On Sunday, former Overwatch League caster MonteCristo announced a new content creation partnership with esports organization Cloud9. This comes after the caster (and many others) chose not to return to the Overwatch League in its 2020 season, citing creative differences after the departure of the league’s former commissioner, Nate Nanzer.
Why I left the Overwatch League pic.twitter.com/27vLDpdOdY
— MonteCristo (@MonteCristo) January 19, 2020
Along with content, MonteCristo will also work on other “competitive products” with the esports organization. At present, it is unclear what his official title will be at Cloud9.
This is not the first time that the content creator has teamed up with his new organization. The longtime Overwatch caster has previously worked on shows such as “The 9s” and some of Cloud9’s other content.
While the big announcement only came this past weekend, he was providing hints about the upcoming partnership as early as last week.
Should I get on? 👀@Cloud9 pic.twitter.com/zFmPm8Y1YT
— MonteCristo (@MonteCristo) January 13, 2020
MonteCristo’s Vision
MonteCristo has been vocal about his vision for esports media and his departure from the Overwatch League. Just last week, for example, he criticized Activision-Blizzard Esports’ CEO, Pete Vlastelica. The executive claimed in an interview that the recent wave of broadcast talent departures was “the property’s decision.” The content creator disagrees with that claim quite a bit.
“So now Pete Vlastelica is just lying,” MonteCristo said in a tweet. “All the casters who left OWL were asked to return, so it wasn’t the ‘property’s decision’ as he suggests here.”
In the past, MonteCristo has also spoken out about problems in the industry. Such struggles include the lack of opportunities for growth for casters and out of touch management.
Despite the drama, MonteCristo’s Twitter has generally been positive about the future of esports and esports media. He’s tweeted about ideas such as an esports late-night talk show, and he has written about wanting to make “fun and thought-provoking” content in 2020. He plans to continue his vision for esports media through his partnership with Cloud9.
