Being called back to desk host the BLAST Fall Groups 2024 after doing a stint on Spring Groups was a dream coming true. This being the last ever Fall Groups also meant something special. A last minute change saw me paired up with ex-Heroic and ex-Liquid IGL cadiaN, on the analyst desk and I’d argue we did some of our best work on this show.
The moment I met cadiaN (probably around an hour before we went live), I knew we were going to have fun. I’d interviewed him a few times at other events but working together on a desk is a very different vibe. He started joking with me before we’d even met – I’d sent him a long text message about what I wanted to do on the desk, lines of questioning etc and he trolled me right out of the gate with “Who is this?”. I knew then we’d have a good time.
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I really liked what we were able to do with our desk segments. There was a lot of banter and joking around – which are the clips most people end up seeing on reddit or, the moments which become HLTV forum topics. However, I do think the nuance between these moments was really strong. CadiaN is a current IGL playing the game. He sees things many of us casual viewers would miss because we haven’t played at that level. He was able to break down plays and talk about what we were seeing in a way that simplified it for the casual player but also gave insight into top tier playstyles. I think by peppering this with the funny bits kept people engaged and entertained during the group stages.
Not everyone’s cup of tea
Photo by VexanieI do also realise that the style of desk we presented isn’t for everyone. A lot of people said we went too far with certain jokes or that I was a bit cruel in some of my retorts, which played on CadiaN’s benching from Team Liquid. I’ve had a bit of time to look back at some of the content and I’d agree that once in awhile we crossed a line. I can understand why people might have had concerns. However, we also had a very short time to get to know each other and even less time to feel each other out. CadiaN was completely new to the analyst desk (even though he’d had a few guest appearances) and I’m still new to hosting at S-Tier level – I know my style is a bit spicy so I also need to find the line between pushing too hard and backing out of conversations to move the narrative forward and keep the focus on the the games.
@techgirlza Comedian wants to measure his balls at BLAST Premier Fall Groups. #blastpremier #cs2 #cs2clips ♬ original sound – Sam “Tech Girl” Wright
It’s a learning curve for sure. However, I am extremely proud of the work we did on this desk, under somewhat difficult external circumstances, and I can’t remember laughing this much during the day. CadiaN has now been signed to Astralis, so we won’t see him on a desk again any time soon (as an analyst), but I hope if he ever decides to move into broadcast I’ll get the opportunity to work with him again.
As usual, photos from the event can be found here.
