Putovanje Trevora 'Quickshot' Henrija u Esportu

I'm Kelsey MZ and you're watching thoren's Youtube channel where no sandbagging goes unscrutinized right I'm here for another episode of Reflections and my guest is going to be Trevor quickshot Henry who obviously you might know as one to upon a time maybe the face of the LEC or european League of Legends but the players I want to start understandably quick shot is the beginning we're just going to start at the beginning now I've often seen actually in many interviews amas even he actually did a pretty good Riot profile on you many years ago they often tell the story of like where you come from but there's actually a detail I saw in the riot one I never normally saw the other ones normally The Story Goes I come from South Africa I was playing Cod blah y y somehow I'm playing league in Europe but but you told the interesting thing there which is because your dad you also so you were in South Africa then you're in Northern Ireland like me if you're going to pick someone to start an a sport I thought I had a pretty bad in northeast of England M but there's nothing like if people don't know there's not even any sort of like the internet's not very good in these countries at the time you were there and there's no scene there's no like Esports tournaments or I I don't even know if there'd be L cafees here what was it like in that sense what was the what was becoming a gamber in this world like I mean honestly I had no FR of reference so it was just tiny um first of all it's a [ __ ] pleasure to chat um I took a I took a bit of a year to chill and it's actually pretty interesting to me that you've asked this question now and not literally 6 months or 12 months ago because um after leaving right and taking some time off I did a lot of therapy last year dun okay and I've I've reflected a lot so there's there's two two big threads the first one is my dad Northern Irish my mother Welsh they met in ptor in South Africa which is the capital okay if people don't know there are actually a lot of people not just from England who were in South Africa right that's where the Heritage made Lo exactly because look uh under the aparty government the British government who they were they've pushed the Dutch colonizers out they paid laborers to go over this oh wow right so I actually have an Irish passport I have a South African passport and I have a British passport and that's because of Northern island island you'll know some of the politics there and whatnot and making reparations for the troubles but um uh when I reflect a little bit on it growing up in South Africa was [ __ ] it's just end of story like I I don't know how many people you know who've been mugged have had their house I've had their car broken um hijacked and broken into and that's happened multiple times my entire family it's just one of the [ __ ] things about living in South Africa and I never really never really acknowledged it never really addressed it and never really understood kind of just how it kind of [ __ ] you up a little bit you know right um and it's one of the things that's like quite heavy so we'll get that out of the way because that's definitely something that uh I'm starting to unpack but what I will say is um I got into gaming at like 12 or 13 and one of the things I've always loved about how you brand yourself and how you talk about yourself online Duncan is just like the historian of orts yeah and you've got a phenomenal a much better memory a much better recall than I do but I've been watching since 99 like I I had the opportunity to meet Jason Lake from complexity recently and I was watching him when his Counter-Strike team was flying to China in the early 2000s like those those are are show matches and events that there's not many people in the industry that are even aware like I I grew up got my first PC at 12 13 so that's 99 2000 started playing um a less than legal version of Warcraft 3 online because there was no local server so you had to crack it there was a cracked hosted server playing Warcraft 3 and and uh got into Battlefield 2 got into Call of Duty 4 and if you want to dive deeper we will but then from there that those scenes introduced me to orts and I watched everything like uh eswc wcg CPL CGS OG like these are all tournament names that will immediately be recognizable to like yourself right but and there wasn't a tournament every month back then mate it was a big deal when the tournament happened yeah a lot of us watch games yeah of course huge huge huge and like you know I mean um I presume you'll remember CPL Fatality and the the painkiller circuit and regardless how you feel about that circuit and him because it was a it was a [ __ ] show but um I actually had the the pleasure of playing against fatality in a 1 V one at one of the biggest lands in South Africa I watched him R land for quick fall right yeah I remember yes correct correct so this this was he was doing a tour with um creative they just released a gaming mouse exactly um and I watched all the show matches on the Friday all the show matches on the Saturday and then I was on the Sunday one I made the mistake of killing him with the ra uh rail the rail gun equivalent it was a state gun painkiller all I did was study his pathing literally straight up right and effectively I just spawn camped I spawned I made a I guess I managed to get the one shot and it was the worst mistake I could have ever done because he made me kill myself twice so I was the only end the weekend with a negative one score line even though you probably won the few people to kill him exactly exct but it's like that that's kind of like the the quick overview of what it's like but like you know in terms of the scene um it's tiny Call of Duty 4 was