eSports
are larger, people aren’t going Choosing and keeping a
to commit the time needed to competitive team together is a
develop as a team and win.”
challenge for sponsors as well.
Adam explained that the most
important factor was exposure
and following. “It’s not all about
“The biggest challenge to keeping
a team together is having them
united in both victory and defeat.
If a team can’t lose without
pointing blame, it won’t last long,”
explained Adam Heath, owner
of Reason Gaming. “It helps if
the team is friends outside of
the game as well. It’s never good
when players don’t talk outside
of practice. Sponsors look for
teams that have both
consistent play and
a consistent roster.”
When asked what
drives sponsors to
teams,
being the best. It’s about reaching
audiences and growing your fan
base.” One of the perks of being
sponsored is having the support
of the rest of the organization’s
staff, teams, and fans coming to
cheer your team on, something
SMITE has begun to see with
Team Solo Mid’s League of
Legend fans being drawn to
cheer for the TSM SMITE
team.
Real life tends to get in the way
of keeping competitive teams
together as well. Psyio, who now
plays for Cloud 9, was forced in
and out of competitive play in
order be able to pay his bills. At
one point, the community came
together and donated funds
to Psyio so he could continue
playing competitively without
needing to go back to work full
time. Players like Tocketty and
TheBest are still in high school
and are actively juggling a full
time sporting career and being
a full time student. TrixTank just
had his 16th birthday, and so the
challenges of being a top student,
top player, and still needing
a guardian for international
travel are just a handful of the
challenges facing the young
developing competitive SMITE
community. “Parents can be as
much of an obstacle as work,
sometimes more so,” Resterian
explains. “During exam season,
it’s almost impossible to keep a
regular schedule for practice.”
Issue 1 • May 2014
45 • GameOn Smite Community Magazine