This interview has been edited for clarity and length. <\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
We sat down with the caster duo to get to the bottom of their departure from the league and what kind of “funnier, weirder” content we can expect in the future. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1722,"featured_media":524677,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"gamurs_wordpress_blocks_hide_tags":true,"_is_affiliated":false,"dotesports_deal_href":"","dotesports_featured_video":"","_notify_users":2,"apple_news_api_created_at":"","apple_news_api_id":"","apple_news_api_modified_at":"","apple_news_api_revision":"","apple_news_api_share_url":"","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_is_hidden":"","apple_news_is_paid":"","apple_news_is_preview":"","apple_news_is_sponsored":"","apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":[],"apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[44120],"invoiceable_action":[],"internal-label":[],"article_type":[44127],"coauthors":[{"id":1722,"display_name":"Liz Richardson","user_login":"lizrichardson1","user_nicename":"lizrichardson1"}],"class_list":["post-524667","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-overwatch","tag-slider","article_type-feature"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nBren and Sideshow discuss contract negotiations, fan support, and their Overwatch League futures<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"We sat down with the caster duo to get to the bottom of their departure from the league and what kind of "funnier, weirder" content we can expect in the future.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/overwatch\/news\/bren-and-sideshow-discuss-contract-negotiations-fan-support-and-their-overwatch-league-future\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta 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Her favorite thing is the Overwatch League; her second favorite thing is pretending iced coffee is a meal. She specializes in educational content, patch notes that (actually) make sense, and aggressively supporting Tier 2 Overwatch. When she's not writing, Liz is expressing hot takes on Twitter and making bad life choices at Target.","sameAs":["https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/mizlizrichardson\/","https:\/\/x.com\/mizliz_"],"url":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/author\/lizrichardson1"}]}},"raw_content":"The Overwatch League community was blindsided this week when two of the league\u2019s veteran casters, Josh \u201cSideshow\u201d Wilkinson and Brennon \u201cBren\u201d Hook, revealed they would not be returning for the upcoming 2022 season.\u00a0 After their announcement, league coworkers and fans around the world sent their best wishes and recounted their favorite memories of the high-energy duo. Both have been a part of the Overwatch League since its inaugural season, first serving as analysts on the desk and transitioning to the casting booth in 2020.\u00a0 Fans seemed to have endless questions about the circumstances behind Bren and Sideshow\u2019s departure, ranging from concerns about talent being undervalued in contract negotiations to conspiracy theories that they\u2019re heading for the greener pastures in VALORANT.\u00a0 The dynamic duo sat down with Dot Esports to explain the 2022 negotiation process, hint at what contractless freedom means for them, and inform the Overwatch League community that more wild shenanigans may be in store in the future.\u00a0 What was the timeline like for your 2022 contract negotiations with the Overwatch League? Bren: I think the initial offer we got was at the tail end of November [2021], roughly. The strange thing about it was that there was an expiration date on it, which is not the norm in the past when we\u2019ve gone through negotiation periods. I wasn\u2019t particularly comfortable with negotiating under an artificial time limit like that.\u00a0 I understood it was a bit of a risk in terms of like, \u201cwe might not be doing the Overwatch League in 2022 if we turn down the offer,\u201d but I felt like it was for the best, generally speaking, not jumping into negotiations so many months in advance. It just didn\u2019t really make sense, at all, to begin negotiating around that point, and it definitely left a bit of a sour taste in my mouth. Sideshow: I think the other thing to keep in mind is that there\u2019s large amounts of staff turnover currently happening within the Overwatch League. There\u2019s Jon Spector moving on, and I\u2018ve said this on stream, though it may have a couple of exceptions, that everyone that\u2019s ever [worked] directly above us has moved on since 2018. Obviously, that doesn\u2019t include the people who are high up making decisions within the Overwatch League, but specifically within the talent structure. But at the end of the day, we have to make our decisions about 2022 based on how we think our value works on the market when we\u2019re thinking about our role as streamers and content creators. We own a company in Plat Chat and we\u2019re thinking about doing VALORANT work as well, so there\u2019s a lot going on for us [where] we need to be clear about schedules moving forward into 2022.\u00a0 Bren: I should add that I completely agree with Josh; I don\u2019t think it was malicious. I think it\u2019s more just the timing is very odd at the moment within the Overwatch League and it led to the very unfortunate circumstances that we\u2019ve got right now.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 So, you think that turnover might be why you got \u201cghosted\u201d?\u00a0 Sideshow: Personally, I\u2019m not a fan of the word \u201cghosted.\u201d It implies that we were expecting a response that never came whereas the communication was that we weren\u2019t expected to hear anything more. That was the end of the process.\u00a0 I think it would be unfair for us from the outside to speculate about whether or not staff turnover had a direct result on what happened. It\u2019s perfectly possible that they just decided they wanted somebody different for 2022. That isn\u2019t the communication that\u2019s come out since the fact, like Sean Miller tweeting at us saying \u201coh, we\u2019d love to figure something out.