Bullying in Competitive Smash

[Heracr055]

I came across an article on Kotaku about the hatred and threats that Zero receives in the Smash 4 scene:

https://compete.kotaku.com/worlds-best-smash-4-player-is-worn-down-by-haters-and-h-1819677035

There are other examples such as Day screaming during Zero's sets at tournaments (GTX 2017 for example). This isn't just limited to Zero. Salem, Captain Zack, Mistake and other Bayo players are recipients of immense hatred in this community. This is evident from hateful Twitch comments and lack of applause when Salem wins tournaments.
I feel a discussion about this bullying and animosity towards certain players in our community is needed. How do you guys feel about this? Are there other examples you guys can think of? And, more importantly, what can be done about this?

 

[Crystanium]

I think some people conflate the player with the character. They hate a certain character, and if you use that character, you're just as bad. I think what people need to do is take a step back and ask themselves why they hate people like ZeRo or those like him. Even Dabuz isn't treated kindly just because he uses Rosalina & Luma. Sure, he seems a little awkward, but so what?

 

[nyansylveon]

There's always going to be toxicity/bullying in video games, why? Because it's the human mind and one person is going to have one opinion and the next person has a different opinion if they don't work out a compromise anywhere there will be salt and that will eventually lead to toxicity/bullying. We can't abolish bullying in anything so the least we can do is ignore those people and keep living our lives. Look at ZeRo it doesn't seem to affect him then why should it affect everyone else. What i'm trying to say is to just not care if people start being toxic and just keep playing so you can beat them and make them shut there mouths.

 

[Heracr055]

Look at ZeRo it doesn't seem to affect him then why should it affect everyone else.

If you read the article you would see that it does take a toll on Zero. For example, he mentioned that, in a Grand Finals with Larry Lurr, he was worried that someone may follow through on a threat to shoot him at that tournament. He also notes that the heckling and prank pulled on him at The Big House depressed him.

 

[Deleted member]

Here I am to share my thoughts about this. After perusing the article, I think I have yet another good reason for me to stay away from competitive play. Now, especially since I, a Christian woman 56 years of age, use . It is understandable to despise a character, but wanting to take drastic measures against a player who uses them? It is rather sad to be honest.

I agree with nyansylveon , but sometimes one can only take so much **** from others that they'll eventually reach a breaking point. I will be praying for ZeRo as well as the Bayo professionals.

Sayonara

 

[XenoFalcon95]

The problem with being a top player is everyone knows who you are and what you do, so it's easy to feel threatened when you go to a big venue. I think that the community should be doing more than simply ignoring these problems if it rises to the level of death threats.

 

[Doomblaze]

Kotakus whole business model is manufacturing drama for clicks, I wouldn’t take anything they write seriously

People boo bayo players because it’s socially acceptable to do so. If the community decides that it isn’t, it will stop. That’s the advantage of having a community that’s focus is meeting irl. There’s much less of the anonymous crap that you get in online games. If people want to take death threats seriously they can go to the police about them, but people have been threatening to kill me online since I was like 9 years old lol, so I’ve never taken them seriously

A lack of applause isn’t in any way, shape or form bullying. Don’t conflate dislike for a character with bullying of a player if want to have productive discussion

 

[FamilyTeam]

Bullying in the Smash 4 community is super common place at all levels of play.
Sometimes when I'd participate in online tournaments people would give me the stink eye because I play Lucina. I think over a year ago I defeated someone 3-0 in one of those tournaments and they had a gigantic emotional meltdown because they couldn't accept they lost to a "freaking Lucina".
Lucina mains get a lot of crap. People say our character is pointless "wasted slot", in discussions people feel comfortable in assuming we're just biased fanatics, in tournaments we're reduced to being just "those people that play with waifus". If we bring up this as an issue, we're whiny.

 

[Swamp Sensei]

People boo bayo players because it’s socially acceptable to do so. If the community decides that it isn’t, it will stop.

Sexual Harassment is prohibited and shunned by the FGC.

But it still happens.

