I’ve spent the weekend at the Telkom DGL Masters at the first rAge Expo to be held in Cape Town, South Africa. Telkom recently pushed a lot of funding into the esports scene locally. I blogged about it a few months ago and you can read that piece here. We’ve spent the weekend watching to top 8 CS:GO teams battle it out. I’m pretty sure every serious gamer secretly dreams about being a full time professional gamer (yes, it is a thing!).
However, anyone who had a chance to see me play Call of Duty at the media vs. pro invitational Astro Gaming Cup match will know that not all of us are cut out to be professional esports players (or play first person shooters generally).
But did you know there are a host of other careers in esports that you could possibly look at doing?
I chatted to two gents working at the Telkom DGL Masters to get an idea of what they do and what it takes to make esports a career. First up, a job that appeals to my inner Ari Gold, is the roll of team manager. Basically, you heard cats (and make those cats famous). I got a few minutes with Bravado Gaming’s Andreas ‘cent’ Hadjipaschali about what it actually takes to manage an esports team. Bravado is currently the favourite to take just about every win available in the Telkom DGL Masters – so Cent knows what he is talking about.
If managing a team isn’t your thing there is the option to become a shout caster. Your job is to commentate on the matches and give the viewers some insight into the teams and how the game is going. Lewis ‘Vudulew’ Williams is not only one of the top tattoo artists in the country but also one of the most entertaining shout casters I know (second only to Barry ‘Anthrax’ Louzada). In between Telkom DGL games I picked his brain about what it takes to entertain tons of people online and in the stands:
There is so much more to esports than you possibly realise and its definitely worth taking the time to understand how much work goes in to getting these teams to compete at the level they do and put on a show for you and I to enjoy. The Telkom Masters Series runs for the rest of the year with two more competitions to come.
Who is your favourite Telkom Masters esports personality?
If you’re a fan of esports don’t forget to check out these articles too:
South Africa’s sexiest esports bachelors
A recap of the Telkom DGL Masters Series at rAge Cape Town
Shout out to Telkom for letting me spend the weekend with some of the coolest cats in the game. Big thanks also goes out to the Dead Reckoning Crew for ensuring I’m wearing the best local threads available.