Without a tier 2 scene any tier 1 is destined to die. They've tried to fix the problems but it still seems like year on year more teams are leaving. Maybe I'm just being reactionary idk
it is unsustainable cause there is no clear goal you aspire to reach. tier 2 teams in CS look forward to qualifiyng to the major, they sweat their fucking balls off anti stratting the best teams in the world just to get there for sticker money. What is ascension without its label? A slot in a higher league for a year? That's like Luton in Premier League, you go in, everyone gives you a pat on the back, then they kick your ass, steal your best players and kick you out
I feel like without MASSIVE clout investment it was obvious franchising would die. The only realistic chance was selling TV rights and then splitting the revenue, like the big franchiisng leagues do. That's why I, a cs fan, prefer open circuit. It creates a hierarchy where the strongest win, not the richest
because tier 2 is the most important scene when it comes to game's life cycle. There is no clear path to becoming a pro, more or less it lacks a stepping stone in tier 2.
Right now it's Premier -> RELY ON YOUR OWN REGION TO BE GOOD AND GET AN ASCENSION SLOT -> get 1 slot while beating the other 8 teams -> qualify to franchising where you are by far the weakest. imo it lacks a stepping stone
Yeah I agree. You get 2nd/3rd/4th place in ascension? your year is over. Then wait 4-6 months (tbf they've improved on this recently) to play again. imo the only real way to fix it is to make tier 2 semi-franchised. Fix the orgs in place and give them some more LANs with crowds, sure it'll cost more but the idea is that orgs will be able to rake in more due to sponsors.
They need to make it so an org can invest in tier 2, and have that org still be profitable (in val) even if they don't ascend. They need to build a league for the many, not just the for the one who will ascend.
That is also another issue. Also, look at your own flair LOUD, couldn't even keep the champs winning roster due to funding issues. All the insane players left one after another. I wouldn't expect PCFIC or Galories to up the standards even if they win a regional tourney. TSM fielding a garbage team right now wouldnt be much of an issue, as you can expect they can easily upgrade to a much better roster next year. Same for APEKS/ACEND/M80. The problem with an org like calories or PCFIC ascending is if the team ends up being good, they won't be able to keep it for a long time, and if they are shit, they likely won't be able to find better replacement players. The live examples of having a fraud org in franchising is in front of you. Evil Geniuses and LOUD. Think of the players, where is the security? If they can't even keep their team intact even after winning the most prestigious event of the year.
imo there has to be an intermediate step where a decent org can pick the team up, this is what I would imagine the ideal path of a player to be:
play in t3 (premier), win premier ---> get picked up by a decent/large org ---> play in tier 2 for 2-3 years, hoping to ascend by the end ---> ascend or retire to give way for new talent (it sucks to have to do that but you have to keep a cycle to allow fresh players to join)
In this system the tier 2 orgs would be partnered, and each season there's a sort of draft for the orgs to pick up premier teams. They could still pick players up the ordinary way by trialling or scouting and such, but this way guarantees that players have a chance in tier 2. I would also give 1 maybe even 2 more LAN tournaments to tier 2 to make it more sustainable. They need something to play for outside of ascension.
This system almost entirely eliminates small orgs, but given how much of a money burner esports is currently I don't think it's wise to have them if you want a long term sustainable t2 ecosystem