The Fiery Beast of Esports Journalism

Taking the first steps into the world of journalism for me was more like a giant leap. I got sucked into the whirlpool that is esports and there’s only one way out. You get spat out the other side, either for better or for worse.

As I write this I am on my way home from my first ever international press tour. At the Overwatch World Cup Bangkok Qualifier I witnessed Team Australia triumph over some of the world’s best teams to qualify for BlizzCon later this year.

For those unfamiliar to Overwatch, it’s a six-versus-six first person shooter set in an alternate Earth 50-odd years in the future. The lore of the game is deep enough to rival the Lord of the Rings trilogy, but the core concept of playing the game is getting an objective and completing it faster than the other team.

While I have done events in Australia before, it was nothing like this. I’ve only been doing blogging for two years, and esports journalism specifically for three months. Going from the comfort of my desk in Perth to a place over 5000km away to write about my passion was equal parts daunting and exhilarating.

My role over in Thailand was to write articles for a couple of Australian publications. Working as a freelancer, I’m primarily my own boss so I can dictate who I interview, but there’s also pieces I must do. Daily recaps and interviews with Australian players were all part of the gig.

But it also gave me the opportunity to explore what it truly means to be an esports journalist. You realise that the big names you interview are just as nervous as you. I was talking to players like hometown hero Mickie, the ever smiling Dallas Fuel off-tank, and even behind the smile he is still nervous every time.

I also got to witness one of the greatest moments in Australian Overwatch history when we qualified. We needed to take one map off the undefeated China in our final match. We didn’t need to beat them, but a poor showing against Denmark meant we needed to at least win one.

After failing the first two attempts we cracked them on map three to punch the ticket to Anaheim in. As a fan, you best bet I was in front row going off my head. As a journalist, the story was writing itself in front of me.

The biggest lesson I learnt was from Amelia Savery, a staff writer for Blizzard who worked tirelessly to try and kick start the Australian esports scene. She said “people don’t want to read about what happened, they want to hear the emotion behind it.”

My best piece wasn’t about how Australia played, but it was about sitting with the 20-odd Australian diehards and the experience of winning that map against China. Seeing the reactions of the players parents, so emotionally invested in a game they hardly understand but support so deeply. It was unforgettable.

This opportunity all started from me taking a leap. I was trying to go pro in League of Legends for 12 months and it wasn’t working out. I am studying journalism, and I had done some blog writing in the past on my other passion, cycling, so I thought I’d branch out.

I was approached by Snowball Esports to join their community panel for League of Legends at the end of May. I was happy with this to start, but I saw that no one was covering Contenders Australia, Australia’s premier Overwatch tournament.

I knew little about Overwatch when I started three months ago. I knew a few players in Contenders because I went to high school with them. I didn’t really enjoy playing the game because I sucked, but I watched it on occasion. Once I started writing about it, I spent countless hours watching old games and seeing dynasties and rivalries being built.

My first article was a total mess. I look back on it and laugh — if I received that now I would reject it. However, it was all part of the ‘grind’, as us gamers affectionately call it. Every article would require less editing than the last and I felt more in control of what I was writing.

I’m hyper critical of what I publish, but at the end of the day you’ve also got to step back and look at the bigger picture. Before Bangkok, I had contributed to 28 pieces for three different organisations in 72 days since my first piece. After, that number is now 34 in some 80-odd days.

Nothing in life is meant to be easy. I do this on the side: studying full time, working 30 hours a week as a barista and then I write every night. It might only be a plan, it might be doing an interview with a player, it might be knocking out a full article — but what matters is I do something.

From being a lowly community panelist, I’m now the Overwatch Content Lead for Snowball and I get paid doing what I love — writing about Australian esports and telling their often unheard stories. It doesn’t pay a lot, but it’s a start.

I will be making my way to BlizzCon in November later this year in LA as part of the Australian media pack. While I’m extremely daunted by the task, to see the Aussies on stage battling out against the top 8 Overwatch nations will be inspiring enough for me to write my best pieces yet.

If I had one piece of advice for anyone who wants to go down this line — just start. Put your name out there. Publish a few pieces on WordPress, on Medium, even in METIOR. Send it around to other writers — they’ll send you honest, helpful feedback and we always love seeing new people in the scene.

Write about anything, but realise that you are going to have to do it for free, or a nominal amount of money, for a long time. The grind will be worth it, you have just got to take the first steps.

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