My year in E-Sports

I write this blog to both keep a record of my experiences, and to log all the memories I had and shared with all the people in the industry of that incredible time.

I began to gain a greater love for Starcraft in 2006 when I began really paying attention to the Korean scene and, more specifically, the games of my favorite player at the time, Ma Jae-Yoon.
It wasn't until late 2010 and early 2011 that I began managing, playing, and casting in a more serious fashion, when, due to the incredible kindness of an amazing person named Michael, I was able to travel to Vancouver to cast my first, albeit very small time, tournament. As an aside, all these pictures aren't excellent quality, as they were taken with what is now a fairly outdated camera phone.

Everyone in those photos contributed greatly to my beginnings in esports (I'm the guy with bunny ears on his head), JcPingPong (in the blue sweater) and I spent countless hours discussing the game, how it related to Broodwar, and all the things that we thought the game needed to be successful North America. It was also through him that I started managing a small, but skilled team under the tag of tQ, and from there had the opportunity to travel to MLG Anaheim (2011) with Ryan (State), Michael (Spanishiwa) and a Google engineer who had a limitless and incredible passion for the game named Steven, but everyone called him Chucky.

(From left to right, those hands I believe belong to Ryan, then it's Yuri, Michael, HotBid, Kennigit, Whiplash with his old hair, Devan, and Kris.)

It was at MLG that after talking at length to Kris, the owner of Vile Gaming, that I agreed to become the teams general manager. I was ecstatic, and spent the day following everyone on the team through the bracket, even when they had matches well into the night. One moment that gives me a broad smile whenever I remember it, not to mention write about it, was Ryan's match against Destiny, who was very popular in SC2 at the time. Ryan was a comparatively unknown player, and it was difficult to find a place where I could see Ryan's screen due to the crowd that had gathered to watch their favorite streamer. When Ryan won with domineering Archon play, I cheered louder for him than I had ever cheered for a player before (and I had been pretty loud during some OSL finals), and I know that I was the only one in the crowd cheering, much to their chagrin. That would prove not to hold for too long however, as from that day on as Ryan continued to play, I would become only one of many fans. Everyone did well that tournament outside of Michael, who was so nervous (first live event) that he built two roach warrens or some other building that didn't require redundancy. That was fine however, as his tournament play exploded after that weekend.
The after party, held at a bar called Fire and Ice, was a notable evening that now, upon recollecting who was there and the conversations we had, I understand to have been one of the first relaxed amalgamations of everyone in the scene who, considering how young North American esports still was, could not even then predict how successful they would become in the near future. Whiplash for example, who we had lunch with in the pic above, was expecting to join a German (I think) based team, which ended up being a bust. Many would give up after an experience like that, but he did not, and is now casting proleague. Also, I was lucky enough to grab this picture, but I know there was someone on my right that took a better quality one that went around TL for a while.

With the night over, we walked back with a jubilant White-Ra, who had a room near ours, and I explained how to defend against Colossus play to his Russian friend.

(MLG Raleigh)

It was at SFO the day before MLG Raleigh that Ryan, Michael, Chucky and I learned an important lesson about being at least two hours early for your flight. After being misdirected twice during a busy check in hour, we scrambled to our gate only to find it freshly closed. Thanks to the fantastic diplomatic skills of Chucky however, we were ready to board a new flight in a short time. North Carolina is one of those places that makes you aware of a changing environment and its effect on players, as humidity had clearly conquered this part of the U.S., and it collected its tax the moment you walked through the sliding glass doors of the airport. With a new sponsorship by Razer and great recent play, we were in high spirits for Raleigh, and along with good results we were able to spend time with more people that would become friends of the team for a long time. Michael was interviewed by Husky, and I held the camera and screwed up a date (Husky lay down interview with Spanishiwa). As an aside, I never really got a chance to thank him for his support of the team enough. He went out of his way several times to support us for no reason other than that he wanted to see the players do well.
This was also one of those few fortunate MLG events where Tasteless and Artosis were able to come cast, and other than Kris and Yuri (HasHe) scolding Sean Plott for saying Yuri's handle wrong, my favorite memory had to be a moment immediately after where thanks to Lucas, a manager (and general cool guy) for EG at the time, introduced a very nervous David Lorio (another generally amazing guy) to Nick and Dan. Dan even bought pizza for the entire after party in a random act of kindness to end the evening with.