People will be ***** regardless of what the community accepts on a surface level.





Look, Zero can be a bit of a jerk and admittedly he makes a great heel. But he doesn't deserve most of the crap he gets. Deep down he's a nice guy doing something he loves. He's a leader in our community. He isn't perfect but lets show him some respect okay?

 

[Nathan Richardson]

I view watchmojo.com videos on youtube (mainly due to boredom) Smash Bros. came up at #5 under 'another top ten most toxic video game communities'.
Let's face it, people are sore losers, sore winners, and have a lot of hate for certain characters, players, and strategies.
Some of the hate ZeRo got was from players being zenophobic 'how dare a non-American player win this tourney!'
The other hate was from camping (a strategy accepted here on the boards but despised elsewhere), usage of diddy kong (do I even need to explain this one? People despise Cloud and Bayo for the same reasons), and just the plain fact that he's so good that at first noone could get around him.
I got a death threat a grand total of once from a sore loser custom Donkey Kong player who was using the spinning kong that had the whirlwind attribute behind it....I beat it using zard's Blast Burn. It was the only time I've been told to 'go die' from an infantile sore loser. The rest is garbage like name calling with the nickname system and whatnot.
The main issue I see is that emotions run super high, smash can turn normal people into monsters and it takes a certain force of will not to go into a frothing rage every time you lose. It is good that there are good people in the community that mitigate this. For every sore loser and moron, there's at least one genuinely friendly person online.

 

[Crystanium]

There's always going to be toxicity/bullying in video games, why? Because it's the human mind and one person is going to have one opinion and the next person has a different opinion if they don't work out a compromise anywhere there will be salt and that will eventually lead to toxicity/bullying. We can't abolish bullying in anything so the least we can do is ignore those people and keep living our lives. Look at ZeRo it doesn't seem to affect him then why should it affect everyone else. What i'm trying to say is to just not care if people start being toxic and just keep playing so you can beat them and make them shut there mouths.

Well, in one of ZeRo's videos on YouTube, he noted that not many people cheer for him and he also doesn't feel he fits in because he's not from the U.S. I don't remember which video that was or if his opinion has changed since, but silence on the matter doesn't necessarily mean ZeRo isn't affected.

 

[clarify]

This isn't limited to Smash 4. In Brawl, everyone started hating Meta Knight players. In Melee, people consistently rooted for Ken to lose just because he was the one who was on top for years. Half of the Melee community rags on Hbox consistently and always roots for him to lose. Some people are hated for being ***holes (Leffen), but then there are others who have done absolutely nothing to deserve any kind of hate other than playing a specific character or play a specific style.
Hell, just a few days ago, I was having a bad day playing with some other guys in Melee and one of them said if I wanted to improve, I should pick a better character (I main Ganon in Melee). We even have fans of Melee hate and barrage fans of Smash 4, and vice-versa, just for being a fan of the game.
The Smash community as a whole needs to take a seriously look in the mirror and ax the toxicity, ASAP. There's a reason why we don't have a good reputation among other communities, both in video games and in general.

 

[MarioManTAW]

Hell, just a few days ago, I was having a bad day playing with some other guys in Melee and one of them said if I wanted to improve, I should pick a better character (I main Ganon in Melee).

What's the problem with that? Just sounds like good advice to me.

 

[SuperSqank]

Admittedly, I often want people who aren’t Zero to win not because I have something against Zero but because I just find it more interesting and if Zero does win, I can’t discredit him for succeeding in his passion. I can easily respect his skill and his overall success in the game and I definitely wouldn’t stop him from succeeding further. Same with any Bayo and whatnot player. I also find that hating people just because of who they play or how they play is completely ridiculous. We all hate certain characters and we also hate certain people but we should not hate people just because they play a specific character that you don’t like in a video game. Smash 4 especially has such a diverse roster of characters where there’s a character for everyone and that’s something I’ve really found to appreciate in fighting games. We should not be limited to playing a select few characters just because they are more fun to watch for most people. We can all have our opinions and we are all allowed to have players that we don’t like but we should have more justified reasons to hate someone other than “they play a character I don’t like with a playstyle I don’t like” and we certainly shouldn’t stop players from succeeding even if we prefer it if they didn’t.

