom trained extensively in Korea.
In addition to the sheer talent at every MLG, the bracket is open so a total of six best-of-three series must be played in order to proceed to the Championship Bracket. A single dropped match places you in the losers bracket, where nine rounds are required to be played to advance. This system has been criticized for favouring certain players as in the championship round there are a total 16 seeded players and only 12 players from the open bracket. Because of the nature of the seeding and points system, simply by having a high seed at an early MLG means a high placement (and more points for succeeding MLGs) regardless of whether or not you win any games, thus making it almost impossible to fall out of the top 16."
