This week we have had the privilege of interviewing the GSL English commentator, Artosis and got his thoughts on season 1 and the upcoming season 2 of the GSL.

The Interview

Interviewer: Hello Artosis and thank you for sparing the time to talk to us and answering a few questions, how does it feel knowing the first season of the GSL is over? Did you enjoy the tournament?

Artosis: Its great to finish up the first season, especially in such an exciting way! I think this tournament was easily the greatest in SC2 so far. I'm very pleased with how it all went.

Interviewer: Having participated in the first season and unfortunately being knocked out in the round of 64, how did you feel for season 2?

Artosis: Haha, well, I thought I definitely had a shot at making it in season 2, but I didn't get to practice too much. Sadly, I ended up losing to Bleach, a Protoss player who got into the top 32 last season. It was really close 40 minute games in which he 2-1ed me. I guess I'll just have to practice more for next season.

Interviewer: When the GSL was announced a few months ago did you imagine so many people would be participating in the event? Do you expect the number to participate in future seasons to be higher or do you think the high level of play we have experienced will put people off?

Artosis: I figured a lot of people would definitely play. This is Korea, and they love SC. Definitely every season should see more entries than the last. SC2 continues to grow in popularity over here, and even if you are bad, its a really fun way to spend a day.

Interviewer: We all know that non Korean's are welcomed to the GSL and some of the best games were played out by players such as TheLittleOne, but do you think it will ever become easier for the non Korean players to get into the tournament? Of the several thousand people registered for season 1, only a small amount were not Korean. If the tournament was to take place in another country such as the USA would as many people show?

Artosis: Korea will keep getting better and better at SC2, at a rate faster than non Koreans. Its just the way the country works. All the players put in more hours, and they get more rewards to look forward to. I doubt you can ever get more signups in another country. Seoul is the 3rd most densely populated city in the world, and I think only China could rival the signups that the tournament being in Seoul brings.

Season 1

Interviewer: What were your highlights of the first season? Your favourite games/interviews?

Artosis: I enjoyed SKS's games, TLO's last match, IdrA's matches, and, of course, FruitDealer (especially vs oGsTOP, epic match!). My favorite interviews were with TLO, DAVIT, and HongUnPrime. TLO and HongUn give great interviews, while DAVIT just made me laugh a lot.

Interviewer: Are you surprised by the results with a Zerg coming out on top? Does the lack of good Zerg players makes it harder for a Terran or Protoss player to find a good practise partner?

Artosis: It is surprising a Zerg player won, but a lot of it was also the Terran players' mistakes. It is definitely hard to practice for a very top level Zerg like FruitDealer, as there are so few. Your options for similarly skilled Zergs are few and far between.

Interviewer: We heard you saying the studio was packed on many occasions, the finals I believe had around several thousand people turn up? Were GOMtv taken by surprise at the amount of people interested in watching the games?

Artosis: I think everyone was really surprised as to how many people showed up each day to the live matches.

Interviewer: The most popular matches based on GOMtv's VOD viewer count were IdrA's opening game with over 200,000 views, followed by TLO vs Hyperdub with 150,000 views. Do you have any idea how many people were tuning in to watch the games live / how many countries were watching?

Artosis: I don't really have any specific numbers, but I know the stream got maxed out every day, and people were restreaming it to thousands of people as well.

Interviewer: Overall how do you rate the first season, do you think it was a success? Is the second season going to be bigger?

Artosis: The first season was a great success. Lots of people watched, lots of people played, and it was an awesome time. The second season will undoubtedly be far bigger, with players like BoxeR and NaDa playing.

Season 2

Interviewer: Is there anything new we can expect in terms of production of the show with season 2? Are you going to try out another hair style?

Artosis: Hahahha, the production will continue to improve, but I just let the hair ladies do whatever to me

Interviewer: Who do you think we should look out for in the second season? Is Fruitdealer going to be every ones favourite for winning or is he going to have a fight on his hands?

Artosis: I don't think FruitDealer has a shot at taking it. My pick for season 2 is Clide. From what I've seen, he's the scariest player in the world.

Interviewer: Well we look forward to the second season and want to thank you along with Tasteless for providing us with a great first season and of course for participating in this interview. Is there anything further you would like to say or any shout outs you would like to give?

Artosis: Thanks a lot for the interview, and thanks so much to all the fans out there who love the GSL! It definitely wouldn't be what it is without your support! Everyone should check out my twitter www.twitter.com/artosis as well as my YouTube channel www.YouTube.com/ArtosisTV also check out www.TheHandsomeNerd.com for SC T-Shirts.

Interviewer: Thank you for your time and we look forward to the seeing you again in the second season, good luck with your qualifiers.

Artosis: Thanks!

The GSL Season 2

We'll continue to bring you all the StarCraft GSL news every day as it happens, our GSL pages are full of everything you need to keep up-to-date.