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 Spit-wad |  Mali | Purge |  Holymaster |
1) Do you consider your region to have a healthy amateur scene? Where would amateur players/teams go to get their name out there in your region?
Spit-wad, NADota.com & NEO - With the reemergence of SECS, the amateur scene is thriving once again. Some members of the community maintain a list of active and upcoming amateur tournaments, which you can find by clicking here.
GodBlessMali, 2P - Before The International 3, it was extremely difficult for amateur teams to compete in tournaments for the very good reason that there were not many. G-League and the G-1 Champions League both had qualifiers, and it is through the former that we got to know Vici Gaming. I would say that the biggest event for amateur teams was the RedBull ECL, but none of the amateur teams really stood a chance against the best. Today, however, things have changed. The game is no longer in beta in China, and there are more amateur 
tournaments like the SteelSeries Dota 2 League: Code A and Fengyun Tournament.
Purge, Purgegamers.com - The NA amateur scene is improving. More and more people are forming teams with aspirations of MLG's and things like that, and a lot of players who never really made a serious push to be a competitive player are giving it a shot now. I wouldn't quite say the scene is healthy yet, but it's in a very promising stage right now. The best place to get your name out(if you're looking for teammates) is in either IXDL-O or the NEL leagues.
HolyMaster, JoinDOTA - No,not at all. The only tournaments worth mentioning here are really just Bigpoint Battle and Eizo Cup, both of them being hosted by ourselves. And even those aren't real amateur tournaments, but are dominated by known teams in the last few rounds. Apart from that I haven't heard of any decent amateur tournaments in Western Europe all year. Sure, there's StarLadder, but that's clearly focused on Russia and is not that accessible for others. ESL is doing some stuff, but I don't see it becoming a great place to play. We don't have any place for unknown teams to play consistently and compete with opponents of the same level.
2) Do you think amateur teams are being undermined by pro competition organizers who host invite only tournaments?
Spit-wad, NADota.com & NEO - No, I wouldn't call it "undermining". Big names get viewers. Tournament organizers rely on viewership to turn a profit, and viewership in the amateur scene is simply not good. There are enough open events that give new teams a chance to shine. joinDOTA does a particularly good job of this with the jD 
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GodBlessMali, 2P - I do not feel that amateur teams are being undermined by tournament organizers. Perfect World is actually doing a good job helping new players. The World E-sports Professional Classic have invited two amateur teams to compete with the best Chinese teams. One of those teams, Hearts Get Together, has actually made a good impression so far. I would not be surprised if other tournaments give them a chance. I am not sure if the next season of the Dota 2 Super League will have qualifiers, but with the World E-sports Professional Classic, G-League and the G-1 Champions League — if they host a sixth season — it is fair to say that the tournament organizers do not undermine amateur teams.
Purge, Purgegamers.com - I don't think amateurs are being undermined by invite only tournaments, no. There are PLENTY of open qualifier tournaments, and the truth is that more often than not, they are filled with teams that aren't very serious(disband often) or aren't ready to compete with even low level pro teams.
If a team does well enough in the amateur scene, they can and will get invited to regional only stuff.
I've been a part of many talks about NA tournaments in the past, to only have to break it to the organizers that there were only about 3 good North American teams that play regularly, so I know there is space for more teams.
HolyMaster, JoinDOTA - I actually think there are enough people or organizations trying to build up something sustainable for regular teams and players, but they're mostly doing the wrong things. We see so many ladders and inhouse leagues coming up, trying to gather a large community. But it's never working out, because such features are directly competing with what Valve has included into Dota 2 itself. Can everyone please stop trying to create a better matchmaking or team matchmaking and instead develop something that is not part of this great game already? There is place for both amateur and professional competitions out there, but while the formula of how to hold a good invite tournament has spread all over the world by now, nobody seems to have figured out the amateur counterpart correctly yet.
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3) For those who do cater to amateur teams, what are your thoughts on open qualifiers? Do you believe this is the best way for giving lesser known teams a chance to compete in a big tournament?
Spit-wad, NADota.com & NEO - Open qualifiers are nice for the teams, but terrible for the organizers. Running an open bracket is a huge task. There are often complaints about professionalism in eSports, but amateur teams are far worse. And that's OK - competing in a professional manner is part of the learning experience. But I would never blame an organizer for opting not to host an open qualifier.
