lumen

Look these are the facts about the "death of the scene" as you have state multiple times in your tweets (and I want to preface this by saying that this no way to attack Nixuh as an org but this my honest opinion from your tweets as an org) South Africa has ~24M+ gamers and generates hundreds of millions in annual gaming revenue (something I actually researched and learned recently). People actually do play, compete and attend. Interest is definitely not the problem here. What we struggle with is: • Consistent tournament cadence • Tiered competition pipelines • Sponsor continuity • Infrastructure stability • Low Corporate understanding of gaming ROI in ZA • A lack of a governing body to even recognize esports as a sport in South Africa That’s a structure problem, not a “TOs did nothing” problem. I think what I have seen from this whole debacle, about this entire thing is that we are copying/ taking a lot (and I mean A LOT) of overseas models that does not work on a growing scene (and yes it is growing). We need to stop using international mindset on grassroots level issues. Sensationalism and one hit wonders isn't going to help this scene. Here is what I would do as someone who has worked with startup to T1 esports teams internationally and locally (even though it was production/ post production - you have to work with basically everyone in order for content to make sense, so this is really just my perspective) 1. We need to increase competition frequency: You only seem to be talking about majors, and majors only. However, that only will work if and only if there is a structure in place for said region. South Africa doesn't have that, the obvious solution is to make consistent competition. Whether that would be monthly or weekly (or however frequent), it needs to be sustainable, and sustainably isn't one stop shows, it's but on consistency. If TOs aren't doing that, then start making you're own. I know that's probably the answer you are not looking for but that is how all esports started, a group of people wanting to make opportunities and did it and it became something bigger because it was smaller and consistent opportunities. Brands don’t invest in one-off hype. They invest in cadence. If we can’t offer consistent visibility, sustainability will always struggle. 2. Building Tier pipelines: Beginner → intermediate → semi-pro → pro. We lack actual infrastructure in order for this scene to grow and to some extent I do blame TOs for this. It's kind of throwing your hat in the ring and then excepting good results. Most ZA pro players, orgs and TOs don’t have structured progression. And personally that’s where opportunity also starts, when there is some sort of structure in place. 3. Collaborate: We need to start sharing production resources, do shared sponsored decks, do cross promoted events. Smaller regions survive through smaller markets density, not division. 4. Ecosystem: This is what ACGL, Mettlestate and other TOs have been doing: - Run qualifiers - Hosted national tournaments - Created league structures - Partnered with brands Is this a absolute perfect system? Not at all. But completely going 360 and saying that they have done nothing for the scene is actually insane to me. Dismantling TOs publicly without giving solutions/ offering infrastructure replacements actually does more harm than good. That could potentially damage sponsor confidence, create instability narratives and discourages other investors to even think about investing in the scene. And this even happens at first country esport scenes, they don't enter warzones, they enter sustainable ecosystems. 5. It's not only about Prizepools: Now, I don't know if a lot of this is coming from an org that is funded by some seriously loaded individuals and sponsors but to say that prizepools are the only thing that will only attract people to play is... well- entitled (again just my opinion and not an attack). I am not saying money doesn't matter, I am saying that money is an amplifier, not a foundation. And I will always use the South African fighting game community here, because they have proven it. People don't come back because of incentives. Rivalries, narrative and most importantly passion is what makes people come and take part in. If you don't create opportunity for passionate people, then yeah this scene is doing to die and will stay dead. I agree that sustainability is a real issue in South African esports. But I don’t believe the solution starts with public blame or reducing years of grassroots work to "doing nothing". If you think the scene is dead, build something. Host, fund and collaborate. But don’t reduce over almost 15 years of community work to a Twitter thread. I am willing to have a conversation privately if you are open to it but this constant tweeting whilst seeing nothing to be done is concerning to say the least. I appreciate your passion and concern about the ZA esports scene, but personally this is not they way to do it. DMs are open