The first half of that sentence seems to directly contradict the second half. I'm by no means a major player in the tf2 community, so really my only option to try to change something is to present my idea/opinion in the community as best I can, and hope something changes.

You're right, the advent of the tf2 main division does further rectify this problem and I'm happy to see that. But that doesn't change the fact that more and more teams are being mismatched with the division they belong in. In my eyes, it seems like the problems is being healed from one direction, but bleeding profusely from the other.

It's all about the perspective though, a lot of the time people don't see their skill progression by how well they do in each match(assuming they even have the ability to recognize what they do correctly), it's each match's end score as well as the team's overall season performance and league score. A team that goes 3-13 by getting raped by like 3 washed up invite/main teams could potentially be at 6-10 instead, which may not seem like much but it could easily be enough to tip the scale one way or another. Over the seasons it seems to be getting increasingly acceptable for higher skilled players to create teams to 'sandbag' in lower divisions, how long before we draw the line? How long before divisions become useless at the lower level and we have half of open teams comprised of offclassing invite players?

Anyone who's played above an open level in this thread seems to think that teams in open should be happy at the level of competition and should stop whining, but what you don't seem to understand is that teams in open are more than just goofy names with new aliases; they're human. And, more than likely, they're new to competitive tf2/competitive video games, so when they go 3-13 in the season, it's not going to inspire them to keep playing, and in most cases just creates more opportunities for the team to cave in due to internal drama.

Now I'm not saying that people are incapable of handling losing matches are just games in general, but a good part of the reason why the divisions exist in ESEA are to maximize the possibility of teams being close to equal in terms of skill, as well as keeping the game fun for everyone. Personally I've dealt with people who lose a match and curse out teammates/rage in mumble/be extremely unproductive; I've also seen a lot of people lose and come off as not being affected by it emotionally at all. However, when the concept of divisions works effectively like it's supposed to, a good majority of players are given more of a chance to develop themselves at the base skill level, while minimizing the chances of them having the game ruined for them.

/rant

one last bump since the season won't start for at least another two weeks, if any IM teams need a scout, let me know. I'd also be willing to play soldier or demo for an open team if I know you/have fun playing with you.

neat team

hit the back button on your browser, it should save any text you type

are you

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wfAowihT00E

Trying to not conform to the system and stand out like a pretty unique blooming flower is great and all, but at the end of the day, you gotta just do what makes you feel good.

between kev and nate rivers, I'd say their dm from my experience is very close, although kev might have the capacity to carry slightly more often. Nate has the superior competitive tf2 experience though, he's been playing since at least 2009. they're both very good, don't really know if you can say one's better than the other

invite tf2 is invaded by weeaboos

haven't used those particular pair but take it from me, sony makes pretty decent headphones. I'm using the MDR-xB500's and they've worked very well for at least 2 years, nothing broken or wrong, although the ear cup material has worn a bit. Decent sound quality too.

Haven't played with NoOneFromNowhere, but the rest of the team is good people. Wouldn't be surprised to see these guys top 3 in open by the end of the season. gl

mike portnoy for lyfe

honestly, I love Dream theater's instrumental music but the vocalist makes my ears bleed