Here in Starcraft land we love our community figures. Here are the people who this year appeared to be the coolest and most altruistic.
How did we pick the nominees from such a vast pool of do-gooders? Simple: we looked for what new initiatives were started by them in 2012 as opposed to their previous work schedule. Thus, we both have newcomers that have never been nominated before, as well as oldschool figures who were left out, despite maintaining their contribution excellence.
Day[9]
A man whose charm is as ubiquitous as his influence, Day[9] started this year by doing the usual: his Daily. Business as usual, yes, but he was only getting started. You may seen some of his work: the After Hours Gaming League, the Red Bull Lan, the awesomely hilarious Trial of the Xel’Naga. Day[9] is a man who does work, and this year has been no different. If he’s not organizing tournaments and coverage thereof, he’s casting them, and when he’s not doing that he streams games for our entertainment, does giveaways, and produces, without fail, his Daily.JP McDaniel
JP McDaniel has been responsible for a lot of good, but we’re giving him this nomination primarily because of Real Talk, a show that, for reasons in part its own, allows us to encounter eSports personalities on levels that Larry King could not hope to achieve. The format - essentially freeform, unregulated, as long as it can get away with - is to thank for this development, but also JP himself, who has diligently produced and hosted the show for the fourteen episodes it is thus far comprised of. There is no reason it should stop now.Slasher
In a cultural scene where journalism is essentially represented by new media and organizations have no reason to release more information than they choose to, dissemination and accurate interpretation of information is key. Rod “Slasher” Breslau is just one of the people who have come to the fore this last year. Though his work stretches back far longer (Lo3, !@#$ Slasher), since his association with Gamespot he has been a constant (and reasonable) voice in the larger conversation about eSports. We remember, most notably, his unerring coverage of the SlayerS controversy, even when others were inviting to him to be silent.Apollo
Aptly named, Apollo has become a paladin of eSports. He has, in recent months, gradually gained more standing with the community, so much so that he has gone from being merely a good caster to equalling Artosis in analytical skill (and popularity). Impeccable manners, style, and overall good looks have only helped him. His tutorials, aimed at lower league players, have led to many a promotion. Also a rapper of great verve, if not talent, he improvises when required (and improvisation is of course the shoutcaster’s strength and indispensable quality). Apollo has been strong this year. There is no reason this trend should cease.Genna Bain
Genna Bain has been for years the woman behind Youtube personality Totalbiscuit’s entire operation, but more recently she had to chance to take the spotlight herself. Big things often start small, and this may be the case for Axiom eSports, an ambitious project begun out of a desire to better support and promote Korean players. As SlayerS disintegrated, Ms. Bain was there to pick up the cup and gather, by no means all, but enough players to make a difference. Crank, Ryung and Miya now call Axiom their home. They could do worse than counting upon the organizational and entrepreneurial skill of a woman who helped build the Cynical Brit brand. And from what we hear, she’s pretty good at doing makeup too.The GD Studio
Reactions to a GD Studio broadcast will differ wildly, but general assessments will include an appreciable amount of nonsense, profanity, and, most unusual of all, interesting discussions about the news of the day and other issues. While 2GD’s humor is often questionable, swinging from facetiousness into pure bad taste, it must be recognized that in reducing himself to standards no other broadcaster would consider, he becomes not only immersed in bullshit but also simultaneously immune to it. He finds himself, therefore, in the unique position of navigating topics and conversations (among which his interviews) without suffering the constraint of polite language, leading sometimes to hilarity, sometimes straight to the truth. It’s as if Ali G were a real person. 