 

[clarify]

What's the problem with that? Just sounds like good advice to me.

No, good advice is helping players get rid of bad habits, how to DI certain moves, how to punish mistakes, etc. Telling someone they're wasting their time playing a character they thoroughly enjoy playing is being a ****.

 

[Heracr055]

I don't know how viable Ganon is in Melee relative to Smash 4 (there's stuff like wavedashing, etc). However, if someone was playing Ganon in this game, I would ask why they choose to use Ganon as opposed to higher tiered chars. Because there are good players anchored down by a character with too many flaws (2ManyCooks and Dr. Mario for example). In addition, I'm sure they would've offered advice if asked about character specific tips. If not, they're not worth your time

 

[clarify]

Viability shouldn't stop somebody from picking a character they really like. The main purpose of playing a game is to have fun. If you have fun playing Smash 4 Zelda, Puff, Ganon, or DDD, go for it.

By the way, Ganon is at his best in Melee. He's mid-tier. And duh, I could probably main Falcon instead, but I've always had more fun with Ganon, so I main him instead.

Anyway, my point in my original post wasn't about if picking a non-high-tier character is worth your time, my point is that this community has a huge issue with people who can be extremely toxic, to put it lightly. That is an issue that needs serious addressing across all games and across all scenes, both local and worldwide.

 

[|RK|]

No, good advice is helping players get rid of bad habits, how to DI certain moves, how to punish mistakes, etc. Telling someone they're wasting their time playing a character they thoroughly enjoy playing is being a ****.

Yeah. Armada has a video on character choice - really doesn't matter until you get to the top echelon in the first place. Unless your character is actually trash.

So people who say "pick a better character" are usually incorrect unless you're already good enough to hang with the top, say, 60. Maybe even higher.

 

[MarioManTAW]

I don't know how viable Ganon is in Melee relative to Smash 4 (there's stuff like wavedashing, etc). However, if someone was playing Ganon in this game, I would ask why they choose to use Ganon as opposed to higher tiered chars. Because there are good players anchored down by a character with too many flaws (2ManyCooks and Dr. Mario for example). In addition, I'm sure they would've offered advice if asked about character specific tips. If not, they're not worth your time

Might also be worth noting that 2ManyCooks has switched to normal Mario lol.

 

[Heracr055]

^Well, yeah. Sent him a Twitter message to see how he feels about it (doubt I'll get a response, tho).
Anyways, I don't think that character viability should be a major talking point of this thread. I haven't encountered instances where people playing low/bottom tiered chars get bullied. In fact, I would think these players bring the hype (Tweek's Bowser Jr for example).

 

[Deleted member]

Kotakus whole business model is manufacturing drama for clicks, I wouldn’t take anything they write seriously

This.

Also, ZeRo's no stranger to playing up drama for attention. Part of the reason he gets a lot of hate is cause loves playing that victim card.

Any type of competition will always see heated emotions and "bullying", it's part of what makes competition competition, and what drives the hype. Just look at UFC and how Coner McGregor treats his rivals. Or any press conference in Boxing. It's part of competition and you're supposed to develop tough skin. If you're not up for that, then fame, glory, and competition are not for you.

Asking for this to be moderated is a great way to completely sterilize the scene. Haters gonna hate, people, and especially ZeRo should either learn to cope with it, or choose a different career.

 

[Crystanium]

No, good advice is helping players get rid of bad habits, how to DI certain moves, how to punish mistakes, etc. Telling someone they're wasting their time playing a character they thoroughly enjoy playing is being a ****.

No it isn't. Unless said person who told you to drop Ganondorf was being rude about it, it's really good advice. Some people just don't want to hear or admit the character they use won't get them far in the long run. Being a Samus main, I know this all too well. I even admitted before on Smashboards that using Samus isn't going to get me far and I'm better off using Mario. I was using Mario as a secondary at the time, but decided to go with Zero Suit Samus because she doesn't feel basic like Mario. If you enjoy playing a certain character, fine. Just realize that said character isn't viable. If you're playing for fun, then clearly you're not invested in playing to win.

