• Log InLog In
  • Register
Liquid`
Team Liquid Liquipedia
EDT 08:27
CEST 14:27
KST 21:27
  • Home
  • Forum
  • Calendar
  • Streams
  • Liquipedia
  • Features
  • Store
  • EPT
  • TL+
  • StarCraft 2
  • Brood War
  • Smash
  • Heroes
  • Counter-Strike
  • Overwatch
  • Liquibet
  • Fantasy StarCraft
  • TLPD
  • StarCraft 2
  • Brood War
  • Blogs
Forum Sidebar
Events/Features
News
Featured News
[ASL19] Finals Recap: Standing Tall9HomeStory Cup 27 - Info & Preview18Classic wins Code S Season 2 (2025)16Code S RO4 & Finals Preview: herO, Rogue, Classic, GuMiho0TL Team Map Contest #5: Presented by Monster Energy6
Community News
Flash Announces Hiatus From ASL62Weekly Cups (June 23-29): Reynor in world title form?13FEL Cracov 2025 (July 27) - $8000 live event21Esports World Cup 2025 - Final Player Roster16Weekly Cups (June 16-22): Clem strikes back1
StarCraft 2
General
Program: SC2 / XSplit / OBS Scene Switcher The SCII GOAT: A statistical Evaluation Statistics for vetoed/disliked maps Weekly Cups (June 23-29): Reynor in world title form? PiG Sty Festival #5: Playoffs Preview + Groups Recap
Tourneys
RSL: Revival, a new crowdfunded tournament series Sparkling Tuna Cup - Weekly Open Tournament WardiTV Mondays FEL Cracov 2025 (July 27) - $8000 live event Korean Starcraft League Week 77
Strategy
How did i lose this ZvP, whats the proper response Simple Questions Simple Answers
Custom Maps
[UMS] Zillion Zerglings
External Content
Mutation # 480 Moths to the Flame Mutation # 479 Worn Out Welcome Mutation # 478 Instant Karma Mutation # 477 Slow and Steady
Brood War
General
Player “Jedi” cheat on CSL SC uni coach streams logging into betting site Flash Announces Hiatus From ASL Practice Partners (Official) ASL20 Preliminary Maps
Tourneys
[BSL20] Grand Finals - Sunday 20:00 CET [Megathread] Daily Proleagues Small VOD Thread 2.0 [BSL20] GosuLeague RO16 - Tue & Wed 20:00+CET
Strategy
Simple Questions, Simple Answers I am doing this better than progamers do.
Other Games
General Games
Path of Exile Stormgate/Frost Giant Megathread Nintendo Switch Thread What do you want from future RTS games? Beyond All Reason
Dota 2
Official 'what is Dota anymore' discussion
League of Legends
Heroes of the Storm
Simple Questions, Simple Answers Heroes of the Storm 2.0
Hearthstone
Heroes of StarCraft mini-set
TL Mafia
TL Mafia Community Thread Vanilla Mini Mafia
Community
General
US Politics Mega-thread Russo-Ukrainian War Thread Summer Games Done Quick 2025! Trading/Investing Thread Things Aren’t Peaceful in Palestine
Fan Clubs
SKT1 Classic Fan Club! Maru Fan Club
Media & Entertainment
Anime Discussion Thread [Manga] One Piece [\m/] Heavy Metal Thread
Sports
2024 - 2025 Football Thread Formula 1 Discussion NBA General Discussion TeamLiquid Health and Fitness Initiative For 2023 NHL Playoffs 2024
World Cup 2022
Tech Support
Computer Build, Upgrade & Buying Resource Thread
TL Community
Blogs
Culture Clash in Video Games…
TrAiDoS
from making sc maps to makin…
Husyelt
Blog #2
tankgirl
StarCraft improvement
iopq
Trip to the Zoo
micronesia
Customize Sidebar...

Website Feedback

Closed Threads



Active: 750 users

A Noob's Guide to Watching eSports

Blogs > AsmodeusXI
Post a Reply
AsmodeusXI
Profile Blog Joined July 2007
United States15536 Posts
August 20 2013 15:36 GMT
#1
Hey TL readers! I wrote this blog a little bit ago, and, obviously, it's directed at people who don't watch eSports very often. Since that ISN'T the norm on TL, I was hoping to get a little feedback on what you think about my tips. Did I miss anything? Any disagreements? Anything else? Post away!


