Sign in to follow this  
Rob Zacny

Esports Today 9/15/15: The Polish Menace

Recommended Posts

Esports Today September 15, 2015:

777__header.jpg

The Polish Menace
Rob and Andrew use the ESL Counter-Strike tournament in Dubai to figure out what is happening in Counter-Strike beyond the shooting as Team Liquid's Joe Wong returns to explain the economic aspects of the game and how teams use map strategy. Then Andrew revels in the Fall Classic and Snake Eyez' triumphant Zangief before the conversation turns to the dramatic WCS season finale, and Rob explains how MarineLorD broke his spirit.

StarCraft, CS:GO

 

Opening Segment: ESL ESEA Invitational (CS:GO)

24:03 - Fall Classic (Fighting Games)

30:43 - StarCraft 2

48:43 - Esports Tomorrow

 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Just want to leave a comment here saying I highly appreciate the in-depth discussion of the WCS finals. A lot of other publications have kind of dropped StarCraft content, so it's good to see coverage for one of my favourite games of all time. 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I watched some broodwar VODs back in the day (and still recognize the names of broodwar greats before SC2 ones).  Much later I started to dabble in watching esports again.  Some people on twitter were talking about GSL so I figured it was a big deal.  I went and it looked unwatchably bad.  I was baffled.  So I went to a thread on reddit about GSL (I know probably a mistake) and wanted to know if it was normal for tournaments to ask you for money because it sure  didn't make it seem fun for me to get into SC2.  Then a some dude just called me an idiot and said that I wasn't real fan (which was true, I was only a potential fan).  It took me quite awhile to give SC2 a shit again which I've only started doing.  WCS was a much better viewing experience for a noobish SC2 fan and this podcast makes SC2 seem fun instead of hostile.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Just want to leave a comment here saying I highly appreciate the in-depth discussion of the WCS finals. A lot of other publications have kind of dropped StarCraft content, so it's good to see coverage for one of my favourite games of all time. 

 

Yeah, you're never going to have to worry about Rob and I missing an opportunity to talk about good StarCraft.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I watched some broodwar VODs back in the day (and still recognize the names of broodwar greats before SC2 ones).  Much later I started to dabble in watching esports again.  Some people on twitter were talking about GSL so I figured it was a big deal.  I went and it looked unwatchably bad.  I was baffled.  So I went to a thread on reddit about GSL (I know probably a mistake) and wanted to know if it was normal for tournaments to ask you for money because it sure  didn't make it seem fun for me to get into SC2.  Then a some dude just called me an idiot and said that I wasn't real fan (which was true, I was only a potential fan).  It took me quite awhile to give SC2 a shit again which I've only started doing.  WCS was a much better viewing experience for a noobish SC2 fan and this podcast makes SC2 seem fun instead of hostile.

 

Ugh, that's terrible (if not entirely suprising.) Glad you're finding this to be a more approachable way into SC2. I think for beginners to the StarCraft scene the foreign WCS circuit is great. Eventually you'll get sucked into the Korean leagues if you enjoy WCS. I've come to love everything about the Korean leagues. Even the Korean vibe of the broadcast is appealing. Like a comfort food.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I've been listening to Three Moves Ahead for a long while and just started listening to Esports Today.  I guess you could call me "long time listener, first time poster."  I'm generally a fan of you guys and appreciate the content.  Indeed, often I listen to 3MA episodes for games I know I'll never play just because hearing the discussion is super interesting!  So all that being said, I just wanted to followup on ome of the things you guys discussed in the podcast (it's criticism, but hopefully constructive).

 

I felt Rob's criticism of MarineLorD's turtle mech was entirely inappropriate and I was surprised to hear it from him.  The idea that players should be blamed for picking winning strategies and that it somehow says something about their person is really awful and generally considered toxic in any competitive community. When you call someone's play "the most nerveless play I've ever had the displeasure of watching," or say "because you're a crap player" this is really ridiculous and misplaced.

 

A core tenet of competitive gaming is that if something is boring to watch or even degenerate, it is the game's fault and not the player's.  A player's only job is to play in a style most likely to win him the game.  If that means turtle mech on a small amount of bases, then that's what he should do.  To suggest that a player is wrong for picking a successful strategy misplaces criticism, because the only fault is the game design or current balance that allows that to work.

 

You guys were also off base in saying that turtle mech is not effective vs top Koreans, as within the last two weeks we've seen multiple examples of turtle mech being successful in Code S.  It's not a strategy of "just hope your opponent is an idiot and attack move into your defenses again and again."  Indeed, one of the interesting parts of the matchups in the last few weeks has been how people have played mech vs Zerg - there was a player recently who would get an advantage after a battle, press his advantage too far, and end up losing it because he couldn't land the killing blow.  Playing defensive, whittling down your opponent's resources, and slowly grinding your way to a win is better than throwing the game away because you wanted to please the crowd.

 

It's fine not to root for anyone if you dislike their play.  But moving past that into insult territory, things like "you are a crap player" is beyond appropriate and is not fit for the otherwise high quality of work you guys do.

 

Thanks for reading and I'll continue to listen.  I think you guys are putting on a quality show, and just hope you can minimize that kind of thing in the future.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Sign in to follow this