CounterStrike ready (the day after of course)
Taz, the captain of Virtus Pro, has a problem.
This is the deciding point in a tense 3 sets semi-final.
He is low on HP, the bomb has already been planted, and two Renegades are chasing him. In this kind of scenario, the odds are 99%+ against him.
The crowd is going mad, they can savour victory for the Aussies, the underdog team who is coming from behind and playing – finally – so well. Against the world best.
And then – in an instant – it happens.
Renegades make their move. Bam Bam. Two shots. Renegades (including Justin JKS, my favourite player) are out.
Taz made the impossible possible. Virtus Pro won.
Inside the venue, there is a moment of silence and disbelief. Then, a collective groan of disappointment. A second later, a liberating applause, as they have just witnessed a great display of skill and logic. Respect to the Wictor (no this is not a typo, Taz’s real name is Wiktor and by the way he is a great guy).
Thousands flock to reddit to make comment of what is the point of the tournament.
and this is the link
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What is the above about?
It is about an Esports Counterstrike Tournament. I had the pleasure of being part of a team that organised a benchmark event in Australia. Esports is entertainment, Esports is exciting and it is rapidly overtaking most major traditional sports in terms of appeal, viewership, and business underlying the sporting side of the game.
I will not entertain a discussion on whether it is really a sport, not until synchronised swimming still awards medals at the Olympics. I will not debate that even if not a sport a major Esports event attracts more viewers than the Superbowl. Nor I will comment on the evolving economics of Esports as a business. I am thinking a lot about it. Getting great counsel. But if we crack the code (we are close) you will hear me talking more about it. Ideas belong to my employer anyway.
If you wish to learn more about Esports, it is just a search away on google.
I will talk instead about the human side of this discipline. Counterstrike is on the surface a game about violence, with T and AT trying to shoot each other. But once you see who practices it, who likes it: I can assure you that Esports enthusiasts are amongst the best behaved, most respectful fan base of any sport. People who organise and produce these events are passionate and fair. And the players are just nice people. I met many of them (especially from teams Immunity, Cloud9, Renegades and Virtus Pro) and yes they are just great people whose values any sports would be glad to embrace.
Esports is cool. I always liked videogames and I have been converted to the appeal of Esports for a while now.
However. A doubt hovers over my mind. Is there a part of this that has been hiding away from me.
I spent the last two days fully immersed in the tournament and then this morning this happened.
I was walking around, proudly wearing my grey ESL (E Sports League) t-shirt.
And then I spotted another guy wearing the same garment.
He smiled and gave me a satisfied nod, rich of empathy and some sort of superior understanding. For a second, I felt like a superior being, bestowed with enlightenment and awareness of the ethereal uber dimension of esports.
And then I wondered: I am just part of a cult with ulterior motives?
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Not sure what type of ulterior motive you suspect may lurk in esports generally, but my suspicion is that it’s a commercial one.
As you mention, the players themselves are usually great people with laudable values – hardworking, disciplined young people who have devoted years to perfecting their skills. Unfortunately, in order to do this they usually neglect to perfect their skills in areas which would deliver more certain financial reward to themselves, and, since they play because they love the game and the challenge to improve and be the best, even the professional level players are generally poorly rewarded and, sadly, sometimes cheated of their winnings by unscrupulous organisations.
The esports industry is generating very large volumes of money, and obviously some sectors of the industry are making lots out of it – but, sadly enough, usually not the players themselves, without whom the industry would be nothing.