Australian Apex Legends commentator Brad “im_b_rad” Lusher started a debacle on Twitter on June 11 after pointing out he thinks casters are “the least important part” of esports broadcasts, and hinted they should be paid less.
What im_b_rad didn’t expect, however, was that his peers would absolutely dunk on him because of this hot take. A number of prominent casters from several esports disagreed with im_b_rad and even offended him, while others tried to explain why casters are a vital part of esports.
“I think this might be the most ignorant thing I’ve read about not just esports, but broadcasting in general,” former Overwatch League caster Erik “DoA” Lonnquist replied to im_b_rad. “If you’re in that much of a hurry to devalue the craft of casting just go and undercut your peers,” Overwatch League‘s caster Mitch “Uber” Leslie wrote to im_b_rad.
One of the best responses, however, came from Generation Esports’ senior product manager Brennan Wright.
Wright told im_b_rad that while no viewer would watch a match with no commentary, lots of esports fans watch old matches from time to time because of iconic quotes such as Callum “Shogun” Keir’s after NRG’s Justin “jstn.” Morales scored a goal with no time left on the clock in the 2019 World Championship, and Matthew “Sadokist” Trivett’s reaction to Virtus Pro’s Snax legendary clutch on Cobblestone.
Jason “Alchemist” Baker, a veteran esports figure that previously held production roles at ELEAGUE, ESL, and MLG, also disagreed with im_b_rad. “People will watch a great caster fumble their own observer feed over a great production with no casters,” Alchemist wrote.
Im_b_rad may have just been trying to highlight the work production does for esports broadcasts, or he might have just tweeted it to farm impressions, but he arguably never had as many people disagreeing with his opinion.
