Even as the world of competitive Warcraft becomes smaller, there are still tournaments to participate in. A few days ago, ECL announced that they would cancelling the Warcraft 3 event was yet another blow to the scene. Tatazu.com interviewed Jiankai 'Yumiko' Yu, a player who has participated in countless editions of ECL to find out his take on the cancellation.
What was the first thought that came into your mind when you heard about the announcement?
-"Firstly I did not expect that the media representative for ECL would say such illogical things and blame the game. 'A game suitable for the competitive scene in China' does not only mean 'A game which is trending'. I feel that as with many other competitions before, they did not really weigh the interest of consumers and viewers against the costs, but rather leaned toward media sentiment and or to please sponsors. I heard that 2011 would be the last edition of WC3 in ECL, at first at felt a bit sad but not surprised. Here I want to encourage other Warcraft 3 players not to feel discouraged because of the latest happening."
What is your opinion with regards to the negative numbers, such as declining viewership, coming out of ECL 2011?
-"I feel that there are many reasons for this, and the fault does not lie with the game or the public.
1. The event was broadcasted simultaneously with other events, so web viewership would be drastically affected. For example a game of DotA takes a very long time as compared to Warcraft 3, a solo game, where the game itself ends quickly but viewers still have to wait a long time for the next match.
2. In terms of broadcasting when it comes to solo matches the stream would freeze and hang and it is as if we are watching a slide show. At that time I received a lot of complaints from viewers but it seemed the problem could not be resolved.
3. Since the final in 2010, the rooms used did not have doors... a point which I raised immediately with the organisers. They however decided instead to have no live commentary at the event, and for games such as Warcraft 3 it is often the commentary that brings excitement to the viewers and lets them immerse themselves.
4. There were also issues with scheduling. A lot of matches ran past midnight, it is not rational to think that people would brave the cold weather in order to stay at competition venues and watch the matches. These problems might be due to staff switches in ECL from 2010 to 2011. Also adding more games overall would of course affect other games.
Could you comment on what position ECL holds in your heart as one of the major tournaments in China? What do you think changed?
-"In 2010 ECL was truly on of the fulcrums for Warcraft, and it felt like how the Korean E-sport scene was in the earliest stages, that was also the hope many held in their hearts. However in 2011 ECL starting adding more and more games and more and more segments, and to me it felt like it lost its uniqueness."
What was your most memorable experience from playing in so many editions of ECL?
-"Like many, my favourite experience would be the grand final of ECL 2010. Even though I was quite a number of sound-proof rooms away, I could hear the thunderous applause and electric atmosphere. Countless numbers of fans also approached me for photographs or signature. The matches themselves were a bit weird, but still provided a lot of talking points. I can recall this scene as if it was yesterday."
As a commentator and a player, do you have any suggestions or comments to ECL organisers?
-"Now the only thing I can commend ECL on is their successful transition from being a Warcraft 3 only event into a diverse e-Sport event."
What is your goal for this year?
-"My goal is to not stagnate or deprove. My last official competition was CPL which ran from June 2010 to June 2011, and after such a long time away my game has dropped significantly. So my goal this year is to reach my former standards and play in more competitions if I am allowed to."
Recently we saw you carry the WCA tag in some overseas competitions, what is the current situation?
-"WCA contacted me to play for them in some online Korean and European tournaments, sort of like how I used played for EHOME in WPTL."
You have a uncanny win-rate against undead rushes, can you share some tips?
-"The most important thing in defending against a Rush is to be mentally prepared, and then draw on experience to make rational decisions. It is hard to get better at e-Sports through copying others strategy directly, but rather to experience and explore such situations. This is also one of the aspects of Warcraft 3 that brings the most pleasure, when something works out better than expected."
Many thanks for accepting this interview, do you have any last words you would like to say?
-"Thanks to everyone for reading."
-"Firstly I did not expect that the media representative for ECL would say such illogical things and blame the game. 'A game suitable for the competitive scene in China' does not only mean 'A game which is trending'. I feel that as with many other competitions before, they did not really weigh the interest of consumers and viewers against the costs, but rather leaned toward media sentiment and or to please sponsors. I heard that 2011 would be the last edition of WC3 in ECL, at first at felt a bit sad but not surprised. Here I want to encourage other Warcraft 3 players not to feel discouraged because of the latest happening."
What is your opinion with regards to the negative numbers, such as declining viewership, coming out of ECL 2011?
-"I feel that there are many reasons for this, and the fault does not lie with the game or the public.
1. The event was broadcasted simultaneously with other events, so web viewership would be drastically affected. For example a game of DotA takes a very long time as compared to Warcraft 3, a solo game, where the game itself ends quickly but viewers still have to wait a long time for the next match.
2. In terms of broadcasting when it comes to solo matches the stream would freeze and hang and it is as if we are watching a slide show. At that time I received a lot of complaints from viewers but it seemed the problem could not be resolved.
3. Since the final in 2010, the rooms used did not have doors... a point which I raised immediately with the organisers. They however decided instead to have no live commentary at the event, and for games such as Warcraft 3 it is often the commentary that brings excitement to the viewers and lets them immerse themselves.
4. There were also issues with scheduling. A lot of matches ran past midnight, it is not rational to think that people would brave the cold weather in order to stay at competition venues and watch the matches. These problems might be due to staff switches in ECL from 2010 to 2011. Also adding more games overall would of course affect other games.
Could you comment on what position ECL holds in your heart as one of the major tournaments in China? What do you think changed?
-"In 2010 ECL was truly on of the fulcrums for Warcraft, and it felt like how the Korean E-sport scene was in the earliest stages, that was also the hope many held in their hearts. However in 2011 ECL starting adding more and more games and more and more segments, and to me it felt like it lost its uniqueness."
What was your most memorable experience from playing in so many editions of ECL?
-"Like many, my favourite experience would be the grand final of ECL 2010. Even though I was quite a number of sound-proof rooms away, I could hear the thunderous applause and electric atmosphere. Countless numbers of fans also approached me for photographs or signature. The matches themselves were a bit weird, but still provided a lot of talking points. I can recall this scene as if it was yesterday."
As a commentator and a player, do you have any suggestions or comments to ECL organisers?
-"Now the only thing I can commend ECL on is their successful transition from being a Warcraft 3 only event into a diverse e-Sport event."
What is your goal for this year?
-"My goal is to not stagnate or deprove. My last official competition was CPL which ran from June 2010 to June 2011, and after such a long time away my game has dropped significantly. So my goal this year is to reach my former standards and play in more competitions if I am allowed to."
Recently we saw you carry the WCA tag in some overseas competitions, what is the current situation?
-"WCA contacted me to play for them in some online Korean and European tournaments, sort of like how I used played for EHOME in WPTL."
You have a uncanny win-rate against undead rushes, can you share some tips?
-"The most important thing in defending against a Rush is to be mentally prepared, and then draw on experience to make rational decisions. It is hard to get better at e-Sports through copying others strategy directly, but rather to experience and explore such situations. This is also one of the aspects of Warcraft 3 that brings the most pleasure, when something works out better than expected."
Many thanks for accepting this interview, do you have any last words you would like to say?
-"Thanks to everyone for reading."
Source: Tatazu.com
