Moist Esports Gaming

TwitchAddict September 29, 2021
Moist Esports Gaming

A midterm is the perfect way to knock me off my high horse. I’m forced to recognize the importance of fundamentals as I move from one office hour to the next. If you don’t put them into practice on a regular basis, your entire understanding of the field will crumble (one look at my grades should serve as enough proof of that).

All of this is to say that I’m going back to basics.

That’s right, there’s no business theory, no content trends, nothing like that. Pure and simple esports.

And where better to begin than with the most recent Smash Ultimate Summit tournament?

Those who saw it will understand why I’ve chosen to discuss it. It was, after all, one-of-a-kind in so many ways.

It had the largest prize pool of any Smash tournament to date, and it had a series of crowdfunding goals set out during the initial campaign. But none of that is what I’m here to discuss. Instead, I’ll be focusing on one particular esports team that made its tournament debut and, if successful, has the potential to reshape the industry’s future.

I’m referring to Moist Esports, of course.

I realize it sounds a little… strange. However, the team is named after its founder, Twitch streamer and Youtuber Charles “MoistCr1TiKal” White Jr.

White was approached by pro Super Smash Bros. Ultimate player Kolawole “Kola” Aideyan, according to a video he posted on his YouTube channel. Aideyan initially requested White’s assistance in gathering enough votes to enter the tournament. White told Aideyan that he wanted to do more, and asked if he’d be interested in joining his brand-new esports team. Aideyan said yes, and Moist Esports was created.

At first glance, this origin story does not appear to be particularly compelling. It’s just a streamer starting an esports team, after all. But consider this for a moment.

An esports team was founded by a streamer.

This is almost unheard of in the history of esports in general. While content creators have signed contracts with organizations before, almost none have gotten full control of the team. By starting his company from the ground up, White has not only resolved that issue, but he is also paving the way for future streamers to follow in his footsteps.

Should they, though? Why is it beneficial for a streamer to run an esports team in the first place?

I can’t promise that it will always be that way. Esports executives usually run the company for a reason, regardless of how you feel about them. To make the entire operation viable, you’ll need someone with corporate experience. Nonetheless, Moist Esports has demonstrated that having a well-known content creator as the team’s leader has some advantages.

First and foremost, because the streamer has a large audience, the team can save a lot of money on marketing and publicity. Thousands of people will see the team’s content if the streamer reminds their audience and highlights it on their livestream.

The boost in votes Aideyan received after joining the team, which allowed him to compete in the tournament, is a great example of these benefits in action.

Second, if the team is run by a well-known content creator, this means that the athletes they sign are not their primary source of revenue. As a result, the organization has a much lower incentive to take a larger percentage of the prizes won by their athletes.

In the case of Moist Esports, no money is taken from the athletes’ earnings; all of the money an athlete receives from a tournament is theirs to keep. It doesn’t take a genius to see why that would pique the interest of many pro-gamers.

Naturally, this setup isn’t appropriate in every situation. If you want to build a large esports team with international reach and play a variety of games, you should hire an executive as the CEO.

Nonetheless, thanks to Moist Esports, a new path to professional gaming has opened up, which should appeal to many athletes. Of course, its esports influence is contingent on its overall success.

Only time will tell if the team will be remembered as a trailblazer or a failed experiment. But, given the current state of affairs, I can’t help but echo the team’s founder’s words, which have been widely circulated on the internet:

Guilherme Guerreiro is a sophomore who covers esports. Every other Wednesday, he writes a column called “Press Play to Start.”