An employee and co-producer or Jason "Amaz" Chan's production company, Brent "Backspace" Kaskel makes a special interview appearance to discuss the controversy surrounding ATLC 2 and address community concerns.
Announced a few days ago, ATLC 2 – the successor of the hugely successful inaugural season from 2015 – made the headlines and spawned discussion not just with his return but with the way its funded. Popular streamer Amaz and his co-workers have taken to crowdfunding platform Kickstarter, asking backers to fund upwards of $200,000 to launch the new season.
While many supporters were jubilant in the possibility of second ATLC and readily pledged to the project, others expressed concerns. Esports websites such as GosuGamers and DOT Esports published editorials on the matter, arguing that crowdfunding isn’t the right way to sponsor the event. Pro players, in particular Tempo Storm’s Petar “Gaara” Stevanovic, have in turn criticized a critical part of ATLC 2’s format, particularly the Amazon Coins Qualifier that is to determine one of the teams in the tournament.
To answer these concerns and more, ATLC 2 co-producer Brent “Backspace” Kaskel agreed to sit 1-on-1 with GosuGamers in attempt to clear things up. You will find the interview in its entirety published on top of this article, with topics discussed including:
- What other ways of funding were discussed and explored before it was decided on crowdfunding?
- What / If the invited players are doing anything to financially support the project?
- Why are mix-matched teams of personalities prioritized over organization-supported teams?
- Why is the qualifier for ATLC 2 not open?
- How was the budget for ATLC 1 spent, how big was it and what was Amaz’s and Backspace’s net loss in the end?
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