UPDATED JUNE 21ST 2012 PART 2!
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[ONGAMENET] A History of The Starleague: Part 1
Ongamenet
The sport that rose from small monitors. What came from this small world created stories has brought smiles and tears to our faces. For thirteen long years, the continuing tale: The Starleague. How, and why did we take part in this? We will begin telling the story now.
The Starleague - 1
Starleague rose from a 2-player strategy game - by '99, Starcraft had exploded; it became so popular that a new word, "to star" (shorthand for "to play Starcraft"), was recognized among young adults across the country. Additionally, something no one had imagined before, a game tournament - The '99 Progamer Korea Open was formed. While Starcraft first spread throughout Korean culture, Starleague was born.
The budding Starcraft tournament that began on a table tennis table teamed up with Ongamenet after naming itself "Starleague", and became the foundation of this scene.
Players gathered to make their name in Starleague, and with them came the fiery interest of the fans. And there was the ever-increasing number of Starcraft competitions. Of all these competitions, let's find the colors unique to Starleague. Where could you find these?
Black. Red. White. These three colors make the Starleague logo. The emblem of a pro-gamer holding a mouse.[1]
To further experiment with Starcraft as an e-sport: the Round Of 8 Outdoors Tour. To match the league concept every year, there was a unique, newly made opening.[2]
For the best games with the best players, the "time capsule" was introduced. (soundproof booths)
To cater to the generation of "sport-ainment", Starleague even started implementing "Stargirls".[3]
Thirteen years after Starleague was formed, its colors have been a game of "find the hidden picture".
Still, this game is not over.
To be continued
I think the phrase I chose for 숨은그림찾기, "find the hidden picture" doesn't really roll off the tongue in English, feel free to correct, comment on word choice, etc.
You can like OGN on Facebook for updates (a lot are about LoL and SF/SA, you'll find...) here.
Of course their Youtube account is here.
[1]The logo, one of the bestest parts of OSL!
From OSL 2004
[2]Intros, one of the bestest parts of OSL!
Shinhan OSL 2006
EVER OSL 2007
Incruit OSL 2008
Tving 2012 Opening *tear*
[3]Stargirls, one of the bestest parts of OSL!
An OGN short on Stargirls, with Kim Carrier!
The Starleague - 2
Original Video on Ongamenet's Channel
With CC: But I want to support OGN, so maybe you'll watch the original. :[
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The Starleague - 2
"The sport that rose from small monitors. What came from this small world created stories has brought smiles and tears to our faces. For thirteen long years, the continuing tale: The Starleague. How, and why did we take part in this? We will begin telling the story now."
Starleague's Opening Videos
The beginning of Starleague's opening videos can be traced back to the '99 PKO (Progamer Korea Open). These videos were crafted using the original cinematics from the Starcraft campaign, and the first video to feature the players themselves was in the Nate (2002) Starleague.
Then, to open with more appealing intros, the mycube Starleague started to film their own shots. After dealing with concerns for even better intros, we've been able to see different players' various forms and styles.
For instance, as gamblers.
Sometimes, as new age (21st century) boys
At other times, as handsome gentlemen.
Elsewise, as characters in a cartoon.
At other times, players were transformed into characters featured in a music video.
These players have been everywhere (ground/sea/air, the 3 armed force categories in Korean).
Though the images of these players have changed, the foundation has been the same. "BE THE LEGEND". With the goal to become a legend by their own hands; whoever makes it out of the lonely, "15v1" battle is the winner. The "15v1" battle, as Starleague went on with concerns on tournament progression, turned into 23 vs 1 in the first phase, and the second phase remains a heart-wrenching war.
Yes, the Starleague had concerned itself on openings and league progression ceremonies, but it also had concerns in the sense of finding itself.
In the year 2000, The finals were held outdoors in the Freechall Starleague. The mycube Starleague started the round of 8 tour.
Back to the metropolitan areas:
Pusan (Korean Air Starleague Season 2 Ro8),
Daegu (EVER Starleague 2008 Ro8),
Gwangju (Shinhan Bank Starleague 2006 Ro8)
Daejun (EVER Starleague 2004 Finals)
Gangwon (IOPS Starleague Ro8)
Chungju (Shinhan Bank Starleague 2006 Season 1 Ro8)
Ool-san (Daum Starleague 2007 Finals),
At Chun-ahn (Incruit Starleague 2008 Ro8).
Across the ocean to Jaeju (Shinhan Bank Starleague 2006 Season 2)
Even across national borders to China, (Korean Air Starleague Season 2 Finals)
What began at a university had risen to the top of an airline hangar. After all the worries, it has been a long, far-reaching, and diverse journey.
13 Years of Starleague: 33 events have made a sequence of large and small events alike. Also presently, the 34th; our new concern continues to this day.
-To be continued