Whether your a fan of sports or not, you’ve probably heard of Kobe Bryant, Lebron James, Tom Brady, Floyd Mayweather, Connor McGregor, Lance Armstrong, Cristiano Ronaldo, Alex Rodriguez and more. They’re some of the best athletes in the world, but that’s not necessarily why they’re so famous. They’ve transcended the sports barrier thanks to their personalities. They radiate drama.

Esports are exciting, captivating and dramatic, but esports athletes tend to be rather mundane. There’s a million possible explanations as to why this tends to be the case, but the bottom line is, esports could benefit from a couple of players with more personality.

There are a few esports athletes with flair, but they’re few and far between. There’s no one with enough personality to be the face of their esport and that’s a problem.

Boxing is just two people hitting each other over and over again. That’s exciting for some people, but what made the Conor McGregor vs Floyd Mayweather fight a cultural phenomenon is the two people who were wearing the gloves. McGregor and Mayweather each have egos for days and enough personality for a dozen normal people. No one should have ever taken McGregor seriously (he’s not even a pro boxer), but he was so confident in himself, that other people started believing in him too. Those people tuned in for what they thought might be the upset of a lifetime.

Or, people thought he was undeservedly cocky and wanted to see him get beat to a pulp by a real boxer. Either way, people tuned-in.

That’s the kind of outside-the-game drama that esports are missing. There simply aren’t any esports players that transcend the games they play. McGregor and Mayweather are bigger than boxing or MMA. People who aren’t fans of boxing were drawn to the fight because of their personalities, not their physical skills. Esports don’t have anyone or anything like that.

That’s where streamers might help. The streaming community is chock full of huge personalities who also happen to be some of the best gamers out there.

Huni is great and the NA LCS is lucky to have him, but they don’t just need great players, they need people to root for and against. If someone like Tyler1 played for the Golden Guardians, they would instantly become the most loved and most hated team in the league, and their games would probably receive more attention than any others.

Plus, if Tyler1 was playing, he would no doubt bring out more of the personalities around him. Maybe his trash talk would really get Bjergsen going. Maybe Svenskeren gets an incredible kill on him that tilts Tyler1 and forms a rivalry between the two. The possibilities are endless, but there needs to be one or two big personalities to act as a catalyst for more drama and interest in esports.

As it is right now, many esports fans only watch the games that their favorite teams or players are in. Real rivalries and drama would help bring broader interest in leagues as a whole. After all, just look at the major attention Tyler1 got with his parody Tyler1 Champion Series Tournament. 

None of this is to say that esports are declining or that they can’t make it without big personalities, but there’s an inevitable plateau that all things reach. Where that level is, no one knows. But the key to transcendent success and longevity is to raise that plateau as you go. Back when CS:GO tournaments aired on G4 at odd times, the plateau for esports was much lower. With the advent of streaming and online play, that plateau rose exponentially.

Of course, the big caveat is that you need the right kind of streamers and personalities. The Overwatch League had streamer xQc on its roster earlier in the year, but his presence did more harm than good. He wasn’t the best player and was dramatic only in the fact that he said homophobic things and people really didn’t like him. 

The right personality is someone who is polarizing. Someone that the whole league feels strongly about one way or the other; love them or hate them based on their attitude, demeanor and skill. But not someone who is racist, homophobic, overly derogatory, etc.

It’s a very specific role and one that the vast majority of people won’t fall into. The good thing is, each league only needs one or two of these types of people.

Esports and streaming both feel as if they’re on the verge of becoming more than the sum of their parts. Ninja is teaming up with drake, OWL has burst onto the scene and the NA and EU LCS’ are more exciting than they’ve ever been.

Personalities might be the last ingredient needed for esports to really transcend the gaming audience, and one of the best places to find big gaming personalities is in the streaming community.