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It seems like an obvious point to make right? We have all witnessed it over the years with traditional sports, the lifeblood of a team is the fan support. It not only lifts the team up when they are performing badly, but also helps them to celebrate after a tournament win. Much of this transfers to esports, but I don’t think fans realize how important of a role they play in a team's success!
In the world of esports, fan support is much more accessible due to the strength of online connections, be it through a livestream chat, Instagram interactions, Facebook groups or any other medium. This allows teams and fans to build a strong personal bond. But before getting into why fan support is so critical, ask yourself “what is the definition of success?”.
Defining success in esports
I know, getting real deep, real early in this article. But it's an important question that needs to be asked. Success comes in many forms and what might be perceived as success for one person, can be perceived as a lack of it for others. To me, success in esports is made up of all or partly the following:
Achieving your own goals
Working hard to make yourself proud
Helping to make a difference outside of the game, within the community
Adding to your own happiness
All of that is easier said than done, which is why I list multiple options.
How fan support helps esports teams to build mental resilience
Teams often have players aged 16 to 18. This is great as being able to compete at the highest level of an esport at a young age is something to be proud of, with all the hard work that goes into it. But due to the younger age of competitors, a lot of them can struggle with the required mental strength, the psychology of competitive gaming, and the emotional stress that it can put them under. This is an ever developing area of course. As the scene grows, more focus will naturally go into a team's mentality leading up to a tournament. As I’ve said many times during casting, at the highest level of a competitive game the biggest difference between a winning team and non winning team is mental strength.
Fan support is a major part of helping a team's mentality being in the right place. Simple acts such as sending a player/team an instagram DM saying “well done” and putting a reassuring comment on a Facebook post can go a long way in boosting a team's morale. Positive words from fans will be seen, heard and absorbed by the team as a form of motivation! But just as the positive words will be seen, so too will the negative. Every time a fan expresses disappointment at a team's poor performance, poor result or general mistake it will be heard by the team and will negatively affect their morale. Baseless, nasty comments will add pressure to an already pressurised situation of teams having to perform at their highest level! When a team is performing badly, that is when they need fan support the most. Positive words, positive encouragement will help justify and validate their hard work despite a personal low moment! Fans are like an unofficial fifth player in a team.
Pro Players' Thoughts on How Fan Support Direcly Impacts Them
I spoke to some players to find out what fan support means to them and how it can affect them in both a positive and negative way.
Shahil "OnTop" Verma from Nepali PUBG Mobile Team DeadEyes Guys had this to say; “I have always pictured my fan base as a virtual family. Whenever we perform we don’t just perform for just ourselves now, we have a family to go back to and share the results with. Fans believing in us has its advantages and disadvantages. There is always pressure. We are definitely more focused and hungry to succeed than before but the pressure definitely gets to us at the best of times. With that being said, I personally am very thankful because the DE fam has always been very considerate and respectful.”
OnTop went on to state that esports is unpredictable and that all humans make mistakes. As a team, DeadEyes Guys work hard, occasionally losing sleep and skipping meals to grind for long hours.
“ It is already quite stressful at times. Please, just be there for the teams you support,” said OnTop when asked about advice that he would give fans on how better to support teams.
Convey your love and support towards them and sometimes give them constructive criticism with respect. Don’t spread hatred to another team that’s a rival because they’re working hard too. Spend your time supporting, not hating. This community of mostly youngsters needs good energy and upliftment, we already have a lot of pressure as it is.”Shahil "OnTop" Verma
Kanishk "Slayer" Shah of BGMI giants TeamIND is of the opinion that fan support is the most powerful element there is in esports.
“With all these people backing us up we are highly motivated towards winning and giving our best performance,” said INDSlayer. “When a fan supports a team it boosts the morale of that team. At the same time, it also adds lots of pressure on the team to perform.. So I would say, don’t just support one team but all teams competing because at some point more than one team will impress you!”
Shahbaz "Trynda" Mengal from i8 Esports, the team that recently represented Pakistan in the PUBG Mobile World Invitational (PMWI) charity event, had a calm and collected answer to my question.
AFK Gaming
PMNC 2021 winner Asraful "ThorYT" Islam of Venom Legends had the following to say; “We play to entertain ourselves, to win and for thousands of fans as they are the most valuable to us. If we perform well and win matches they are happy. In the live stream they cheer our names. Our morale is boosted by that and we respect our fans.They are the X factor for us in many ways. We respect the audience a lot. As a team when we play we can see lots of people cheering for lots of different teams and sometimes their support for one team turns hateful for others. Rivalry is quite normal but if all of us can support one team and love every team, less hate will emerge. When fans spread hate, players get so unmotivated. And sometimes their own fans turn into haters just because of one or two bad games. I believe being calm and staying cool will give a morale boost to the players and they will perform better.”
At the end of the day it all comes down to you, me and everyone around us having a part to play in the success of teams and esports as a whole. Be mindful of what you are saying and putting out there. Hold yourself accountable for your actions, while holding your favorite teams accountable to high standards. Give credit where it’s due (and then some!) but don’t hesitate to provide constructive criticism when you see a team/player/personality losing their way. Also, always respect fans of other teams. Everyone is allowed to have a personal favourite in teams and players. And just because a team is doing badly that you don’t ‘support’ or have a favouritism towards does not mean you are allowed to be negative towards that team or its fans. Treat other fans the way you would like to be treated. Every team, every fan, every player is here for the same reason, for the love of esports cause what is esports without its fans.
Thank you to OnTop, Slayer, Trynda and ThorYT for sharing their thoughts. It was amazing to hear from those who are affected the most, both in a good and bad way, from fan support.