 

[TheHumanSonikku]

I have read something similar on EventHubs, but I do have a question that bugs me.

I saw many comments that complained about ZeRo being "wimp" and got upset when people said it was wrong.

Is it really the "right" thing to do if you get death threats? Why do people get this upset when people oppose getting threatened?

 

[FamilyTeam]

No it isn't. Unless said person who told you to drop Ganondorf was being rude about it, it's really good advice. Some people just don't want to hear or admit the character they use won't get them far in the long run. Being a Samus main, I know this all too well. I even admitted before on Smashboards that using Samus isn't going to get me far and I'm better off using Mario. I was using Mario as a secondary at the time, but decided to go with Zero Suit Samus because she doesn't feel basic like Mario. If you enjoy playing a certain character, fine. Just realize that said character isn't viable. If you're playing for fun, then clearly you're not invested in playing to win.

"You're wasting your time with your character" != "If you want to improve you should pick a better character"
Especially in the context of Melee where the metagame is extremely overcentralized at the Top 7 characters. You can play somebody outside the Top 7 no problem, it's just that there'll be a point where it might be your interest to maybe pick one of them.

 

[Blixen]

People are dumb

 

[Crystanium]

"You're wasting your time with your character" != "If you want to improve you should pick a better character"
Especially in the context of Melee where the metagame is extremely overcentralized at the Top 7 characters. You can play somebody outside the Top 7 no problem, it's just that there'll be a point where it might be your interest to maybe pick one of them.

If you want to win, you're better off using a different character. Melee's been around for over a decade, so the meta-game can't change much.

 

[Heracr055]

^The big takeaway here is that just because someone suggests a different char doesn't mean they're bullying your character choice.

 

[moe2144]

Reading thru most of this thread just made me lol. is this what the definition of "bullying" had become?? Ofcourse Zero will not get nearly as much support as his adversaries. He has been sitting in the throne for a very long time and people want to see fresh faces at the top! it's in our human nature to root for the under dog and it makes the game much more entertaining. Who would you cheer for for in this scenerio for a grand final at a high teir tournie; Zero with his diddy or Ryo with Ike??? I would cheer for Ryo 10/10 times just to witness history. Zero is a grown ass man and shouldn't need to hear cheering when he plays and frankly nobody should need it. Toughen up butter-cup

No, good advice is helping players get rid of bad habits, how to DI certain moves, how to punish mistakes, etc. Telling someone they're wasting their time playing a character they thoroughly enjoy playing is being a ****.

You also need to stop being so whiney. The guy gave you legitimate advice and you know that he is 100% right about what he said. If you just love ganon then just say no and keep working on improvement instead of playing as a victim of bulling just lol. People tell me all the time to stop playing mac to become a better player and I just lol at their face and you need to do the same




edit: some of you are also grossly-exaggerating what passes as a "death threat". some salty kid telling you to "go die" after losing doesn't count as any kind of threat and is actually somewhat funny because of how butthurt they are. Now if somebody tells me he will come over to my house and murder my family then you discuss the validity of it being a threat

 

[FamilyTeam]

You're not helping here one bit.
The problem is not that ZeRo is sad because he's not getting cheered on. He's sad because of all he's gone through being at the top, which has turned downright abusive. It's "natural" to root for the underdog (to me it's natural to root for a good match but hey, I won't be the one tho change this community's viewercentric views) but it's not natural to have the reactions some people have. He's endured this for way too long and he has the right to be tired.
Having to think abuse is normal "because you're at the top" is why we're having this discussion in the first place.

