|
Hey everyone!
Some of you might know me, a lot of you probably don't. I'm Wardí and over the past three years I have been producing Starcraft 2 tournaments and content under my solo-project SC2Improve, which started as a low league community. Since starting over €5000 of prizes have been given out in my tournaments, with my most successful event being the SC2I Team League (http://wiki.teamliquid.net/starcraft2/SC2Improve_Team_League_S4) which has seen a crazy amount of success this year in particular. A more detailed introduction of me can be found in my blog post from a few months ago : http://www.teamliquid.net/blogs/467411-almost-three-years-down
SC2Improve has always been my project, but it has always been on the side of my studies at University for the past four years. For the past year and a half in particular I've always had the crazy idea of trying to make my dream a reality - to dip myself into the eSports life and after a lot of consideration I have decided to take some time over the next few months to see what I am able to achieve if I put everything I have into Starcraft, instead of it just being my hobby. It's kind of scary and daunting - but I full believe that if I don't take this opportunity which I have created for myself and push it to the extremes then I will only regret it later in my life. My parents are very supportive of my interest in investing the next months into being full time and it is their support which is one of the main reasons I am able to live this dream, so a huge amount of appreciation to them for letting me run with this.
Again, this is something I have thought about doing long and hard, but it is something I am very passionate about and even if it doesn't end in fireworks and celebrations I feel there is a lot for me to learn with this experience. Since I started SC2Improve I have poured my heart and soul into it, consistently looking for ways to improve our tournaments, broadcasts, website and more. I will look to continue doing this and I've outlined below some of what you can expect from me in the near future.
SC2Improve Team League Season 5
The success of Season 4 of the SC2ITL was the main turning point in my decision to go full-time. I won't bore you with the statistics and stuff here, but the growth of my Twitch, Twitter, Youtube and pretty much everything has been exponential since I started the fourth season of the team league.
As my most successful tournament you can expect Season 5 to start in the near future. One of my first time-sinks of being full-time is going to be sponsorship hunting to make Season 5 bigger and better than Season 4. But I also want to go one step further. The stories and histories of the team league are amazing. You can watch teams improve through a season, get through a rough patch, upset other teams, get revenge for defeats in previous seasons and a lot more. It's what I love most about the team league and it's something I want to push in Season 5.
My goal for Season 5 of the team league is to create a completely-immersive experience. I want it to be a league where you don't just tune in watch some games and leave after enjoying some Starcraft. I want to create an experience where you become interested in how these teams are doing and get you invested to the stories forming in front of us. I aim to set up the SC2ITL website so that you can find everything you need to keep fully up to date with the league - match scores and details, player statistics, VODs, interviews, previews and recaps and just in general anything to get you invested into the journey which will be SC2ITL Season 5.
Consistent Streaming
Being able to commit full time to Starcraft means that I am finally going to be able to have some kind of a schedule! I haven't fully decided what exactly I'm going to do but for now I will be streaming at least once per day. Not only will I be broadcasting SC2Improve and other events in the evenings, but I will be streaming my ladder sessions alongside some other fun show ideas that I have. Being able to stream every day means that every single SC2I match will be streamed and I will be able to maximize the amount of other content I am able to stream too, which has been very minimal before now.
I'm also going to be putting on a lot more rebroadcasts. With a lot more content being produced their is going to be a lot more to fill time. Again this is something I will look into in more detail as time goes by and especially once SC2ITL S5 begins.
SC2I Winter Spring Series Finals
I currently have about $1500 (mostly thanks to Feardragon!!) to give away which was originally meant for the SC2Improve Winter Series Finals, but because of all the disruptions in the tournament I will be labeling it as a separate event. The aim for this is to get it up and running at the start of July, after this Season of WCS concludes. More details on this will come closer to the time.
Youtube Content
With more time on my hands I fully intend to delve more into the world of content outside of casting matches. Again currently there are just a couple of ideas floating around my head, but I am hoping to make at least two separate weekly Youtube series, alongside increasing the quality of VODs from the casts and creating video content to help promote the team league.
Travelling
Taking the time to be full-time in Starcraft is also allowing me some time to travel to Starcraft events. This year I have already been to the WCS Season 1 Finals as well as working at both Gfinity events as the observer and it turns out that going to events live is SICK. Currently I have plans to attend the Basetrade TV tournament in Toronto in August and I also have my Blizzcon ticket booked for November. I'm hoping to get myself to Dreamhack as well at least, as well as just seeing what else comes up through the year.