one of the biggest games you had dedicated servers and I'm talking about 30 to 50 competitive teams over a 12mon circuit and that lasted for about four years and about the same for like Counterstrike source source was really really big in South Africa at the time um it's really really small man it's just small scene small community so everybody knows everybody there's some of the guys I played against that I I still talk to to this day even though like every major franchise people from the old school are always going to think the first game's the best I have heard all the same that people who played Cod 4 think that was like a Zenith point of the series and actually after that it became iterative and it was a game of year not a lot of people think this herea like the sort of cod for Pro Mod these were the glory de people think was it was it a good game was it one of your favorites I mean it was it also was the game I was probably the best at so I got a I've got a warped perspective on it and also I'm not going to be one of these Cod for Die Hard um Defenders we tried to make it [ __ ] Counter-Strike but fast right I'm not being funny but like if you actually go look at proom mod and you break it down more than half of the guns were limited more than half of the um like SES were changed and it's just if quake and Counter Strike could have a baby it was Call of Duty for so it scratched an itch that was a little bit different I still I still don't think that there's been a T shooter the reason you say quick by the way is cuz this actually had like movement was a big part of that game actually maybe people AR aware of that right huge huge huge I mean look I also like I I grew up on Quake 3 cpma and Call of Duty 4 those were my two games so I was more of a twitch shooter I really like the duel in 1V ons um I really liked uh you know timing and arm and stuff like that in Call of Duty you had your slide mechanics you had your movement you you literally had to do a version of strafe jumping like you would get in in Quake 3 but it wasn't the same degree you know what what League of Legends is to DotA Call of Duty is to Quake yeah not bad so it's just a kind of simplification that speeds it up but then of course promod is what made it big uh it also was the last big Call of Duty on PC I think a lot of the die hards as well once once it got big on console and once you know controller took over from keyboard and mouse I think just to be fair I think some of the beauty and some of the flare and the the flick shots and the aim um just got killed by imist an interesting detail I saw in the riot profile about you is actually this is a classic gamer sort of um theme you could say which I'll give you an example cuz I came from Quake actually even though I played Counter Strike from beta one the story is I only ever played it CU when I went to LS and you would have General casuals come who played a little bit of quick they get bored of getting owned by you after like two days M so they just go like can we play something else so I have a chance so what we would do is play every mod that was out there cuz that way we're all starting fresh look in two days I'm still going to be better them but for the first day the [ __ ] Counter Strike you know the guns are and I used to think this is [ __ ] [ __ ] and then the J goes and then 25 years later here I am right I saw that you actually did this people are going to think you must be the biggest fan ever of League maybe you're a daughter get you said that when your brother introduce you to this game you're like this sounds crap basically like what is this and then obviously the joke is here you are today what was that what was the start of League like I mean super simple League of Legends was my easy game that I used when I gave up on competitive like um when I so when I stopped playing competitively I I quick timeline here so I got in invited to join a gaming clan in South Africa called big fat bastards and the whole joke was we get pissed we play tournaments hung over and it's about socializing and being just a little bit sweaty not so sweaty that it ruins the drinking but just sweaty enough that semi-finals is the goal and I ran that Clan from 16 years old till 22 um I left South Africa and when I left and I left the clan and I left the gaming side behind me um I also had grown this this clan to be multiple games we had Battlefield 2 Battlefield 2142 Call of Duty 4 we tried Counter Strike and then immediately went this shit's too hard gave up and just went straight back to Call of Duty I had a second Call of Duty team um my brother was like okay he stopped playing he said try this thing out I literally laughed at it I said any game that's called LS got to be [ __ ] um but when I left South Africa in 2010 which is now I'm 22 tur 23 um I started looking for work I got a job in Berlin the game had just dropped 2010 I just started playing 2011 and that was the time that I actually moved to Berlin um I moved to Berlin on a a shitty Community manager and events coordinator job for an online browser company browser game company called just a game and they ran a browser based um military Sim that was civilization meets common conquer okay and it was [ __ ] it sucked like if there wer whales in the game I wouldn't have had a job but during that time frame that's when I started playing League of Legends and then I got really into it and I got really hooked and I couldn't put the game down I'd never played a mooba um all I'd ever known as FS if it wasn't FPS I didn't play it seriously like that was nothing else kept my attention um and that was the first time that I really started to SN my my teeth into it and really dive into the game I I have this vivid memory vivid memory of meeting fantasy who