 

[moe2144]

You're not helping here one bit.
The problem is not that ZeRo is sad because he's not getting cheered on. He's sad because of all he's gone through being at the top, which has turned downright abusive. It's "natural" to root for the underdog (to me it's natural to root for a good match but hey, I won't be the one tho change this community's viewercentric views) but it's not natural to have the reactions some people have. He's endured this for way too long and he has the right to be tired.
Having to think abuse is normal "because you're at the top" is why we're having this discussion in the first place.

What do you define as abuse? I still don't see any evidence presented here that zero is some victim of oppression like you're making him out to be. He's at the frikken top and needs to **** on everybody below him. He should own it and not care about the oppinions of others. If there is no legitimate abuse going on (which i don't see any) and then he complains then i'd just loose respect for the dude for being a cry baby

Also, it IS in our nature to root for underdogs. This is prevelant in every competetive sport outside of smash. Perfect example i can point to is the recent Mayweather vs mcgreggor fight. Mayweather was pretty much like zero by being the long time champ and the other guy was seen as the underdog; The people's champion. Everybody and their grandmothers were cheering for mcgreggor and some were also **** talking mayweather with any type of shade they could throw at him. Did he cry and said the fans are mean? NO! he made his point by winning and finessing the scene. That's how a true champion should be and how they would earn my respect

 

[Frihetsanka]

If there is no legitimate abuse going on (which i don't see any) and then he complains then i'd just loose respect for the dude for being a cry baby

There is, and it doesn't look good for you that you're ignoring it (either that or you're not very good at looking, which also looks bad). The issue has never been that people don't cheer for him. Stop acting like you know what's going on when you've clearly haven't done your research. I doubt anyone cares whether you respect ZeRo or not. If you don't, fine, but we have better things to do than listening to you whining about him.

Hell, just a few days ago, I was having a bad day playing with some other guys in Melee and one of them said if I wanted to improve, I should pick a better character (I main Ganon in Melee).

I'd say this depends on the context, phrasing, and vocal tone. In some cases it could be useful advice to tell someone that they might do better with another character. If you ask them "I want to win more, do you have any advice?" and they respond "First off, consider picking a top or a high tier", then that might actually be legitimate advice. If you ask them "I want to get better with Ganondorf, any tips?" and they say "Drop Ganondorf, he sucks" then that's kind of rude.

We even have fans of Melee hate and barrage fans of Smash 4, and vice-versa, just for being a fan of the game.

Out of curiosity, how common would you say it is for Smash 4 fans to hate on Melee? Melee fans being annoying on Smash 4 streams happens once in a while, though at this point it might be a meme/Twitch trolling, but I don't remember seeing Smash 4 fans hating on Melee much (at least not to the same degree as some Melee fans hate on Smash 4).

 

[moe2144]

There is, and it doesn't look good for you that you're ignoring it (either that or you're not very good at looking, which also looks bad). The issue has never been that people don't cheer for him. Stop acting like you know what's going on when you've clearly haven't done your research. I doubt anyone cares whether you respect ZeRo or not. If you don't, fine, but we have better things to do than listening to you whining about him.

I've read the article OP had posted and everything ITT; So far there is nothing that has been done to cause worry for him

and YOU'RE the ones whining about him. i'm saying let the man be he can handle himself and you're bringing that SJW anti bullying crap into the mix

 

[Frihetsanka]

[...]you're bringing that SJW anti bullying crap into the mix

What do you mean with this? What's bad about being against bullying?

 

[Crystanium]

edit: some of you are also grossly-exaggerating what passes as a "death threat". some salty kid telling you to "go die" after losing doesn't count as any kind of threat and is actually somewhat funny because of how butthurt they are. Now if somebody tells me he will come over to my house and murder my family then you discuss the validity of it being a threat

From Kotaku:

"For 13 minutes, Gonzalo 'Zero' Barrios’ face barely moved. It was the Grand Finals match of a Super Smash Bros. Wii U tournament, and Barrios, the best Smash player in the world, was squaring off against a formidable opponent. A few feet away, Barrios’ bodyguard kept a lookout for a man who’d threatened to be there, in wait, with a gun aimed at the champion gamer. [. . .]