GodBlessMali, 2P - I am actually a fan of what the G-1 Champions League organizers did in their last season. They hosted a qualifier with different phases. The better you performed, the better the teams you faced. It is really frustrating for new teams to meet a team like Invictus Gaming, LGD-Gaming or Team DK in the first round, but with this system,that was impossible. It is through the second phase that Neolution.Thailand eliminated TongFu from the competition. Even though TongFu were far from their prime, it was still enough for this Thai team to be in the spotlight for a few days. I wonder if Vici Gaming would be known today had they not qualified for the main event of G-League.
Purge, Purgegamers.com - Open Qualifiers are good if there are limited team slots and a lot of good teams, but generally most teams are pretty known already within the competitive scene, unless they are brand new and haven't had enough time to prove themselves yet.
HolyMaster, JoinDOTA - Honestly, open qualifiers are not really helping. At least not as long as the majority of teams still come via invite. For most of the participants it's still two or three games until elimination, and then they have to wait for the next competition again and again. Furthermore we see plenty of mixteams, spontaneously formed out of known, teamless players succeeding in open qualifiers - and there's a high chance of them disbanding shortly after. Really new players entering the competetive scene that way is an exception. That's why I preferred an invite qualifier for the last season of The Defense (and will most likely do the same next time) with 16 talented teams who've been stable and consistent for some time. It's still fine to hold open qualifiers, but they don't support amateurs significantly.
4) What would you do or suggest in order to improve the amateur scene in your region or overall?
Spit-wad, NADota.com & NEO - More events, and more entertainment. There can never be too many amateur events. These teams need as many practice opportunities as they can get if they intend to reach the professional level.
When finding solutions in esports, I often look to those who have traveled the path before us. Baseball is a good example of a sport that hosts successful semipro events, at least in my home town. Going to a minor league baseball game can be a blast because they make it entertaining. In pro sports entertainment is often an afterthought because the high level of competition is enough to hold viewer interest. In semipro events, the skill and competitive thrill is often uninspiring and can quickly become stale. Minor league baseball compensates by entertaining the viewers in other ways - organized cheers, giveaways, "guess which hat the ball is under" games, seventh inning stretch presentations, and deals on nachos and beer. If we can find a way to make watching amateur events a fun activity, the viewership will increase, the money will follow, and the scene will flourish.
GodBlessMali, 2P - I would love the Dota 2 Super League and/or the World E-sports Professional Classic to add a second division to their tournament. The GOMTV Global StarCraft II League have such a system with Code S and Code A, and that is exactly what I would like to see in Dota 2 too. Back in DotA, there were a few tournaments that I really loved like DotA-League and the MYM Prime Defending. Both used a different format, but they promoted both amateur and professional teams. I will always remember a match played between Prime — a totally unknown Asian team — against one of China’s best, Deity. Prime took them down and the whole community talked about them for a few days. It can take one upset to change the life of a whole team.
Purge, Purgegamers.com - I think organizations like MLG are making great strides for North American amateur players at the moment. I'm really excited to attend MLG Columbus, but I dare say I would love a tournament that 
had more opportunity for just NA teams to attend, which is what recently happened with the Full Sail tournament.
If they ran another NA only tournament, I'm sure the teams would be even better and there would be more competition, since that tournament just brought out the first wave of teams.
Now that more time has passed, I know of a couple teams that could participate and perform really well and make the competition a lot better. I'm quite happy for the future of North American Dota!
HolyMaster, JoinDOTA - In my opinion the best solution would be to have one large league as the center of the amateur scene. Something like Dota-League's Pick League back in the days. A league where any team can play at least once a week, and really have the possibility to evaluate their skill level. Success in this league would result in invites to the big tournaments sooner or later. There doesn't even have to be a lot of money involved, but it requires decent manpower and structure, and of course a good website. The only question is, if any company is willing to invest in that, a certain risk can't be denied here. But I'm convinced it'd be worth it, if it's done well.
About KiLLiN's Korner
KiLLiN's Korner is a GosuGamers.net series that focuses on popular topics and events in e-Sports. KiLLiN asks professional gamers and e-Sports personalities what their thoughts are on the subject. To receive updates on the feature follow @GosuGamers and @KiLLiNDota2
