I think this is an important subject to discuss, considering this will no doubt be the biggest Evo of all time. I was watching a replay of KiT the other day, and while it wasn’t the greatest top 8 commentary I’ve ever heard, it was from two guys that cared about Mortal Kombat, which I could always respect. It made me think back to some of the last big tournaments for MKX, and with the exception of the Northeast based majors, we can never get someone from our side at the table on Finals day. What’s up with that?
Now, to preface, none of the commentators I’m going to discuss are terrible on the stick, nor terrible people. I’m just calling it like I see it. At Evolution, the biggest tournament for MKX so far, we had Aris and UltraDavid on the mics. I think Aris is funny, I think he’s definitely a solid stream presence, but I don’t even think he’d argue that he’s out there to promote himself above all else. “Lord Jenson,” “Hey Internet,” “Tanyer,” all funny memes no doubt, but I think for the biggest tournament of the game’s life up to that point and in the finals of the biggest tournament of the year, that kinda sucks. I’m sure his rudimentary knowledge of the game is okay, but he’s not someone deeply familiar with the scene as a whole, nor do I think that will change any time soon.
David is someone who has been both a big advocate and big critic of our scene as a whole, but I would argue he brings an overall positive stream presence. Veteran commentator, always can be counted on to be professional, plus his game knowledge is pretty high since he does actually play it and watch the tournaments on the side. On top of all that, he’s decently familiar with the scene and the drama and stories surrounding it.
My question there would be, with a known NRS employee/former top player/big community member in the audience, and multiple known commentators and advocates in the audience, why weren’t they brought up to the big stage? I’d be foolish to admit that a lot of it is probably an old boy’s club, but to my knowledge, MK is the only game that didn’t get its known advocates/players on the mics. Guilty Gear had Hellpockets, Smash had Prog, Tekken had Markman I believe, KI had Max and Shintristan, the list goes on. Again, what’s up with that?
And it wasn’t just Evo either; SCR, which was a big tournament with international presence and a big time showing for the game with a big pot bonus, and we had Sajam and Rip doing the commentary. Rip, who I’m honestly not sure played the game beyond the initial NRS patching regimen, and can at best be described as a casual fan of the game, combined with Sajam, who to me is a lot like David; inoffensive, professional, gets the job done with a decent amount of game and scene knowledge. So that’s twice now we’ve had a person who knows enough, combined with a casual player at best.
And yet again, we also had a known NRS employee/former top player/big community member in the audience, as well as multiple known commentators and advocates. How ingrained could these commentators be?
If we look across the other side of the country, CEO, KiT, NEC, and some of the other major tournaments on the East side let MK players on the commentary for top 8, and the world doesn’t implode. We get decent commentary with knowledgable players, and that’s really all we can ask for.
I realize, too, that this isn’t exactly a 3rd World problem: commentary is probably one of the lower concerns when organizing a major tournament. Having said that, when it is on the big stage, I think the game should be represented by the people who either play it and know the scene well or those who having a decent foothold in both of those areas. I do not think that the biggest stream for the game should be used to get catchphrases over or have a commentator who can only agree with his partner because he’s not sure what’s going on.
I know that the director of production for Evo is currently taking reels for commentators, and I suggest our guys that know they can handle it and want to commentate, please do. I also understand that with ESL having become bigger, we have our own set of commentators from two sides of the pond who are at the very least professional enough with big stage experience. There is no excuse now to not have two NRS guys on commentary when every other scene can afford it, absolutely no excuse.
What do you guys think? I know that it’s not a huge issue, but enough’s enough man (And it’s time for a change #ripOwen).
