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Why do player trades in ESports bother us so much?

Blogs > PimpWilly
Post a Reply
PimpWilly
Profile Blog Joined January 2011
United States228 Posts
August 17 2011 00:46 GMT
#1
Cross Posted from my Google+ stream, add me there and let me know if you're interested in E-Sports musings (https://plus.google.com/114659341139646563004/posts/dFPPirC24dL)

Alright, time for a rant about esports. Maybe less of a rant and more of a babble, since I'm not sure that I'm upset and a rant is usually about being mad.

Anyhow, my favorite SC2 player is Huk who has, recently, edged out MC to be the guy I watch and want to play like and really cheer for. Huk is a guy who basically started giving SC2 his all during Beta last year, got off to a solid but slow start, and really exploded over the past year to become not just the best foreign SC2 player, but one of the best Starcraft 2 players in the world.

He got his first big break during last year when he was sponsored by fan favorite Team Liquid. They run the top community of english speaking SC2 players on the internet, basically the SRK of SC2 (though they would of course say that SRK is the TeamLiquid of Street Fighter). Though they are a relatively small, dedicated Starcraft website they managed to get some sponsors and get their players some good opportunities to travel. These players weren't able to get paid what they probably realistically deserved, but they were a part of the fan favorite team and knew that what they had was more than just a team, is was a family.

Of course, this is from the perspective of an outsider. Pro Gamer salaries are kept hush hush outside of the press releases announcing million dollar contracts. Most people are probably paid enough to rival minimum wage jobs, and the contracts are kept secret for fear of embarrassing the companies who run them I'd imagine. But alas nobody really knows. Considering the major sponsor of Team Liquid is The Little App Factory, a small studio making iPhone apps, there's definitely not a lot of money to go around.

What they lacked in money, they made up for in clout. Their brand recognition allowed something amazing happen in SC2 that had never really been seen before: partnership with a Korean SC2 team. oGs (Old Generations) was a solid SC2 team filled with professional koreans who lived in a house training 12 hours a day to compete. Even though Team Liquid couldn't afford such accommodations, Team Liquid partnered with oGs to provide housing and training for their players and a chance to compete in the most prestigious Starcraft 2 tournament in the world, the GSL (Global Starcraft League). Thanks to the Korean training regiment, and sitting shoulder to shoulder with the best players in the world for advice, two Team Liquid players stood out above the others and placed impressive results: LiquidJinro and LiquidHuk. They both managed to snag and stay in Code S, which is equivalent to the top 32 players in the world. This was pretty much entirely dependent on 2 things: Their dedication to improving themselves and practicing hard, and the environment in the oGs house giving them the best practice partners they could have.

Last night, however, a bombshell dropped in that Team Evil Geniuses has acquired Huk from Team Liquid and will now be playing as EGHuk.

EG, in my eyes, is almost polar opposites to Team Liquid. They're a for profit company that sponsors players to get their brand out there, while getting big name companies to put up money and sponsor their team like Intel and Monster Energy Drink. While Huk was putting up hardcore practice hours in the oGs house training for the glory of the GSL tournament, EG's top player Idra left Code S behind in order to move back to America in search of easy money in American and European tournaments. After all, GSL was hard and the payouts were way top heavy; the top person wins 100k a month but the rest was considerably less. Why not take the skill he gained from living and playing in Korea, move back home, and make some cash? But it didn't work out that way. The rest of the world kept practicing hard and improving, and Idra just got left behind. From the best foreigner in the world to a middle of the pack player, able to make top 8 consistently but never win. And to me, this is the EG downfall; they get good players, but don't provide them with good opportunities. They have deep pockets, but all they care is that the player wears their jersey and gets them exposure, they don't have anywhere near the ability to nurture players like Idra or Justin Wong to the top level they deserve to be.

They've said they're going to be building a gaming house in Korea to train, where Idra, Huk and Puma will be playing and getting ready for Code S, but without deeper talent I think they're going to fall short. Hopefully Huk can use his oGs relationships to keep up the practice because he's going to need it, otherwise he's going to become just like Idra, shuffled into the middle of an ever growing pack of improving players.

Really, the goal of eSports is to be seen as legitimate competition in which it's players are able to showcase their skills for fans all over the world, much in the same way we tune in for MLB or NFL games. In these sports, trades and signings happen all the time. Tiger Woods plays for Nike, but if he announced tomorrow that he was instead going to be playing for Adidas, would anybody really care? Some people might, but I wouldn't bat an eye. Of course he'd go where the money is that is what sponsorship is all about.

So then why, when Huk jumps from Liquid to EG, did it make me throw up my arms and question why he could do that to Liquid? I'm still trying to figure it out. I think it has to do with how personal the whole eSports ends up feeling. Even though I cannot hope to compete at the level these players do, through my support of them by buying NASL finals tickets, GSL season tickets for every month, or buying shirts to support my players it feels like I'm vested in them on a way more personal level than I ever could hope to be with somebody like Tiger Woods or the NFL. It's that personal feeling of being vested into a persons career that is both the blessing and downfall of the SC2 scene right now.

We're in a lucky spot where people are so passionate about a game and players they know only on a superficial level that they blow up the internet with rage, but if we're not careful we might not channel that passion into the right avenues.

It was reported by Team Liquid that Huk was willing to stay with Liquid for a considerably less sum of money than other teams just to stay loyal, however Evil Geniuses offered a "Life Changing" sum of money to get him to join. The fact that a team is willing to pay somebody that much money to play Starcraft, what I am presuming must be a 6 figure salary, is good overall for the sports. Other teams will take note, and work harder to get sponsors which will in turn improve the life of their players down the road.