was a dignitas Call of Duty player at antop sports festival actually Richard L was at that event it was the first time I met him as well and I saw him playing an early beta or Alpha of of League of Legends and I chewed him out and I was like what the [ __ ] are you doing how are you playing this game why are you not playing Call of Duty sure and then yeah f for he's actually been in my DMs to be like huh yeah oh right he got you back right okay exactly exactly okay by the way along those lines two things one similar by the way Lads of people have this story Richard Lewis has a great story when de man was at a land might be like an i series or something D Man rocked up like the free League of Legends shirt Richard Lewis was like what you doing play that game that'll never take off another one listen he tells that story himself it's all those classic stories isn't it right here's the question for you then which is another thing I've always found interesting is a lot of people don't know until a game becomes huge and by the way Esports was so Niche back then even I I have to explain to people even if you play Counter Strike or Quake back in the day you might never have even seen a match you might not even know what CPL was you might you might vaguely know there's lands in your area and someone's better than you or you can play One V one so I always tell people actually everyone who was into orts has has something a little bit different like what would what made you want to know like for example who the best teams are or who's good or if there's an orts side to League of Legends I mean the thing is um it's actually the Counter-Strike scene and the Starcraft scene that got that in that that imbued that into me so when when I got invited to play Battlefield 2 um there there may be a chance that some of these guys will watch this but uh chaos ad pumpkin head chuckar u2m um fat Fatso Raz dingbat these are the nicknames of the middle-aged men that invited me into their squad in Battlefield 2 when I was 14 or 15 years old and went listen mate you're pretty [ __ ] good with this 236 do you want to join that introduced me to like competitive Battlefield 2 and then my brain just went what is this so this is you know early 2000s right um early to mid 2000s by this point counter- strike in terms of International Tournament and Starcraft are kind of established if you know where to look and once I started to learn specifically about the Counter-Strike circuit I think back then it was eswc and wcg I think that was the time frame for them um that introduced me to more games and then that when Call of Duty came out I was like okay cool now I I know what to learn I start to look for like the tech 9 forums um I start to seek out that information and it's actually where I started to watch like Joe Miller and d man um one of my favorite commentators when I was growing up was toss spots uh he didn't really do a huge number of events but he just had he could do any game couldn't he he could just do any one of the most unique voices seriously and and also I didn't realize in so many years later but I ended up accidentally modeling some of my energy off the tosspot because I think tosspot was uh overwhelmingly positive a lot of the time you know um so I look I I sort out all this information I sort out all of these these games so by time 2010 2011 drops um frankly I am a pro at knowing where the Esports scenes are which tournaments are good like when the cyberathlete professional league with [ __ ] ass driller or whatever the goddamn name was of the CEO the games that they put in there when I think it was CGS changed the format for Counter Strike and they changed it you know from m115 I I could tell as a mid 20 something year old with no orts like professional experience that those were bad decisions right when I see painkiller going into a circuit instead of Quake my brain tells me okay money's been used for this the format's not the same this is a publisher thing it's not really it doesn't have the competitive right so League of Legends comes out and I don't I don't look at it as anything than it's just the game that I'm playing and I'm having fun with it and I've got a a pretty strong case of ADHD and an unhealthy competitive spirit so throughout all of 2011 all I do is work for eight hours in the office and then play league for six to8 hours at night every day I was single I just moved to Berlin it's pretty [ __ ] weather most of the time I didn't know the city all I did is play the game towards the end of the year what actually got me into league and then got me into this next like you know phase of of my life was that um I got chewed out by my boss I've told the story a couple times in interviews but my boss yelled at me I on my second monitor I always had a League of Legends tournament on in 2011 there was a lot there was online tournaments uh teams were organizing stuff like it was kind of the let's say the counter- strike era 2013 2011 and 2012 of independent tournaments all around the world different hosts different different organizers um and when my boss chewed me out and another lady came over to me at lunch and said so how much League of Elections do you know and I was like well an unhealthy amount she say my boyfriend happens to run a gaming company here in Berlin would you mind talking to because he wants to get involved in League of Legends this is late 2011 as it turns out this was the girlfriend of the CEO of freaks for you gaming who at the time were running join DOTA I think it was join DOTA Toby on thing which was one of the biggest at the time this is pre pre- drama pre yeah um and he and I got chatting and he was kind of the guy that was like hey Trevor you talk a lot of [ __ ] um have you considered commentary and