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(IPL 3)

IPL 3, to me, was the first esports tournament in North America for SC2 and League that could be described as being grand enough to appeal to a much wider audience than before, especially for a live venue. Seeing the tournament advertised on the enormous electric billboards on the drive into Atlantic City was awe inspiring, and the positive treatment we received throughout the tournament was a welcome change from the hostility of an MLG open bracket pit. Their post production video, (IPL3 in 2 minutes) is a great showcase of a tournament, and I still use it as an example in presentations today. Everyone did well despite tough brackets, and Michael played and won his first match in a booth against Trimaster. Even though there were some initial difficulties with the internet on site, it sparked a spontaneous Brood War match between Huk and Boxer, which was extremely fun to watch. We also had the gift of hanging out with Tempo, one of the most kind and energetic people in the scene, and met Violet and Gus, aka AZK Witchdoc, who invited us to the Philippines for a tournament at his expense. I was eager to accept, but due to the short time left, Ryan would be unable to get a passport in time, an event that, if anyone remembers the fallout from that tournament, would prove to be lucky.

(Jungho being shy)

Providence, being a city that possessed such a luxury of architecture that one is forced to admire it, was a perfect location to end the MLG season. Everyone knew how insane the bracket was going into the tournament, and I specifically remember talk about Leenock's play as we drove to the venue on the first day. I hadn't considered it until this moment of writing, but one of the most enjoyable aspects of MLG is simply being able to see and greet all the familiar and warm faces of those that came from across the country to enjoy a competition. In this regard, there is no limit to the amount of people I could forget to thank.
I was incredibly proud of the progress every player had made, and the games they played before and into the championship bracket stood on their own as a example of their progress. (I still go back and watch the Vod's everyone now and then, they really are that good).

(IPL4)

IPL4 at Vegas was the most special and fun experience I've ever had in any profession. Both Ian and Chucky, completely of their own volition and for no other reason than wanting to enrich the lives of the players, completely spoiled us throughout the tournament. We had steak, sushi near the Hard Rock, and were even taken to see the Blue Man Group, where the happiness was so visible on everyone in the team during the toilet paper wave, that it's something I'll never forget as long as I live.
IPL, of course, hosted an excellent tournament. The player pit was crowded with small names and big names alike, but the staff, comprised of amazing people like Lucas and Kaila, kept things running smoothly. I remember several of the matches being incredibly close, but everyone on the team beat some extraordinarily talented players, several Koreans included. That evening would be the last time I saw many people that contributed to modern esports much much more than they will ever receive credit for, but even being able to simply know the people responsible for sparking a generation of interest in competitive gaming is something I mark as a point of luck in life.

I cannot possibly thank every single person that helped us in some way, just like I know I would be unable to recall every single moment that made me happy to be involved in this work. What stays with me most are the random memories, like getting Devan from the hotel and running back to the venue across a skybridge while Chucky delayed a match forfeiture due to lateness (schedule mix up), Ryan and I getting a sleep deprived breakfast in a hotel diner and talking to a kind waitress about video games, the trip to Brazil with Chris and my mistake of eating food at the venue instead of the hotel, Hanah and her pies plus constant support, Kaila (MLG brackets) and her friendliness combined with her personal approach to the players, Gimble and Arn for interviewing me and even though they misspelled my name, I blame that on my odd name, and the interview was still really fun. Lucas and his open kindness to everyone, philosophy debates with Zac on a casino floor, meeting Michael's parents for the first time and seeing how supportive they were, having an afternoon talk with Yuri about Russia, laughs and conversations with Kris, surviving Anh's fury (a joke, she was a critical pillar of support that we couldn't have done without), every moment in time when we could get Jungho to break out of his shell, all the fans that stopped us for signatures and pictures and to cheer us on, Fujikura and his companionship with the players, Ian and Chucky both for both being amazing people unto themselves that deserve all the kindness in the world, and for making everything possible for the players, Kevin Knocke for being so warm to the players and for that one tiny LAN in the SF area that ended up being so enjoyable, every member of EG and Liquid, and every game of TL Mafia.

Not one of them had an easy path to achieve notareity, but they were incredible players regardless, and to me they will always be the best. Knowing them, and everyone that supported them is an experience I am lucky to have, and it really meant the world to me. I'll post more pictures after the hourly upload cap expires, and thank you for reading.

Andy Lemenager
Atticus

Photos from that time
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