‘Chiu on This’ is a short and regular opinion blast

With Overwatch League being a long round robin format, there are just too many games to watch. Because of that I only watch games that have some kind of import towards stage or overall results. In Overwatch League right now, NYXL is miles ahead of everyone else in terms of the amount of wins had them secure their spot as number one seed a long time ago. So we’ve seen them sandbang in Stage 3 and Stage 4, there are multiple reasons for this.

First, is that it lets the players and staff coast instead of having to put in 100% all the time. In a long standing league like this you have to be able to manage burnout and as they had a lead, they got the luxury of doing this. Secondly, they got to test their standard performances (or experiment) at say 60-70% of their normal strength against the rest of the league. This gives a good gauge for how good their fundamentals are and where they can improve. It makes the players inside the team enjoy the game more as they don’t have to go hard all of the time. Finally, they don’t have to reveal all of their cards so they can keep a competitive edge over the competition when the real deal goes down.

I think most hardcore fans understand this, but what they don’t seem to realize is that new fans tune in all of the time. That is why a caster should bring it up. It’s not only the most important narrative when talking about NYXL games, it is also the most critical piece of information when looking at the game. For instance, when I was watching League of Legends Worlds in 2016, the broadcast told me that Cloud 9 were the favorites against SKT. SKT ended up winning the game and an actual mainstream journalist wrote about the upset. In actuality all of the hardcore people I know who followed the game all said SKT was the favorite. If I wasn’t connected to that I could have easily assumed that SKT winning was a great underdog story, when in fact it was just the favorite getting the work done.

It’s why I respect Montecristo’s casting because I never have to doubt or second-guess what he is saying. I never have to think “Oh he’s sugar-coating it because he doesn’t want to hurt the feelings of the team or fans,” or “Maybe he’s just a fan of the team and that is blindsiding his analysis.” I know that when I get Monte I’m getting clear clean crystal truth. In a world where it has become the norm to speak about fake news, half lies, double truths, and fake narratives, having a caster like that is worth their weight in gold.

Having said that, if you all want to take this piss and call it the best wine you’ve ever had, go ahead. Anyone is entitled to enjoy the game how they want. Just don’t be surprised when Monte calls it piss.

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