Nouns Esports Faces Backlash for NFT Promo Following TI12 Upset

Following a remarkable victory at The International 12 (TI12) against Tundra Esports, Nouns Esports, a prominent Dota 2 organisation, has found itself under scrutiny for its promotional strategy involving Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs). The controversy arose when they retweeted a video highlighting their uniqueness as an organisation, which then took an unexpected turn, delving into the contentious realm of Nouns DAO.

Mention of Nouns DAO starts at 4:32

The Upset and the Unsettling Promo

Nouns Esports secured an unexpected series of victories against Tundra Esports during TI12, a landmark achievement that captured the attention of the esports community. Riding high on this success, the team shared a video shedding light on their distinctive identity. However, the narrative veered into the realm of Nouns DAO, a venture aimed at enhancing on-chain avatar communities.

Nouns DAO: An Experimental Approach to Digital Community and Identity

Nouns DAO represents an avant-garde experiment seeking to enhance on-chain avatar communities. Diverging from predecessors like CryptoPunks, Nouns aims to bootstrap identity, community, governance, and a community-controlled treasury. Key features of Nouns DAO include daily trustless auctions of Noun avatars, with 100% of the proceeds routed to the community treasury. Every Noun, being a member of Nouns DAO, possesses voting power in the governance process. Notably, the artwork is generative and stored directly on-chain, bypassing external platforms like IPFS.

Despite the innovative concept, the Dota 2 community, particularly on Reddit, voiced dissent regarding the NFT component of Nouns DAO. Comments ranged from bewilderment to outright disappointment, with users expressing their disapproval. One user exclaimed, "Bro, what the heck is an NFT?" while another shared their abrupt disengagement, stating, "They really had me until they got to the NFT/treasury part – took me 5 seconds to close the video. Get outta here." The sentiment against NFTs continued with comments reflecting disillusionment and frustration.

Discordant Notes on Capitalism and Commercialisation

Adding a socio-economic perspective, a Reddit user remarked, "Incredibly disappointing that they're tied up with NFTs. What's more American than capitalism taking money away from people who don't know any better?" This comment reflected a broader sentiment against what was perceived as a capitalistic move, leaving fans questioning the alignment of esports with such controversial financial instruments.

The collision of esports and NFTs has ignited a discourse that extends beyond the gaming sphere, bringing attention to the evolving dynamics between technology, entertainment, and the growing influence of blockchain-based ventures.