The Splatoon 3 Splatfest results are in, and Team Gear has controversially stolen the victory thanks to winning an overwhelming majority in the Popularity vote.
Splatoon 3’s very first post-launch Splatfest event has been and gone. Despite some initial hitches, the event went down a treat with most fans.
This is especially true if you happened to be a part of Team Gear, who won the Splatfest. However, there are a lot of Splatoon 3 players who believe this victory was rigged from the very beginning.
If you found the Splatfest to be a little difficult, it’s possible it was due to poor matchmaking issues. However, it definitely doesn’t hurt to check out some Splatoon 3 tips and tricks every now and then.
How Did Team Gear Win the Splatfest?
Of the available 45 points during Splatoon 3’s first post-launch Splatfest, Team Gear received a whopping 25 of them. Of the other two teams, one was close to winning, while one Splatfest team received no points at all!
Team Gear garnered 15 points for having 35% of the overall Clout count in the Open Mode criterion. However, and perhaps more controversially, they won 10 points for the Popularity criterion.
Of the total vote count across all three teams, Team Gear received 58.28% of the votes, making it by far the most popular team. In fact, it had more players than both of the other teams combined!
Why Was Team Gear So Popular?
Team Gear was the most popular choice due to the fact that it was both a logical choice and had the backing of a popular idol.
Many fans believed that gear would be far more helpful in a desert island situation than fun or grub. Their reasoning was that with gear you could not only survive longer but net yourself grub and fun anyway.
Additionally, Team Gear had the backing of Shiver, one of the three idols in Splatoon 3. She is generally regarded as one of the more popular idols, and her backing of Team Gear likely swayed a lot of fans.
Why Was the Splatfest Popularity Vote Controversial?
Many believe that Team Gear received so many of the votes because it was the correct answer out of the three possible options.
While Splatfest themes tend to be subjective – the pre-launch Splatfest theme was rock, paper, scissors, for example – it was generally accepted that this Splatfest’s theme had a correct answer.
It was therefore guaranteed that Team Gear would win the Popularity vote. This meant that it not only had more players but also 10 points in the bag.
It is very likely that Team Fun would have won the overall Splatfest had the theming been fairer.
They received both the Conch Shell and Pro Mode points and were less than 2% behind Team Gear in the Open Mode criterion.
How Did Team Gear Cause Matchmaking Problems?
Due to Team Gear’s high player count, many of its own members reported being forced to play games against each other as there just weren’t enough players from the other teams available.
This caused huge problems for matchmaking, as many players from Team Grub or Fun were paired up with inexperienced players.
It meant that there was a huge disparity in skill level between Team Gear and the other two teams as Nintendo was forced to create matches from whoever was available.
For a lot of people, this meant that the Splatfest wasn’t nearly as fun as it should have been. They hope that for the upcoming Splatoon 3 Splatfest event, Nintendo choose a more subjective theme.
How Are Splatfests Scored?
Splatfests are scored by four criteria: Popularity, Open Mode Clout, Pro Mode Clout, and Conch Shells.
Each criterion is worth a different amount of points. Whoever gets the highest percentage within that criterion receives the points. The points are as follows:
- Popularity – 10 points
- Open Mode Clout – 15 points
- Pro Mode Clout – 10 points
- Conch Shells – 10 points
Conch Shells – which you should definitely learn all about if you’re new to Splatoon 3 – are scored on the average Conch Shell count of each team.
Open Mode Clout and Pro Mode Clout are based on the average of each player’s total Clout count. Finally, the Popularity criterion is based on how many votes a particular team gets (ie how many players were representing that team).
How Does Voting Work in the Splatfest?
Before the Splatfest event, players are invited to vote for one of three options and are then placed into a team based on whichever option they choose.
In the case of Splatoon 3’s very first post-launch Splatfest, the theme was “What would you bring to a desert island.” The options were Gear, Grub, or Fun.
For now, you should focus on improving your rank in Splatoon 3 so you’re ready for the next Splatfest.
It might be worth checking out all of the abilities in Splatoon 3 as well, so you stand a better chance of winning when the next Splatfest rolls around.
