Warcraft3 in Europe – Grim reaper calling

Overpriced players, a passion-drained European scene, a new RTS on the horizon and unfulfilled promises have left Europe an inhospitable place for Warcraft3.

Koreans that fled en-masse to European organisations are now wise enough to realize they’d prefer to play for themselves than join another brand new soon-to-be-dead European Warcraft3 squad. Whilst the departure of Xiang “TH000” Huang from Mousesports signals that the Chinese are also ready to pack up and move on. TH000 along with Weiliang “Fly” Lu were the only two top Chinese players to remain outside of the World Elite bubble, but it is practically inevitable TH000 will like Fly decide a Chinese team is his best bet for 2010.

In China both players have ample practice partners, a thriving scene and tournaments galore in their own back garden, so the only remaining incentive for them to remain in a foreign team was a higher salary. However, European teams are no longer so motivated to write the cheques for non-EPS players as they once were.
“The problem is an imbalance of the market as I would call it. The likes of MYM have destroyed the market with totally overpriced player compensations,” said Alexander “TheSlash” Muller, CEO of SK Gaming. “The only teams that can bring this kind of money to the table are the Asian teams owned by large brands as it is a simple marketing expense at their end. Teams like SK that have to sign sponsorships for it will be way more price sensitive and that is exactly what you see right now.”
“Though the landscape for tournaments and fan base for WC3 shrinks, players demand more and more. We at SK feel this is the wrong direction and the consequences can be seen in our rosters. I am not blaming MYM or greedy players here, don’t get me wrong, I am just pointing out what is happening and why it is happening.”

“The problem is an imbalance of the market as I would call it. The likes of MYM have destroyed the market with totally overpriced player compensation”

– Alexander “TheSlash” Muller – SK Gaming CEO

SK Gaming of course recently lost June “Lyn” Park, a phenomenal success during his time at SK, to the hands of We Made Fox. This was shortly followed by the release of their two remaining players WhO and Check. Elsewhere another European organization also lost a major player as Mousesports’ Weiliang “Fly” Lu – undoubtably the strongest player in the second half of 2009 – also decided to return to a team in his home-country when he joined EHome.

IN the past European organisations acted as not only a source of greater income but also as a gateway to European based competitions such as the WC3L and NGL. However, money is clearly not in as great supply as it once was, the WC3L is a shadow of its former self and NGL looks like it’s a few cheques short of a LAN finals.

However, Jang Jae “Moon” Ho, does not believe this was the main reason Asian players have left European-based teams. “I think it has nothing to do with WC3L dying or NGL’s money problems. Asian players continually hope to play with good conditions, that’s a fundamental reason for choosing NON-European team,” said Moon. “First of all NON-European teams bring many problems because of communication as well as many players being burnt a lot of the time. I was burnt during my time in MYM and I always heard about similar situations from other Asian players.”

“First of all NON-European teams bring many problems because of communication as well as many players being burnt a lot of the time. I was burnt during my time in MYM and I always heard about similar situations from other Asian players”

– Jang Jae “Moon” Ho – We Made Fox Warcraft3 player

Moon’s teammate Soccer agreed that a loss of interest from the part of the players is also the result of less European organisations having Warcraft3 players. “Yes, many Korean players have lost interest in joining European teams, the belief between Korean players and European teams is breaking.” Soccer was of course one of the former players of Team Giants; an organisation whose Warcraft3 squad dissolved shortly after it was founded due to unpaid salaries. The story is a familiar one, with even the home of undoubtedly the strongest European team ever, Four Kings, failing to pay the players what they were due.
“I do believe there are definitely some black sheep within organisations and teams, people who want to earn money and power but who don’t care about the future of eSports. That is why many pro gamers have had bad experiences with untrustworthy organisations,” said Hotlips on the topic of poor relations between Korean players and European organisations.

“However, I think that TheSlash raises a good point about the market. I believe players, especially Korean players, easily tend to ask for more money before thinking about the background or the consequences. This is probably caused by comparisons to the high salaries of the Korean Starcraft pro-gamers, who earn much more than the Warcraft3 players.”

” I believe players, especially Korean players, easily tend to ask for more money before thinking about the background or the consequences. This is probably caused by comparisons to the high salaries of the Korean Starcraft pro-gamers, who earn much more than the Warcraft3 players.”

