Does anyone here follow any E-sports?

I've just started following the LoL scene to watch the EU regional qualifiers for the World Championships in October. Very exciting stuff - Fnatic just had their 21-game winning streak ruined in the finals, which is streaming on Twitch/Youtube right now. Here's hoping for a full 5-game match.

(inb4 someone bitches about the term "e-sports" because "they're not really sports".)

Used to watch those old Korean SC: Broodwars competitions religiously back in the days. I thought I could pick up a move from their gameplay. Half the time, I had no odea what they were doing or what the announcer was saying.

Not really. I don't really play any of the big games, so there's really no incentive to learn them or watch them.

I have watched some Counterstrike and Hearthstone.

I follow the Dota 2 e-sports scene pretty closely. The International (basically the world cup) happened last month, with an American team coming first and taking home 6.6 million dollars.

LoL is more popular, but it can't touch Dota's prize pools.

LoL is more popular, but it can't touch Dota's prize pools.

My friend brought it up and we still haven't dug our way out of the trap of bickering over whether LoL or Dota is better. .-.

Anyway, I will watch at least the very final League Worlds games, but usually I'd rather be playing a match myself than watching others, even the best of the best. That said I might give it a try this season. Could be fun.

My friend brought it up and we still haven't dug our way out of the trap of bickering over whether LoL or Dota is better. .-.

Dota is to League what cricket is to golf. Completely indecipherable gibberish, filled to the brim with unintuitive concepts, and yet... once you get it, once you understand what's going on, it inspires manic devotion and addiction the likes of which this world has never seen before.

It just depends on what you want. Do you want a game that makes sense, or one of the most complicated and unforgiving games ever made?

Dota is to League what cricket is to golf. Completely indecipherable gibberish, filled to the brim with unintuitive concepts, and yet... once you get it, once you understand what's going on, it inspires manic devotion and addiction the likes of which this world has never seen before.

It just depends on what you want. Do you want a game that makes sense, or one of the most complicated and unforgiving games ever made?

So it's the difference between raw spinach leaves and ordinary salad lettuce. Thanks for that.

I think I'll follow my human nature and shy away from the challenge, though.

Stick with what you know. If you already play and like LoL, there's little reason to switch unless you plan on spending money; Dota's business model is a lot more consumer-friendly (all champions are free, for example).

How the hell does DotA have such large prize pools when so few people play it by comparison? IT MAKES NO SENSE.

As for the difference from DotA to LoL, the impression I always got was that a game of League tends to move at a faster pace (can't deny creeps = more gold = full build faster), that League is more streamlined (less active items, a more definite meta, better balancing, essentially what Hank said - it makes more sense), and that because of that League is without doubt an easier game to play and master. To be honest I think that's what made it popular - it took what the original DotA did and made it more accessible, whereas DotA 2 didn't.

My roommate plays DotA 2 and, naturally, detested League, but when I watched him play it just looked like so much freaking effort. I reckon it's possible to play a casual game of League. I don't think you can play a casual game of DotA, judging by my roommate and the way he spoke about it.

<Snipped quote by Hank>
Anyway, I will watch at least the very final League Worlds games, but usually I'd rather be playing a match myself than watching others, even the best of the best. That said I might give it a try this season. Could be fun.

It is actually pretty fun. It's exciting watching some of the ridiculous clutch plays that happen, and you can pick up a lot from the pros in terms of how you play. Just go watch game 4 of the EU LCS Summer Split Finals 2015 between Fnatic and Origen (what I was watching when I posted this). That one game is less than an hour out of your life and it's one of the coolest things I've ever watched - and if you enjoy watching it, then maybe consider watching some others as we approach Worlds. ^_^

They're definitely not sports. They're activities.

They're definitely not sports. They're activities.

The US immigration system disagrees with you. But the use of the word, of any word for any thing, is really just down to your philosophy on the use of language.

<Snipped quote by Kangaroo>

The US immigration system disagrees with you. But the use of the word, of any word for any thing, is really just down to your philosophy on the use of language.

What the fuck does the immagratio...

*googles it *

Holy shit

*~**PENTAKILLARUUUUUUUUU**~*