Twitter is a messy layout so...

The UK scene in my opinion should be a platform for players and smaller organisations to grow and nurture talent. It should be a step on a long road to developing players and a place for small organisations to ease into the e-sports scene. In my opinion, a players journey in the UK should go like this:

1. NUEL (if at university, skip to 2 if not)
2. UK scene
3. EU scene
4. Challenger series/LCS (obviously will be only for a few players)

As it currently stands, the 3/5 UK rule for UK tournaments (i-series can be the exception, as it's unprofitable for them to deny EU players/teams travelling over to play their events) is causing step 2 (UK scene) and step 3 (EU scene) to cross over one another. This isn't good, because at the moment, new players to the UK scene (xL Billy, NUEL players, Dynasty) and those with a lot of potential (Joekerism, Brixton, Sean17) (sorry for using names as examples) are being hindered in their development as the teams who are able to substitute in EU master/challenger players are those who are dominating the scene, so players get disheartened and quit/give up on their development.

For organisations, they have to just adapt to what is most profitable for them. Mid/low tier organisations can't provide the same benefits as FM/Infused/Choke because they know it won't be profitable, due to results in online events. If a team is not performing online, then organisations won't want to invest in them offline as it's a risk, and I can't blame them for that.

If event organisers (iseres excluded) changes their rules back to 5/5 UK, then the scene will/should be more competitive, as it won't be about 'who you know' in regards to EU players, as allowing 2 EU players on a team broadens the talent pool which teams can choose from. If organisations are disgruntled by this, then no one is stopping them from leaving the scene. It will be like gangs, if one leaves, another will replace them. If the current top 3 orgs decide that 5/5 UK events are not profitable for them (despite them saving money on not having to fly players in from europe) then they can leave and those organisations who care about the scene and wish to thrive in it can take their place. Nothing is stopping an organisation from having a UK roster and then a separate (but somewhat entwined) EU roster for EU tournaments. The point is keeping the UK scene competitive, so that both players will want to keep improving and not give up because one team has some challenger EU player to boost their roster significantly; and so that organisations are not pressured into flying EU players out to events (part of the reason epiclan wasn't financially viable for a lot of teams).

For event organisers such as ESL, this can have certain concerns, such as their stream only appealing a UK audience. However, what it is likely to help towards is stabilizing rosters, creating stories for the tournament, providing more competitive (and thus, more watchable) games and will make it easier for them to avoid having to 'bend rules' for teams each week. So yes, although your viewer pool may decrease as it wouldn't appeal to Europe, viewership could increase in the UK. If you look at it from a caster perspective, casters are taught to try and include stories in their casts, for example in the LCS next season there will be the story of Doublelift sticking with CLG through thick and thin, now joining TSM. In the UK scene Vedius this past weekend talked about numlocked's time in the Turkish LCS. If the UK scene were actually a platform for teams to develop in, you'd get more stories of how in week 1 they were new to a team, but by week 5 they have now grown into their role. All of this stems from games being more competitive, rosters will want to stay together as they feel they have a chance to contend the better teams, games will be more interesting to watch rather than the current ESL season:

https://i.gyazo.com/01047bcf92a1ca64221e9b6354194162.png

Those 4 teams at the top are using EU players most weeks, and the teams at the bottom have tried to keep it UK, but are now having to get in EU subs each week as players have given up as they were late to the EU hype train.

If you read Tundras latest interview over at:
http://www.leetgamesblog.com/uk-league-legends-pro-wrong-esports-scene

He talks about how he sees all his friends moving on to LCS/Challenger series and he feels he's "this no-name who’s barely relevant in the sub-challenger scene". I feel like he's a player who has outgrown the UK scene, on his good days he is arguably the best top laner in the scene. He's someone who has taken the 2nd step on the ladder and developed in the UK scene and is good enough to move onto the EU scene, but instead of creating a team for EU purposes, he has stayed in the UK scene, wanting it to develop into an EU scene. There's no shame in realising you're better than the scene and it's time to move onwards and upwards, and if things don't work out and if the UK scene was structured in a 5/5 UK way, it would be more stable to return to while waiting for further opportunities. Don't get me wrong, Tundra. I'm not disrespecting you in anyway here, I feel you should/could be in a more promising position than you are currently but by focusing on the UK scene and bettering it, you are inadvertently stunting your own progression. Go get that challenger series you have worked so hard for, let the rest of us worry about the UK.

Think that covers most of it. Sorry if I name dropped anyone in a way they don't appreciate, and uhhh, my thoughts are my own and not to represent Excel or anyone else. Sorry for shit stirring, but the scene is getting worse, it's like the UK scene is trying to play dress up as an EU scene, but ultimately EU doesn't give much of a shit about us, so the scene imo should restabilize by returning to being a UK scene.

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