Hopefully I will be able to create some Youtube content from my trips and stuff, but will see how it is going!
UK Tournaments
I'm from the UK and honestly the Starcraft scene over here sucks. I've already ran some tournaments called the UK Revival Series to try and keep the UK Scene alive and kicking and I will be putting in a lot of effort to run these events at a more frequent rate as well.
The addition of the Gfinity Starcraft tournaments have already been a great boost to the UK Scene and hopefully we can continue to build the interest in Starcraft over here!
As you can see, I'm really going to throw everything I have at this opportunity and I hope you guys are able to check out some of my content in the near future! The next few days I will be packing up and leaving University and drinking a bunch, but will be streaming SC2ITL semi-finals and some other things and from next week the hard work really does begin!
If you want to follow me on my journey you should check out my website, stream or twitter. You can also follow SC2Improve on twitter and facebook.
|
Good luck Wardy791, may your dream become a reality and may all that you live for become what you die for.
Lots of love
Me
|
All the best with your choice 
|
GL in your journey
|
You certainly have my support. Your kinds of efforts are always critical to the game's sustainability.
|
|
|
|
|
Awesome, best of luck!
Also:
On June 05 2015 20:26 CoachPouch wrote:
Good luck Wardy791, may your dream become a reality and may all that you live for become what you die for.
Lots of love
Me
Not entrely sure if you've just wished him his death :p?
|
All the best Wardi.
I have seen some of your production in the past and it was pretty good; now that you can dedicate more time to it can only mean better things.
|
France9034 Posts
I remember getting (not for long though) into the SCImprove community a while ago, in 2011 I think, when it was just a bunch of people trying to get better at the game, and exit silver/gold/platin through the roof. I did not stick there unfortunately, but it's amazing to see where it has come from and what you did since then.
Huge props for that, Wardi, and good luck with going full time SC2
|
Good luck and all the best 
|
Good luck Wardi, i'm pretty sure it will worth the try ; I enjoy watching your streams from time to time. Wish you success and a lot of fun.
|
|
|
|
|
Do you mind sharing any insight in your current profitability? I've never looked at sc2improve and thought you were making any money at all.
Just seems like a tough segment of the community to monitize enough to go fulltime.
|
China6329 Posts
Good luck Wardi and you deserve all the success for everything you do for the community!
|
GL! cant wait for SC2ITL 5!
|
You've come a damn long way since the 2011 practice channel, its really awesome
Good luck
|
|
|
I hope you can make a living out of it.
|
how do i participate in SC2Improve
|
Those who do not risk, do not achieve bigger things! SCITL 5 will be great, looking forward to it!
|
On June 05 2015 21:17 Ragnarork wrote:I remember getting (not for long though) into the SCImprove community a while ago, in 2011 I think, when it was just a bunch of people trying to get better at the game, and exit silver/gold/platin through the roof. I did not stick there unfortunately, but it's amazing to see where it has come from and what you did since then. Huge props for that, Wardi, and good luck with going full time SC2
It's crazy to think this all started because I decided to look for practice partners one day :D
On June 05 2015 22:26 SC2CTL wrote:
Do you mind sharing any insight in your current profitability? I've never looked at sc2improve and thought you were making any money at all.
Just seems like a tough segment of the community to monitize enough to go fulltime.
The fourth season of the team league saw my numbers grow insane amounts. Over the past year I have been streaming more and more and it's obvious that consistency is a massive factor in making it as a content producer / streamer. The platform which S4 of SC2ITL left me at is a great place to push forward from with a huge amount of increased consistency to help me build up a fan base in a way which I haven't been able to before.
I made a decent amount from SC2ITL S4 and so with what I said above I think what I am aiming to do is more than realistic.
On June 05 2015 22:55 kleptako wrote:
No offense, but is it really a good idea considering the state of the game currently?
It's the best time ever for me. I've just come out of Uni with a masters degree, so I can fall back on that if this doesn't go well. Being full time is a great chance for me to travel a bit as well as just think about what I might like to do in the long-term, so it's a really great way to fill that time without just being completely useless. I'm not leaving a job or anything to do this, so it's not like I'm throwing anything away by trying.