One of the biggest eSports events of 2013 occurred this weekend: DotA2′s third annual premier tournament, The International. It was the biggest and best of them thus far, featuring incredible games, amazing storylines, screaming crowds, and brilliant organization. The event was well attended by hordes of die-hard DotA fans, but hundreds of thousands of viewers also tuned in online to witness the grand spectacle. As such, there were likely newcomers to DotA2, MOBAs, or eSports overall who turned on the stream to discover what this hugely-watched, multimillion dollar affair was all about. And, most likely, they were COMPLETELY OVERWHELMED.

DotA is not an easy game. Nor is any game with an eSports scene because if they were easy, there’d be no reason for competition. Yet even watching eSports games can be confusing. While every gamer knows a depleted health bar means death, they might not understand what skills are used to secure the kill or why the death is relevant in the flow of the game or where the health bar even is there are so many graphics on the screen holy shit I DON’T KNOW WHAT’S GOING ON. If your first spectated game is a bad/weird/otherwise atypical (see TI3′s record breaking contest between DK and iG), then you might be turned off even if a typical match would be something you’d love.

Playing eSports titles always involves a barrier of entry and watching them also requires a good deal of knowledge just to understand what’s going on. However, once you’re prepared, eSports are as fun to watch as traditional sports (if not more… golf). This post is dedicated to those who have never watched an eSport event in their lives, but are interested in taking the plunge. Here’s what you need to properly enjoy your eSports viewing experience.

Watch A Once-Off Tournament
There’s no better way to get into eSports than by watching a short but massive tournament. While there are leagues that stretch for months with important rematches and ranking dynamics and ongoing rivalries, there’s no way to easily follow them without watching from the very beginning. If you’re new to eSports, there’s no desire to take that road because the most interesting games (the finals) are often ages away. In contrast, a once-off tournament like EVO, The International, or an MLG gives you all the excitement up front and completely resolves soon afterwards. Even if there were tons of qualifiers preceding the tournament, once the main event begins it’s as if everything starts from scratch. Teams are introduced, preliminary and group stage matches are played, finals are won, and then it’s over. You can get wonderful eSports experience over 3 or 4 days, if not under 10 hours. Plus, if you watch a shorter tournament, it’s more likely that casters/analysts will be explaining rules and concepts you didn’t know. That is, unless you…

Play The Game
If you’re jumping into an eSports event for the first time, you probably don’t have the time to install/buy the game and play it a decent amount. Instead, someone will probably post the stream link or you’ll see its viewership on Reddit or Twitch and start watching on a whim. While tuning in without playing the game is just fine, you should absolutely do so if you get the chance. Playing a game is the fastest and easiest way to understand the rules, comprehend player choices, and parse the graphical effects on the screen (which can often be a blur to the uninitiated). If you’ve spent some time with the game, watching others play it is far more enjoyable; things tend to be more fun when you aren’t perpetually confused. Playing the game will give you the useful perspective of just how difficult the tasks performed by the players are. If you’ve ever watched Starcraft 2‘s INnoVation flawlessly micro widow mines while constantly producing units, then tried to do it yourself, you’ll know what I’m saying. Knowing the difficulty of the actions a pro accomplishes goes a long way in establishing the WOW factor that makes eSports so great. But if you really don’t have the time to play yourself, you should…

Watch With Someone Who Does
The impetus for watching the eSports event may be another person in your life who is already a big fan and trying to find others who will watch as well. Or perhaps you know someone that plays the game that you can call to say “Hey, I want to watch this.” Either way, your experienced friend can probably fill in your knowledge gaps for the in-game moments you don’t understand. In fact, another human’s explanations will likely be far more coherent and straightforward than the information you collect in your own gaming experience (which will be very different from professional play). Regardless of whether or not your friend is “good” at the game, even a little bit of extra knowledge and help can clear up an otherwise obscure viewing experience. Not only that, but having a good time with your friend will add to the fun of the event itself, particularly if his/her cheers or groans are compelling you to do the same. You find that yelling at the screen will be second-nature if you initially…

