Trash talking is an integral part of the esports scene. From the heydays of Starcraft 2 to this year’s season of League of Legends. BM’ing (Bad Manner) is seen as a negative move from a player in-game and outside of the virtual world. But ultimately, it adds entertainment value for the viewers and, at the same time, increases competitiveness for the gamers. Rivalry begins with trash talking. Without it, there would be no salty story lines between teams or players. But this emotional outlet that players do before games to get in their opponent’s heads or during games to keep their momentum going has its pros and cons.
In League of Legends, the CLG and TSM rivalry would not have been as stimulating if Reginald and HotShotGG did not talk smack about each other. Dyrus’s smart ass remarks about CLG not being a threat in the league (LCS) would not have increased the expectations when the two teams played each other during that 2014 split. We all remember Jensen’s tweet about how he couldn’t wait “to clap Faker.” That game’s mid-lane was so hyped because of that one single tweet. Sadly for North America, Jensen didn’t back up his words since Faker did most of the clapping.
In the FGC, Wolfkrone and K-Brad‘s story line was legendary. So legendary that K-Brad’s pop-off is the most viewed video on Twitch! They traded wins back-and-forth which fueled more excitement in the rivalry. When they finally faced in ELeague Street Fighter Invitation 2017, the production milked the situation by adding a security guard to babysit the two during their games. It was pretty corny, but it goes to show that trash talking added more entertainment value. Mere trash talks even lead to exhibition matches like Sonicfox and GO1’s Dragon Ball FighterZ saga that’s still continuing today. The FGC has so many personalities who are known to feed off drama that a separate post on that is necessary.
Trash talking online in-game has its differences compared to trash talking in Twitter or during interviews. BM’ing is seen as toxic in online League of Legends. Players get reported by doing so and even get banned from the rift. Toxicity in fighting games in tournament settings is not perceived too negatively, but even encouraged as long as it doesn’t go too far. Talking about one’s family, racism, and homophobia are examples of trash talking gone too far. But if they keep the topic about the game, it’s okay to do so. Trash talking can also be a tactic to tilt your opponent. This tests a player’s mental fortitude. By trash talking, you distract the opponent by putting an extra thought in their head in an aim disrupt their focus and game plan. Street Fighter player Nuckledu does not press down-down-down-down just to showboat. He knows that doing this will mess with his opponent mentality then he takes advantage of the situation while his opponent is still thinking about the tea bag show.
Trash talking has always been part of the culture. The beef it creates enhances expectations and competitiveness which multiplies the entertainment value. Of course trash talking gone too far should be avoided, but if it’s for pure mind games that’s backed with a win, it’s like watching Oldboy (2003) with a happy ending.
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