To iBDW and Moky:

I have extreme sympathy for Moky and iBDW. I don't want to sit here and assume I can fix all of their problems, not even close, but I definitely felt the need to explore the issue and offer my perspective.

I know Cody well, I was one of the players that he cut in half on his ascent, and we played/met up at both upstate and tristate tournaments alike. I used to think me and him had a special bond because he would hug me at every tournament, now I see that it's his thing and I need to come to terms with it. I love the guy, truly. It breaks my heart to see him in the position he's in.

Moky I know less about, but we met briefly at Shine last year after he beat in bracket and he was a really cool guy. As a player, I admire him deeply and am in awe with the creativity and flash that he has while still packing some juicy results. After reading his story, I was again heartbroken, and so I come to this blog now with a great deal of frustration.

Two of our best melee players need our help. We need to help them.

I believe that this is the best time for these players to make a career in Smash. I truly believe they can do it, and everyone on twitter is certainly showing their support as well. The leverage from Smash Summit 8, their skills in the game, their popularity, all of this can be turned into something sustainable and profitable.

**Before I keep going, I should take a second to acknowledge that iBDW and Moky are two different people. When I say "What can they do" I'm speaking on their similarities as melee fox players, and the difficulties they both will have in making money with this game**

Here's the nightmare scenario here: Both of these players start streaming and they both do decently well. Donations come in strong and these players are hit with a huge wave of support. After a few months, this support dies down, and unless they really hit their strive as streamers before that happens, then they won't be making as much money anymore. Then it becomes a game of "Do I stream, or do I go to this regional where first place gets $1,200 and second gets $600?" Then, these guys aren't just competing for the love of the game, they're competing to survive.

It's very hard to predict a streamer's trajectory, particularly in melee. These players will no doubt hit an audience right away, and with consistency could definitely pull some good numbers. Who knows, maybe they'll hit their subscriber goals every month and be completely fine. The scary thing is, this is still a chaotic way to make money. There is very little consistency besides the monthly stipend that they (hopefully) get from their sponsors. I would be scared to take the plunge too, especially since Nintendo is a cruel god and provides nothing to the melee community.

This is a scary time for both of these players. I don't want them to become forgotten, or anyone thinking that the money they get from Summit or donations or their sponsors is enough. Again, it might be. I might be scared for no reason, projecting my own shortcomings within the community and the game onto two much more capable people. I definitely hope I'm wrong. In any case, with all that laid out, I want to talk about solutions.

All I can do is channel Gary Vee here... What would he say?

Let's talk about leverage. Both of these players have tremendous attention on them at this very moment, it's arguably their biggest asset. I think their number 1 goal should be building their brands further, and creating a network of people that can help them push and monetize their brand. Then, they can subsidize their careers with either 1. Merchandise 2. Coaching or 3. Patreon

They need to stream consistently, but more importantly distribute that content as far and wide as possible. In order to be a melee player with real value, you must put out clips, quotes, tips, interviews, anything and everything you can possibly do to keep people paying attention to you. It's the only hope, unless you both go on to hit top 8 at every major you go to from here on in. If that happens, then this was a waste of time, and I'll go back to my hole where I just say aggressive things about commentators that make me feel insecure.

Here's my final plea, if you want to support either Moky or iBDW or both, see what you can do for them passed donating. Help them build an infrastructure where they can sustainably leverage this attention into real money, not just flash floods of donations or amazon prime subscribers. Even if it's clipping cool shit on their stream and posting it places, it helps. If everyone does a small part, just enough so that you aren't taken off of your own path, then two of our favorite players can lead a happy life. And then, selfishly, we get to reap the benefits of watching these two masters develop into some of the best players our community has ever seen.

To Cody and Moky (We aren't on first name basis) I hope that you guys read this as well, and look into making this a real career independent of tournament winnings and other things outside your control. I believe in both of you with all my heart, and I look forward to the days of you doing an interview after winning a major, telling Homemadewaffles that everything worked out well, that you're happy, and that melee is the sickest game of all time.

Best of luck. I'm rooting for you both.

(P.S, Donating helps a lot. Way a lot. Donate if you can to these wonderful people)