At the MOBA Dota 2, “The International,” an eSports tournament with a huge prize pool, is currently ongoing. The games are great too – but fans have pointed out a weak point in one of the first matches: the commentators. They had to face quite a bit of criticism after the first day.
This is the tournament: “The International” in Dota 2 is a tournament of gigantic proportions. With over $33 million, it offers the largest prize pool of all time – the winner takes home more than $15 million. That is five times what Fortnite World Champion Bugha took home,
The prize pool is so high because it is linked to microtransactions within Dota 2 – and the MOBA is still huge on Steam.
“The International” is the highlight of the eSports year for Dota 2. Before the actual tournament starts on August 20, initial matches in the group phase are already taking place.
Thank you for curing my insomnia!
The problem with the casters: Right on the first day there was a match between Evil Geniuses and Natus Vincere.
The big topic among fans was: the casters and how they were assembled.
In the chat, fans thanked the casters for curing their insomnia, which they had suffered from since childhood. As soon as they heard the stream, despite years of insomnia, they fell asleep.
3 Analysts at one table
What are the casters being accused of? The casters were commentator Kevin “Purge” Godes and the two professionals Kim “Febby” Yong-min and Nico “Gunnar” Lopez.
Personally, the 3 casters are accused of:
- Having monotone voices
- And giving boring analysis
Although the match offered exciting team fights, it was rather quiet during these fights. There was no one to comment on the action, players criticized on reddit.
Other users noted that Valve had incorrectly assembled the trio here:
- Because all 3 are actually “analysts” and “experts” who then need a host to showcase and interview them
But since all three filled a similar role, there was no one to describe the actual game moves and create atmosphere and hype. Viewers also criticized that the two professional players, Febby and Gunnar, were rather passive, resulting in no conversation taking place.
There were also problems with the stream itself. Audio glitches occurred, the sound went crazy, and there were recurring issues.
What happened afterwards? On the second day, however, the trio was able to solve some of the problems. The two professional players supported more now and participated in the conversation, making the trio perform and appear better.
This then garnered praise (via reddit) – although the praise was quieter than the criticism on the first day.
This is the interesting part: It is a problem that can be seen and heard at many eSports tournaments. “Casting” games is a skill that comes with time and where it is important that different personalities harmonize and work together.
Many factors play a role that cannot be foreseen beforehand.
Errors in the composition can indeed impact the quality of a cast, especially when the audience is used to something better.
At a tournament like The International, which lasts for a long time, the organizers probably save their established casters for “the important matches” later – which can lead to difficulties at the beginning. Even at such a gigantic tournament.