"A few days prior to the September, 2016 tournament, Barrios had read an Instagram comment that shook him. The anonymous commenter threatened to go to the Santa Ana esports arena with a gun and put a bullet through Barrios, who was recently crowned the top Smash Wii Uplayer. Barrios didn’t take the comment lightly. Tournaments for Smash 4, as the game is familiarly known, generally offer little security. Even after hiring a private bodyguard whose son was a fan, he was worried.

"'Imagine how easy this is,' Barrios told me over the phone. 'Somebody walks in between all the hype and cheering while I’m playing. I’m sitting there. I’m not moving. I’m not even looking. I can’t dodge it. And then they run away'."

I boldfaced the pertinent parts of the problem.

 

[FamilyTeam]

The meaning of SJW has been mangled to this extent? This is sad.
We already stated here the problem is that you're assuming he's sad because he doesn't get cheers. No. The problem is more serious than this.
It's not just because he's big that it means he needs to endure this. This gives a bad name to both the community, the game and esports in general.
If we are so obsessed about making this game grow, then our mentalities should grow as well.

 

[clarify]

Not gonna respond to responses to my comment about changing mains, because that's not the main topic.
When someone gets death threats for playing a specific character/playing well, that's when things need to change.
When someone is asking to get better and is told to stop being a noob, that's not helpful at all.
If the community as a whole isn't willing to denounce bullying in any way, shape, or form, even if bullying itself is always going to be a constant, that's going to show the rest of the world how toxic said community truly is.
Bullying in competitive Smash is a serious issue, one I've seen firsthand done to myself and to others.

If we are so obsessed about making this game grow, then our mentalities should grow as well.

All of this. Right now, the huge majority of this community is filled with immature kids who get salty over the tiniest things and tell people to kill themselves because of it. They think it's ok to put down others for their skill level/character choice/play style. That's not ok, period.

 

[Deleted member]

ZeRo wouldn't receive so much bullying if he didn't play the pity card to try and earn attention all the time.

His tweet on the article "this is the first piece I've read that humanizes me" was overly pretentious and self fellating, if he didn't do **** like THAT all the time, he wouldn't incite so many trolls to come after him.

Look at other eSports and fighting game communities, their stars are beloved. ****ing Daigo has a published book, and a manga featuring him as the MC. Look at the Melee community. The 5 gods are beloved. Why is ZeRo then the only one that gets hate when his peers don't?

He already plays the role of the "villain" by tier-whoring, and playing dirty, with the most infamous moment being his victory at the E3 Smash invitational where he ran away to time out the match and win by Sudden Death. Add to that his constant need to gain attention and is many attempts for sympathy from people, it's no wonder he gets a lot of hate.

I'm not saying this tp validate the trolls, but fact of the matter is, internet trolls are something you'll NEVER EVER get rid of, period. Considering that ZeRo's peers do just fine, it's up to him to find ways to deal with things and attempt to diminish the hate.

For starters, he could begin with less sympathy baiting by playing victim, and by playing more honorably such as not tier whoring all the time. If he can't do that, then he'll just have to deal with things as they are, or just drop out of competitive gaming if it's too much for him. Haters gonna hate, that's the law of life, success breeds jealousy, and if you don't have the stones to deal with hate, then you shouldn't put yourself in the public eye.

 

[FamilyTeam]

I am sorry, but what the hell kind of argument even is "tier whoring" and "not playing honourably"?
And who says his "peers" don't get hated as well? Hungrybox and Armada get hated a lot because they play "annoying" characters and HBox on top of that has to deal with people screaming at him for stall tactics.
When you play this sort of thing and play it to win (I mean, win, win money, sponsorships, make this be your life) you have no choice but picking the best options for you to win, whether those options be stalling strategies or picking the best characters.
His playstyle (and HBox's too) is frankly a beautiful thing to watch if you analyse it. He's extremely methodical and the way he uses Diddy to break down every aspect of his opponent's playstyle to score a victory has been the key to his massive success and his many wins against even the best top players. "Stall tactics" are not dishonourable, they just make sense even if it's not what the viewers want (remember me talking about "viewercentric community? "Do it for the viewers not for the players"?)
Saying that it's dishonourable is disrespecting the necessity of these players of winning and the methodical nature of such playstyle. Not everybody wants to play like a chicken with their head cut off, that shouldn't come as a surprise. A lot of Marcinas try to be Mr. E and rush their enemies trying to bait them with fancy movement techs, yet here I am just walking and occasionally jumping or doing a Dash Grab. I am way less entertaining to watch than those other Marcinas... but I win and they don't. I'm not gonna change my playstyle because the viewers don't like it if it works for me. Neither will ZeRo and HBox.

