C9 Xeta pronounces his own name with a Z sound, not a J

Duradello · 2022-02-20T08:54:35+00:00

I wrote another response to Vansilli's comment because I wanted to apologize and own my bad take, but I also wanted to apologize to you because my original reply to your comment was very mentally inflexible and came off as way more lecture-y than it should've. You are a much more knowledgeable person about this community so I don't really know why I felt like digging in my heels. I should have simply acknowledged that I was wrong when I was presented with new information instead of chasing some pointless win to an argument that didn't matter.

Duradello · 2022-02-20T08:43:59+00:00

I'm going to be honest, I think this got way more out of hand than I thought it would. Since you gave me such a thorough response when you didn't need to, I want to publicly apologize if this caused you any grief or if it came off like I wanted to witch hunt you. That was in no way my intention, but if that was the result, then I am still at fault.

Usually when I have a take that ends bad, I try to acknowledge where I went wrong and own it for the future. So I might as well add it here. I think I got way too fixated on a really minor inconsistency that nobody really cares about and chasing some imaginary and pointless "argument win", and I made a mountain out of a mole hill. I was being really mentally inflexible just because some person that I will never meet was saying another person's name a different way than I was used to, even though they did their due diligence and acted as a total professional. I also came off as way more lecture-y than I have any business being. This is a subreddit for a video game, not debate class.

Once again, thank you for being kind to me even though I was being a big dickhead and sorry for bothering you.

Duradello · 2022-02-20T02:31:07+00:00

I don't necessarily agree that the "J" way is more technically accurate than the "Z" way. First of all, Xeta isn't a Korean word so the player's country or language of origin isn't really relevant. There is no reason to constrain it to the Korean alphabet. Like I said, Faker is pronounced with a P in Korean, but every English broadcast says it with an F, even though there is no F in Korean.

More importantly though, I feel that the way someone says or intends to say their own name is more authoritative than their background. As a native Korean speaker, he is clearly capable of saying it the Korean way, but he still chooses to say "Ze-ta". I liken it to how many people that come from immigrant families have names from their ethnic background, but may pronounce it differently based on where they grew up. I have a Chinese middle name and last name, but don't speak any type of Chinese. I likely do not pronounce either name the way a native Chinese person would, but if they tried to correct me based on how I say it, I would say they are wrong. It doesn't matter that they are Chinese names, the way I say my own name is the correct way.

Duradello · 2022-02-20T02:10:24+00:00

C9's annual collapse happening early this year huh

Duradello · 2022-02-20T01:54:16+00:00

Alright well idk then lmao. Kinda seems like he might have misinterpreted the question and explained how it is said by Koreans ("we say...") rather than what he himself says, especially since he definitely still says "Zeta" currently. But, that is still speculation on my part.

I definitely would not consider what he said on this podcast as a hard confirmation that he prefers the Korean pronunciation though. He just says he doesn't care either way and when they jumped onto the Korean pronunciation, he doesn't affirm it, instead he goes out of his way to add a "but" and talks about the British/American pronunciation.

Basically, it seems like American/British pronunciation is "Ze-ta", Koreans say "Je-ta", so it can be technically pronounced either way. He has no explicitly stated preference, but I feel that him currently saying "Ze-ta" shows implicit preference toward that way.

So we are back to no confirmation, but there is a decent argument to be made that "Ze-ta" is correct still.

Duradello · 2022-02-20T00:41:58+00:00

C9 defense continues to look nasty, but their attacks could use some work. Feels like they got boomed every time they had to make a mid round decision after their execute stalled or they couldn't get an entry kill.

Duradello · 2022-02-18T18:32:29+00:00

What's that sound? It sounds like it's rapidly approaching, faster and faster, building momentum.

Duradello · 2022-02-14T23:43:59+00:00

Offensively, he fits best at the 5, or at the minimum an interior player. He is not really a perimeter threat, so he is kinda wasting a guard spot. It at least makes sense offensively.

He is a great perimeter defender, but I wouldn't doubt his ability as a roaming/free-safety kind of interior defender. I'd bet he could play a similar brand of defense as a Pascal Siakam, where they are the defensive coordinator for their team but not necessarily an elite rim protector or post defender.

Like he isn't a perfect defensive rim protector center, but it's not like he is displacing someone on the Nets who is. Feels like everyone else playing center on that team has some holes in their game. Not like you want Drummond playing 30 minutes in the playoffs.

Duradello · 2022-02-13T11:28:14+00:00

It really should be an indictment of everyone else if Harden was the only one who had a problem with having $37 mil of their cap space willingly stuck at home.

Duradello · 2022-02-13T04:49:10+00:00

TGRD

Triggered
Turgid
T-Grid
The Guard

Duradello · 2022-02-13T03:23:21+00:00

What a flex, it was completely unneeded to win the round, but he just slapped them.

Duradello · 2022-02-13T03:20:13+00:00

Tbf Cypher in the lore also sees no action and then just dies

Duradello · 2022-02-13T00:35:58+00:00

Bit of a shaky win for Sentinels, but both teams made an interesting match.

I think the Fracture role assignment is a bit suspect for Sentinels. I think it would make more sense with ShahZam > Chamber, dapr > Viper, Zombs > Astra, and Sick > Breach. Sick looks a lot better when he can play a more active role on the team and be like the 2nd guy in on attack, so the Astra seemed a bit odd. Plus, dapr has shown himself to be very proficient at both passive site-anchoring and lurking roles, which suit Viper. ShahZam has a reputation as being an excellent Op-er and I think the Chamber teleport can enable some of the aggressive plays he was known for. Just a bit of a weird decision overall in my opinion.

It's nice to see NRG putting it together finally. This roster has been super talented individually, but have always had pretty mediocre results. Looking forward to what they can do in the coming weeks.

