Tom B. July 17, 2019
Darth Vader. Vegeta. The Joker. MonteCristo?
Veteran esports commentator and content creator Christopher “MonteCristo” Mykles wants esports fans be more appreciative of the “villains” of the industry. In a pair of Twitter posts, the Overwatch League analyst called on the competitive gaming audience to sit back, have some popcorn, and allow those on camera to actually have a personality.
“Be appreciative of the entertainment your esports villains provide,” MonteCristo said. “It isn’t easy to intentionally expose yourself to the irrational hatred of others, and it takes an unreasonably thick skin to survive in the long term. And, of course, never listen to the plebs.”
It is not clear if MonteCristo is referring to a single event or a general trend on Twitter. Fans tend to react very strongly to those who engage in trash talk or taunt opponents in-game in an effort to rile up opposing teams.
MonteCristo believes that this outpouring of abuse will only stifle the talent’s personality and make esports unnecessarily bland. He went on to state that esports is headed in the humdrum direction of traditional sports.
Though he did not specifically name any names he primarily seemed to be discussing on-camera characters, rather than the unfortunately high number of actual unsavory individuals who have found a place in esports.
MonteCristo has been involved in esports for decades, beginning as a Warcraft 3 caster before moving on to StarCraft, then to League of Legends. He currently serves as an analyst and personality for Overwatch League.
During his time as a LoL caster he created a lengthy reel of memorable calls and entertaining moments, including the SK Telecom T1 “hype train” moment from the Season 3 World Championship final between SKT and Star Horn Royal Club. It is unclear whether he has felt uneasy about doing these sorts of over-the-top skits for fear of fan reaction.