TGG | Chazz It Up · @LunickTMM
23rd Jun 2019 from TwitLonger
2GG Ohio: A statement from Ohio TOs
Before we begin, I do want to let everyone know to not be directing hate to 2GG completely for this event. They've been trying to do the best they can with what was given and even got us to Dave and Busters for a better area for day 2. They're at least trying. And in all fairness, the tournament ran decently even with DQs and the other issues present.
So let's begin. On April 18th 2GG Twitter posted out a post asking for Ohio TOs they can work with to bring an event to Ohio. Excited for the opportunity, the community had over 100 comments all looking to the various TOs of Ohio. Marsh, Mindset, Purp, etc. However it seems all of this didn't matter as on May 28th 2GG tweeted out and announced 2GG Grand Tour Ohio I'm cooperation with Columbus eSports. Keep that name in mind for later.
So no main Ohio TOs were contacted, and this event kind of got left on the back burner as it was announced a month prior with little fan fare. As it crept closer, the group of Ohio TOs which included myself, Marsh, Cadence, Mindset, TLOrEo, 200% Dad, and Karinole realized the location was with the Columbus eSports arena. We took it upon ourselves to try to contact 2GG through various means. E mail, Twitter, even posting on the Facebook event page. But we were left with a radio silence until just the Wednesday before the event when Mindset was contacted and 2GG requested him to seed the event.
Before Mindset agreed, he pressed for details about the event in which the person who contacted him had no idea about. We got a little trickle of information until Champ posted a long post explaining everything.
Long story short, 2GG was contracted by a group (no official word on who this was) to host in the mall. This meant the main complaint of it being a 2 day event, (keep in mind only 80 signed up at this time) being in the mall itself, and various other nuances were not negotiable. If the event wasn't 2 days, we wouldn't have an event at all. So the event continued as planned.
Then comes the day of the event. The smash gg page claimed it was in the eSports arena, which was just a balcony section in the open mall. However no one really knew where that was and even on Twitter 2GG needed to post a quick image of the mall layout so everyone knew it was just in the open mall outside of JCPenney. And what participants were greeted to was a cramped in area that was basically a mall kiosk with about 25% if our floor space consumed by a platform in the center with no purpose. Chairs were in a limited supply, so seating was difficult. The recording setup was a literal minute walk from the main area to upstairs. And what felt the worst was that we were basically roped in what felt like a little gamer zoo. It was uncomfortable for everyone there.
But I would like to note that this isn't all 2GG's fault. See, they signed a contract for this, but they didn't know all this was going on. I'm retrospective, they should have contacted the Ohio TOs who knew of the venue, but what's done is done.
The real culprit here is the Columbus eSports Center. We have it under good suspicion that they were the ones who contracted 2GG and they were the ones who set everything up. They claimed they had a new venue from their small mall balcony. It was just the kiosk area under where their balcony was. They claimed they had space. We were cramped in heavily. They claimed there was internet. And if course there was no stream. Literally all the poor planning and setup was to the fault of the Columbus eSports Center who essentially lied to 2GG and wasted their time. I believe 2GG shares some blame as their name and people went into this event without taking proper care, but to solely cast blame on them that many, including myself have done, is a misstep.
I do apologise for the huge negative outcry 2GG got. I do believe this even deserves criticism however and I am glad we didn't break much higher. I fear how this event would go had we reached 200+.
But what's done is done and hopefully this can be an experience to learn from. The memes have been great and at the end of the day, isn't that what really matters?