LotV comes out in a few months, which means I have time to push forward from the position I'm in now and to get into a great position for the LotV hype train. I'm losing very little apart from maybe working a part-time job stacking shelves while I decide what I really want to do with my life.
|
France9034 Posts
On June 05 2015 22:55 kleptako wrote:
No offense, but is it really a good idea considering the state of the game currently?
That's a strange question. Of course it's a good idea to try to do more for the game, because it's not with people turning away from this kind of initiative that you're going to improve the state of the game (which is quite fine currently, don't know what's the worry).
People who goes full time on a game based on its current state are more likely to be opportunist than people who do that just because they're passioned enough. Hint: I know which one I prefer.
|
To be honost: How do you finance all of that? Your Parents must be quite generous
|
Good luck. My suggestion is to just keep doing what you're doing and eventually transition to esports as more and more opportunities come up.
Stay persistent.
|
Isn't July in Summer not Spring?
|
Good luck! Wish you all the best. I love SC2I, esp the team league!
|
|
|
Good for you buddy, hope all goes well!
|
Hey man love that you're doing this, I just moved to the UK from Aus and the SC2 scene here does appear to be dead. What comps are you hosting within the UK, and what's the format? Have you checked Meltdown for a location?
Look forward to your stuff!
|
On June 06 2015 00:23 Blind Io wrote:
Isn't July in Summer not Spring?
Derp.
On June 06 2015 01:22 Whistpoo wrote:
Hey man love that you're doing this, I just moved to the UK from Aus and the SC2 scene here does appear to be dead. What comps are you hosting within the UK, and what's the format? Have you checked Meltdown for a location?
Look forward to your stuff!
epicLAN is in about a month : https://www.epiclan.co.uk/
If you want you can PM me your skype username, I'll add you to the UK Chat (if you can handle a circlejerk). My own events will be strictly online, I can't imagine having the resources to do anything offline in the foreseeable future.
Thanks to everyone for the kind words, luck and advice : ) All appreciated!
|
Germany913 Posts
Good luck, the SC2ITL has always been a lot of fun for me and my team, despite losing quite often 
|
Not sure if this is actually a good idea Wardi, i mean if you can live off of it then great! i guess...but its a huge risk, i personally would atleast consider trying to get a part time job on the side to help you get some finances together. committing full time to starcraft 2 when things arent going well will do no good to your future and your confidence. May i ask what you studied at university? seems like if you want to do this full time then the 4 years that you did at university was a waste of time lol. Anyway best of luck with it and hopefully will see your dreams come true.
|
|
|
On June 06 2015 05:30 Finnz wrote:
Not sure if this is actually a good idea Wardi, i mean if you can live off of it then great! i guess...but its a huge risk, i personally would atleast consider trying to get a part time job on the side to help you get some finances together. committing full time to starcraft 2 when things arent going well will do no good to your future and your confidence. May i ask what you studied at university? seems like if you want to do this full time then the 4 years that you did at university was a waste of time lol. Anyway best of luck with it and hopefully will see your dreams come true.
It really isn't a risk at all. I'm dropping absolutely nothing to do this. I have no commitments to do anything. I'm doing it because I know I'm able to, I didn't just wake up and think NICE LETS DO THIS! I've thought about it for a long time. My degree wasn't a waste of time, when I do end up getting a job my degree will still be there and I will have a lot of different things to talk about on my CV.
If shit goes bad I just stop and get a job, I'm maybe a few months down the line but I've had a chance to think about what I actually want to do anyways, so it stops me from getting a job I don't enjoy just because I need a job because I'm doing nothing else.
A lot of people have this 'Omg you're destroying your life' outlook on this, but it's literally just riding the standard circle jerk response to these threads. I haven't dropped out of anything, I have a great degree to fall back on, I'm not losing out on anything. I'm already making money from this and I already have an incredible platform to build myself up from, a much better platform than most people who would hope to go full time have. At the end of the day I'm basically making some money and taking some time out with travelling by doing something I enjoy, instead of working a shitty part-time job I have absolutely no interest in.
|
Good luck with this, Wardi
|
On June 05 2015 22:55 kleptako wrote:
No offense, but is it really a good idea considering the state of the game currently?
Exactly my thoughts. You'd better go CS: GO or a game that is in a top shape right now. I mean even Minecraft has more streamers than SC2.
