Ninja’s half-million dollar “Ninja Battles” tournament kicked off with a bang today. The victors - Zexrow, Calc, and Mackwood are receiving scrutiny for comments made on stream
We previously reported Ninja is hosting an intermediary 6-week long invitational featuring some of North America’s top creators. The trophy for Week 1 went to none other than seasoned veterans Zexrow, Yung Calculator, and Mackwood
The first week was a true nail biter as Zexrow’s team beat Cented, Edgey, and Riversan in a tiebreaker (both having 59 points after regulation). The top prize each week is $25,000 or just north of $8,333 a piece
WHO ELSE DID YOU EXPECT TO WIN OTHER THAN THE REIGNING CHAMPS?
— TSM MackWood (@MackWood1x) May 28, 2020
$25,000 LETS GOOOOOOOOOOOO pic.twitter.com/s3tCLKZkOY
While the winning trio should be celebrating coming out victorious in such a huge event, they didn’t get all too much time to celebrate. Why? In short, Zexrow wasn’t able to keep his big mouth shut and show even a sliver of grace
In a post-tournament interview, casters MonsterDFace and BallaTW invited Zexrow on to share his thoughts and offer praise. Keep in mind, the entire event was broadcasted on Ninja’s official Mixer channel which boasts a majority child audience. This is what Zexrow said (Warning - foul language ahead)
I suggest you watch the video for better context only if foul language doesn’t bother you. To keep things PG, we can summarize as such. Halfway through the interview, Zexrow randomly started to trash talk his opponents using extremely vulgar language without a care for the ramifications. This is referred to as Bad Manners - or “BM” for short. Something that gamers are all too familiar with
But there’s a time and place for everything. And Zexrow, this definitely wasn’t the time or place for such unprofessionalism. As a result, he is receiving criticism from many isles
Congrats on your first and last Ninja battles placement!
— Ninja (@Ninja) May 28, 2020
The first blow occurred shortly after the interview when Ninja publicly told Zexrow he would not be invited to any more Ninja Battles. This was just the first of six weeks, so he’s going to be missing out on a lot of earning potential
Not only that but Zexrow just put his entire trio at risk of disqualification. If Calculator and Mackwood have no third, will Ninja even allow them to return?
To varying degrees, we are also seeing just how much the community values professionalism at the top level. Fellow pro players generally agree that Zexrow’s actions are inappropriate, but not career altering
On the other hand, we’re seeing more in-depth takes regarding how these actions stunt the growth of Esports as a whole
Whenever something like what happened after @Ninja's event occurs, it delays the growth of Esports. What if ESPN had considered hosting an event due to lack of content bc of Covid-19? Think they'd be encouraged? Hopefully this is both a lesson and turning point in player conduct
— Prodigy Analytics (@ProdigyAnalytic) May 29, 2020
Prodigy Analytics makes a very compelling point here. If we want to see Esports enter the mainstream - specifically Fortnite - how can that become a reality if these brand risks are present?
I don’t think Zexrow should get “canceled” over this. Hopefully he takes the well deserved humility and turns it into a learning lesson. Nobody likes a cocky, arrogant winner. Humble yourself and you won’t be put in a similar situation ever again
For now, Zexrow is in the penalty box and will most likely be sidelined for the rest of Ninja Battles. With Solo FNCS just around the corner, he has to shift his attention to Epic sanctioned events until the dust blows over
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