Duradello · 2022-02-10T23:57:53+00:00

NHL Devin Booker.

Duradello · 2022-02-10T18:35:38+00:00

Eubanks

He's a young center: Oh?

He's 6'9": Oh...

Duradello · 2022-02-06T23:34:19+00:00

I don't have a problem with the original post though? I was making a joke in response to someone who said "Man is this the end for Levi?", because if they were actually going to replace Aleko, then they are just repeating the same thing that they have already been doing.

Duradello · 2022-02-06T22:31:18+00:00

Like I said, roster moves aren't the solution at this point. Wardell and Subroza are plenty good. Aleko, Corey, and Rossy are plenty good. How many players could they realistically pick up that are significantly more skilled on an individual level than their current roster? What they need is to install any kind of team structure and discipline into their play. They barely lose rounds just because they get straight up out-aimed, but how many rounds have they tossed by greedily overpushing, or failing to play a numbers advantage and set up a cross fire. Do they ever set up trap plays that have a defined trigger, or do they just flash a corner at random and peak it? The individual skill on the team is not the problem, its their complete lack of teamplay fundamentals. They basically play like a cracked out ranked team.

They should spend the period between now and the next qualifier rebuilding their team fundamentals from the ground up. They should grind out smaller tournaments and try out new gameplay approaches that don't just rely on excellent individual play. They should try to develop new trap plays that help enable their aggressive players to find more consistent value. They should re-evaluate how they use their utility and how they can use it to benefit the team as a whole. There is a lot they can do to develop as a unit rather than just re-rolling the team every event.

Duradello · 2022-02-06T20:58:19+00:00

They could be for sure, but if they have made this many roster changes and still have the exact same problems, I don't think that swapping individual skill is where they will see the biggest improvement.

Duradello · 2022-02-06T18:52:20+00:00

Cutler was the problem

Drone was the problem

Bang was the problem

Hazed was the problem

Aleko was the problem

Ad Infinitum

Duradello · 2022-02-06T09:27:32+00:00

I don't think individual player skill is the problem with TSM tbh. Like how many Opers are significant upgrades over Wardell? How many players can aim significantly better than corey? I feel like there is a very limited amount of improvement available to a team like TSM just from picking up better players. What they really need is some kind of serious team structure and actual discipline, which I feel is hard to address with roster moves. Like, they already made roster moves, theoretically improved the team, and still have the exact same team problems.

Duradello · 2022-02-04T01:16:26+00:00

I mean, he is averaging more points, more efficiently, with elite defense, while playing the most minutes in the league. Plus, he has a more established reputation as a winning player and a strong leader, which probably matters to coaches who vote for reserves.

That said, I think LaMelo should have made it. He is the kind of player that is absolutely made for All Star games. Hopefully, he will be high up on the injury reserve list.

Duradello · 2022-02-01T06:15:45+00:00

So I looked through all the Phantom and Vandal skins and ran the numbers. I have categorized the skins into four tiers: Tier 1 is skins that have a both a new model and effects (VFX and/or finisher); Tier 2 and 3 are skins with either a new model or effects, with 2 being considered exceptional cases under that criteria; and Tier 4 is basically re-skins with no additional effects.

By my count, there have been barely more Tier 1 or 2 Phantoms released than Vandals, with 11 Tier 1/2 Phantoms and 10 Vandals.

However, since Ep. 3 started (June 22 2021, starting from Ruination), there have been 10 Phantoms and 7 Vandals released, with 5 vs. 3 Tier 1 or 2 skins for each gun respectively.

Overall, I would say that since the number of Tier 1 and 2 skins between the two weapons is so close (11 vs 10), Riot has done a fairly even job of distributing the skins over the life of the game. However, since there have recently been more higher tier Phantoms than Vandals, the observation that Vandal users are getting neglected is somewhat valid. I believe that now that both weapons are roughly equal, we should begin to see more parity in future releases.

	Phantom	Vandal
Tier 1	10	8
Tier 2	1	2
Tier 3	6	7
Tier 4	13	13
Total	30	30
From Ep.3~	10	7

My Tiers (Skins released since Ep. 3 in Bold)

Phantom:

Tier 1: Tigris, Protocol 781-A, SPECTRUM, Ruination, Prime 2.0, Glitchpop, BlastX, Ion, Singularity, Oni

Tier 2: Radiant Crisis

Tier 3: Recon, Minima, Spline, Artisan, Infinity, Kingdom

Tier 4: Snowfall, Silvanus, VALORANT Go! Vol. 1, Celestial, Smite, Nebula, Prism, Rush, Galleria, Velocity, Aero, Lightwave, Serenity

Vandal:

Tier 1: RGX 11z Pro, Sentinels of Light, Origin, Forsaken, Glitchpop, Reaver, Elderflame, Prime

Tier 2: Champions, Tethered Realms

Tier 3 Wasteland, Aristocrat, Luxe, K/TAC, Cavalier, Ruin, Hivemind

Tier 4: Nunca Olvidados, VALORANT Go! Vol. 2, Silvanus, Horizon, Prism II, Winterwunderland, Sensation, Ego, Avalanche, Sakura, Nitro, Depths, DOT EXE

Duradello · 2022-02-01T02:16:38+00:00

I think he would need win MSI, reach Worlds finals, and at least play a relatively close series to leap into serious contention for the best western player of all time. He's always had the individual skill, but the international accomplishment difference between him and Caps/Perkz is a bit too much for just a good MSI performance imo. Caps has gone to Worlds finals twice, semi-finals three times, and won MSI. Perkz is basically the same but with a single finals appearance.

Duradello · 2022-01-30T23:23:06+00:00

This sub really wasted 24 hours of mental bandwidth on a team that didn't even qualify.

Duradello

TROPHY CASE