On June 06 2015 05:36 SC2Improve wrote:Show nested quote +On June 06 2015 05:30 Finnz wrote:
Not sure if this is actually a good idea Wardi, i mean if you can live off of it then great! i guess...but its a huge risk, i personally would atleast consider trying to get a part time job on the side to help you get some finances together. committing full time to starcraft 2 when things arent going well will do no good to your future and your confidence. May i ask what you studied at university? seems like if you want to do this full time then the 4 years that you did at university was a waste of time lol. Anyway best of luck with it and hopefully will see your dreams come true. It really isn't a risk at all. I'm dropping absolutely nothing to do this. I have no commitments to do anything. I'm doing it because I know I'm able to, I didn't just wake up and think NICE LETS DO THIS! I've thought about it for a long time. My degree wasn't a waste of time, when I do end up getting a job my degree will still be there and I will have a lot of different things to talk about on my CV. If shit goes bad I just stop and get a job, I'm maybe a few months down the line but I've had a chance to think about what I actually want to do anyways, so it stops me from getting a job I don't enjoy just because I need a job because I'm doing nothing else. A lot of people have this 'Omg you're destroying your life' outlook on this, but it's literally just riding the standard circle jerk response to these threads. I haven't dropped out of anything, I have a great degree to fall back on, I'm not losing out on anything. I'm already making money from this and I already have an incredible platform to build myself up from, a much better platform than most people who would hope to go full time have. At the end of the day I'm basically making some money and taking some time out with travelling by doing something I enjoy, instead of working a shitty part-time job I have absolutely no interest in.
If your degree is so 'good', why don't you take the job for it? It's not like I graduated from Computer Science only to try to be a pro gamer or a caster. 
You can, of course, have fun but it doesn't sound convincing that you have a really nice degree to fall back on, yet you are more keen on pro gaming/casting.
|
4713 Posts
Its awesome finally seeing you get results after years of work and struggle, you're finally getting the success and respect you deserve, good luck friend.
|
There is no english stream for Legacy of the ultras ( take tv lotv league ) so maybe you could try and cover that.
I always enjoyed listening to your steam during tournaments I took part in
|
On June 06 2015 07:44 Nerchio wrote:There is no english stream for Legacy of the ultras ( take tv lotv league ) so maybe you could try and cover that. I always enjoyed listening to your steam during tournaments I took part in
4 years later, Nerchio streamcheating has been confirmed! Naniwa has been right all along!
gl Wardi, sick that you have got so far
|
On June 06 2015 07:21 darkness wrote:Show nested quote +On June 05 2015 22:55 kleptako wrote:
No offense, but is it really a good idea considering the state of the game currently? Exactly my thoughts. You'd better go CS: GO or a game that is in a top shape right now. I mean even Minecraft has more streamers than SC2. Show nested quote +On June 06 2015 05:36 SC2Improve wrote:On June 06 2015 05:30 Finnz wrote:
Not sure if this is actually a good idea Wardi, i mean if you can live off of it then great! i guess...but its a huge risk, i personally would atleast consider trying to get a part time job on the side to help you get some finances together. committing full time to starcraft 2 when things arent going well will do no good to your future and your confidence. May i ask what you studied at university? seems like if you want to do this full time then the 4 years that you did at university was a waste of time lol. Anyway best of luck with it and hopefully will see your dreams come true. It really isn't a risk at all. I'm dropping absolutely nothing to do this. I have no commitments to do anything. I'm doing it because I know I'm able to, I didn't just wake up and think NICE LETS DO THIS! I've thought about it for a long time. My degree wasn't a waste of time, when I do end up getting a job my degree will still be there and I will have a lot of different things to talk about on my CV. If shit goes bad I just stop and get a job, I'm maybe a few months down the line but I've had a chance to think about what I actually want to do anyways, so it stops me from getting a job I don't enjoy just because I need a job because I'm doing nothing else. A lot of people have this 'Omg you're destroying your life' outlook on this, but it's literally just riding the standard circle jerk response to these threads. I haven't dropped out of anything, I have a great degree to fall back on, I'm not losing out on anything. I'm already making money from this and I already have an incredible platform to build myself up from, a much better platform than most people who would hope to go full time have. At the end of the day I'm basically making some money and taking some time out with travelling by doing something I enjoy, instead of working a shitty part-time job I have absolutely no interest in. If your degree is so 'good', why don't you take the job for it? It's not like I graduated from Computer Science only to try to be a pro gamer or a caster. You can, of course, have fun but it doesn't sound convincing that you have a really nice degree to fall back on, yet you are more keen on pro gaming/casting.
