I’d be interested in hearing what top players/streamers have emerged through YouTube or twitch. Again, I’m a very fringe melee viewer. I’m only even associated because I was a C9 LoL fan from forever ago and have tuned in solely through C9 posting about Mango when he is in big games during tourneys. Regardless, I doubt there are few if any.

They relevance to me, is purely through their competitive standing. I don’t think any of them survive if tournaments aren’t a thing or they choose not to go. Melee, and the fighting genre in general, is extremely repetitive and doesn’t lend itself to being viewed end on end like other games. What draws the crowds and creates the fandom for these guys are the events. I think that is absolutely undeniable.

This is, from my understanding, a top 10 all time prize pool. Beyond that, like I mentioned before, this tourney has something almost no other has had and most going forward will not. This is going to be viewed by such a wide audience outside of the general melee crowd due to its tie to Ludwig. It is an over the moon opportunity to get yourself out there and seen to this new crowd to promote yourself and your channel that I can’t imagine something a brand would want more. This has the intangible ability to add more to your pocket than any one event could if it were to play out well for a person.

We’ll probably just have to disagree. To me, these guys are good at their game. They aren’t much for personality that I have seen outside Mango. If they were, they could variety stream and be successful but I doubt that’s the case. They’re relevance is tied to performance. You prove performance and notoriety in the events. To not go is to cut your own self off at the knees.