Investigate The Past
Most pro-gaming scenes have a long and storied history, particularly if they’re leading to a massive, ultra-hyped event such as The International. Teams will have rivalries, historic weak points, unexpected prosperities, statistical anomalies, favored Heroes/Champions/Fighters/Characters/whatever, and controversial opinions or tactics. Knowing where the crowd’s love or hate comes from is a great way to build some of your own and determine where, when, and why you root for a given team. For example, knowing that Na’vi attended every International’s Finals or that iG was last year’s champion can change your perspective on the event from mild interest to a roller coaster of emotions (okay, that’s an exaggeration, but it helps a lot). Another example of essential history hails from League of Legends: knowing that half of Curse used to be on CLG makes CLG v. Curse matches a big deal for the teams’ fans. It’s also good to go waaaaaay back and watch some “classic” eSports moments to discover the origins of certain lingo or iconic eSports moments. If you hear someone reference EE HAN TIMING or Daigo Umehara or something important to the scene, it’s nice to be in the know. And speaking of emotions…

Find “Your Team/Player”
There’s no better way to enjoy a tournament than by finding a player or team to favor throughout the event. Those who more immersed in the eSports scene may already be fanboys for a given entity, but if you’re just starting to watch eSports you can figure out your own loyalties. Whether you root for the favorites or the dark horse or the underdogs, having something to cheer for will help you enjoy any competitive event, including and especially eSports. So jump on the Cloud 9/Team Liquid/Woogjin/TPA/Alliance/iG train and ride it as far into the tournament as you can. Sure, you may have to swap allegiances halfway through if your team falls out of the event, but that’s the benefit of having relatively little investment: you can be mercurial as hell. It may feel a bit like bandwagoning, but who cares if it gets you excited to watch your team’s sick plays? Last but not least…

Buy Into The Hype
Look, at some point everyone that gets into eSports thinks “Yeah, but aren’t they just clicking buttons on a computer to make graphics move? Is this really anything?” This is pretty natural: we aren’t really conditioned to think of non-physical competitions as very legitimate. The beauty of eSports is that it’s totally legitimate, but it does initially require you to dismiss that nagging doubt. ESports is one of the many endeavors for which you need to take a leap of faith if you don’t get it at first. You’re not going to enjoy an event (even if you want to) if you’re thinking about how “those guys are just sitting in soundproof booths doing almost nothing.” So there may be some time where you have to wing it and explicitly tell yourself to buy into the hype. Luckily, there’s no better venue at which to do this than a huge eSports event like TI3. When you first stop comparing DotA to the Olympics, you’ll simply see the roaring crowds and screaming casters. You’ll see the deflated defeated and the ecstatic victors. You’ll see the detailed analyses, in-depth strategies, and incredible effort that goes into each match and each moment in between. And you’ll see gaming perfection, a quality of play that you’ll rarely see anywhere else (and never while playing yourself). When you come back to that Olympian comparison, suddenly you’ll understand why eSports is growing every day. You’ll know why gaming professionals are just as impressive as pro athletes and why eSports tournaments are just as fun to watch as the Super Bowl. By then, you’ll be an eSports fan, and you’ll never look back.


You can read this post and many more at the N3rd Dimension.

**
WriterTL > RL. BNet: Asmodeus#1187 - LoL: DJForeclosure - Steam: asmodeusxi | www.n3rddimension.com
crayhasissues
Profile Blog Joined July 2010
United States682 Posts
August 20 2013 18:08 GMT
#2
I think its a good article. Seems like you covered everything important.

