EPTOn February 20 2012 09:39 Jacobs Ladder wrote:
Let me tell you a story. Almost two years ago a group of less than 30 students got together to start a starcraft club. Our first tournament had a budget of exactly the entrance fee, we manage a $700 prize pool. That was higher than I thought it would be, considering we started with literally nothing. It was held in a classroom where the players and spectators sat and an office for the players being casted. It was small and only a few big name players came. We ate lunch together it was awesome.
Tespa barely broke even after that tournament. Our only sponser stiffed us. We made it though. We grew, gained more officers to help run events and managed to find a few ways of making money (for example, selling donuts around campus and our probe shirt, which Day9 and Huk wear on occasion). We learned and we decided our next tournament was going to be bigger and better. Despite bureaucratic bullshit from the university and a few other problems we did it. A $1500 tournament, a better venue, a some great games. This was amazing. We're just a group of college kids, most of us engineering and computer science students with no experience running events and we did this!
Once again, we wanted more. I sadly had to bow out of tespa at this point. This is a volunteer organization and real life had caught up with me. Because of my lessened involvement I'm less familiar with our third tournament but just as proud of it. It was $3000, once again doubling our prize pool (and more than doubling our budget). Incontrol came in to cast it in our first really professional venue. We weren't in a classroom anymore, this was a fucking ballroom! The players too, had been steadily improving. At the first tournament only a few pros showed up looking easy money (or, as ZpuX, an exchange student from Sweden put it, "beer money"). The second was an improvement, we had a few semi-pros. This time our brackets were stacked, we had Vile Hawk and State, QxG.Inka, KiwiClone's Binksi and HeavonEarth as well as several other GM players. It barely resembled the amateur, one room, overheated first tournament. By most standards it was a professional event.
Now they're hosting a $10k dollar invitational, real pros from all over the world flying to Austin Texas because less than 3 friends got together and started a club. Numerous colleges driving countless miles because 30 people met in a classroom and thought this sounded awesome. You say this sort of thing will kill Esports in the west. I say this is the only way to grow esports in the west. The Rosen's, CSN, and all of Tespa are running this invitational because they love it. This isn't for fame or glory, its because they are passionate and driven.
This is the future of esports and I'm proud to be tangentially associated with it.
Let me tell you a story. Almost two years ago a group of less than 30 students got together to start a starcraft club. Our first tournament had a budget of exactly the entrance fee, we manage a $700 prize pool. That was higher than I thought it would be, considering we started with literally nothing. It was held in a classroom where the players and spectators sat and an office for the players being casted. It was small and only a few big name players came. We ate lunch together it was awesome.
Tespa barely broke even after that tournament. Our only sponser stiffed us. We made it though. We grew, gained more officers to help run events and managed to find a few ways of making money (for example, selling donuts around campus and our probe shirt, which Day9 and Huk wear on occasion). We learned and we decided our next tournament was going to be bigger and better. Despite bureaucratic bullshit from the university and a few other problems we did it. A $1500 tournament, a better venue, a some great games. This was amazing. We're just a group of college kids, most of us engineering and computer science students with no experience running events and we did this!
Once again, we wanted more. I sadly had to bow out of tespa at this point. This is a volunteer organization and real life had caught up with me. Because of my lessened involvement I'm less familiar with our third tournament but just as proud of it. It was $3000, once again doubling our prize pool (and more than doubling our budget). Incontrol came in to cast it in our first really professional venue. We weren't in a classroom anymore, this was a fucking ballroom! The players too, had been steadily improving. At the first tournament only a few pros showed up looking easy money (or, as ZpuX, an exchange student from Sweden put it, "beer money"). The second was an improvement, we had a few semi-pros. This time our brackets were stacked, we had Vile Hawk and State, QxG.Inka, KiwiClone's Binksi and HeavonEarth as well as several other GM players. It barely resembled the amateur, one room, overheated first tournament. By most standards it was a professional event.
Now they're hosting a $10k dollar invitational, real pros from all over the world flying to Austin Texas because less than 3 friends got together and started a club. Numerous colleges driving countless miles because 30 people met in a classroom and thought this sounded awesome. You say this sort of thing will kill Esports in the west. I say this is the only way to grow esports in the west. The Rosen's, CSN, and all of Tespa are running this invitational because they love it. This isn't for fame or glory, its because they are passionate and driven.
This is the future of esports and I'm proud to be tangentially associated with it.
Thanks for writing this^^ Its really nice to have this kind of insight. I hope this one is gonna be very successful!
That being said - I too prefer real tournaments over invitationals, but from an organizers perspective, sometimes invitationals seem to be the better choice. There is nothing wrong with that.
Keep up the good work!
![[image loading]](http://www.nintendojo.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/Metroid-Other-M-Samus-Thumbs-Down.jpg)
