Explain to me how "HotS esports are back" - A Thread. 1/14 https://twitter.com/TimRizzo/status/1293943155029663744

If you aren't familiar with who I am, maybe some background about me will help you understand why I have so many issues with how HHE has been presenting / hyping up this new league. My name is Feer and I was heavily involved in Heroes of the Storm esports. 2/14

I started as a fanboy, and eventually started working at HeroesHype, who was the most prominent amateur HotS tournament runner. I worked as Youtube and Content Manager, and was involved in the day-to-day operations at HeroesHype. I was also an amateur caster. 3/14

My biggest complaint is that HeroesHearth has repeatedly framed this new tournament as the revival of HGC-era Heroes esports. This is deeply flawed for a few reasons. The first of which is obvious - The HGC was barely feasible as an esport as it stood. 4/14

From what I understand the player salaries were lacking, and therefore the motivation to grind long hours and be rewarded was also absent. This was a large factor in the diminished success of some post-HGC community run tournaments. 5/14

Even with decent sized prize pools across different tournaments, the benefit was not large enough to keep the top players honing their skills non-stop. This lead to a significant skill-gap within the new scene. Former pros were resting on their laurels. 6/14

These former pros had no motivation to practice hard and play constantly, because the gap in skill was large enough that even the top amateur teams were overrun constantly. The amateur teams who were trying to step up and become the "new pros" were crushed. 7/14

This segues nicely into my next point: the community and esports never went anywhere in HotS, we simply changed. The statement, "HotS esports is back", largely discredits the continuous efforts by multiple organizations to foster competitive Heroes of the Storm. 8/14

Organizations such as HeroesHype, NGS, Regen, and Heroes Lounge have continued to run large, successful post-HGC tournaments, with decent sized prize pools. One thing that has been made clear from these tournaments is that the EU scene has a much higher interest than NA. 9/14

My final frustration is the lack of details. I have been following the roll out of this tournament as an observer, and it is clear to me that there isn't much to go on here other than "Heroes viewership is up so we are going for it". 10/14

That being said, I understand why HeroesHearth is hyping up their own tourney, that is what you do to get people excited. As someone who understands what HotS would need to really succeed as an esport, there are questions that need to be answered first. 11/ 14

Will the players be paid? Which orgs are involved? How big are the prize pools? Where does the prize money come from? Where do the players' salaries come from? What would be done to foster the community and an amateur scene to bridge the skill gap? Will the casters be paid? 12/14

Will there be game play issues with a game that isn't balanced around competitive play any more? Where is the return on investment for sustainability? Are there advertisers, or sponsors on board? 13/14

I know that this thread feels negative, and like I want this tournament to fail. That couldn't be further from the truth, I love Heroes of the Storm, and I miss the old days. I think we all do. I'm simply begging people to think critically about what it actually takes. 14/14