San Antonio – From a shoutcasting internship with St. Mary's Esports, to a paid contract job shoutcasting for
MSI's Student Radiant Cup,
Sonora Mata highlights the real-world experiences and transferrable skills she's gained through working on the entertainment side of esports. Esports shoutcasting is best described as the "running commentary of esports competitions."
While Sonora was shoutcasting the first split of the Radiant Cup, a multi-split Valorant tournament for collegiate esports teams, Martin "Douglas" Bernie stepped up as team captain for the St. Mary's Esports Valorant show-case team. The showcase team, affectionally known as "the Val Pals", comprised of student-athletes from three esports teams: Fortnite, Overwatch, and Rainbow 6 Siege. This team was only possible with the flexibility of multiple team captains, cooperation between players, and the positive mental attitudes each player brings to the table.
Speaking with both Sonora and Douglas about their experiences shoutcasting and participating in the Radiant Cup, we gain some perspective on how what they've learned can continue to be applied:
Sonora Mata | Overwatch Player & Team Captain
Q: What did you gain from the St. Mary's Esports internship and the contract with Space Productions?
S: "It was really educations and this experience helped me to open the door into the shoutcasting field. It allowed me to realize that shoutcasting is something I'd like to continue to pursue, as well as being super fun."
Q: What was the interview process like for the Radiant Cup?
S: "It was probably the easiest interview I've done. It's in a category of talent that I felt confident in because I have experience. I was also lucky to be the last interviewee and my interviewer told me "You're hired. Now what position do you want?" I felt super welcomed during the interview process."
Q: Can you describe your job for the Radiant Cup?
S: "We went through basic training, learning about MSI and Space Productions. Each week we'd have a rehearsal where we'd spectate and shoutcaster over a scrimmage of different teams – all women's teams who were looking for extra practice. Then every Saturday, we'd do the broadcast."
Q: Do you have any advice for anyone interested in shoutcasting?
S: "Practice and making connections are the biggest things. Knowing what your style is is super important. Because you can try to imitate famous shoutcasters, but it won't be genuine because everyone has a different style. If you're not making connections, you won't have anywhere to shoutcast. Put yourself out there."
Douglas Bernie | Overwatch Player & Team Co-Captain, Valorant Captain
Q: What did you gain from this experience as a team captain?
D: "Learning how to plan and coordinate in an esports setting. Learning how to work with multiple St. Mary's teams – I'm scheduling and juggling Overwatch and Valorant things at the same time."
Q: Where there any challenging moments?
D: "A lot of teams had really high ranked and highly skilled players, so knowing we're not at the same skill level as some of these programs and having to play against them – it was challenging. But it was good because it showed us where we can be with a solid recruiting foundation."
Q: Where there any rewarding moments?
D: "Getting a 3K on some immortals. Every single round that we took off a bigger team, meant that we were putting up a fight against some of the most highly skilled teams in the region and in the nation."
Q: How will this experience affect you going forward on the Overwatch team?
D: "I think coming into every match with a plan, setting more times for practices and scrimmages. Having a better sense for preparing for a match. We can out-prepare and out-scout our opponents to gain an advantage, even if we don't have the higher skill on paper."
Although Valorant won't be added to the esports program as a team this year, expect Valorant game nights and community events throughout the summers and fall semester. The Val Pals show-case team concluded their first and final split 0-3 but the cross-team cooperation will continue in the future.
Val Pals Split 1 Results
Week 1 | 0-2 Defeat vs University of South Florida, Team Gold
Week 2 | 0-2 Defeat vs University of Houston, Premier Team
Week 3 | 0-2 Defeat vs Texas A&M University, Team White
Val Pal Roster
Douglas Bernie, Overwatch
Sebastian Aguilar, Fortnite
Peter Alva, Rainbow 6 Siege
Jake Villegas, Rainbow 6 Siege
Arturo Gaona, Rainbow 6 Siege
Felix Jaime, Overwatch
Raul Hernandez, Overwatch
Michaelangelo Betancourt, Overwatch
Marcus Garcia, Overwatch
