In June 2023 I was able to head to Katowice, Poland, to work my first ESL Challenger event. I was hired as a “stage host” and interviewer for the CSGO tournament. While the rest of the broadcast team was in Sweden in studio, I was able to be with the players in the Poland studio and watch the competition live. It was such a new experience, being alone and away from the rest of the broadcast team BUT also tons of fun getting to hang out and interview all the players.
I always like to recap the experience and keep a record, which is exactly what this blog post is. On the first day, before the event actually started I had a chance to create some content for the broadcast. When the Paris Major was announced a lot of the Counter-Strike fans saw my name on the talent announcement and responded with “Where’s Stunna?” To be clear, I am a huge fan of Stunna, one of the best desk hosts in CS. So I understood why folks were a little mad that their favourite wasn’t in the mix. I was able to convince the production team to let me have some fun with that while in Katowice and this is what happened (CS fans will understand the significance of the Spodek):
@techgirlza Where’s Stunna? If you watch #counterstrike you’ll get it. 😏 #esports #eslchallenger #eslcsgo #gamingontiktok #techgirlza ♬ original sound – Sam “Tech Girl” Wright
Another awesome part of Katowice was that a South African team had qualified to compete. Bravado Gaming was at the event and I really enjoyed being able to work with a South African team at an international event, as it doesn’t happen often. There is something very fun about getting to interview one of your own.
Project Destiny 2.0 for South African organisation Bravado Gaming?
I don’t get a lot of “interviewer” roles as I think I am a far stronger desk host. So having the chance to flex my muscles on this one and work on my craft was really something fun. I also enjoyed trying to my hand at some additional shoulder content and letting my personality show a bit.
All in all it was a great event. I loved Katowice and I loved being in studio with the players. Can’t wait to get to the next one!