Why do People Hate PogChamps so Much?

I've seen many comments with people showing their contempt for Pogchamps. Does anybody know why they post those things so much?

(PogChamps is by far my favorite chess event)

Cuz they watch ben finegold

Most people like it or are indifferent... it's hard for me to believe you've seen "many comments" showing contempt for pogchamps.

Why do they post those things?

They might not be part of the target audience. If a person doesn't find the games or commentary entertaining, then they're more likely to argue against someone who does.

There may also be some cognitive dissonance involved, and to resolve it it's easier to believe that the fame/money given to pogchamps players is being given fraudulently than it is to believe their hard work (or the hard work of others) is without merit.

I'm guessing those are the two main underlying psychological reasons.

I'm sure there are plenty of people who don't find it entertaining but realize that different people have different tastes... and there are people who realize that pogchamps players are reimbursed not for their chess, but for their ability to tap into new audiences.

Ok

I don't think anyone has an issue with popularizing chess through streaming and other social media platforms, but the way that it's being done by "pogchamps" isn't exactly satisfying to many chess fans. It's a lot like they are advertising chess using celebrities, not for the beauty and complexity of the game itself. It's not surprising to see that the community is polarized to see internet famous people getting more recognition for being associated with chess compared to objectively much stronger players. And the funny thing is that many of these famous people are not even necessarily entertaining, but have diehard fanboys who would follow them no matter what stupid trend they promoted. What "pogchamps" is missing is the passion for chess, and simply replacing it with cheap comedy value.

I pretty much agree. 

I don't hate Pogchamps personally, but I can understand why some people might dislike it.

It does seem pretty unfair that random celebrities who hardly play chess are getting bigger prize pools and more spectators than Masters who have devoted their entire lives to the game.

Pogchamps is retarted.

I don't hate on pogchamps at all, but think it's a little gimmicky. To me it's a little like bringing people into basketball by getting them to watch famous actors play it instead of promoting the best players in the world.

If it's not marketable, then it's not popular.

what is even pogchamps

Wow a time traveler.

Welcome friend... in this age we have a thing called "google" -- you should look into it.

It's a chess competition where famous Twitch streamers who have never played chess before (known as "pogs") spend a few weeks learning the game, getting coached by grandmasters, then compete against each other in an online tournament with lots of spectators and commentators.

I don’t hate pogchamps and it can be fun to watch but as someone who puts a lot of work into the game it’s a bit annoying that these people who are rated 600 have lots of people watching where as the 2700+ GMS don’t get as many people watching there games. 

Fair enough 

Please provide a reason

just pls dont advertise your blogs.

I had absolutely zero interest in PogChamps so I didn't watch it.

I was glad when it was over though so that streamers returned to more interesting content.

I just don't watch it so I won't get sucked into any arguments about pog champs.

It would be nice if chess.com and twitch, etc. would promote pogchamp-style competitions with regular people  playing chess (800-1000, 1000-1200, etc.). Perhaps they could be chosen by lottery or something similar. 

I think the chess improvers that make up the membership of this site would be more enthusiastic about seeing hard-working players like themselves duking it out in their own Pogchamps-style competition. It would be a great way to give back to the community and generate some excitement amongst us lowly, hardworking chess.com plebs.