Why I love... E-sports

The MLG Spring Championships had the largest ever audience, over it's three days of competition, than ever before and I was one of them. There were more streams featuring even more action in a schedule stuffed full of things to be excited about, if you like your E-sports that is. There were League of Legends and Fighting Game competitions, but for me Starcraft II was the main attraction.

Game three of the MLG finals, I fell asleep while
watching this. It was exciting though.

There is something special about watching Starcraft as a spectator. The skill on display is incredible. Two gamers playing at over 200 and 300 actions per minute and micromanaging intense battles while controlling the expansion and improvement of their bases is incredible to watch. As you learn more about the game the strategies of every battle becomes increasingly fascinating and the ability of the players even more impressive. Eventually you start to learn the subtleties of the game, the importance of the pre-engagement posturing and the effect map control will have on the mid and late game; how early aggression can effect the course of the rest of the match or how tiny margins of difference in the players economy can seal the outcome of the match. I have played the game a bit but never really invested much time in playing. I have however learnt a lot from watching pro gamers play. Enough to know I would never be able to put any of the strategies or build orders into practise. I am more of a tactician when give the time to think, but Starcraft II is too fast for me. My chess games last hours not minutes but that doesn't diminish my fascination with watching pro gamers play. I would recommend everyone watch at least a few matches, even non gamers because, in the same way that the displays of top athletes can elicit moments of stunned wonderment, pro gamers' skill can sometimes render you speechless.

There is, however, something that really bugs me! I can't figure out what the hell is going on. Not during the games themselves but within the tournament structures. It always seems complex to keep track of (especially in the early morning) and I end up watching the wrong stream and missing all the best matches. I have discovered it is easier to watch the VODs when the tournament is finished than watch them live but someone usually reveals the winner before I get a chance to see the final. Personally I would like to see SCII implement a few elements from other sports like tennis or golf. I hope we end up with a world ranking  system so a casual spectator (and new viewers alike) have a better idea of how each tournament ties together and the apparent relative skill of the multitude of professional players. I hope an official tour is eventually organised with current tournaments forming the basis of the worldwide events. Hopefully some of those competitions will be more prestigious and stand out above all others, like the grand slams in tennis. But, the main change I personally would like to see is longer format matches. A few times I've been really looking forward for a match up only to have it end in thirty minutes with one player winning 2-0 with two well executed timing attacks. I don't believe we will see great sporting rivalries like Prost and Senna, Hendry and White or Becker and Mcenroe until the matches have enough time and space to produce those classic titanic clashes.

This is just my view and I am by no means a knowledgeable SCII player or spectator. One thing did strike me the other night though as I tried to explain how the MLG worked to my wife. Wimbledon, not the game of tennis but the tournament, can be explained to anyone in one sentence. Try and explain MLG, or any SCII tournament to a total novice in one sentence. For me that highlights some of the barriers for non-gamer spectator growth within e-sports and for the game to really break into the mainstream that barrier has to be broken. I really hope they can do it. I want to be able to go to any pub, not just select events, and watch an incredible Baneling bust over a beer.