then 2012 was when I started my move towards let's say professional league but 2011 it was just there was nothing else it was it was my it was my crack shall you say uh that I couldn't get enough League you've told along the lines of that where there's like happen stance and you just have to sort of grab the opportunity when it comes whether you know what it means you've also told the story that basically if it wasn't for like meeting day man and him just for real just having like sort of you could take this guy I'm busy I have to do another event if this doesn't happen like you wouldn't be S here right now right Thoren it's actually it's even better than not just meeting him right I I'd not met him um in 2012 um you've set me up very well I appreciate that in 2012 um I started working for freaks for you I was doing some Community work and basically I was their their pa for sponsorships and Partnerships I joined them as my my nine to5 was liasing with the other brands that they were working with at the time it included like Zotac Razer MSI and any of their gaming team deliverables that need to be checked um any of the applications that need to be F like I was the person that processed that then from 6:00 until 9: I would be allowed to use their Studios and Stream So every Tuesday Thursday and Sunday I got on air and every Tuesday Thursday and Sunday I advertised I knew nobody was going to know my name I knew nobody was going to recognize my nickname nobody knew who the the [ __ ] I was so all I did is hey every Tuesday Thursday and Sunday it's that South African guy that South African guy that South African guy I've got a different voice I've got a different accent I've got a country that a lot of people don't know about and I wore a Star Wars t-shirt every single day it got noticed it got noticed to the point that after a couple of months I did not wear a Star Wars t-shirt on broadcast and um somebody said that South African guy is not wearing a Star Wars t-shirt this is what A League of Legends subreddit thread was back in 2012 right but importantly um those were the events that I was uh commentating and I got one very very big break is that demman and Panky at the time were unable to do a 4pl online qualifier and whatever things I think they had an IU or something to go to like they had another event and they said to Dem man who can you recommend he said well listen that's South African guy is doing some pretty good [ __ ] and he's been consistent go check him out I didn't know oh why you didn't know him that demon had sent him my way until months later and it didn't take that long because my my come up was pretty pretty meteoric I was in the right place at the right time I had a unique selling point in a couple of different ways and I did my first ever go for LOL broadcast around March of 2012 I got this 4pl opportunity and the reason that it the reason I got so lucky is Gambit got eliminated in the semi-finals where Diamond procs was running like a jungle Shiana for like the first [ __ ] time ever right and they lost the game and it was huge it was a number one oh so that made it like the top thread classic right yes right so I just got lucky that like a pre-tournament favor got knocked out in the semi-finals in a gig that happened to get offered to me that then led to me being asked to shoutcast the MLG summer arena in a f hell okay yes how' you go that's Z to 60 in it what the [ __ ] right so that jump to MLG summer arena in August that then got me dream hack in November uh dream hack winter with myself and Panky commentating Fanatic in 20 2012 you know a year and a half after they'd won their [ __ ] Championship uh and I joined riot in January so it was literally nine months from my very first broadcast to the next so on one hand it was literally The Perfect Storm of circumstances on the other hand I was incredibly deliberate I was incredibly specific I knew that if I was broadcasting hey I stepped on people's toes Dean and Joe were the shitness back then they didn't use a single spell name it's not [ __ ] it's not rocket science I literally just studied the game so that I could do something nobody else did it got me noticed and then like they got called out for it and and I was like hey if this this [ __ ] random South African can do this on Thursdays for go why can't the pros um I'm I'm incredibly proud of that year but it also something was like I was lucky and I had the right skills and I was in the right headset so kind of it all came together quite magically when you say that about your accent this is something I actually want to make a point cuz I'm sure a lot of people who are like WN to be commentators broadcast watch interviews like this and they think oh maybe I'll pick up a thing or two and I have to say one of the biggest sort of misunderstandings of the industry I found from newer people is they always think if they don't have like a perfect accent like American accent receipt they think it's going to not work I've even believe it or not I I won't go into what she said but I want to have had a conversation like this with law where all I can tell you is early on she was think like oh they're going to think I took likees and what and I was telling a no you have to understand once they love you that's going to make you unique there's not going to be anyone with that accent like no no one else is even talking to just French they do the French broadcast so I feel like isn't it iconic the quick shot voice and accent we live in [ __ ] Europe we live in Europe accents are [ __ ] real okay like I I um I there is an argument to be made that in the annals of the best commentated Duos for League of Legends quick shot and deficio will be in the top five sure I think that is that is fair to say a South