• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

Fighting games and heckling at tournaments

Nymphae

Banned
Combobreaker took place this weekend in St. Charles, Illinois. I had a blast watching the streams all weekend, in particular the Tekken 7 grand finals were hype as fuck.

Punk won in SFV, yet still had this to say about hecklers during the top 8 matches

"You know when I was in top 8 I guess some guy was losing money betting on my matches and kept putting his middle finger up at me," he stated on Twitter. "Something has to be done to separate top players or players in top 8 from the crowd cause that’s annoying and actually pissed me off."

Does he have a point? Should Top 8 players be treated differently than the rest of the competitors in a crowded tournament environment? Dealing with crowds has always been a part of the arcade and fighting game experience.

I've disliked Punk ever since seeing him teabag players a lot a few years back, I just don't like his attitude but he's undeniably one of the best there is right now.

I strongly disagree with him here, security can handle problems that arise, but I mean, someone was giving you the finger in the crowd so rules need to be changed?
 

Saruhashi

Banned
Combobreaker took place this weekend in St. Charles, Illinois. I had a blast watching the streams all weekend, in particular the Tekken 7 grand finals were hype as fuck.

Punk won in SFV, yet still had this to say about hecklers during the top 8 matches

Does he have a point? Should Top 8 players be treated differently than the rest of the competitors in a crowded tournament environment? Dealing with crowds has always been a part of the arcade and fighting game experience.

I've disliked Punk ever since seeing him teabag players a lot a few years back, I just don't like his attitude but he's undeniably one of the best there is right now.

I strongly disagree with him here, security can handle problems that arise, but I mean, someone was giving you the finger in the crowd so rules need to be changed?

I would say that so long as the hecklers aren't able to get near or touch the competitors then it shouldn't be an issue.

They should have rules about racist abuse etc just like I assume most sporting events do? Maybe over the top, mindless, abuse could be outlawed also.

Some dude putting is middle finger up? Hahaha. No. That's perfectly fine.

If anything you want to build a bit of a tense, borderline hostile, atmosphere for a fighting game tournament.
Otherwise, whats the point?

It's good seeing lads throw their controller away and all that because it shows they at least care about winning and losing.
Similarly with the crowd you want to get a sense that this all means something to people and that they legit want some guys to win and want others to lose.
 

zeorhymer

Member
Every sporting games have hecklers. Why do you have to make an exception with esports? It's a psychological game that all players have to deal with.
 
I share your dislike of Punk for the same reason as you. Teabagging Daigo is a no-no for me.

I caught most of the SF top 8 but didn't notice the guy flipping him off. Was the guy off to the side of Punk or was he turning round to face the crowd and seeing him front row? Either way, I'd tell Steve Urkel to grow a pair.

I won't defend unwanted physical interaction like the time Noel Brown started digging the head off some guy at a local tourney or tossers like the guy that rushed the Stage to challenge Chris G at Evo. At least, I think it was Evo.
 

Nymphae

Banned
I could maybe see if he was asking for a comprehensive look at heckling at the venues, but he just singles out the top 8 players. It's either fine or it isn't, I don't know why top 8 should play differently.

I'm imagining the pools playing all hype like normal, crowd going crazy and commentators losing their shit - then top 8 is all golf claps and whispers from the commentators lol.
 

DunDunDunpachi

Patient MembeR
My big takeaway from Combo Breaker is that Guilty Gear's Top 8 was highly varied and the Finals were between two lower-tier characters. It's nice that the meta has evolved beyond half of the players using Johnny and Sin.
 

Saruhashi

Banned
They should make them go through something like this before a competitive match.



"Waaaaahhh some guy was putting his middle finger up at me".
 

Nymphae

Banned
My big takeaway from Combo Breaker is that Guilty Gear's Top 8 was highly varied and the Finals were between two lower-tier characters. It's nice that the meta has evolved beyond half of the players using Johnny and Sin.

I didn't even watch those, I'll check it out tonight. Combobreaker only had one stream on twitch, I caught all the SF stuff then was looking around for others and could only find the Tekken stream, and later the MK one.
 

Jigsaah

Gold Member
Combobreaker took place this weekend in St. Charles, Illinois. I had a blast watching the streams all weekend, in particular the Tekken 7 grand finals were hype as fuck.

Punk won in SFV, yet still had this to say about hecklers during the top 8 matches



Does he have a point? Should Top 8 players be treated differently than the rest of the competitors in a crowded tournament environment? Dealing with crowds has always been a part of the arcade and fighting game experience.

I've disliked Punk ever since seeing him teabag players a lot a few years back, I just don't like his attitude but he's undeniably one of the best there is right now.

I strongly disagree with him here, security can handle problems that arise, but I mean, someone was giving you the finger in the crowd so rules need to be changed?

This is no different than people waving towels or balloons when a basketball player shoots a free throw or an extra point kick in football.

Quit cryin'. You won. Hate stupid people.
 

