The big talk this weekend on Reddit was the “Leaks Heard Round the World”. Full disclosure: I’m a huge fan of Sideshow. Not only is he incredibly entertaining, he also definitely knows his stuff. His insights are generally spot on, even if like Monte you want to get mad at what he says. The leak video that spread like wildfire on reddit disappeared as it was deemed against policy may or may not be true. But it brings up some interesting discussions if it is.

The video in question appears to have Sideshow, neptuNo, and Custa talking about trades in the works until they realize that they were accidentally streaming the conversation. The internet doesn’t forget and you can probably very easily find this video if you want to. Some of the important gems of this rumored trade includes reuniting former Boston tank duo and great friends NotE and Gamsu, with Gamsu reportedly being signed to the Dallas Fuel for an insane amount of money. OGE goes to LA Gladiators. Brothers in OW Kariv and Agilities are reportedly going to the Toronto Defiant together, along with Surefour. (Solidifying dreams of Toronto signing Canadian talent.) And SPACE jumped to the other LA team, making the Gladiators the winners of the off-season “Battle for the LAs”? The other big mention was that neptuNo said Defiant refused to trial him due to his reputation for toxicity.

Is this video truly releasing the juice or is it just a joke? Are these just rumors? Insiders seem to admit that these are all true leaks. But then the question was argued: What should the punishments be? Well, I don’t think anything should happen. Leaks can actually be good for a sport, especially in the offseason and especially when the eSports industry is constantly growing with more official Leagues. By having these leaks out there, Overwatch League is remaining relevant. Even with the World Cup coming up, after that we won’t see these players up on the stage until February. Things have become irrelevant in shorter time. Leaks up the hype, keep people talking about the league. It may not be good for the individual players and teams, but it is definitely still publicity they can milk to keep everyone talking about them.

Was it an accident? Of course. The teams might be upset over it, but the League probably isn’t that broken up about it. Because again, free publicity. The posts on reddit about these leaks are probably up in the 500s as far as comments go and this will only get higher. They should absolutely not let Sideshow go because of it because not only does he have a solid fanbase, he knows what he’s talking about. He’s amazing at his job. It would be the biggest mistake the league did. Especially after removing easily their best analyst when they pulled Reinforce off the desk.

So the moral of this story is that yes, leaks can be bad but this raises the hype for fans who are dying for news. There are teams that haven’t said anything about key players. Was Dante signed to Houston or is he heading to LA Gladiators? What about anything from Boston aside from Persia saying “Not LFT”? (Side note: Please not Boston.) The fans want to know about what’s going on with their favorite players and this gives them something to salivate over and debate about until official announcements happen.