This blog is about the WCS' prize money breakdown.
I'm a huge fan of Blizzard's WCS. The national qualifiers, regional qualifiers and global finals created one of the most comprehensive SC2 eSports story lines of the whole year. The culmination of WCS Europe was one of the best viewerships, productions, experiences, and combined story lines of 2012.
One of the greatest things about the WCS 2012 was the grass-roots approach and player-friendly aspects. All the flights of qualified players got paid by Blizzard; every qualified player had guaranteed prize money. Earning your first bit of prize money is a big motivator for up and coming players who are on the fence about a career in eSports. Even the players who get eliminated in the first rounds of the WCS Europe had guaranteed prize money. Even the 16th player of the 16 at WCS Germany had guaranteed prize money.
The current split is:
Total: $100,000
1st place: $35,000
2nd place. $15,000
3rd/4th place: $8,000
5th place: $4,000
6th place: $3,500
7th place: $3,000
8th place: $2,500
9th-12th place: $1,450
13th-16th place: $1,000
17th-24th place: $500
25th-32nd place: $300
As you can see it's pretty top-heavy. $70,000 of the $95,000 goes to the top 5. Unfortunately this has a negative effect for up & comers, while it has a positive effect for the already established pro's. The effect therefore is that the scene won't grow to attract more players, only to reward the top professionals. Even though I have been a top professional for a long time, I don't agree with this approach because I want to see our scene grow.
Also, have a look at how much prize money drops down per rank to illustrate some strange differences:
1st->2nd prize money drop: -20,000
2st->Top4 prize money drop: -7,000
Top4->5th prize money drop: -4,000
5th->6th prize money drop: -500
6th->7th prize money drop: -500
7th->8th prize money drop: -500
8th->Top12 prize money drop: -1050
Top12->Top16 prize money drop: -450
Top16->Top24 prize money drop: -500
Top24->Top32 prize money drop: -200
There is a huge 20k difference between #1/#2 which makes the #2 guy feel really bad. The honor of winning a championship far outstrips the prize money earned (in my opinion), so I feel like it unnecessarily creates a rift between the #1 & #2.
My suggestion:
1st place: $25,000
2nd place. $16,000
3rd/4th place: $10,000
5th place: $7,500
6th place: $5,000
7th place: $3,500
8th place: $2,500
9th-12th place: $1,500
13th-16th place: $800
17th-24th place: $500
25th-32nd place: $300
How much prize money drops down per rank:
1st->2nd prize money drop: -9,000
2st->Top4 prize money drop: -6,000
Top4->5th prize money drop: -2,500
5th->6th prize money drop: -2,500
6th->7th prize money drop: -1,500
7th->8th prize money drop: -1000
8th->Top12 prize money drop: -1000
Top12->Top16 prize money drop: -700
Top16->Top24 prize money drop: -300
Top24->Top32 prize money drop: -200
The prize money drops down more gradually and in a linear fashion. The #1 guy and #13-16 earn less in my prize pool breakdown, but almost everyone else in the top 16 earns more, incentivizing them.
As a sponsored player by BenQ, Twitch and with additional income from streaming, prize money is something that I'm definitely happy with but I don't rely on it. So I'm not writing this for myself. I don't think it's necessary to create a huge rift between #1/#2; I also don't think it's conducive to the eSports scene as a whole to create top-heavy prize pools.
From 2003 until 2010, I've not lost any Dutch qualifier (except one that didn't matter) or any Dutch tournaments for prize money. Because there was definitely talent among other Dutch players, I always urged tournament organizers to offer additional incentive for the #2, #3, #4, #5, #6 etc. placed guys, so that their talent could be fostered, nurtured, and encouraged by opportunity. Maybe offer some prize money for them. I wasn't asking for myself, because I had additional potential earnings at the global tournaments. The incentive for Dutch players to show up when they basically knew I would win was quite low, since aside from socializing with each other there was no prize money. The only two times that I know prize money was offered for a qualifier in the Netherlands was in 2003 for WCG, and then for WCS in 2012, and each had a good attendance. Some of the other qualifiers I attended in the Netherlands sometimes had, at worst, 0 to 5 other participants besides me.
One popular counter-argument is that players should just try harder to be the champion or to overtake the current elite. The flaw in this reasoning is as follows. Everyone starts somewhere. Every existing top-of-the-game pro and champion started out as a beginner at the game. They learned by being matched up with increasingly tough opponents on the ladder, and then with scaling competition in tournaments. Online cups have increasingly tough opponents as you advance each round. Except for Koreans, regional qualifiers are tougher than national ones, and global tournaments are tougher than regional ones. To foster foreign scenes and foreign talent, we don't need to coddle them, but there needs to be a gradual path to walk on. Just as a Platinum player turns into a Diamond, then turns into a Masters, then a Grandmasters; so must a country's local player be able to fight his way onto the international scene. Scarlett started out competing with local players, then increasingly tough ones, to eventually being in an international team, living in Korea and beating a lot of of high level Korean players. (which CatZ wrote an excellent blog about)
www.reddit.com/r/starcr...l_based_leagues_region/
LoWeLy 10-0'd the European Combined Nationals for the WCS, then took 4th at WCS Europe. LoWeLy took 2nd in his group at BWC globals (granted in a group with no Koreans) but lost to Suppy 1-3 in the Ro16. LoWeLy has remained a force to be reckoned with in EU thanks to having opportunity and fighting chances. This year, LoWeLy played in the online RSL4, and his results include 3-2 Naniwa, 3-2 Oz, 3-2 Bly and 3-1 VortiX.
Success stories like Scarlett and LoWeLy are made possible in part due to tiered achievement systems, which is what WCS 2012 was. The incentives of national, regional and global competition and the well spread out prize pools incentivize players to prioritize their lives in a way where they can allow themselves to chase progaming careers. Whether they perform well at the Global Finals will still be a tale of hard work, talent and dedication! I agree with that. Money does not necessarily make happy, but it does justify career choices.
Just my two cents, hope you enjoyed reading the blog.
Grubby