I don't really do solo posts anymore. I usually just tack on ragebait... But for this one... Maybe I chime in...
My initial criticism of the 100 Thieves organization wasn't for the purpose of becoming one of the most successful posts on this site. It was to identify hypocrisy and do my part as a member of the community to point it out. And you can't say that it wasn't an issue because the number of voices that got on here and tried to defend the 100 Thieves position was impressive. It inspired in me, memes that people still post six months later. In an era where most people don't remember two weeks ago, that's enough of an accomplishment for me.
My post went from random obscure perspective on an internet to international infamy. I'm literally a reference on the Valorant Tiktok. They used me on platchat and couldn't stop talking about me to the point where they mentioned me multiple times on the Valorant broadcast. Why? Because it's the same people. That doesn't really happen by accident, I hit a nerve.
We live in this strange era where we throw our support behind people who don't deserve it. We are only told they deserve it because they are there. I wonder now if you can see it.
How many times can you say that you're trying when you're really just repeating the same mistakes? Competition used to have meaning. It used to be the best get to compete. They earned that. But these days, if you're the first to arrive, you get to sit on that achievement because we live in a world of "invite only." This kills competition. It kills games.
Do you really know if the team you celebrate or support is the best? They play against what, 11 teams total? How do we know there isn't some group of friends out there that are better? How many times have we heard that tier 2 teams can mop the floor of most VCT teams? Where do we get to see that play out? Nothing in this current era is tested. Everything is given and nothing is earned.
The crazy part is that some of you will disagree with me. That you prefer to just have the same teams, play the same comps on the same maps and that is the highlight of your VCT experience for the week. How do you read that sentence and feel joy? Is it that you don't know better? You've forgotten that better CAN be achieved? There was a time, that still exists in other esports, where anyone could compete. Where anyone could dedicate themselves and have a shot. And that shot would take place in a public place. Sean Gares would have never been able to say anything if the system he operated in was on LAN. At a Riot event, where competition is celebrated, where tier 2 had to show up and we got to see all the other teams fall to those who make it. We had that at one point in the tactical FPS genre...
I truly have no faith that whoever is on the next roster at 100 Thieves will have any more success than the current team had. It's a rotten system of "pick me" people. People who are forced to praise others for a shot at what they've earned. If I was Nadeshot I would be sick to my stomach. The system is inescapable because we've gone so far down this path that there is no light at the end of the tunnel. We will just get another coach, who is friends with JungleJuice or knows him through a connection, who will parrot the current system for coaching, who will pick their team based on stats and we will find ourselves back at this moment a year from now.
They say change is inevitable, but in esports, that's bullshit.
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