SeanNussdorfer

Ms.Gardner
English10H
11November2015
TyrannyofEsportsOrganizations
Ahalfofasecondcanbethelongesttimeofyourlife,ortheshortesttimeofyourlife.A
halfofasecondcanbringyoumoremoneythanyouknowwhatyoucandowith,orleaveyou
strugglingforrent.Ahalfofasecondcanchangeyourlife.Manyprofessionalesportsplayers
havetomakeadecisioninlessthanhalfofasecondingame,butoutsideofthegametheir
livesarealmostcontrolledbytheirorganization.Theseorganizationscanmakemajordecisions
withtheteamplayersjustintheloop,kickplayersfornoreason,andtakealargeportionof
prizemoneyorwithholditaltogether.Whyisthereverylittleactionagainstthis?Weneedtoput
alimitontheseorganizationslevelofcontrolovertheplayersandtheteams.
Thepowerthatisgiventotheorganizationsisabsoluteastheplayersmustsignan
agreementtobeontheteam.Mostorganizationshavemorethanonegametheyareaffiliated
withDota2,LeagueofLegends,Smite,andCS:GO,allhighlycompetitive5v5games.
ThroughoutEsportshistorymanyorganizationshaveabusedtheirpowerovertheir
players.Theyoverworkedbygoingtoomanytournaments,andtheyunderpaidtheirteams,and
stolefromtheirplayers,andkickedteammembersleavingthemwithoutajob.Duringthetime
periodofthefirstDota2internationalplayerwerepaidaround$600permonth,$600amonthin
2011forafulltimejob.Thismadeliferoughonmanyplayerscausingthemtoeitherquitor
havetohavetwojobs.Evenwhentheydowintheycouldloseupto30%oftheirwinnings,
dependingontheircontract,asTheAlliancetook$300,000ofthe$1,400,000thattheirplayers
won.As
HenrikAdmiralBulldogAhnberg
ofTeamAlliancereportedthatbecauseofan

unfavorabledealwithAllianceheonlygot$110,000ofthe$1,400,000aftertaxes.Manyteams
havekickedplayersinfavorofotherplayersleavingthekickedplayerwithnojob.Aui_2000is
themostmemorableone,ashewaskickedfromteamEvilGeniusesafterwinningthe
International6themostprestigioustournamentinallofDota2.Aui_2000waskickedforRTZ,a
formerEGplayer,andAuiwasleftwithnojob.Theseconditionshavemademanyplayersleave
thesceneforgood.

Recentlymanyorganizationshavebeenpushingformoreplayerrights,butstillsome
organizationshavemadesomequestionabledecisions.Oneofthemostrecognizedteamsin
Dota,dubbedtheGoldenBoysofDota,teamNatusVincere(LatinforBorntowin)was
disbandedwithalmostnowarning,leavingthe5teammemberswithnojobandnoteam,all
fromthefacttheyhadnotqualifiedfortheFallMajor.4dayslatertheymadetheteamagain
with2fromtheoldroster,butlefttheotherswithoutjobs.Anotherorganization,Ninjasin
Pajamas,firedaCEOafterhewithheldthousandsofdollarsfromhisCS:GOteam,showing
someresponsibilitybutalsothepoweroftheorganizations.Thesetypesofactionsshouldn'tbe
allowedasnormalsportsteamsandotherorganizationsuselegalactiontocounteractthis,but
sincethereisverylittlelawsinplaceforesportsorganizationsandtournamentsgivingalmost
freereigntoanyorganization.
Becauseoftheseverityoftheseincidentsandalackofaunifiedfrontanesportsunion
isinthemaking.Thisisthefirststepfortheplayerstobeabletohaveasayintheteam
decisions,andnotwatchtheirlifedrainawayastheirorganizationsmakebaddecisions.One
badthingismanyorganizationshavearivalryanddontwanttoworktogether,butmaybethe
communitycanhelpbringthemtogether.AnothergreatstepisthenewDota2teamOG
(formallymonkeybusiness)hasanorganizationbehindit,butitisrunbytheplayers
themselves.AnotherTeamthatisrunbytheplayersisTeamSecret,asthecaptainfortheteam

ClementPuppeyIvanovhasbeenpushingforplayersrightforalongtime.Theseteamsalong
withtheunionisastepintherightdirection,butonlyusasfanscanhelpwiththischange.
Eventhoughmanypeopledonotcareabouttheinnerworkingsofesportsitisgrowing
intooneofthelargestindustriesintheworld.Thousandsofpeoplewatchtournamentson
Twitch,astreamingservice.27millionuniqueviewersforLeagueofLegendsworldfinalsin
2014(includingingamewatching,Twitchandliveattendance).Whileformanypeopleesports
willbejustaspeckontheirradar,itisafastgrowingindustrythatneedsprotectionforitsteams
andplayers.

WorksCited

Blum,Bryce."AnEsportsLawyerExplainsHowtheNewTeam'union'WillPushEsports
Forward."
TheDailyDot
.DailyDot,04Oct.2015.Web.17Nov.2015.
Chalk,Andy."NinjasinPyjamasCEOFiredfollowingClaimsThatPlayersHaveGoneUnpaid."
PCGamer
.PcGamer,9Nov.2015.Web.17Nov.2015.
Gafford,Travis."LeagueofLegends2014WorldChampionshipViewerNumbers(Infograph)."
OnGamers
.N.p.,01Dec.2014.Web.17Nov.2015.