Because I can get a job with my degree when I want to and I just want to try something different which I want to explore for a while before I do that? And use it as an opportunity to travel and decide what I really want to do? It's not like my degree is just going to expire because I try to make it in SC2? I studied a masters in physics, it's far from the worst degree in the world. This is just something I want, and after much deliberation have decided, to do.
On June 06 2015 07:44 Nerchio wrote:There is no english stream for Legacy of the ultras ( take tv lotv league ) so maybe you could try and cover that. I always enjoyed listening to your steam during tournaments I took part in
I thought BTTV were doing LOTU?
|
|
|
On June 06 2015 07:56 Wardi wrote:Show nested quote +On June 06 2015 07:21 darkness wrote:On June 05 2015 22:55 kleptako wrote:
No offense, but is it really a good idea considering the state of the game currently? Exactly my thoughts. You'd better go CS: GO or a game that is in a top shape right now. I mean even Minecraft has more streamers than SC2. On June 06 2015 05:36 SC2Improve wrote:On June 06 2015 05:30 Finnz wrote:
Not sure if this is actually a good idea Wardi, i mean if you can live off of it then great! i guess...but its a huge risk, i personally would atleast consider trying to get a part time job on the side to help you get some finances together. committing full time to starcraft 2 when things arent going well will do no good to your future and your confidence. May i ask what you studied at university? seems like if you want to do this full time then the 4 years that you did at university was a waste of time lol. Anyway best of luck with it and hopefully will see your dreams come true. It really isn't a risk at all. I'm dropping absolutely nothing to do this. I have no commitments to do anything. I'm doing it because I know I'm able to, I didn't just wake up and think NICE LETS DO THIS! I've thought about it for a long time. My degree wasn't a waste of time, when I do end up getting a job my degree will still be there and I will have a lot of different things to talk about on my CV. If shit goes bad I just stop and get a job, I'm maybe a few months down the line but I've had a chance to think about what I actually want to do anyways, so it stops me from getting a job I don't enjoy just because I need a job because I'm doing nothing else. A lot of people have this 'Omg you're destroying your life' outlook on this, but it's literally just riding the standard circle jerk response to these threads. I haven't dropped out of anything, I have a great degree to fall back on, I'm not losing out on anything. I'm already making money from this and I already have an incredible platform to build myself up from, a much better platform than most people who would hope to go full time have. At the end of the day I'm basically making some money and taking some time out with travelling by doing something I enjoy, instead of working a shitty part-time job I have absolutely no interest in. If your degree is so 'good', why don't you take the job for it? It's not like I graduated from Computer Science only to try to be a pro gamer or a caster. You can, of course, have fun but it doesn't sound convincing that you have a really nice degree to fall back on, yet you are more keen on pro gaming/casting. Because I can get a job with my degree when I want to and I just want to try something different which I want to explore for a while before I do that? And use it as an opportunity to travel and decide what I really want to do? It's not like my degree is just going to expire because I try to make it in SC2? I studied a masters in physics, it's far from the worst degree in the world. This is just something I want, and after much deliberation have decided, to do. Show nested quote +On June 06 2015 07:44 Nerchio wrote:There is no english stream for Legacy of the ultras ( take tv lotv league ) so maybe you could try and cover that. I always enjoyed listening to your steam during tournaments I took part in I thought BTTV were doing LOTU?
First off LOTU:
BTTV is not allways there due to the scheduling and spontaious charakter of some Bo5s. I would recommend writing TaKe via Facebook unter facebook.com/TaKeTVTaKeSeN and ask him if you can do all LOTU matches where BTTV is not able to cast.
For your future I wish you best of luck: I like your calm voice and hope you get some big events to cast. But going full caster is a hard thing, I hope you can make a living.
|
your Country52797 Posts
|
Good luck, Wardiii, you know I love you! All the best, mate!
|
On June 06 2015 07:44 Nerchio wrote:There is no english stream for Legacy of the ultras ( take tv lotv league ) so maybe you could try and cover that. I always enjoyed listening to your steam during tournaments I took part in
I thought BTTV were doing LOTU?
Send a tweet/PM on TL to NarutO.
|
|
|
|
|
|
EPT