 

[Deleted member]

Hey man, don't shoot the messenger.

Go look up the 4chan archives on ZeRo, where people are anonymous and free to speak their minds.

iirc, doesn't ZeRo have a pocket Cloud? Wasn't he constantly switching mains between, Diddy, Sheik, and ZSS, and dropped Diddy for Sheik after Hoo-hah got nerfed? Didn't he drop Sheik after she got hit with a nerf too? ZeRo plays top tier characters almost exclusively. I hear back in the Brawl days, he also mained Meta Knight before he got hit with the ban hammer. That's tier whoring. In the eyes of the public, that's seen as dishonorable, and the sort of thing that incites hate. Cause it's not that he plays a character he likes, and they just happened to be top tier. On the contrary, he's constantly fishing for the characters with the best match ups in order to win.

Playing dishonorably. Well, I already cited the Smash invitational. Defend him all you like, but his public image was soured the moment he won the way he did. Everyone thought it was dirty, as he was going to lose, but instead he stalled for time in order to win by Sudden Death. He'd been better off just taking the loss respectfully, or fighting aggressively till the bitter end if he wanted the public on his side.

Competitive sports are a spectator sport, and there's a showman aspect to it all. If you wanna win the crowd... DON'T do stuff lile that all the time. Not everyone is a ZeRo fanboy who constantly breaks down and analyzes his playstyle. The majority of people don't care, they just want a hype game to watch. And ZeRo kills that hype by playing in a, and I quote, "overly defensive and very boring style of play."

As for Hbox and Armada. Look man. They didn't get a Kotaku article about them crying about being bullied. I don't follow the Smash competitive scene, but I know enough about ZeRo to know the dude is always poking the bear for attention. I've seen his tweets reposted on 4chan, I've read the comments and complaints about his attitude. ZeRo gets excessive hate cause of the way he acts, coupled with his success.

The most common remark I've heard associated with ZeRo is in regard to his "over inflated ego." And with a quick glance at his twitter, it's hard to disagree.

All I'm saying is, he's not helping the situation by not toning down his attitude either. If you know you draw attention from trolls for one reason or another, the last thing you should do is be inflammatory. And if you ARE gonna talk the talk, then you better be a jacked alpha male like Coner McGregor who can walk the walk too. Not someone who's gonna make emo tweets about finally feeling "humanized" by others.

 

[TheHumanSonikku]

Wasn't he constantly switching mains between, Diddy, Sheik, and ZSS, and dropped Diddy for Sheik after Hoo-hah got nerfed? Didn't he drop Sheik after she got hit with a nerf too? ZeRo plays top tier characters almost exclusively.

ZeRo played Diddy Kong and Sheik since the launch of Smash 4, and he still plays as them now. And playing characters that are seen as top tier isn't being a "tier *****", and it's not being a bad person either. Why would he keep playing as a character who got nerfed and is weaker than he/she was? Especially if they want to win? If that's the case, then everyone who plays as Fox, Falco, Marth, and Sheik or also "tier whores". People are going to gravitate to characters seen as strong because they want to win.

And the hate ZeRo gets SHOULD NOT even be a thing to begin with. Even if he has this apparent ego, that doesn't make it fine to bully someone and to give him death threats. And all because it got an article, doesn't mean he's fishing for attention. He is getting threatened to the point where he had to get a bodyguard. This is should be unacceptable, no matter the person, or how they act.