70 players (100%) 57 are non-usa (81.4%) 48 are korean (68.6%) 13 are USA (18.6%)*
*note: 5 which are all on 1 team, LA Valiant
NON-USA Breakdown: 8 NON-USA OWL TEAMS
44 players (100%) 39 are non-USA (88.6%) 20 are korean (45.5%) 5 are USA (11.3%)
TOTALS Breakdown: 19 OWL TEAMS
114 players total (100%) 96 are non-USA (84.2%) 68 are korean (59.6%) 18 are usa (15.8%)
Interpret these numbers as you will. I just found it interesting after watching a youtube video of some player interactions/interviews from USA owl players and wondered why just about every single player needed an interpreter
I too am a full supporter of different backgrounds and variety in cultures… but when the entire team, of not one, not two, but almost every single USA team has turned korean… it makes you wonder
I always thought it was dumb to try and force these teams to supposedly represent those cities
In pro sports at least they actually play in thier cities in front of huge crowds and some players do try and connect with fans. OWL has none of that, some of them hardly speak English and they do very little to nothing to actually connect with the city
The problem isn’t that they are mostly Korean, but when you are trying to sell city based teams, people just aren’t really identifying with them though they are undoubtedly great players.
I’ve heard a few say that the league should have had separate regions with their own teams.
I don’t think you know much about sports. It is incredibly rare for a team to have a player from the city it’s named after. They also have no qualms about signing players from other countries. Baseball is becoming a top example of this.
What percent of players on USA city based NHL teams are American versus what percent are Canadian/Russian/Scandinavian?
What percent of players on USA city based MLS teams are American versus what percent are Latino/Hispanic/European?
Fact is, sports teams, including esports teams, make money from success, not mediocrity. You want the best on your team. So just like players from other nations are better than Americans at hockey or soccer, so it is in gaming.
Maybe not to the same extent, but this does happen in other sports too. As an example I’ll use hockey, specifically the NHL. I don’t believe for my home team for the Washington Capitals has a single player on the team that is from the DC area. Eight out of twenty one players in the current line ups are American, with our star player being a somewhat controversial russian player.
I think part of the difference is gaming as a sport is still relatively very new. Korea as a culture I think helps people pursue gaming more seriously than they might here in the US or other countries. That would be my guess why there are predominantly so many more korean players. Going back to my example of the NHL, while the league and most teams are in the US, Canada actually has the most players in the NHL. And I think this makes sense too, hockey as a sport is more popular in Canada and it makes sense you would see more players actively pursue it.
The best players make it to the pro level. This happens in main stream sports as well, check the ratio of baseball players who actually come from the city, or even country that they are representing. The only exception is usually for sports that are HEAVILY localized to a country, like American Football.
Korea is just way ahead of everyone else in terms of talent when it comes to esports. A lot of it is culture based, like there’s actually support and legitimacy to becoming a professional player in south Korea. And general work ethic culture suits playing games to a high level as well.
There’s a couple esports that are exceptions tho, I know FGC and Smash have a LOT of south-american representation at the top level. And I know the professional scene for TCGs like hearthstone usually thrive in the EU the most. I don’t watch any esports genres that have a heavy american focus at the top level tbh.
Sports leagues do it a lot better than owl, its really no comparison. Nfl games are a big deal for cities that like 80k local people attend in person and even more watch on tv.
At least they actually play in the city and lots of fans attend these local events. Owl does next to nothing to actually connect with any city
league’s a farce, glad theyre finally letting it die. A homegrown tournament scene would be amazing. I wish OW had a tournament scene like how they have in smash
people making teams from their colleges or universities or hometowns, playing others in the area etc. Regionals and nationals for teams. Multinational teams that play in other tournaments. People doing it for the love of the game and having more control over their own comp experience with loads of options rather than the terrible state of the Path to Pro that trickled down from OWL
I think that has very little to do with the fact that the players are Korean and a lot more to do with the fact that they never brought back the homestands. I went to the New York Homestand before COVID hit and it was very cool. Those are the kinds of things that draw community support from the city they represent. When I watch the New York Jets, I know full well just about none of them are actually from New York/New Jersey. Doesn’t really matter. It’s the fact that they are local to me, they’re on local TV, and I can go catch a game in person if I want.
