MonteCristo riles esports fans with opinion on traditional sports

gabhernandez Published 08/01/2020

Christopher “MonteCristo” Mykles concluded in an article written by the Washington Post that esports fans generally don’t watch traditional sports, and many esports fans are voicing their disagreement.

The Post centered the article around why MonteCristo wasn’t returning to the OWL in 2020, but has angered OWL fans by saying that in his experience, esports viewers did not watch traditional sports and would not understand traditional sports ideas or concepts. 

According to the website gallup.com, 59% of Americans say that they are sports fans, and that number has been consistent since 2000. With that number hovering around 60%, the majority of the Overwatch League’s fan will also be fans of a traditional sport. Even if that were not the case, with traditional sports crossing over with pop culture, most people understand the fundamental structure of traditional sports, how they are produced, and what the play-by-play and color broadcasters might sound like. 

The OWL attempting to mirror traditional esports has never been a secret, so it’s puzzling that MonteCristo claims in the Washington Post article that he doesn’t think pursuing traditional sports fans constitutes a sound strategy. It could be that MonteCristo is referring to people outside of America who might not be familiar with the format of traditional American sports, but the concepts are not spectacularly different outside of the United States either.

The Overwatch League’s creators wanted something for people new to esports to be able to understand. Most people, even those that aren’t traditional sports fans, understand the structure of traditional sports. The familiarity with the format is what has the potential to bring a lot of new esports fans into the fold.

Fans on reddit are almost all in disagreement with MonteCristo, with some even questioning why he would say something like that when it seems so fundamentally false. MonteCristo instead compared OWL to WWE, where fans come for entertainment over all else and are less concerned with earnest competition.

MonteCristo has been in the esports industry for a long time, which is in part why his take on esports versys traditional sports seems to peculiar to those that have debated his words since the interview’s publication.

Read Also

GTA

What To Expect in the Unprecedented Netflix GTA 6 Extended Look Zachary Roberts News broke last week that the next confirmed look at GTA 6 would be on Netflix. A natural question arose: what would an extended look on Netflix even entail? Shortly after, it was confirmed by the streamer that the event would be about 20 minutes long, which is far longer than a third trailer would be. Never before has a video game been marketed through a streaming giant like this. ...

Kick

Adin Ross’ Brand Risk 15: Full Fight Card, Date, and Other Key Details Khizar Mundia Brand Risk Promotions recently announced Adin Ross’ BRP15, and now the key details have just been revealed, including the date, roster, and where the event will be livestreamed. Adin Ross is primarily known for two things: his gambling streams and his Brand Risk event. The boxing event has become a staple of Adin’s career, and he’ll be broadcasting even though he’s currently on a break. Adin Ross’ breaks have become ...

Kick

Club Introduces New Features, Allowing Normal Users To Post and More Khizar Mundia The social platform, Club, which was developed by the co-founders of Kick and Stake, has been largely creator-focused until now, but new features have been released for users to be able to interact. Club released an alternative to X communities back in April 2026 when the popular social platform decided to remove the feature from its platform. Co-founder Bijan Tehrani had tried to attract top creators before X even removed ...

News

Oddin.gg Makes Its Move Beyond Esports With the Launch of Oddin Casino Ben Boland Oddin.gg has announced the launch of Oddin Casino, a new business division that is focused on the next generation of technology-led casino entertainment and is set for release later in 2026. This announcement marks the company’s first venture beyond esports betting, with casino being seen as a major part the long-term strategy for the company. Oddin Casino’s first product will be a digital live dealer. This dealer is being built ...

Kick

Clavicular set to start multistreaming — is he leaving Kick? Khizar Mundia Looksmaxxing creator Braden “Clavicular” Peters has announced that he will start multistreaming content soon, sparking speculation about whether he’ll leave Kick. Clavicular has been one of the highest-paid Kick streamers in recent years, having previously revealed that he made $100,000 in just five days during a subathon. Other than being paid so much, Clavicular is also famous for being one of the most clipped streamers, with his clips being shared ...

News

Has a Fortnite Collaboration Revealed the Kingdom Hearts 4 Release Date? Zachary Roberts There is currently very little information in the public domain about the upcoming Kingdom Hearts 4 from Square Enix. We know the game exists, and we know it's going to be available on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch 2, and PC, even if there isn't even a release date yet. There's been no trailer yet, either, just a blink-and-you'll-miss-it teaser from a Nintendo Direct. But a Fortnite collaboration leak, of ...

Dota 2

LGD’s TaiLung banned from TI15, Topson to replace Michael Hassall Santiago "TaiLung" Agüero Gustavo has been banned from The International and all future PGL after reports of alleged matchfixing were unveiled by the LGD organization. Revealed by announcement on LGD’s Weibo page on Aug. 8, before being reposted on the organization’s Twitter page, Peruvian player TaiLung was removed from LGD and banned from all upcoming competition. The ban comes days before the start of The International 2026. As per LGD’s ...