Nymphae

Banned
I'd prefer to see heckling than coaching if I'm perfectly honest.

I wish they would start putting a mic on these guys, I'm tired of trying to read their lips when they're doing the pre-match chatter. I love the commentators (everyone except that Vicious guy that Capcom seems to put in every goddamn stream) but it wouldn't kill them to let us in on a little more of the player interactions.

You can hear the players talk amongst each other in Street Fighter League each week, discussing strategy and whatnot, I like the insight, and in a tournament it would be nice to hear players interact with each other before the match.
 
Last edited:
I wish they would start putting a mic on these guys, I'm tired of trying to read their lips when they're doing the pre-match chatter. I love the commentators (everyone except that Vicious guy that Capcom seems to put in every goddamn stream) but it wouldn't kill them to let us in on a little more of the player interactions.

You can hear the players talk amongst each other in Street Fighter League each week, discussing strategy and whatnot, I like the insight, and in a tournament it would be nice to hear players interact with each other before the match.
That's why I like Ultrachen so much. They often let the audience in on the conversations they have with various top players off screen, plus they're both very knowledgeable about the games they commentate on and they have great voices for the job. I could do without F-Word being allowed to commentate though and something about Logan Sama winds me up. I think it's his potato-like head. Heavy Weapons is my absolute, all time worst commentator ever. Thankfully outside of Aussie majors, we never get subjected to him.
 

Nymphae

Banned
plus they're both very knowledgeable about the games they commentate on and they have great voices for the job

They are awesome, but sometimes I find UD's voice a little too nasally, and it gets bad when him and Sajam are commentating together, their voices blend.

I could do without F-Word being allowed to commentate though and something about Logan Sama winds me up

Doesn't bother me really, I don't see many people oversuing it, it's just used for colour occasionally and I like that personally. But I think you'll see less of this going forward. I agree about Logan's head lol.
 
They are awesome, but sometimes I find UD's voice a little too nasally, and it gets bad when him and Sajam are commentating together, their voices blend.



Doesn't bother me really, I don't see many people oversuing it, it's just used for colour occasionally and I like that personally. But I think you'll see less of this going forward. I agree about Logan's head lol.
Lol, I meant F-word, the English guy that played Ibuki in USF4, whose deep insights into the game normally consist of 'oh my days!' and that insufferable 'BRRRRRRRAP!' shite he keeps coming out with.
 

Nymphae

Banned
Lol, I meant F-word, the English guy that played Ibuki in USF4, whose deep insights into the game normally consist of 'oh my days!' and that insufferable 'BRRRRRRRAP!' shite he keeps coming out with.

lol oh I see, not sure I've heard him enough to remember. I like most of the guys that you hear on the CPT - IFCYipes, Sajam, Tasty Steve, James Chen & UD.
 

Geki-D

Banned
Aren't fight game tourneys known for being utter disrepectful shitshows?


I mean, when the players have zero respect for their opponents, why should they expect the public to be any better?
 
Not sure what the Top 8 thing is about, but I see his point overall. Pragmatically speaking though, what can be done about it? Hecklers will heckle.
 

Wink

Member
Seriously? You're a pro and get tilted by that? And you feel the need to air that out after winning the tournament? I wish that people would be more gracious in general, but that includes the guy being rude as well as the player demanding something be done about it. Would be different if he were criticising that behaviour for the fact that it's uncalled for, but crying about seperating the audience who are the reason his whole job is a thing in the first place from top 8? Ridiculous.
 

Nymphae

Banned
Can you imagine Tom Brady saying that nobody should be able to boo him or flip him off?

During the main season games, boo all you want, but what kind of monster would do that that during the Superbowl? Uncultured swine.
 

PureYeti

Member
Aren't fight game tourneys known for being utter disrepectful shitshows?


I mean, when the players have zero respect for their opponents, why should they expect the public to be any better?


No this is mostly not true for all the fighting game tournaments out there and these kind of confrontations like the vid you posted are not common
 
Last edited:
That's crazy to think that fans can tilt you with heckling. I would just buy Sony's industry leading noise-cancelling headphones from that point on and block out the haters, literally and figuratively.
 

johntown

Banned
IMO that is what comes with the territory. This is not something new that only happens in esports. Professionals are heckled all the time and part of being a pro is learning how to ignore and deal with it. Does that mean nothing should be done to try and stop it? No of course not.
 

K1Expwy

Member
It's the sign of the times I guess. As soon as tournaments gained the ability to stream worldwide, I've been reading headline after headline about players, organizers or other entities suggesting or actually placing restrictions on what made them fun and unique in the first place.
I'm waiting for in-game taunt systems to be removed, just like when post-KO attacks were removed from SF after tournament complaints.
 

Odinnii

Member
Im fine with giving top 8 players their own space to keep em focused and way from crowd distractions during Finals but It needs to be earned. You don't give players previlages and advantages on name alone. They have to work for it in every tournament like anyone else.
 
Top Bottom