Season 3: The new CGS?
eSports Central
Ever since Riot Games announced the Season 3 Championship Series, I have heard people compare it to the Championship Gaming Series. I believe it is a extremely false comparison but we should exam it, just to be sure. The CGS was a league that could have changed the world of eSports for forever but instead it almost destroyed it. Citing the press release from when the league fell apart in 2008: "While the concept was ahead of its time and we are extremely proud of what we've accomplished, it became increasingly clear as this ambitious project evolved, that profitability was too far in the future to sustain operations in the interim." I wonder if the current eSports climate is what the people in the CGS boardrooms imagined?
There was a lot to be said about the vision of the Championship Gaming Series because a lot of what they did was headed in the right direction. Unfortunately the choices of games to support AND the medium in which to broadcast said games, were the crippling blow. The games they supported were as follows:
The World of Warcraft Arena tournaments were not featured in the regular season.
Other than Counter Strike: Source and maybe FIFA, none of these games were at the forefront of competitive eSports. If someone was to ask you, "Can you name an eSport title from 2007?" More than likely you will not name any of the CGS games because when you say Counter Strike, you will probably say 1.6 and not Source. Sure, a person could name World of Warcraft for that time period but that game wasn't included in what made The CGS...THE CGS. Popular eSports titles from 2007 would have been games like Quake, Counter Strike 1.6, StarCraft: Brood War, Warcraft III, Street Fighter, Marvel vs Capcom 2, Super Smash Bros. Melee and so on. None of the games on the list for The CGS was a particular popular game neither in competitiveness nor in viewership.
So combine that with the fact that they were expecting their viewers to 1) have DirectTV, British Sky Broadcasting, or STAR TV and 2) if they didn't have the broadcasters, they were expected to get it OR keep track with the league on G4TV (which wasn't necessarily a highly accessible channel at the time). Now, the eSports demographic hardly pays for the software and entertainment they use and the executives of this league thought they would pay for DirectTV, come on, really!? There was no online streaming of the league but when they tried it for the WoW Championships, the forums were lit up with, "This stream is horrible" threads. So, despite MLG having pretty good success with Halo and WoW through online streaming, the geniuses at The CGS decided that it was a good idea to isolate viewers. If people had a problem with MLG running pay per view for Arenas this year, imagine how they would have felt with this league.
Now with the negatives out of the way, there were some really good decisions made by the Championship Gaming Series. A couple of them would be:
- Single Entity System
It isn't.
What we know so far about Season 3 Championship Series
Now, I think the comparisons start at the salaries part. There is no single entity system with Season 3. Riot is not planning on buy CLG and TSM, they will merely be supplementing the income of the players.
Maybe another comparison is the high end production value that Riot plans to produce. The CGS had good production value but the downfall was that it was on channels that weren't very accessible to the average viewer. The CGS also had games that didn't have a precedent of high viewership. League of Legends Season 3 will be streamed, online, where eSports fans live their lives. Also, League of Legends has proven to be a highly watched eSports title. So the comparison doesn't exist there.
So honestly, there are not many comparisons for the two leagues. The teams will be better off, especially teams 4 through 8 in each region, as those teams are in the grey area between financial failure and success. The lack of travel for all the teams should allow teams to focus and produce incredibly great games on a consistent basis. The weekly schedule should prove to produce deeper strategy and understanding of the game as teams can tool their play directly to their opponents.
All in all, there isn't a better time to be a top league of legends player or fan. Now, for the players that aren't on a top 8 team, it will be interesting to see how that plays out.
There was a lot to be said about the vision of the Championship Gaming Series because a lot of what they did was headed in the right direction. Unfortunately the choices of games to support AND the medium in which to broadcast said games, were the crippling blow. The games they supported were as follows:
Season 1
- Counter Strike: Source
- Dead or Alive 4
- FIFA 07
- Project Gotham Racing 3
Season 2
- Counter Strike: Source
- Dead or Alive 4
- FIFA 08
- Forza Motorsport 2
- Counter Strike: Source
- Dead or Alive 4
- FIFA 07
- Project Gotham Racing 3
Season 2
- Counter Strike: Source
- Dead or Alive 4
- FIFA 08
- Forza Motorsport 2
The World of Warcraft Arena tournaments were not featured in the regular season.
Other than Counter Strike: Source and maybe FIFA, none of these games were at the forefront of competitive eSports. If someone was to ask you, "Can you name an eSport title from 2007?" More than likely you will not name any of the CGS games because when you say Counter Strike, you will probably say 1.6 and not Source. Sure, a person could name World of Warcraft for that time period but that game wasn't included in what made The CGS...THE CGS. Popular eSports titles from 2007 would have been games like Quake, Counter Strike 1.6, StarCraft: Brood War, Warcraft III, Street Fighter, Marvel vs Capcom 2, Super Smash Bros. Melee and so on. None of the games on the list for The CGS was a particular popular game neither in competitiveness nor in viewership.
