joddwar's rant seems to be same recycled diatribe people have been spouting for quite some time. my counterpoint is: if you like the game, you should continue to play. however, if you're expecting that tf2 will blow up and weapons/classes will be properly balanced and money will be funneled into the competitive scene and viewership will skyrocket, you are most likely in for a bad time.
matchmaking could have been the first door into the aforementioned great things, but it was shipped haphazardly (after 5 months of beta) and without a knob. i don't understand why people keep banging their heads against this very same door. it would seem that no one cares to answer.
my general thought about the whole thing was how OW was coming out and Valve, to me, were making efforts to get their game up to modern standard so they don't possibly lose a player base. but from a company that has been around for years, one that has 2 other games with functioning MM systems and we get the shit show we have now.
imo i never felt like money would solve or really fully help competitive tf2. but just a somewhat "hey guys, if you want some more serious gameplay, try comp over x website" kinda deal.
even though that never happened i thought comp tf2 being added would help people explore the format and competitive game a bit more.
what has resulted is an experience which is quite shit compared to other games these days and to me will actually put people off competitive tf2 because of the poor experience they might have. Not only that but you in theory actually have to fucking pay to play matchmaking!!!
It's probably my own fault for thinking like this, as mentioned in said "rant" I have a lot of emotional investment in this game and I'm sure there's many others around similar to me. Not only that but many people at tftv have put themselves in a lot of debt just putting on a show. When you have such a passion for e-sports and competitive gaming seeing talent and opportunities go to waste is somewhat heartbreaking.