Today I was notified by a few ESEA-I players that ESEA was requiring 50 hours per month of PUG play for the division to be free. Several people, including members of Push Gaming, pureEsports, and Loaded TF2, say that this rule is not in the ESEA TF2 rules. I decided it was a good idea to talk to ESEA TF2 official ehFk to see what was behind the sudden enforcement of this hidden rule.
Hello. Where can I find the 50-hour PUG rule cited on the ESEA site?
It is not cited on the website but it was discussed with the ESEA-I TF2 teams. There is a rule stating that ESEA reserves the right to do whatever is deemed necessary [you can see this 'universal right' in the rules linked above]. Remember though, I am a league admin...there is a league commissioner and the co-owner of ESEA above me. It is not my decision but I get paid to enforce it.
I have heard (mind you, it's only a rumor) that EG TF2 had 30 hours this past month yet were given free Premium in ESEA-I. Is this true?
They had 35. The other teams all together probably had 11 hours total...
What is the justification for the rule? Don't you expect teams to not have time to play PUGs (with their rigorous scrim schedules)?
We want to grow the community and hopefully expand TF2. It all starts at the top. I cannot imagine that these players are so busy that they can't fit 5 hours of PUGs into their schedules. We understand that 50 is a large number...but that is why if teams put an honest effort forward, we would have compromised like we did with EG TF2.
I personally think that ESEA has put an enormous amount of faith into the TF2 community, as well as me putting in a lot of hours to try and make everything run smoothly. It really kind of ticks me off that no one appreciates it, and I get the feeling everone enjoys to see us do something wrong. The people who actually care about growing the game support ESEA, and that is all I really care about.
What will ESEA do if teams boycott ESEA-I?
That decision is out of my control.
How have you felt about Season 3 other than this recent issue?
I've been inactive for two weeks because I had finals for school, but it has been pretty disappointing. One invite team died after playing one match, as well as a large number of open teams.
If both divisions play out, who is your friendly prediction to win Open? Invite?
20ID for Invite and Area 51 Gaming for Open.
Thanks.
Well there you have it. I'd like to thank the ESEA-I players who let me know about this issue and ehFk for talking to me. I, and the rest of the competitive TF2 community, hope this issue won't fragment the upper tiers of our community.
