Esports Express analyses the eight most awkward videos in esports history.











8. Taeja Fails to Open Champagne:







HB: When looking for this specific clip we found two with Taeja and Robert Ohlen. There’s actually a playlist with other progamers failing at opening champagne bottles too.

SJ: Without doubt the finest thing about this video is nothing to do with Taeja himself, but watching Robert Ohlen’s face deflate the instant the cork leaves the bottle, as though shaking the champagne had been building up pressure inside the Dreamhack CEO’s skull.



7. We Are Fnatic CSGO:







HB: I was going to talk about the amazing amount of slow pointing in this but my favorite moment occurs at 0:58-1:00 where the guy in the suit makes a knifing motion to mimic the screen.

SJ: The highlight of this for me is at 01:19 or so, in which Devilwalk makes a dramatic hand gesture to accompany a the pistol firing on screen, despite the fact that if you watch it slowly you can see that the shot actually hits the wall directly in front.

It’s also worth noting that Fnatic accompanied their video with a song that includes the words, “No patience, style over substance,” and then pulled that video so that they could rework it and release a better version later.



6. TeamSiren Announcement:





HB: The production value on this one is actually really great, but what sells it is the superhype visuals then clips of the girls saying stuff with absolutely zero enthusiasm. “The competition … is furious.”

SJ: There are a few really glorious moments here, not least of which the line, “I’ll bait you and outsmart you,” with a momentary cutaway to a shot of Solvanas playing chess. However, from the shot we see, it looks as though white has not taken the bait and instead played a very defensive kingside castle.



5. G-League Team/Player Intros:





HB: The commentators slowly losing the ability to talk about anything but the poses was great, but this video is the shining example of why doing “badass moves” slowly doesn’t work. My favorite is Zhou (without glasses) disorientedly blinking and making a slow crushing movement with his hand.

SJ: The otherwise solid production only serves to highlight the players’ awkwardness. The high point is Pajkatt’s straight-faced dual pistol action, outstanding in an endless procession of pointing, chest thumping, and shoulder dusting.



4. Raidcall’s Ad:





HB: I really wish they were able to release the version without the dubbed audio, I want to know how bad those original lines had to have been in order to be re-recorded into this finished product.

SJ: Since the first time I saw this ad, I’ve been unable to focus on anything other than that the voiceover clearly says, “Crystal clear auto quality,” while the text on-screen reads, “Crystal clear audio quality.”



3. [SC2] IPL3’s Randy Anderson:





HB: This is the rare instance where something intended to be funny turned out to be so unfunny that it swung all the way around and became amazingly hilarious again. The one guy in the crowd yelling at the end is the cherry on top.

SJ: This clip is actually pretty palatable compared to the segment by the same character live on stage at IPL, best known for repeat references to his ex-wife Linda. I watched this clip about forty times looking for any highlights, but there are none. It is all suffering.



2. HoN Basketball Court Intros:





HB: The moment it cuts from the commentators to the faceless announcer, I already lost my shit. Everything about this: the lack of lighting, the basketball hoop, the music, the lack of crowd, the unrecognizable player faces, it’s a masterpiece. The “WO-WO-WO” by the announcer guy is awesome too.

SJ: I can’t get over the composition of the shot. The host is invisible below a well lit basketball hoop, delivering his introductions to shadows hunched on the walls behind him. When the players appear, they appear backlit in dense smoke for a moment before wandering stage right, where they too stand invisible.

The split-seconds of clarity that come with camera flashes are just enough to make us wish we hadn’t seen them…



1. G1’s Liquid Hype Video:





HB: My favorite part of this is TC’s completely deadpan delivery. A close second is Korok trying to remember his lines because they made so little sense.

SJ: Structurally flawless and delivered in a sumptuous washed out instagram filter of faded blue-greens. The perfection of the line, “Don’t underestimate my carry or you’ll be carried into the abyss of suffering,” is marred only slightly by the failure to cut away before TC begins to laugh.