International Influencers of Overwatch #1
Mykl
Mykl, an international outlook
Throughout my previous articles, I had the chance to talk about influencers I regularly follow regarding Overwatch. The majority of them are French, or French speakers as it is my native language. Therefore, I have to search for English contents to stay as much as possible in touch with the latest news.
Among a large list of anglophone youtubers, I await one upload in particular every day. “ Yo what is going on guys, i hope your day is going great, mine was awesome…“ I listened to these words so much that I know them by heart. He links me to my daily dose of Overwatch, I introduce you mykl !
This article is the translation of the french one, posted last Tuesday on this website. Given the fact that mykl is american, i was thinking that a translation was a good idea. Let me know what you think about it on my twitter, and if you want some more articles like this. Maybe on Overwatch League teams etc…
I asked to my girlfriend to translate the article, maybe some mistakes remain, but i hope you will enjoy it. Now without further due, let’s get into this article !
Who is mykl ?
If, like some of my friends, you can’t speak English, you’ve probably never heard about him. But for you, who are reading this, and like Overwatch League as much as i do, the name of mykl might be familiar. Indeed, he occupied various positions related to Overwatch, such as the Kungarna team, or, you can know him thanks to the different information he reveals on his social networks.
mykl, the analyst and drama seeker
mykl is very famous on the Overwatch’s scene for two reasons. First of all, his notoriety comes from his analysis, which are really pertinent, in my opinion. But he is mostly known for the numerous dramas related to the Overwatch League that he shares with its viewers. If an information about a player, a team or every little thing connected to the League is relevant, you can be sure that mykl will talk about it in one of his videos.
Path to Pro
mykl, AKA Michael Padilla was at first a player, mainly in the Kungarna team. He had the chance to compete with players like babybay, Bischu, and iReMiix during the NA contenders, season 0. At this time, his coach was dpei who is actually coach of LAGladiators.
In January 2018, he leaves the player status to become the owner of Kungarna. He returns to the path to pro in September as a coach for Phase 2, which are quickly renamed Kungarna and where he will become general manager.
Youtube his favorite field
Beginnings on Youtube
mykl creates his Youtube channel in March 2011. At first, he releases short videos about League of Legends. Then, he makes a little detour with Paladin and some other videos but, in May 2016, he uploads his very first video about Overwatch. We can see him doing a POTG with Genji.
His first video-analysis concerning the Overwatch League is posted in December 4th 2017. In other words, it was posted more than a year ago. Since this day, he published 510 videos, and this represents an average cadence of a little bit less than 2 videos per day ! A vast majority is related to Overwatch and the rest is about Realm Royale as he played it a while at a professional level. We can also find some videos about Fortnite. However, they are just a few because he dedicated a second channel for that, named The Fortnite Guy, and it contains 28 videos while I’m writing this.
Mykl, a frenetic pace
With one or two videos per day, mykl never stops. He talks about all the information and news. He released a lot of exclusive information on his channel. For example, he leaked the new teams of the Overwatch League 2019 or a big amount of transfers. However, his favorite thing is the drama. He calls it “the juice”. If a story is related to the highest competitive level of Overwatch, it will probably end up in his hands.
mykl’s videos have, taken separately, between 10 000 and 246 000 views. The topics can be about the best Overwatch League’s hairstyle to various leaks and tragic situations, such as the one of Dreamkazper.
A diversified content
I follow mykl for various reasons. Among them, i really like his manner to speak and dedication to his audience. Then, the fact that he posts almost everyday a video allows me to stay abreast of all the information agitating the Overwatch’s professional sphere. Last but not least, he brings a good perspective concerning the different teams, the matches, and the players from the Overwatch League.
I won’t deny it, the “drama” aspect attracts me too, but even if it takes a big part of time in his videos, I am mostly attracted by the professional feel. As a former player, coach and manager at a Contenders‘ level, we can detect his professional experience when he talks.
mykl has videos with a variable duration, generally around 10-20 minutes. Here, we can find teams or players analysis, different rankings, general information, leaks and some explanations on the various dramas shaking the Overwatch’s world.
We are removing mykL from ESTNN. Without our approval, he posted the VOD using his login info. We are not looking to cause any controversy or leak any vital league content. We apologize for any trouble this has caused. The article has been removed.
— ESTNN | Esports (@esportstvnews) 4 janvier 2019
Due to recent events, the team has decided to part ways with the @Team_Kungarna brand.
— Phase 2 (@Phase2OW) 4 janvier 2019
We will be rebranding for all future endeavors. Follow for more updates to come.
A variable content ?
One of them was solved quite recently. In fact, his videos were pretty long and the interesting information were drowned among a sea of repetitions and advertising. By reducing the lenght of his content and focusing more on the news, by avoiding too long introductions and unnecessary repetitions, he found a clear and pleasant formula.
Then, because he wanted to be first on the news, he wasn’t thinking enough about what he was publishing. Indeed, he ended up with a lot of troubles lately.
mykl in turmoil ?
Which consequences after this ?
As a Contenders’ team coach, the sharing of a scrim between two Overwatch League’s teams was a very bad idea. The worst part of it was to monetise the video. He lost a lot with this situation and he will probably need time to recover from it. Nevertheless, he should have the strength to get up again. In the long term, he might be strengthened. Based on this experience and on future leaks-free information, he might open up to a new kind of viewers searching for quality analysis and for the dramas agitating the League. Only time will tell.
P.S. mykl already came back to his pace of one video per day, even more some time. I have no doubt that he will do better and better, and that he will continue to entertain us.
The pros :
- Daily news of Overwatch
- A lot of analysis and pertinent videos
- Makes easy to understand the dramas and various news
The cons :
- A lot of digressions
- Information varies significantly, from the slightest drama to researched analysis concerning a team or a player
- A lot of clickbait
French version
To continue with french articles :
- List of Overwatch french influencers
- Zaroide, and the art of interview
- Paris OWL, best team of the League ?
- Troma, Valiant knight
- Lutti the influencer