My girlfriend even watched The International 3 with me because she saw how "into it" I was. She even found a team (Alliance) that she liked, and also a player (Akke, so superficial, right? ).
twitch.tv/crayhasissues ||| @crayhasissues on twitter ||| Dota 2 Streamer that loves to help new players!
Please log in or register to reply.
Live Events Refresh
WardiTV European League
12:00
Swiss Groups Day 2
WardiTV605
TKL 425
Liquipedia
FEL
12:00
Cracov 2025: Qualifier #2
IndyStarCraft 274
CranKy Ducklings74
Liquipedia
[ Submit Event ]
Live Streams
Refresh
StarCraft 2
TKL 425
IndyStarCraft 274
Rex 153
MindelVK 43
StarCraft: Brood War
Sea 10979
Calm 9279
Rain 7514
Bisu 2823
Horang2 2367
Hyuk 1368
Jaedong 1332
Shuttle 506
Rush 473
EffOrt 350
[ Show more ]
Stork 286
Leta 268
Last 221
PianO 212
Mini 206
ToSsGirL 155
Hyun 151
ZerO 95
TY 84
hero 52
JYJ48
Movie 42
Killer 34
JulyZerg 27
ajuk12(nOOB) 25
Barracks 21
Free 20
zelot 19
GoRush 19
HiyA 18
Sacsri 17
Terrorterran 6
Icarus 4
ivOry 2
Stormgate
NightEnD11
Dota 2
qojqva2432
XcaliburYe536
canceldota67
League of Legends
singsing2755
Counter-Strike
Stewie2K985
x6flipin650
zeus377
Heroes of the Storm
Khaldor343
Other Games
Gorgc2403
B2W.Neo1403
DeMusliM490
Fuzer 372
Pyrionflax352
Happy350
crisheroes325
XaKoH 257
Hui .174
RotterdaM143
ArmadaUGS62
KnowMe23
ZerO(Twitch)17
Organizations
StarCraft: Brood War
CasterMuse 22
StarCraft 2
Blizzard YouTube
StarCraft: Brood War
BSLTrovo
sctven
[ Show 13 non-featured ]
StarCraft 2
• StrangeGG 45
• iHatsuTV 1
• AfreecaTV YouTube
• intothetv
• Kozan
• IndyKCrew
• LaughNgamezSOOP
• Migwel
• sooper7s
StarCraft: Brood War
• BSLYoutube
• STPLYoutube
• ZZZeroYoutube
Dota 2
• WagamamaTV830
Upcoming Events
BSL: ProLeague
5h 33m
Dewalt vs Bonyth
Replay Cast
1d 11h
Sparkling Tuna Cup
1d 21h
WardiTV European League
2 days
The PondCast
2 days
Replay Cast
3 days
RSL Revival
3 days
ByuN vs SHIN
Clem vs Reynor
Replay Cast
4 days
RSL Revival
4 days
Classic vs Cure
FEL
5 days
[ Show More ]
RSL Revival
5 days
FEL
5 days
FEL
6 days
Sparkling Tuna Cup
6 days
RSL Revival
6 days
Liquipedia Results

Completed

BSL 2v2 Season 3
HSC XXVII
Heroes 10 EU

Ongoing

JPL Season 2
BSL Season 20
Acropolis #3
KCM Race Survival 2025 Season 2
CSL 17: 2025 SUMMER
Copa Latinoamericana 4
Jiahua Invitational
Championship of Russia 2025
RSL Revival: Season 1
Murky Cup #2
BLAST.tv Austin Major 2025
ESL Impact League Season 7
IEM Dallas 2025
PGL Astana 2025
Asian Champions League '25
BLAST Rivals Spring 2025
MESA Nomadic Masters
CCT Season 2 Global Finals
IEM Melbourne 2025

Upcoming

2025 ACS Season 2: Qualifier
CSLPRO Last Chance 2025
2025 ACS Season 2
CSLPRO Chat StarLAN 3
K-Championship
uThermal 2v2 Main Event
SEL Season 2 Championship
FEL Cracov 2025
Esports World Cup 2025
StarSeries Fall 2025
FISSURE Playground #2
BLAST Open Fall 2025
BLAST Open Fall Qual
Esports World Cup 2025
BLAST Bounty Fall 2025
BLAST Bounty Fall Qual
IEM Cologne 2025
FISSURE Playground #1
TLPD

1. ByuN
2. TY
3. Dark
4. Solar
5. Stats
6. Nerchio
7. sOs
8. soO
9. INnoVation
10. Elazer
1. Rain
2. Flash
3. EffOrt
4. Last
5. Bisu
6. Soulkey
7. Mini
8. Sharp
Sidebar Settings...

Advertising | Privacy Policy | Terms Of Use | Contact Us

Original banner artwork: Jim Warren
The contents of this webpage are copyright © 2025 TLnet. All Rights Reserved.