TF2 sure has taken a lot of shit this week, no?  This has been the kind of situation, like the computerized stock market fart Thursday that sent the DOW down a thousand ticks faster than you can say 'wow the server's lagging again,' that prompts you to pause a second, take stock of things and ask...just what the fuck is going on here?

The status quo is the status quo because it's the status quo...

We all know that when it comes to the general scheme of things in gaming, TF2 is a second class citizen to a decade old game.  We understand and accept that it's just the way of things currently, as it has been for any team game that isn't CS.  (If that's too much truth for you already, you should probably stop reading now.)  But it becomes another issue entirely when gaming's current world order is used as an excuse for not delivering services paid for, ignoring perfectly rational solutions to problems, and meeting legitimate concerns with bullshit half answers dripping in three coats of arrogance.

Frustrations with ESEA's mismanagement came to a head this week, and in my opinion, rightly so.  The fine print in whatever membership agreement regarding rules and regulations matters little here when it's shown in public forum just how much contempt is seemingly held for members to their service.

In a Gotfrag forum post (a rarity for me) earlier today, I made the point that ESEA has the right to run their business how they want, citing that they never operated under any sort of false pretense of primarily advancing the gaming community.  And they do, but I certainly wasn't defending their behavior as of late - I was simply trying to make the point that every business owner has an equal opportunity to get in the way of their own progress.

Hostile Takeover

All eyes are on Hostile Faction as their roster remains uneventful compared to their weekly roster changes from last season. Everyone is looking at Aaronlol as the weak link that will eventually get replaced on the roster. But the truth is, he won't. There are absolutely NO good medics on the market (unless Grieve makes a midseason comeback). Here are the medics on the current top 5 teams in open: Aaronlol, ehfk, djfivenine, st.patrick, rayy. Aside from st.patrick, this is a who's who of former benchwarmers for mid open teams.

The player we all should keep our eyes on to be benched is Vhalin. He has bottomfragged during all 4 matches and continue to maintain very low stats with a pedestrian 1:1 kill death ratio. It is almost like Mark McGuire getting off roids and deciding to try to bat for average. Actually, it is exactly like that. Vhalin is trying to play a honest game this season, which could easily lead him to the HF bench. At this point, tehoreoz is the better scout and should be starting over vhalin.