One of the longest-running eSports tournaments, the StarCraft ProLeague, has been discontinued according to the Korean eSports Association or KeSPA.
In an announcement on the organization’s official Facebook page, the KeSPA chairman Jun ByungHun was unable to keep the league lasting any longer, claiming that
“the drop in the number of ProLeague teams and players, difficulty securing league sponsors, and match fixing issues have made it challenging to maintain ProLeague.”
The ProLeague is one of the longest, still-running eSports tournaments and was formed in 2003. According to Byunghun, “The decision to put the past 14 years behind us and discontinue ProLeague was a difficult one and it deeply saddens me to have to also bring you the news that KeSPA will be stopping its operations of ProLeague teams.”
One of the biggest and most likely reasons for the drop in teams and sponsors is the fact that the professional scene has been accused of a number of match-fixing instances in recent years and has thus become less popular, especially due to the rising fame of MOBAs League of Legends and DOTA 2.
It is unknown what will happen to the pro league as of now or if it will just die like CPL and CS 1.6 did back when CS:GO came out.
