But in today's landscape, where the AFL is striking deals with the League of Legends Oceanic Pro League and millions of international fans get up (or stay up) at ungodly hours to watch their favourite teams compete in our own backyard, the quiet, intense passion of the StarCraft II esports community is a throwback to years gone by. When streaming platform Twitch was called justin.tv, and when Aussie fans had to huddle around grainy illegal streams to watch Korean tournaments. That was the standard for Australian esports back then. Qudos Bank Arena was known as Acer Arena. The biggest tournament in Australia was held at the UNSW Roundhouse, a venue more befitting of an open mic night, not an important tournament. The competitive scene was propped up by the passion of bleary-eyed full-time workers, not huge sponsors like McDonald's and Intel. Aussie fans persevered, looking to the success of StarCraft II overseas as a north star for what might one day be reality. But the path to establishing the game as a true esport down under was shaky. It was a difficult period for the StarCraft II community, according to Leigh "Maynarde" Mandalov, a popular commentator on the Australian StarCraft circuit. Commentators Helen Browitt and Leigh Mandalov call a StarCraft II match.

"Back in 2013, there was definitely some concern from the community at large," he says. "The game was in a transitional phase; it was going from the biggest esport in the world to, well, not the biggest esport in the world. Lots of people were freaking out about the drop in viewership and prize pools." "StarCraft II went through a rough patch," adds commentator Jared "PiG" Krensel. "YouTubers and commentators were switching games, and esports organisations were busy managing their teams in other games. "It really hit home that CS:GO, Dota and League of Legends had overtaken its spot as the most popular esport." But while particularly negative pundits saw the declining numbers as the mark of an indifferent developer that was more interested in its new games Hearthstone and Overwatch, the truth was entirely different. Blizzard chose to restructure StarCraft's global landscape, with a specific focus on nurturing local scenes and regional competition. As Blizzard devoted resources towards promoting StarCraft events and engaging with the community, the scene started growing again, and the excitement of esports fans with it.

The first StarCraft, released in 1998, became a massive esport in South Korea. The teenagers that spent their high school years climbing the StarCraft ladder, now in their 30s, rekindled old relationships over grassroots tournaments. A new youth movement swept the scene, led by players who were in diapers when the original StarCraft launched in 1998. The Aussie StarCraft community finally experienced its long-awaited watershed moment with IEM Sydney, a full eight years after the release of StarCraft II. "StarCraft II being a part of IEM Sydney has been absolutely amazing," says commentator and former pro Andrew "mOOnGLaDe" Pender. "It's given a place for the Australian StarCraft community to compete and enjoy a LAN like previous years." It's easy to look at the numbers and dismiss the StarCraft presence at IEM Sydney as nothing more than a sideshow; lip service to one of Blizzard's oldest IPs. But the worth of an esport (or any sport, really) is ultimately decided by the passion of the fans, and there is no title with as heavy a concentration of passion as StarCraft II. StarCraft II was released in 2010.

"The fanbase really puts its blood, sweat and tears into this game," says Mandalov. "HomeStory Cup is a huge community tournament that has been hosted a couple times a year since the beginning of StarCraft II, and they decided the last one would be largely community-funded. "It got funded in 40 minutes from community donations. €25,000 ($40,000) in 40 minutes. That's the StarCraft community, they'll never let their beloved tournaments disappear if they can help it." The average StarCraft fan is a diehard purist, who can rattle off Terran build orders like a chess grandmaster recalls their openings. There are casual fans, attracted by the game's new free-to-play model and fun cooperative campaign, but they don't stay casual for long. The reason they're attracted to StarCraft — the pure, 1v1 duelling that isn't present in almost every other major esport — is the reason they hang around. For this reason, like her commentator colleagues, Helen "Zepph" Browitt is bullish on the future of StarCraft II in Australia. "I think it's easy to forget how successful we've been in achieving what we set out to build as a community," she says. "It's awesome to see all that hard work and passion continue to pay off."

Whether StarCraft fills a bar or a stadium, it's a pretty likely bet that it's going to be a part of the esports landscape. After all, it's already been around for twenty years. What's twenty more?