My Two Cents

On this whole Oozo, Ming, and Neilyo flamefest:

I think the stiffest competition for 1v1 is on test. Ming's PTR dueling video from WoW 1.0 was definitely one of the all-time great vids. His recent vid (and my vid too!) are not as entertaining but showcase a ton of talented players.

Whenever I see 1v1 clips in videos, I'm not watching to assess "can he win this matchup than I cannot", I'm just thinking about what I'd be doing versus what I'm seeing and judge how good the clip/fight was based on how he played. I'm not trying to assess the video maker's skill by the "level" opponents he beats -- that might make a little sense for a PTR dueling video (and is a cool idea for someone who wants to do it, I picture cheesy wild west wanted posters)

So I can watch Evertras vids and think "this guys owns", but do I think he would beat Valanmor or Azael in a duel? No, not really. But I'm still entertained watching him play because he's very good and understands game mechanics well. Besides it's not like if you're a strong player, you won't be strong against crazy geared opponents, you just need practice and to adjust your strats.

So when I watch the beginning of Neilyo and the duel with the fire mage, I'm thinking "nice vanish" not "big deal you beat a fire mage as a rogue."

I would never ever ever ever go check armory ratings of players I see in videos, who cares? Certainly arena rating is correlated with skill, but who knows if they're even really trying. I mean if I'm jumped outside, I'll try to win with as minimal CD as possible and use CD as they become necessary, but in a duel I won't hesitate at all. What are you really demonstrating if you fraps barely beating me when I summon my WE 30 seconds into the fight? Nothing. But if you play the fight well, and I play the fight well, it still might be fun to watch. ^^

Videos are about entertainment, showcasing ability, and improving the overall skill of the playerbase. They need not do all 3, and if a vid can accomplish any of the three well, it can and should be well received.

I didn't really enjoy Oozo's vid, but I loved the Neilyo vid. It had nothing to do with the competition they respectively faced, but the Neilyo vid is just awesome to watch. Tons of fancy vanishes, beautiful blinds into vanish saps, and some great clips of utterly dominating outdoors (the two mages section is priceless and it could very well end up one of those 'classic' moments in pvp vids)