\u201d That wasn\u2019t what was communicated previously, which is why we had to make the announcement that we weren\u2019t going to be working for 2022.\u00a0\u00a0 At the base of it, what was the main reason you turned down the Overwatch League\u2019s initial offer? Bren: The large point for me was negotiating under the time limit. In the past, there\u2019s been precedent set with talent negotiating all the way up to, like, a week before the Overwatch League starts in some circumstances. In terms of the offer itself, I wasn\u2019t a particularly big fan of it in terms of both monetary value and other limitations that were being set, which are pretty standard across esports and exclusive contracts. Like Josh mentioned earlier, I think a big portion is looking forward to 2022 and thinking about Plat Chat as a concept. That\u2019s a big priority for us, so it\u2019s about trying to find a balancing act in terms of pushing that forward and having a contract that\u2019s fair in those terms.\u00a0 Sideshow: At the end of the day, the reason most contracts break down is because there\u2019s a difference in opinion about the value you\u2019re bringing to the table. That\u2019s part of what it was, but it\u2019s not just the compensation part of it; it\u2019s roped into a multitude of factors. The deal that we were offered didn\u2019t make sense and usually, there\u2019s a follow-up afterwards. There was not and that\u2019s what made the difference this year.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Was there a moral component to your decision regarding what\u2019s going on with Activision Blizzard?\u00a0 Bren: I\u2019d be lying if I said it wasn\u2019t taken into consideration to a pretty large degree. We spent a lot of our lives being brought up on Blizzard games and looking at Blizzard as this difference-maker within the gaming sphere, where they sold themselves as an inclusive, welcoming environment. It was pretty difficult working for Blizzard when all that was going on because, you know, we have to go onto broadcast with a smile. As it was going on, I was definitely thinking about the future and my potential involvement with the Overwatch League, especially how it all ties into furthering the company as a whole. You have to question your involvement to a certain degree. But it would be disingenuous of me to say it was the sole reason because it just wasn\u2019t. It was for sure something in the back of my mind.\u00a0 Sideshow: Probably for most people who are working for a company that is under investigation for such terrible things, you have to ask yourself the question of whether or not you want to continue working for companies like that. That\u2019s not just Activision\u2014it extends across various different companies involved in esports\u2014but [Activision Blizzard] certainly had a massive revelation of what was going on inside the company during 2021. We\u2019ve certainly asked ourselves that question, but it\u2019s a multifactorial decision. Could the community\u2019s response to this announcement sway you, or the Overwatch League, to return to the negotiating table?\u00a0 Sideshow: The community response is unlikely [to change anything]. I mean, I really appreciate the outpouring of support. It\u2019s nice to have it all verbalized, of course.\u00a0 It\u2019s almost inevitable that any time a caster pair is announced to be leaving, for whatever reason, people are going to share the things that they enjoyed about having them there. It\u2019s quite unlikely that the community response would be \u201cgood riddance, goodbye.\u201d You\u2019d have to be pretty hated as a caster pair for that to be the overwhelming response.\u00a0 If you considered this extremely cynically and thought that the Overwatch League had no interest in working with us again, then even if there was a massive outpouring of support, it\u2019s quite unlikely to change opinions or the amount that the budget has available or what\u2019s actually written down in terms of contracts. There\u2019d have to be some fundamental shift in terms of how either party was approaching the negotiation portion originally.\u00a0 Bren: I spent a lot of 2021 killing the ego, prioritizing casting and trying to amplify the players, the teams, the games and less so making it about yourself. [The community has] been doing a good job of trying to resurrect the ego [laughs]. Trying to bring back the Bridowmaker, the Brenji, with all of these nice comments.\u00a0\u00a0 On to brighter topics: what was the most valuable part of the Overwatch League experience for you?\u00a0 Sideshow: The most valuable stuff for me was just being added to a team, the incredible talent that was involved at the beginning of the Overwatch League. Not that the current talent isn\u2019t incredible too, but compared to where I was in esports, that 2018 roster was much more experienced than I was. I was getting a lot from working with them, especially [former host Chris Puckett], who was helping us in terms of not just structuring thoughts but also producing segments.\u00a0 I think that was the joy of being able to work in 2018 and 2019 in the [Burbank] Blizzard Arena; having all of those people close by to be able to bounce ideas off, to interact with on a day-in, day-out basis. There were a lot of challenges that we had to try and solve, but that\u2019s where you learn the most. I definitely grew the most in my entire career during 2018 and 2019.\u00a0 Bren: It wasn\u2019t just the career aspect for me. A large portion of it was just growing as a human, I would say. I entered the Overwatch League at the age of 21. I mean, I wouldn\u2019t trust most 21-year-olds with anything, really, let alone being a mouthpiece for a multi-million dollar global esports league. Being put into that role, it was a very quick maturing process.\u00a0 If you could say anything to the Overwatch community, what would it be?\u00a0 Sideshow: I think mine would be that it really isn\u2019t goodbye. A lot of people are reacting like we\u2019re not going to be involved in Overwatch again or something like that.