[s]event[/s]A lot of people have been wondering about the whole Global Gaming League and how it is doing. I really have had high hopes for it since the first season, with it being supposedly sponsored by big name companies. Some of the games were broadcasted on NBC during the Gravity Games last year, but they were only the "fast paced" games such as Unreal Tournament, Quake III, and Counter-Strike.

While the first season did have a few big names in it, the ladder seeding was extremely off. Rekrul[pG] was seeded eigth in the bracket and ended up winning an Alienware system. The games were pretty good, but I wouldn't classify them as high class games. The top twenty players last season also recieved a package from the league which included a mouse cord holder, a gaming mouse pad from GamersStuff.com, a PC Carrying handle, a gel wrist wrest (for your mouse hand), and a certificate signifying the "excellence" of play.

So that brings us to the second season of the Global Gaming League. Has anything really changed? Well you can challenge pretty much anyone in the ladder unlike last season where you could only challenge up the ladder a couple of spots. There are tons of problems I've seen in this ladder.

There is absolutely no real attempt at prevention of cheating. While I haven't seen any cheating in the games I've played the whole thing is run on the honor system. Everyone I've talked to about the ladder doesn't understand how the ladder works at all (myself included). Most people don't even accept the challenges, so you get a forfeit win quite easily. What is mind boggling is that the forfeit wins count as much as regular wins.



The Top Twenty at its best!

So who is in the Top Twenty at the moment? Yours truly is! Click on the picture and see that I am 14th. I know many of you have played me and know I can't play StarCraft well even if my life depended on it. So that should give some insight on how bad this league is being run. I haven't been able to really talk to the StarCraft admin about the ladder. I just added some map suggestions and they said "they might show up next season".

Global Gaming League Maps

Dahalia of Jungle
Gorkey Island
Hall of Valhalla
Jungle Story
Korhal of Ceres
Legacy of Char
Lost Temple
Martian Cross
Neo Silent Vortex
Only a few additions to last season's but changing the maps has done nothing to the way the ladder has been run and how the players have pretty much ignored this ladder. You know it's a bad sign when you challenge Rekrul[pG] and have a forfeit win over him. If even high class players such as him don't care, then why should you and I even bother?


Does the Global Gaming League even meet their own description?

The Global Gaming League™ is building the next generation sports entertainment brand through competitive video gaming. The GGL™ is an unbiased governing body that stages high-quality video gaming competitions online through its proprietary website and live throughout the country as well as manages and promotes elite players. The GGL is creating stars and building a fan base where dedicated players gain recognition for their lifestyle, skill and commitment to V-Sports. The GGL tour creates an unparalleled entertainment experience for V-Sports players and spectators and a fresh and unique opportunity for partners and sponsors to reach this desirable demographic.



Links
Global Gaming League - Online Ladder
Alienware - Awesome Gaming Systems