Valorant legend TenZ explained why Deadlock will struggle as an esport, citing the game’s complexities as its main drawback from making it viewer-friendly.
Despite being in early access alpha, the Deadlock hype is only growing with every update. Being a competitive MOBA-hero shooter hybrid, it’s only natural for an esport scene to slowly burgeon.
In fact, the first tournament with a $10,000 prize pool has already been announced by afterMatch Esports, however, fans were immediately skeptical as many felt the game just wasn’t ready for viewing.
It seems they weren’t alone, as TenZ too shares the same outlook, citing the complex gameplay as not lending itself to being an “optimal” esport.
When asked during a stream whether the game was ready for the esports spotlight, TenZ had a few worries about it.
“I think the game is fun, I don’t think it’s an esports optimal game,” TenZ said. “There’s certain stuff, for one the game is too confusing for a casual, or even players that’s just starting off, they won’t understand.”
With the game adding an extra lane to the usual three-lane maps in other MOBAs like League of Legends, he said this makes it even harder for an average viewer to get into.
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“Already MOBAs are kind of hard for a lot of people to understand, but this game definitely puts it a step up,” TenZ says of Deadlock. “Because it’s a MOBA, but it’s a third-person shooter, and it has an extra lane and an extra player.”
Overall, the state Deadlock is in right now, he says that the “viewing experience” will not be as easy to follow in comparison to other games.
Even on the more technical side, ala spectating, it brings its own set of complexities.
ObsSojourn, a pro Overwatch 2 observer pointed out that to broadcast the game, it requires a “decent size [oberserving] team with incredible game knowledge and observing theory to pull off making the game digestible for viewers.”
So come October 4, when Deadlock will have its first proper big-budget esports tournament, we’ll see just how right or wrong they are.
