Dota 2 TI6 Experts: Trashtalk Heat
We all get a little heated, and the eSports experts at TI6 are no different. Too bad they’re held to a higher standard than forum trolls. Godz lays down the hammer.
A career as an expert in eSports seems to be a precarious thing, sometimes. More so than a lot of conventional sports fans, our tech savvy community is ready to record or archive nearly every word spoken on Twitter, Reddit, and Facebook.
No matter who you are or how sterling your track record, if you state your opinion where others can see, it’s as though you’ve taken center stage.
This puts a lot of commentators, experts, and analysts at the heart of scrutiny and under a social magnifying glass. A simple misspoken word or poorly phrased statement can really come back to bite you.
Let me tell you about it
The other day, commentator Godz had some biting words for analyst Thorin after he cast aspersions on LGD’s performance. In case you’re not up on the news, it’s worth mentioning that LGD core player September had been denied a visa to participate in TI6 prior to the event.
Stick to games you know mate. You're talking about a team playing with a stand-in (visa issue) for one of their biggest playmakers
— BTS Godz | aka Parker (@BTSGoDz) August 10, 2016
Forgetfulness or a fail?
I try to approach misstatements and flubs like this with a little more forgiveness than Godz appears to here. I, myself, have on occasion forgotten a roster change or mis-remembered a key detail. It happens.
With teams coming from four different multi-national regions and over 50 players participating in TI6, it was only a matter of time before an “expert” said something like this.
Of course, I agree with Godz. Thorin either seems to not know or have forgotten about LGD’s vexing visa predicament. But this kind of accountability, though a little harsh for my personal tastes, is a necessary part of an expert’s role.
We can’t have self-appointed experts leading beginners astray just so they can milk a popular event for a larger Twitter following. I’m glad Godz called Thorin out. Thorin, in his profile, even calls himself a “historian.” What kind of historian doesn’t remember the events immediately preceding the tournament he’s commenting on?
Long story short, if you’re willing to accept or call yourself by these kinds of “expert” titles, you should have the knowledge to back it up, too.