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The Rise of the Amateur Tournament

By David Bronson

Every hero needs an ordeal to transform from the ordinary to the extraordinary.Image used with permission by trungth @ http://trungth.deviantart.com
Every hero needs an ordeal to transform from the ordinary to the extraordinary.Image used with permission by trungth @ http://trungth.deviantart.com /
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A NA amateur tournament, and more tournaments like it, could create opportunity for practice and put more talent in striking distance of the pro circuit.

Rafiki says, "Ya'll stop ragin', it's meditation time."
Rafiki says, “Ya’ll stop ragin’, it’s meditation time.” /

As the saying goes, iron sharpens iron. And, lets face it. Many of our servers are clogged with leavers, feeders, and socially maladjusted brutes who’d rather throw a fit and ruin a game for everyone than actually enjoy it. That’s right. The dross. The dregs of humanity. The people infecting our servers and giving us gamers a bad name.

They only do harm to the eSports community, and I have a great deal of difficulty wrapping my head around the kind of thought process that produces these individuals. Sure, I’ve had moments where, in a fit of emotion and under the cloak of digital anonymity, I’ve said things I otherwise wouldn’t have. I think we can all admit to that. But most of us hold these childish little sadists in contempt, and never (or only rarely) stoop to their level.

Building a healthy community

This is why it’s so important that we not only participate in but also encourage the events organized by the healthy parts of the eSports community. Participation not fuels the commercial aspects of lower tier tournaments, it also encourages the organizers who invest so much time and energy putting them on. Beyond that, amateur tournaments could provide a training ground for the next crop of pro players, which is why the recent announcement for NA amateur tournament Axial, scheduled for August 19 – 21, has me excited.

They're just more visible because jerks stand out.
To be fair, this astonished dog was expecting a bit much. /

You have to remember, for every game ruiner, you have three other people who are just as frustrated as you are – and that’s just on your team! I’ve seen plenty of posts that corroborate this, which leads me to believe that the larger part of the DOTA playing population is decent. But it’s hard to believe this when the sweet taste of hard-earned victory has been tainted by a leaver or feeder not having the decency and honor to finish a game out. Or worse, ruining your chances at a comeback.

Power to the people

Crowd sourcing used to be looked at with at least a small amount of contempt. Especially here in the US. After all, that goes against our “pull yourself up by your bootstraps,” hyper-individualist mentality, doesn’t it? But pooling our resources with like minded individuals is a great way to fund services and products we actual want, getting us outside the corporate trap our parents’ generation set us up for.

10 minutes old and he already gets him. Give him a lifetime. His spirit will break.
10 minutes old and he already gets it. Give him a lifetime. His spirit will break. /

I’m hoping organizers, gamers, and programmers band together this coming year to really cultivate the amateur tier of DOTA. Not all of us can hang with the big dogs, but some of us might if we were allowed to practice in the right environment.

May the rise of the amateur tournament be swift, and may the ranks of pro DOTA players increase until the world recognizes that we are the new pro sport and not just some passing fad.

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