As has been known, following the announcement of penalties by the VCS organizers for negative behavior, SBTC Esports players have essentially had to put their careers on hold. While they haven’t received a Global Ban like Zeros and can still practice League of Legends, it seems that aside from Nper and Vinboiz, names like DNK and Dia1 have nearly run out of motivation. Especially Dia1, who just returned from a “midnight ban” and competed for only one season before facing a second penalty.
After a period of silence, the SE players have begun to engage with their fans again. Over the past few days, Dia1 and Nper have been posting stories announcing their potential return to streaming and surveying audience opinions. After all, the players are not completely banned from League of Legends, so this could help them earn some extra income from livestreaming while staying relevant in case they can return one day.
However, in response, the audience has reacted harshly. Specifically, on many forums, numerous comments assert that they will never watch streams from players with negative behavior. Some opinions are clearer, stating: “In the past, when they were still competing, not many players had stable viewership, mainly streaming alongside channels like Zeros and Teacher Ba. Now, with negative behavior, who would want to tune in?” In fact, many believe that these players will likely have to create content related to “min-max” (related to negativity) similar to Zeros.
Furthermore, for Vietnamese players, livestreaming requires significant investment, from content and style to support teams. Even top VCS names like Levi do not have many views compared to popular KOLs, making it even harder for SE players.
It may be that currently, the players will stream regularly but need to be prepared for the possibility that viewership may not meet expectations, leading to ineffective livestreaming. In fact, the streaming channels could become tools for the community to express their frustration over the players’ past negative behaviors.