id Software: home to some of the most important games in esports’ history. For so long the Quake series has been overshadowed by the likes of Counter-Strike, Warcraft 3 and World of Warcraft. But its latest incarnation could just be beginner-friendly enough to bring Quake to the masses.

Being a huge nerd, whenever I go on holiday I usually download some demos/replays/frag movies for the journey. Generally these are WC3 replays or WoW videos but en route to Ireland recently I switched things up and took a bunch of Quake Live demos instead. Many of you reading this probably consider this a statement of the obvious, but damn, QL is good to watch.

Just watching someone speed around the map from powerup to powerup is entertaining. Sure, you have bunny-hopping in CS but the pure speed and distance covered in Quake gives the viewer a little adrenaline rush every time. The creative use of rocket jumping just adds to the spectacle. Watching someone like Magnus 'fox' Olsson seemingly appear out of nowhere to land a railgun shot is as impressive as anything you can see in esports. But unlike other games, these feats happen several times per game.

Having a game that’s exhilarating to watch is one thing, but in that sense QL is no different from its predecessor, Q3. So what makes QL likely to succeed where Q3 failed? Well any game needs to be fun to play as well as to watch if it is going to have any kind of longevity. There has to be an up and coming star to replace any retiring legends. Quake Live makes that much more probable.

The problem with Quake 3 was always that it was ridiculously hard to break into. It was my first ever online game, yet I have barely touched it since 2001. Why? Because I got destroyed game after game by people who had been playing online FPS for years. It simply was not fun. There was no way to tell the standard of your opponent until you joined the server and got lightning gunned into a corner and then mid-air railed by some Quakeworld veteran.

This is where Quake Live changes things and allows noobs like me the chance to improve. There is a built-in matchmaking system, which I have found to be near perfect in free for all. I usually finish in a kind of upper-mid table and even won a couple of games so the system must be doing something right. I never joined a QL FFA server that made me come out licking my wounds. Dueling is a different matter, but then I suppose only the hardcore players want to duel anyway so be warned.

Finally, and arguably the most important point; Quake Live has plenty of tournament play. Of course there’s always been Quakecon but countless other events are popping up. Last night saw the climax of ESL’s Invitational, won in surprising fashion by Richard 'noctis' Gansterer. If ESL are taking the game seriously then its chances of “making it” (if it hasn’t already) are vastly improved.

The world’s first weekly esports column, The Zechs Files, returns next Tuesday if I can keep out of Quake Live for long enough to write it.