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Bud Light's confusing entry into esports is sending the wrong message

Bud Light All-Stars
(Bud Light)

Bud Light is getting into esports and the FGC, but apparently they have no idea what to do once they arrive.

On Monday, April 25, the beer company announced a new initiative called the Bud Light All-Stars. In short, Bud Light will bring North America’s top esports athletes (as voted on by fans) from CS:GO, Dota 2, Hearthstone, Heroes of the Storm, and Street Fighter V to various “celebration” events. They’ll live stream on Twitch. They’ll “upgrade on-site experiences” at events, and appear in a video series produced by Machinima.

That all sounds well and good, but the more you read into it — and the more we see this play out — the more it becomes clear that Bud Light’s big esports plan is a big esports mess.

Red Bull's Snake Eyez and Bonchan at TGS 2015
Red Bull’s Snake Eyez and Bonchan at TGS 2015 (Yusuke Kashiwazaki/Red Bull Content Pool)

Sponsor or advertiser?

Beer companies are big sponsors for traditional sports, and Bud Light wants to carry its brand over into the “digital realm of esports.” Like Monster Energy or Red Bull, there are obviously plenty of beer drinkers to advertise to on any given major esports livestream or TV show. Getting fans (and beer drinkers) involved in the voting process gives them even more exposure in esports. It’s a no-brainer, and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with Bud Light, Budweiser, Heineken, or any other company wanting to put its product in front of a lot of Twitch eyeballs.

So it’s pretty clear what Bud Light gets out of it, but what about esports? There’s a perception Bud Light is here to throw its hat into the esports sponsorship ring, just as we’ve seen other major corporations do in recent years. Red Bull made a splash in the FGC last year by signing the best Ultra Street Fighter IV Zangief player in the world (and arguably the best North American player), Darryl “Snake Eyez” Lewis, as well as Evo 2014 USF4 runner-up Masato “Bonchan” Takahashi. In 2016, the company added Evo 2014 USF4 winner Olivier “Luffy” Hay and Daigo “The Beast” Umehara, giving it one of the most impressive Street Fighter stables in the FGC.

But Red Bull really put its weight behind these players. Snake Eyez was sent to Japan for nearly a month in order to train for Capcom Pro Tour Premier Event Tokyo Game Show, and to film a five-video documentary series. Both he and Bonchan were regular attendees at all of the biggest CPT events and both qualified for Capcom Cup.

In just two years, Red Bull Kumite has become an international FGC spectacle and is one of the most anticipated events of the year. Where companies like Razer and Mad Catz have been involved in the FGC for ages, they cater to a niche gaming audience. Monster Energy doesn’t even field its own team; it’s simply is one of many of Evil Geniuses’ sponsors. That’s how it is with most esports teams.

So where does Bud Light fall? Bud Light isn’t here to take the FGC and help it rise up with Street Fighter V by officially sponsoring players or must-see tournaments. Whoever wins the Bud Light All-Stars voting will attend special Bud Light esports promotions. You won’t see “BL” next to any player names on Capcom Pro Tour streams.

Players getting played

One of the biggest issues I see with Bud Light’s initiative is the player selection process. I don’t understand how it came down to the four chosen players, and Bud Light has been pretty vague about it all.

“Bud Light worked closely with Twitch and other industry experts to hand-pick athletes that will resonate with current and long-time esports fans due to the athlete’s notoriety and skill level in their respective games,” a Bud Light representative told Yahoo Esports.

The players they came up with were Chris Tatarian, Panda Global’s Ryan “Filipino Champ” Ramirez, Winterfox’s Gustavo “801 Strider” Romero, and Jason “Jayce the Ace” Nghe.

Chris Tatarian and Filipino Champ make perfect sense. They’re having a lot of success early on in Street Fighter V. Filipino Champ is a marketable name in the FGC because he’s had a controversial yet successful career. He’s a Marvel god, after all.

But Jayce the Ace and 801 Strider? 801 Strider has been a strong player throughout Street Fighter IV and had a fantastic run on the CPT last year, but he’s yet to make his presence felt in Street Fighter V and the CPT this year. Jayce the Ace made top 8 at West Coast Warzone, but doesn’t appear to be traveling much on the CPT at this point. Street Fighter V accomplishments aside, these guys don’t have a big social media or Twitch presence.

“In addition to choosing some of the most competitive players today as well as some of the most legendary from years past, we also needed to ensure contestants had the ability, willingness, and time to make this program great for the fans,” Bud Light’s representative added.

In other words, we had to find players who were willing to shill for our company for questionable returns.

Frankly, it isn’t even fair for Jayce the Ace and 801 Strider. While there are no public results, they’re likely getting crushed by Tatarian and Filipino Champ based on popularity and hard social media campaigns. Just looking at Filipino Champ’s Twitter timeline, he clearly wants to win the vote as it would provide a boost to his career as Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 winds down and he dedicates himself more to Street Fighter V.

Yahoo Esports reached out to Bud Light discuss the All-Stars selection process and how it can benefit the FGC. Bud Light declined to comment.

Who wins this game?

I don’t mean to infer that something dubious is afoot in the selection and voting process. The issue with the Bud Light All-Stars is that it doesn’t feel like the FGC or the players gain anything tangible. Sure, whoever wins gets flown to a few events and will represent Bud Light at some parties. But they’re not competing at events on the CPT, and that’s arguably more important than anything to a Street Fighter V player. If Filipino Champ wins the All-Star vote, he isn’t going to be sponsored by Bud Light at Evo, where he could potentially play his way into Capcom Cup.

This isn’t Bud Light coming into the scene like Red Bull did and making waves. This whole thing feels like a popularity contest used to help Bud Light measure how involved it should really get.

Even Bud Light’s promotion of the All-Stars initiative is confusing. A commercial portrays a party a group of pretty people having a great time drinking Bud Light. Has anyone at Bud Light ever been to an esports event, let alone an FGC event? It doesn’t feel like we’re even the target audience for this promotion.

Is Bud Light likely to start its own esports team? We can’t say for sure. Stranger things have happened (like YouPorn funding its own controversial esports team and GEICO partnering up with Panda Global), and publishers and leagues are leaving the door open for alcohol, cigarettes, and vaping sponsors. Based on the last revision of the CPT rules (which aren’t currently online), if Bud Light ever wanted to become an official sponsor for the CPT, they’ve got the green light because Capcom specifically stated alcohol, cigarettes, and vaping sponsors were acceptable.

A lot of companies like Bud Light are showing interest in the FGC thanks to Street Fighter V and the Capcom Pro Tour. Bud Light is taking the safe route by dipping its toe in the water, and indeed, there’s plenty of room for Bud Light to advertise at or sponsor events if that’s all they want to do. But if Bud Light really wants its logo on players, it should show the commitment to the scene like Red Bull and GEICO have by actually stepping up and sponsoring teams or players. Drop the Bud Light All-Star charade and invest in players on the Capcom Pro Tour. I can think of few Street Fighter V competitors who would prefer to be at a Bud Light celebration over Capcom Cup in December.

Michael Martin covers all things related to Street Fighter V and the FGC. Follow him on Twitter @Bizarro_Mike.