Even though this is a good step in the long run for eSports and SC2, in the short term is feels a bit like getting punched in the gut. In the meantime, I'll still be watching Huk play in the GSL as one of the strongest contenders for winning it. He's truly grown from not just a top foreign player, he's a top player period. Good luck Huk and I will try to work on not getting a tinge of pain from watching you wear the EG blue over the Team Liquid Blue.

***
Kipsate
Profile Blog Joined July 2010
Netherlands45349 Posts
Last Edited: 2011-08-17 00:59:35
August 17 2011 00:55 GMT
#2
It bothered me because I hate it when rich teams(and frankly, in this case, a bad but rich team) buys good players off poor teams, its not just SC2 , its SCBW aswell(and frankly, alot of sports). MBC is the best frigging farm team there is and that makes me sad, they could be so much more if they had money, but their good players (and coach too) in this case are all bought off by richer teams, and I hate that.

In the end however its an industry, and money talks(I don't blame players who do so but it still leaves a bitter taste).
WriterXiao8~~
rabidch
Profile Joined January 2010
United States20289 Posts
August 17 2011 01:04 GMT
#3
It's really a pity that GomTV still decides to keep GSL in that Code S/Code A format, it's already insanely difficult to win Code A.
LiquidDota StaffOnly a true king can play the King.
koolaid1990
Profile Joined September 2010
831 Posts
August 17 2011 01:27 GMT
#4
yea honestly, I dislike EG. I remember during the open gsl seasons, tasteless kept on plugging that he and idra were on team EG. I was like whats EG? And i got excited. Then i found out tasteless left EG. I was like why would he leave? Then i remember how idra kept saying that they had plans to make a korean house. They never made it. They figured, hey, business is good in western countries, so lets never make the korean house and never raise our skill level! And then finally, when they notice that Idra is playing bad, and their whole roster is bad, they plan to make a korean training house and buy huk. Then they announce that only the top players of their roster, idra, huk, and puma, are in that house, who are all already korean trained. Its frekin ridiculous. I mean if they want better results from people like axslav or strifecro, etc., then move them to korea! why spend a shit load of money buying huk. And if for personal reasons they couldn't, then kick them off the team and get better players like how they bought huk.
zoLo
Profile Blog Joined June 2007
United States5896 Posts
August 17 2011 01:55 GMT
#5
You act as if the players on EG all want to go to Korea. Not every player has the desire to go to Korea and train. Training in Korea does help a lot, but some people just feel comfortable where they are. Does Sheth ring a bell? He has stated on either his stream or interviews that he is more comfortable living and training in the U.S. than moving to Korea. Sheth and FXO moved to Korea a couple of months ago and Sheth ended up moving back home.

The reason why EG abandoned the house in Korea is because of the west pushing eSports and they saw the future in it. That is why IdrA left because it was booming with the creation of NASL and IPL. There is nothing wrong with him going back since he said so many times that he has no problem going back if he wanted to.

I personally don't like or hate EG, but I'm rather neutral. But hey, some people are just throwing the "EG is ruining eSports".
tMomiji
Profile Blog Joined July 2011
United States1115 Posts
August 17 2011 02:05 GMT
#6
I didn't like it because I love smaller teams, like say ROOT was, that are loyal to each other. It doesn't have as much meaning for me if you're not playing with teammates you care about and are close to. -sigh- But I don't hate EG, or HuK. That's just silly.
"I wonder if there is a league below copper? If so, I would like to inhabit it." -TotalBiscuit "In the event of a sudden change in cabin pressure, ROOF FLIES OFF!" -George Carlin <3 HerO <3 Kiwikaki <3 MKP
lizzard_warish
Profile Joined June 2011
589 Posts
August 17 2011 02:28 GMT
#7
I doubt it bothers most people, a vocal, immature and sensational minority make it a big deal though.
zev318
Profile Joined October 2010
Canada4306 Posts
August 17 2011 02:33 GMT
#8
stopped reading after "idra left korea in search of easy money"
zoLo
Profile Blog Joined June 2007
United States5896 Posts
August 17 2011 03:24 GMT
#9
On August 17 2011 11:05 OmiDeLta wrote:
I didn't like it because I love smaller teams, like say ROOT was, that are loyal to each other. It doesn't have as much meaning for me if you're not playing with teammates you care about and are close to. -sigh- But I don't hate EG, or HuK. That's just silly.


I don't agree to the fullest. If you are striving to be a PROFESSIONAL, then you need to find the players with the same attitude. If you are in a team full of lower tier players, then it can hold you back at times. The players of ROOT-Gaming wanted to stay together and find a sponsor(s) and remain as ROOT. That proved to be difficult because they had troubles finding sponsors until they got sponsored by IGN and Justin.tv and they ended up getting picked up by compLexity. Look at qxc, I'm sure he wanted to stay in ROOT, but FXO was appealing since they had financial backing to support the players.

You act like the player's teammates are his ONLY friends. I doubt there will be bad blood between HuK and the Liquid players. They could always play games and chat with one another. This happens many times in other eSports communities and sports. Despite all the shit between IdrA and HuK, I'm sure they are friendly towards each other offline. HuK mentioned before that they are chill with one another IRL. Look at IdrA and Lzgamer's relationship, IdrA would talk shit about Lz sometimes and they seem pretty neutral among each other in their videos.
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