MidnightSun001 Profile Joined January 2011 Lithuania 15 Posts Last Edited: 2011-06-21 00:55:13 #1 Disclaimer: The following article was meant to be a response to a comment on Reddit, but since I started laying out my thoughts the length of the response has become too large to be a mere reply and thus this humble article was born. I am no spokerperson for CatZ, this is purely my own endeavour. I will very likely not become more popular for writing ths article, but let‘s not make this about me either. If you are sensitive when it comes to subjects such as economics and politics, you should read this article at your own risk, as politics tend to get heated at times.







In 2011.04.09 a video has been posted on AskJoshy‘s YouTube channel of Paolo „CatZ“ Vizcarra opening his thoughts on home-grown eSports ( link - In 2011.04.09 a video has been posted on AskJoshy‘s YouTube channel of Paolo „CatZ“ Vizcarra opening his thoughts on home-grown eSports ( link - ). The views expressed in the video have been cited on many different occasions and used in agressive tone by some users in several TeamLiquid and Reddit threads of which the said statements spawned many. Since then Catz has gained many anti-fans. I believe, unjustly so.



In this article, I will aim to explain why CatZ said what he did, explain the rationale and reasoning behind his views and dispel some myths formed by false conclusions that were drawn from the interview video. Basically I‘m saying CatZ is not an asshole. Here‘s why...



There are a few myths about CatZ‘s statements on koreans participating in foreign leagues (the statement applies to broader scale than just NASL). I‘d like to dispell those and explain the reasoning of Catz‘s statements. Let‘s start with some misconceptions about CatZ‘s position on the matter, shall we?



1. CatZ is racist – FALSE - he doesn‘t agree with koreans competing in NASL, not because of their race, but locale. Remember he, himself, is Peruvian, competing in the USA.



Well, that one‘s easy, let‘s do another one.



2. CatZ wants to win more money and is afraid of korean competition – FALSE – this argument is of purely economical inclination, Paolo is saying that the prize money should stay and circulate in the foreign Starcraft scene – I will go into deeper detail on this in a second.



Before jumping to any of these previously mentioned false conclusions you should ask yourself how much do you know about money flow. The CatZ argument is purely economically inclined. There is no "boo-hoo they too strong and doesn't afraid of anything" here. When you're thinking of CatZ's statement's you should consider...



A simple economical formula that most students know:



GDP=C+I+G+(X-M)



What CatZ is talking about is the "(X-M)" part which stands for net exports. It is the diffrence of export versus import. When import is higher than export (money leaks) GDP is smaller. If consumers buy more foreign products than local ones, net export is negative. In other words, buying goods from a foreign country fuels money to that country's economy, while your country gets into shit financial situation if this phenomena is en masse.



Here's a real world example, one that was given to me by a macroeconomics proffesor in my university, an example that is very relevant to me.



Lithuania joined the European Union. The small(er) business here were bought out by foreign competitors. The products that people buy are often products of foreign companies. This makes import high and export low. If this negative isn‘t compesated by other factos in the formula the national debt is piling up as net export remains negative. That‘s where This leads to huge economical tendencies that I won't go into about.



Now imagine that different countries are different Starcraft e-sports scenes with a completely free trading market. The growing "western" and the "already-developed" korean scene. The western scene is developing and is starting to create some revenue, however the korean scene, which is already big, competes for the same money. Money is leaked from the western scene into the korean scene via prize pool (as korean players are better financed, received better conditions and training for years, while western players could only do this as a hobby). It is natural for the korean scene to dwarf the underdeveloped western scene. A korean winning a foreign tournament means more money for korean e-sports. If a korean stays and competes in North America, he is part of THAT scene. This is why CatZ does not oppose koreans STAYING to compete in NA tournaments. Stricly speaking the „already developed“ scene would suck funds out of the „developing“ one. This is why Koreans winning foreign tournaments can be POTENTIALLY bad for foreign eSports.



Granted, this is only pize pool money we‘re talking about. It is also unfair to say that all of the money will remain in one particular scene, afterall there is a fair trade going on between the two. However, you have to admit the point remains valid.



CatZ‘s argument is purely economical and I want you to understand this perspective.



This short article was not written to change your opinion, it does not instrigate any hostilities toward any nation whatsoever. In the end, take this opinion for what it is – a way to look at the subject. I do not expect for you to agree with the reasoning, nor to change it, but I want you to understand that there is perfectly reasonable rationale behind Catz‘s argument. Everyone has their own opinion and is free to (respectfully) disagree, I hope that this article at least helped to explain the CatZ‘s side of the argument.



Edit: I agree that Koreans can bring interest and revenue to the foreign scene, no doubt they have a positive influence as well, but they can also harm development of foreign Starcraft 2 scene (not purposely of course!). Which approach - "protectionarist" or "free market" is better is a very difficult thing to say, I just wanted to explain the the logic behind protectionarism and CatZ's approach to the matter. I hope the video is enough to give you a view of what CatZ's argument actually was.



