PB&J

Players: Ultimate Summit and the state of Smash content in general has made me believe that many top players are rarely authentic in their “personalities.” It’s like they’re constantly putting on some sort of show. “Top player personality” = “intentionally being weird/quirky”.

I understand that getting attention is part of building public image and maintaining a following as a player who wants to be marketable. But as it stands, I mainly believe it’s a problem because I see people building an image that seems staged rather than genuine.

Tweek/VoiD/Nairo are good examples of top players who just act like their whole selves. Normal human beings who enjoy Smash, not clowns going out of their way to entertain viewers. Their AUTHENTICITY is what makes them lovable + respectable. They don’t need to create a “persona.”

Hamming it up for an audience is something that very few people throughout the FGC can pull off and actually be endearing/humorous. Out of all the Ultimate players that intentionally act goofy, the only one I can think of who pulls it off well is Samsora. Please, just be real.

Think about this: there’s a reason why Melee has had hype rivalries with (healthy) beef between players and events like Melee Summit and The Roast of HugS are so well-received, while Smash 4’s “greatest” beef (Ally vs. ZeRo Civil War) was almost 100% contrived and fabricated.

Commentators: Not gonna lie, commentary is in shambles rn. I can’t emphasize enough that a select few top commentators CARRY TF out of tournament streams (see: TK, EE, Coney, Keitaro, D1). The VAST majority of commentators fail to immerse viewers in a match between top players.

Suplex City, a C-tier PGR event, was this past weekend in New Jersey. Light and Marss, 2 of the top 4 seeds, were playing each other for 7th. ALL THREE COMMENTATORS in their OWN REGION’S HUGE EVENT memed about Old Town Road for half the match and it made a hype match unbearable.