\u00a0 Bren: I\u2019ve seen memorial posts for you, Josh.\u00a0\u00a0 Sideshow: The man formerly known as Sideshow? Yeah.\u00a0 But, honestly, I\u2019m still intending to be around this scene. I\u2019m still going to be doing Plat Chat and following, at the very least, the tournament games and doing co-streams. It\u2019s not that I\u2019m uninterested or moving on or anything like that. It\u2019s just that I\u2019m not going to be involved in that official [capacity] that I was in 2021 and before that.\u00a0 We\u2019re still going to give you funny, cool moments for Overwatch in the future. We\u2019re not bailing. We\u2019re going to potentially have more freedom to do even funnier, weirder shit for the Overwatch scene. The community reaction is extremely heartwarming but almost odd in the sense that you\u2019re like, watching your own funeral when you\u2019re still planning on staying alive. It\u2019s extremely kind, but I\u2019m still planning on sticking around to some decent degree. That\u2019s what I would say. You\u2019ll get sick of me over the course of 2022. You\u2019ll wish I was fucking gone. I\u2019m still gonna be around, you haven\u2019t got rid of me yet.\u00a0\u00a0 Bren: Thank you is the big [reponse] from me, I think. That needs to be said. The nature of our work in 2020 and 2021, I felt like I was almost stuck in some personal purgatory where I\u2019m staring at four walls or a garage and I\u2019m casting the games. My brain creates defining memories through a change of scenery and I wasn\u2019t getting that. As a side effect, it becomes hard to realize the impact our work had on a lot of people.\u00a0 Sideshow: We\u2019ve kind of alluded to it throughout the conversation we\u2019ve had with you, but going remote and doing things remotely [changed things]. It\u2019s not the fault of the Overwatch League that things had to be done remotely\u2014we\u2019re in the middle of a pandemic\u2014and I think a lot of credit can be given to them for how they\u2019ve handled that situation. From a caster\u2019s point of view, it\u2019s a killer. It\u2019s a real killer doing remote work. You lose all the things I was talking about earlier about working at the Blizzard Arena, having those people to bounce off of. I mean, I\u2019m not going to schedule a Zoom call just to have some casual conversation in the same way that we would if we were just chatting with them in the corridors or at a bar afterwards.\u00a0 You lose out on all of the aspects that help you improve at your job and help you improve the broadcast overall. It really does take something away. I\u2019m not saying that as a critique of the Overwatch League, it\u2019s just the situation as broadcast talent at the moment is changing and that changes what you want to do as you look towards the future. It changes how you find that equilibrium with your time. What do you want to be investing that time into? What do you find rewarding?\u00a0 Bren: To add onto that as well, one of the comments people were saying was, \u201cWell, I wasn\u2019t surprised at the announcement.\u201d I think it could appear at times that we weren\u2019t interested in the Overwatch scene or the Overwatch League, which is not true. Both of us wouldn\u2019t have moved 5,000 miles to work on this if we didn\u2019t care about it. We sacrificed a lot for it. It\u2019s not that we don\u2019t care, it\u2019s just that the circumstances changed because of the pandemic. I found that a lot of my enjoyment came from being a creative person and there weren\u2019t as many avenues remote and online. You think back to when we were at homestands and in-person events, the amount of skits we did, so many stupid, cringeworthy skits. We had so many opportunities to be creative and throw something out there, like me ripping off my jacket on stage in Atlanta and getting producers screaming in my ear because they thought they were going to get pulled off of Twitch from showing my nipples. It\u2019s those moments that really make it not just a job but something that you reflect on and think, \u201cYeah, I want to do this for the rest of my life.\u201d And that was kind of taken away with the pandemic.\u00a0 Sideshow: That\u2019s why we\u2019ve been enjoying working on Plat Chat and other projects like it because we have the freedom to do that kind of stuff. That\u2019s part of being excited for what\u2019s happening in 2022 is getting those opportunities. Again, if the Overwatch League is interested in reaching back out and getting us to do weird, funny stuff, or if they\u2019re planning to do live events, the door isn\u2019t closed for us to work with them in the future. It\u2019s that the full-time offer that we were given just didn\u2019t work. That\u2019s the situation; it\u2019s not that we\u2019re refusing to work with them ever again.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 This interview has been edited for clarity and length.\u00a0","apple_news_notices":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/28191235\/OWL-Press-Asset-BZ69YP.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/524667"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1722"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=524667"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/524667\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":524841,"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/524667\/revisions\/524841"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/524677"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=524667"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=524667"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=524667"},{"taxonomy":"invoiceable_action","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/invoiceable_action?post=524667"},{"taxonomy":"internal-label","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/internal-label?post=524667"},{"taxonomy":"article_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article_type?post=524667"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=524667"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