Here's what CatZ had to say in the comments:

). The views expressed in the video have been cited on many different occasions and used in agressive tone by some users in several TeamLiquid and Reddit threads of which the said statements spawned many. Since then Catz has gained many anti-fans. I believe, unjustly so.In this article, I will aim to explain why CatZ said what he did, explain the rationale and reasoning behind his views and dispel some myths formed by false conclusions that were drawn from the interview video. Basically I‘m saying CatZ is not an asshole. Here‘s why...There are a few myths about CatZ‘s statements on koreans participating in foreign leagues (the statement applies to broader scale than just NASL). I‘d like to dispell those and explain the reasoning of Catz‘s statements. Let‘s start with some misconceptions about CatZ‘s position on the matter, shall we?CatZ is racist – FALSE - he doesn‘t agree with koreans competing in NASL, not because of their race, but locale. Remember he, himself, is Peruvian, competing in the USA.Well, that one‘s easy, let‘s do another one.CatZ wants to win more money and is afraid of korean competition – FALSE – this argument is of purely economical inclination, Paolo is saying that the prize money should stay and circulate in the foreign Starcraft scene – I will go into deeper detail on this in a second.Before jumping to any of these previously mentioned false conclusions you should ask yourself how much do you know about money flow. The CatZ argument is purely economically inclined. There is no "boo-hoo they too strong and doesn't afraid of anything" here. When you're thinking of CatZ's statement's you should consider...A simple economical formula that most students know:What CatZ is talking about is the "(X-M)" part which stands for net exports. It is the diffrence of export versus import. When import is higher than export (money leaks) GDP is smaller. If consumers buy more foreign products than local ones, net export is negative. In other words, buying goods from a foreign country fuels money to that country's economy, while your country gets into shit financial situation if this phenomena is en masse.Here's a real world example, one that was given to me by a macroeconomics proffesor in my university, an example that is very relevant to me.Lithuania joined the European Union. The small(er) business here were bought out by foreign competitors. The products that people buy are often products of foreign companies. This makes import high and export low. If this negative isn‘t compesated by other factos in the formula the national debt is piling up as net export remains negative. That‘s where This leads to huge economical tendencies that I won't go into about.Now imagine that different countries are different Starcraft e-sports scenes with a completely free trading market. The growing "western" and the "already-developed" korean scene. The western scene is developing and is starting to create some revenue, however the korean scene, which is already big, competes for the same money. Money is leaked from the western scene into the korean scene via prize pool (as korean players are better financed, received better conditions and training for years, while western players could only do this as a hobby). It is natural for the korean scene to dwarf the underdeveloped western scene. A korean winning a foreign tournament means more money for korean e-sports. If a korean stays and competes in North America, he is part of THAT scene. This is why CatZ does not oppose koreans STAYING to compete in NA tournaments. Stricly speaking the „already developed“ scene would suck funds out of the „developing“ one. This is why Koreans winning foreign tournaments can be POTENTIALLY bad for foreign eSports.Granted, this is only pize pool money we‘re talking about. It is also unfair to say that all of the money will remain in one particular scene, afterall there is a fair trade going on between the two. However, you have to admit the point remains valid.CatZ‘s argument is purely economical and I want you to understand this perspective.This short article was not written to change your opinion, it does not instrigate any hostilities toward any nation whatsoever. In the end, take this opinion for what it is – a way to look at the subject. I do not expect for you to agree with the reasoning, nor to change it, but I want you to understand that there is perfectly reasonable rationale behind Catz‘s argument. Everyone has their own opinion and is free to (respectfully) disagree, I hope that this article at least helped to explain the CatZ‘s side of the argument.I agree that Koreans can bring interest and revenue to the foreign scene, no doubt they have a positive influence as well, but they can also harm development of foreign Starcraft 2 scene (not purposely of course!). Which approach - "protectionarist" or "free market" is better is a very difficult thing to say, I just wanted to explain the the logic behind protectionarism and CatZ's approach to the matter. I hope the video is enough to give you a view of what CatZ's argument actually was.Here's what CatZ had to say in the comments:

This wasn't a video I made in order to make people not invite koreans to their leagues, its simply my opinion on Home grown esports, and the growth of a community, not of me as a player, realistically, if I played a tournament today with the top non-koreans i'd still stand very little chance to win, but at least in my particular case, If I knew that my chances were improved, heck, lets narrow it down even more... If there was -just- a 3000$ prize-pool tournament in florida, for florida residents, I'd practice my ass off for it, because I know that my chances to win would be much bigger, then weather I win it or lose it, I will have become a better player, and if the circle continued, before you know it im devoting all of my time into practicing like I should practice, listening to less songs and singing less on my stream, and becoming a better player who could potentially compete with anyone in the world. THEN I go and play in tournaments with everyone else outside of florida, and if this had happened in every location, everyone will by then have become better players. So obviously im not saying organize a large tournament in florida so I can make more $, im just trying to show what I mean to say here, if there are SOME leagues that SOME players will believe they have a better shot at winning, they'll practice harder for them, become better players and help esports grow, idc if its me or whoever else. Right now, players outside of korea, have a shot at generation better revenue by 'getting out there' being more 'popular' 'raging' etc. Because this means they'll get more stream viewers and more Lessons and whatever else, very few players, like maybe KiWiKaKi will focus all of their efforts in gaming (because as many people know, he's wealthy already) as a result he's much better than most 'pros' who for the most part need to make a living off of the game somehow, not necessarily by playing the game 24/7 and being the best and going to a tournament and winning it.



I think local leagues or even national, leagues, where you realistically can have a shot at the prize pool would drive A LOT more of these players to play the game more and become the best players they can become. Its false that fans won't support this leagues or not watch them if there's no Koreans in it, if that is true, its a small percentage, IPL season one proved that, with good production, it was driving more viewers than NASL was at the time (even though NASL had koreans competing in it).



Im not scared to play Koreans either, I'd LOVE to measure myself against them more often even if I get rapeddddd. But if we continue on this path, you're looking at broodwar 2 in a couple years.