A Player's Thoughts on the CSL

The Collegiate Star League (CSL) is a league played in by students enrolled in university/college all across Canada.Founded in 2009, the league has been home to many prominent members of the esports community, such as Day[9], iNcontroL and NonY.

One of the things the CSL is praised for is their use of players that aren't strictly top notch. Though most teams do have high masters players, they also have players accustomed to the lower leagues who have a chance to play with people they would likely never play with, and learn from the higher leagued players.

The CSL follows a standard order for a league: teams play within their own division, the top three teams from each division form the roster for the playoffs, and finally two teams – one from each conference – play against each other to decide the winner for the season. In the past, the university of Waterloo, British Columbia, North Texas, California Berkeley and California San Diego have won the first place spot.

In the fifth season, Harvard University's team won the bronze medal. Harvard’s final round was against University of Pittsburgh, which they won to be awarded third place. Harvard's master league player Trogdor, participant during the third place win, was willing to do an interview where he had much to say about the CSL, his time spent within it, and the obligations he had as a result of it.

Trogdor, now a player with Impulse esports commented on the amount of work he had to do for the Harvard team saying that:

“During group stages, I obviously needed to practice for my game each week, but I didn't really feel like I was really playing any more than I would be otherwise. During playoffs, however, because each match mattered so much more, I definitely practiced more than I would have otherwise, especially in preparation for round of 8.”

Of course, all of his time spent practicing also needed to be worked around the large amount of homework mandatory for someone getting a degree in mathematics.

                                                              

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Trogdor also encouraged anyone in post secondary school with an interest in starcraft 2 to join their schools team.

“[A]t least check it out. Since it's the sort of thing that you can learn a decent amount of just by watching others play, it can be worthwhile for the lower level players to go to meetings just to watch the better players play and ask them for builds/advice. A lot of teams do events aside from just CSL matches, like getting together to watch GSL/MLG/IPL (we plan on doing these things this year) as well as tournaments within the school. As far as the actual matches go, it definitely feels better to know that you have a fanbase cheering you on, so there's that role as well. “

Trogdor stated that people should tune into the “Streamer's Community Choice”, run by SpaceWhales on October 13 and 14, as well as thanking the Harvard team's coordinator, Dianasaur for the work she's done for the school team.

The CSL registration period is happening now, until the twenty-seventh, so make sure your school team has registered, and if you're in post secondary school and not on their Starcraft 2 team and are interested in the game, be sure to attend a few meetings, meet some new people and embrace the game so many love.