Why do kids get the hate? - Page 7

On June 26 2011 04:17 v1dom wrote:
As a leader of an eSports team, I can give you a few reasons we don't accept or consider players under 18.

1. Contracts for persons under 18 have to be signed by a parent/guardian, and it's up to the parent/guardian to be responsible for the child. Imagine an underage player breaks their contract, and I literally have to call their mom to discuss legal ramifications of their actions. In my WC3 days, I had to do this once, and it was completely embarrassing for everyone involved, including me.

2. Due to the fact that most persons under 18 are in school, this presents issues with availability and reliability. MLG events, for example, always start at 10am on a Friday morning, when you're sitting in class (outside the summer months). Are your parents going to let you skip school to compete? Can you stay up til 1am for a match against a European team?

3. Children are erratic. Most kids (even ones taking the game seriously) have issues with a wide range of erratic behavoir and unreliability. Adults are (for the most part, but not always) stable, with stable schedules and the time and money to invest in their game without being reliant on anyone but themselves. You can't drive to LAN events (or anywhere). How will you get to the LAN event 3 hours from your house? Is your guardian's dedication to the game as strong as your own?

4. Travel to major events (interstate): Are your parents going to let you fly to MLG and other events alone? Most hotels require a person over 21 to be present in the room. Do you realize that I, your manager, would be legally responsible for you as your "guardian" if not accompanied by a parent? If you got hit by a bus, or lost in the city, or were just a pint sized hellion and went out on the town drinking, I would be legally liable for anything and everything you did. The players on my team are all grown adults - the definition of professionals - and I still reiterate to them that when they room with each other at major events, that I am not responsible for what happens in their room(s).

5. Many major tournaments require that you be 18+ to compete or accept prizes.

These are just a few reasons. I certainly don't "hate on" underage players, but in order for me personally to consider a player under 18, their skill level would have to vastly outweigh the RISKS (and they are), I've outlined above.

You mentioned Pokebunny in your OP. This is an example of a young man who is the "one in a million," with both the talent, professionalism and history to warrant being on a professional team. For every one Pokebunny (and he may be one of a kind outside Korea), there are probably thousands or hundreds of thousands who aren't.

Edit: If you are the second in a million, with top grandmaster talent, a stable attitude (unlikely since you've admitted you've bad mannered in the recent past), parents who are completely understanding and supporting of your hobby, and willing to discuss year-long legal contracts, which will bind their 13 year old son to what amounts essentially to a close-to-full-time job, don't hesitate to e-mail me.

Domino
4Kings

On June 26 2011 06:08 KawaiiRice wrote:

I was not addressing the tournament part of his post at all because it's utter bs. Not only did I compete in said tournaments, I was also invited to them while under 18 lol. There are practically no tournaments that ask for your age and I've only had that problem one time.

On June 26 2011 06:21 Crystal368 wrote:


Do you really think you get all the hate just because you're young? If you are being well mannered and mature people will eventually stop bothering you because you're young, you're saying you're fixing the attitude problems, but with the history of even getting banned for dis-respect, you might be in for a tough race.

I've had a lot of experiences with kids, or I guess; young teenagers, around your age, in games. I don't have anything against different ages at all, but it's a fact that there are a lot of immature kids, obviously.

On June 26 2011 06:43 Nagisa. wrote:


Excuse me, I said I have made a lot of mistakes, you have probably made thousands of more mistakes seeing as how you are much older than me. We all make mistakes, I didn't say, I flame on a regular basis and I'm always immature. I said I have made mistakes. Thank you.

On June 26 2011 04:15 BronzeKnee wrote:
It comes down to maturity and responsibility. One might think their parents can drive them, but something comes up, and then they miss a match or two. People not showing up really plagues tourneys, and inviting people under 18 is inviting these kinds of issues, and I saw this first hand with a few players in the New England Starcraft 2 League.

Pokebunny got knocked out of MLG because he was late for his match. Perhaps if had double checked his schedule he wouldn't have been knocked out like that, and that is something you learn overtime in life. He won't make that mistake again I am sure, but it is too bad he wasn't 26 and didn't learn that earlier in life, when it may not have mattered as much.

On June 26 2011 06:43 Nagisa. wrote:


Excuse me, I said I have made a lot of mistakes, you have probably made thousands of more mistakes seeing as how you are much older than me. We all make mistakes, I didn't say, I flame on a regular basis and I'm always immature. I said I have made mistakes. Thank you.