So combine that with the fact that they were expecting their viewers to 1) have DirectTV, British Sky Broadcasting, or STAR TV and 2) if they didn't have the broadcasters, they were expected to get it OR keep track with the league on G4TV (which wasn't necessarily a highly accessible channel at the time). Now, the eSports demographic hardly pays for the software and entertainment they use and the executives of this league thought they would pay for DirectTV, come on, really!? There was no online streaming of the league but when they tried it for the WoW Championships, the forums were lit up with, "This stream is horrible" threads. So, despite MLG having pretty good success with Halo and WoW through online streaming, the geniuses at The CGS decided that it was a good idea to isolate viewers. If people had a problem with MLG running pay per view for Arenas this year, imagine how they would have felt with this league.
Now with the negatives out of the way, there were some really good decisions made by the Championship Gaming Series. A couple of them would be:
- Single Entity System
A system where the league owned and controlled the teams. This creates an environment where all the teams are on an equal footing. For an example of this type of financial structure look no further than Major League Soccer in the United States in their early years. While cultivating a following, the league office was able to control everything in the league. Now that the league and the sport has a strong foothold in the United States, the league office has loosened their grip on the franchises.
- Drafts
One of the big problems with the current eSports scene is that there isn't a laid out path for someone to follow to become a professional at eSports. The CGS had player drafts that were definitely flawed because they did a majority of drafting from inside the league but did have some people drafted from outside the league that impressed the general managers.
The way the draft worked was that each team had 5 protected players and all other players were up for grabs. Personally, I don't think this was a good idea but I do like the idea of a draft format to introduce new blood.
- CGS Pro/Am Division
The way the draft worked was that each team had 5 protected players and all other players were up for grabs. Personally, I don't think this was a good idea but I do like the idea of a draft format to introduce new blood.
The Pro/Am was a way for gamers in Counter Strike: Source, 1.6, and Team Fortress 2 to prove they had what it took to be a professional gamer. Taken from an IGN article: "The top two CGS Pro-Am finishers in those two games in each region will receive top seeding and travel packages to compete in the Counter-Strike 1.6 and Team Fortress 2 showdown during the CGS 2009 North America Combine. The CGS 2009 North America Combine will showcase Counter-Strike 1.6 and Team Fortress 2 tournaments with North American and European players competing for a total prize purse of more than $50,000, plus additional prizes."
So how is the Season 3 Championship Series by Riot Games like the Championship Gaming Series?
It isn't.
What we know so far about Season 3 Championship Series
- Championship Series teams will be competing for salaries
- Teams will be localized around battle arenas on different continents
- Regional league format with multiple games a week culminating into a World Championship at the end of the season
- Free HD broadcast of the regional battle arenas produced by high-end sports media partners
- Big prize pool
- Teams will be localized around battle arenas on different continents
- Regional league format with multiple games a week culminating into a World Championship at the end of the season
- Free HD broadcast of the regional battle arenas produced by high-end sports media partners
- Big prize pool
Now, I think the comparisons start at the salaries part. There is no single entity system with Season 3. Riot is not planning on buy CLG and TSM, they will merely be supplementing the income of the players.
Maybe another comparison is the high end production value that Riot plans to produce. The CGS had good production value but the downfall was that it was on channels that weren't very accessible to the average viewer. The CGS also had games that didn't have a precedent of high viewership. League of Legends Season 3 will be streamed, online, where eSports fans live their lives. Also, League of Legends has proven to be a highly watched eSports title. So the comparison doesn't exist there.
So honestly, there are not many comparisons for the two leagues. The teams will be better off, especially teams 4 through 8 in each region, as those teams are in the grey area between financial failure and success. The lack of travel for all the teams should allow teams to focus and produce incredibly great games on a consistent basis. The weekly schedule should prove to produce deeper strategy and understanding of the game as teams can tool their play directly to their opponents.
All in all, there isn't a better time to be a top league of legends player or fan. Now, for the players that aren't on a top 8 team, it will be interesting to see how that plays out.
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who the **** cares |
 SupaPrizmo Unremarkable (1) Posts: 13 Joined: 2012-06-17 IGN: Prizmo |
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I'd argue a fair amount of people interesting in the continuity of LoL as an eSport. |
 Hardy 'SQSing' Pace <ESports Writer> Unremarkable (5) Posts: 28 Joined: 2012-07-11 |
 CntThnkO1 Posts: 2 Joined: 2012-08-14 |
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People say you have to know your past in order not to repeat it in the future. If LoL eSports is to succeed then it would be best that we don't repeat what the CGS tried to create. That is why I care and why anyone who cares about the success of the LoL eSports should care, including Riot.
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 Alan LaFleur <ESports Writer> Unremarkable (18) Posts: 52 Joined: 2012-06-21 IGN: Thealdo on NA |
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