Team SIR has long been one of the most welcome participants in the Swiss eSports circus. Now they say goodbye to the ring, just like Edelweiss Esports.

Once again, the Swiss scene shrinks by two names that were often and gladly seen at Swiss events and tournaments. The Swiss Incredible Rebels were active in a wide variety of games. From Rocket League to Rainbow Six, Overwatch to Super Smash Bros – Team SIR was there. Now they announced at the beginning of June that they will no longer be competing.

Just a few days earlier, there was similar news from the Edelweiss Esports camp. They were quite successful on the road, especially in Rocket League, at times belonging to the best teams in Switzerland. In a message to the community, they announced that the founders would be turning to other projects and that the work could no longer be done without them. For the Swiss Incredible Rebels, the reasons are a bit more diverse. Although not unknown.

The dear money.

When asked, SIR President Julie “Nousagi” Dao answers why SIR will now no longer provide teams. From this it can be sensed that monetary problems were the main reason. Not because too much money was needed for the operation in and of itself, but the demands of the players and teams were too high, among other things.

“They stopped playing just for fun and wanted us to invest money because that’s what some other orgs do that can have a sponsor.” He said they also regularly set out to acquire sponsors, but unfortunately those ventures usually stopped at trying. “The pressure thus increased that if we didn’t find a sponsor, either players would leave us or no teams would want to join us at all.”

In addition, players and teams then received better offers from other, larger organizations. For a smaller organization, such as SIR, it was correspondingly difficult to keep up with the competition. Free market economy. This pressure is felt throughout the Swiss eSports community. Young gamers often don’t engage in eSports anymore just for the competitive challenge and fun of it… but haven’t we written that before?

Yes, and now what?

Let’s call a spade a spade: Young eSports athletes are spoiled. Those who started competing a little over a decade ago did so without many ulterior motives. They wanted to be among the best players, regardless of the financial rewards. Now publishers and eSports organizers are trying to outdo each other with ever higher prize money, giant brandings and more bombastic events. Switzerland can’t always keep up. The Swiss Esports League hasn’t been able to hold a big offline event in a while, and even the Swisscom Hero League has had to shift down a gear every now and then in recent years. Sure, there was this pandemic that made many events impossible. Nevertheless, only the production of the TCS Esports League seemed to move forward. And this one doesn’t offer a lot of prize money by far, but it can convince in other areas.

The roots!

For many showmen of the Swiss eSports it goes in the next months now first of all back to the drawing board. Who is one? Who do you want to be? What do you want to achieve? And how do you get there? This applies to players, teams, organizations and events alike.

The Swiss Incredible Rebels have decided to continue as a community organization. They will not actively recruit new teams and players, but will have open doors for anyone who would like to join. Being part of a community with no obligations from either side. Just as many organizations have their origins.

This approach would also be recommended to many other organizations that are currently struggling through financial plans without having fun. Because this should be the first priority for most of the athletes and teams of Swiss eSports. Most of them will probably never see a big stage and still have a lot of good memories of their competitive days. That’s the way it should be.