– Clemens “HotLips” Uhl – World Elite Warcraft3 manager

European Players

Regardless of who threw the first stone between European organisations and Korean players, the descent of the European scene is also caused by the disappearance of key players in its domestic scene as well as slim pickings for those who remain in terms of international competitions. Could this be the final chapter of European Warcraft3?
“Using phrases like “the final chapter” sounds really dramatic, but no-one can disagree that the European Warcraft3 scene took a huge hit last year,” said Kevin “Rotterdam” Der Kooi. “Sase, Xyligan, Titan, Satiini, Konna, Elfitaja and Insolence all pretty much disappeared from the scene and they were really fun guys to hang out with as well as very good players. Likewise America took a huge hit as well with the loss of APM, nilknarf, Pato, Myst, Kiwikaki etc… that is also a huge loss.”

Europe is becoming more and more barren of opportunities for Warcraft3, even the WCG2009 saw huge cutbacks in the number of European countries hosting qualifiers, with Spain, Sweden, Norway, Finland and the United Kingdom all missing out on the biggest competition of the year. Couple this with the death of ESWC and the cancellation of the Samsung European Championships last year and its blatantly obvious that European players are left with slim pickings for a shot of international success.

“Using phrases like “the final chapter” sounds really dramatic, but no-one can disagree that the European Warcraft3 scene took a huge hit last year.”

– Kevin “Rotterdam” van der Kooi – Fnatic Warcraft3 player

However, all is not lost as more and more Chinese competitions, as we saw recently with Stars War, are hosting European qualifiers instead of direct invites for their tournaments. Although the slots for European players are definitely not enough – and a public poll with unlimited votes for each user does little to make up for this fact – it is still an even playing field where players can earn their spot based on skill instead of popularity. “I don’t think it is the final chapter of European Warcraft3, but it probably is the end of a huge professional scene. Only the best will survive with WC3 and make money from it,” said Hotlips.

There is a reason why HoT and Sase continue to receive invites to competitions in China long after their prime and it is not skill alone. If European players can realise that it is up to them to separate themselves from the pack, not just in terms of skill but also in terms of their image in China, the future looks bright. If it is going to take a simple script to cheat the public polls into giving you 300,000 votes to earn yourself a flight ticket to China – a number ThomasG has already surpassed in the Stars War public poll – so be it. No-one is going to spoon-feed Warcraft3 players anymore, especially not European players.

It is understandable why so many European players threw in the towel as their already uphill struggle, was made even more strenuous as chances to make it to big time continued to dry up as well as their opportunities for a monthly pay cheque. The withdrawal and dissolution of Warcraft3 teams from European organisations is no coincidence, and with ESL’s EPS the only secure and safe option that guarantees a return of investment for them, it is no wonder that most of the remaining European teams focus their roster around the German EPS.

Furthermore, Starcraft2 beckons and although many believe its impact on Warcraft3 to be over-hyped, Alexander “TheSlash” Muller agrees that we should expect many European organisations to step back from the Warcraft3 scene in 2010.

“This is part of the equation for sure. WC3 is a great game, no doubt, but tournaments have lost a little of the excitement they used to have. Though we have seen patches changing the game a lot, I feel that these thriller matches are not being played anymore, even at the highest level. The RTS scene is probably waiting for SC2 and so are the teams. SC2 is different, as we do have an existing structure for RTS and teams have to be ready and need to have some budget for the game right from the start, so I would say yes, teams are waiting for SC2 and that is part of their decision to not focus on WC3 as they did before.”

” SC2 is different, as we do have an existing structure for RTS and teams have to be ready and need to have some budget for the game right from the start, so I would say yes, teams are waiting for SC2.”

– Alexander “TheSlash” Muller – SK Gaming CEO

The shrinking of the European Warcraft3 scene is not just a theory; it is fact. Whether it is dead on the other hand is another matter entirely. Europe will continue to produce new players to fill the ranks as it always has done, and with WCIP, ZOTAC and WC3L there is still a good platform for them to develop. However, with less European organisations interested in the game and less support for the players, it will take a truly exceptional individual to keep up with the Chinese and Korean players. If not, well there is always Starcraft2.

Moon sheds a tear for Warcraft3

After a busy first semester at my full-time English teaching job here in China I finally have time to breath – only while my son is sleeping but still – and it is sad to see how Warcraft3 is slowly losing its sparkle. Following the departure of myself from SK Gaming, the SK homepage no longer covers Warcraft3 regularly, WCReplays has always been erratic and MYM is plagued by databasing and usability issues that it is also a minefield to navigate at times.

Forums are infested with “orc is imba” threads and organisations seem to be taking a breather from Warcraft3 at the moment, perhaps having realised we are in RTS transitional limbo as we wait for Starcraft2 and that the days of WC3 are numbered. I’m no expert on the shape of the current players, but I have always contributed to the WC3 scene one way or another and now that the WC3 scene is slowing down in Europe I hope to contribute as much unique content as possible to my blog, including future Replays.net articles and more. Let’s go back to basics, Warcraft3 used to be fun.