African and a Dane right and I've got a [ __ ] weak soft South African accent i' I've lost a lot of the nuan I've got it's more it's closer to probably British I even have some American in there but like just if you stop and you think about that for a second if if the accent was the most important then that's a pretty interesting one and you either are polarized right I I used it to my advantage because I do especially in 2012 2013 um when at least was popular cocoon yeah there are some words that do sound funny right um I I got I'm not going to say flame that's a bit childish but like there was some hater groups that would try to say let's do quick shot Bingo let's make fun of him and stuff I ended up claiming some of that [ __ ] and turning it around uh use what you have and I think also it's important to be comfortable with your voice so I've had that same conversation with law I've had that same conversation with a lot of a lot of on air Talent um in EU and specifically with Martin specifically with the ficio that man himself will tell you that he speaks with a potato in his mouth but godamn the stuff that comes out past that potato is so much more important than the potato so you know it's about the content it's about knowing what you're saying knowing what you're doing and also if you if you have something use it if you have a French accent make sure you use it connect it to something you know I I I think it's fair to say a lot of people know I'm South African not many people will know my parents are British no no that's my design so since you said you got the gig at MLG summer Arena if people don't know one that was in like the actual MLG offices in New York that's ridiculous already to go there and then two this is actually people don't know piece of trivia the first tournament where Koreans went to the west and clapped everyone that was theu players one so give me some thoughts on this experience was supposed to be a while going to New York oh my god um I never normally tell this side like in adverts or adverts [ __ ] sakes in interviews but um I was supposed to be flying out on the Thursday we did rehearsals Friday and then the show was like Saturday Sunday if I recall but um or might have been fly Wednesday rehearsals Thursday show Friday that was what it was my a baggage handler actually hit the engine on the way out from Berlin my flight got canceled to the next day and when I landed I ended up missing all of rehearsal and with the time zone difference I had to go straight to Studio yes like for the very first time I landed had never traveled internationally to the US before um I was commentating with Dem man for the first time ever and bearing in mind that for me at this time Dem man was the voice of Call of Duty 4 like yeah a lot of people will know him for League I think it meant more the recognition he had in Call of Duty because of the size of the the the how much smaller how much more intimate everything was and I probably watched every single game he commentated also um Monty was working that event uh uh I'm trying to remember what's the translator from lck he was a fan anyways there's there's a whole number of people and things that happened at that event oh it was chra chra yes chobra the one with the Dr Pepper ridiculous one in it yeah um CH chobra was camping outside um trying to enter Dr Peppa tournament we had to walk past him awkwardly like we were the show and he was just this weird fan and they ended up doing translating and then literally ended up like growing being a huge professional but um it it was terrifying I think when I work the event um something I'm very fortunate for and very happy about is I have mainstream uh traditional business experience because straight out of University um I got a job an 18-month contract at a national retailer for PC part like if you're in the UK think PC World if you're in Europe think Satur and a media Mark I went straight to the head office and I launched a gaming brand focused on selling you know bespoke graphics cards gaming spec CPUs CU these were Moms and Pops office stores um I had business experience I grew up in a household with parents that way so those skills are partially and probably a large part of why I was able to transition like my love orts and my ability to talk [ __ ] into actual because I very clearly remember Chris Pucket I will owe a debt of service to for a very long time he took a gamble on me he was the guy that reached out on behalf of MLG he was that said look I've seen 4pl I've seen the streams that you're doing we need a host I don't know how many names they went down I don't know where I was on the on the call sheet list and I don't give a [ __ ] but I know that Chris was the guy that called me and said look we want you to come out we want you to work with d man we want you to work with um Optimus Tom Monty's going to be there as well and it's going to be a small Tight Crew it's going to be pretty tight show um what do you think uh getting to just work side by side with some of the people that would go on to make fantastic careers for the entire time Monty my favorite interview of Monty ever happened from that event the one that doesn't exist on the internet he's very he so traumatized he hates he hates bringing up daus's pillow and I love love love to think back to it um but it was it was great uh you know I got to see isbi Blaze I got to see curse at the time was the first time I got to meet I dominate as well you know got to interact with some of the guys and TSM of course they were there too um just fantastic uh but also really really good because my very first big giant event was this very small very bespoke four team thing so I got to learn so many important skills that when I would continue on and eventually get to Riot um I I wasn't overwhelmed I wasn't I I wasn't the new kid on the Block you know I was like I've done MLG I proved it I did this [ __ ] in six months from my first broadcast like I'm [ __ ] here to do something being as Monty now has his own sort of like legit States as an elder Statesman in the industry now by the way he's always dreamed this now he's in the Ivory Tower like the academic he thinks of himself as you know what people won't know is this quick shot I obviously I met Monty the year after this I remember Monty Christa who was quite fresh faed to a sports and was coming out like hey I did some replays for Warcraft the the [ __ ] with what you talking about and I remember when he had the shaved head and he was just out of doing all the law stuff who was young Monty cuz he's quite different right honestly H oh this is this is this is a tough one because I think Monty and I at MLG I think we came in with the same energy right I think we came in as very determined very motivated but also very self assured individuals okay in a space where I think it is fair to say a lot of our peers a lot of other professionals a lot of the gamers the players themselves lack some level of social skills lack some levels of professional awareness lack business Acumen um there's a general lack of inexperience right because it is a young industry even even today 20 years on it's just kids replacing kids so I very clearly remember standing in a room speaking to Christopher not speaking to Christopher and me speaking to an adult oh okay and I I so and what I mean by that is I could also see behind his eyes he was driven when the producer said to him we want you to this dyus interview he so so badly did not want to do it but understood in this show in this event with my current status like I've got to do this thing and he made the best of it that he could right but there's that that look in your eye that look of like one day I'm going to be ble to say [ __ ] you I'm not doing this um but I I have never ever ever had anything but respect for back then Christopher and now Monte Christo is he's grown up because I think he's always been living in his Ivory Tower now he's just built it around him right if you know right you know um and I I also I I would feel confident in saying that from that time onwards as well it's like you can just see you can almost just see who's going to who's going to be somewhere in five years who's going to who's going to do something with their time this the exact same reason that you we gave chabra a shot at translating on a live show who was literally just effectively stalking like honestly he camped outside the office but the way he engaged the way he chatted it's that same kind of thing where it's like there was a there was a hunger there was a fire there was a professionalism and there was a there was a youthful energy that was like I'm going to I'm going to get to a point one day where you can't make me into your pillow right since you referenced two of the first events you got was MLG summer Arena and dream hack winter over in right little piece of trivia for everyone because it's going to be another insane surreal connection so the team that no one remembers at MLG summer featured Reckless then dream hack winter was reckless's first tournament in fanatic so correct Reckless essentially by the way is like the main character of I mean maybe caps out but time was the main character of League of Legends for many years he was the face of the league so it's kind of wild you'd even have that connection early on and you see his growth right it really was and I didn't understand it I didn't appreciate it either right League of Legends for me was my fun game right it was my social game and I'm [ __ ] at this game like seriously I I've never gone above gold one I've never tried much harder I actually think there's something about people's brains mate because what's weird is I W brag like I never say I was Pro in CS but I was pretty good like I could play pugs with pros and I've hang I've never ever been able to play a league I just I'm just [ __ ] I just play the one I think this I think people's brains are for different games you know what I me% agree 100% I I have handai coordination I have reaction speed I understand angles I understand Quake like if I need to do the time like timing on my ammo armor and health and I have to keep my momentum like there's a there's a rhythm to it I I yeah so I suck at league so when I got to see the bacon lovers are crazy cool team black at MLG um I can't remember who was invited that that couldn't make it but basically they had to do a mix team because again it was a bit of a Mickey Mouse tournament so you know mix team gets there um watching for like I didn't appreciate at the time just how good he was and what what it was going to mean for the scene right I think I was still quite ignorant I was still quite dumb um and I wasn't I wasn't yet fully absorbed I mean I've been commentating for four to five months by time I got to meet him and by that point I don't think the um IPL 5 had happened I think that was the end of the end of the year yeah very end it was end of the year and that was where I knew it right cuz I got to see him and then IPL 5 happens and then I go [ __ ] I wish I'd spent more time talking to it right so then then that kind of realization sinks in but take my word for it I learned from that mistake Because by the end of 2012 um something that I've never said publicly and never shared um throughout the course of 2012 I was obviously doing this broadcast for freaks for you but I wanted to be a full-time broadcaster I wasn't wasn't getting paid for any of these things this was all my own you know free time um I wanted to try and make a thing of it so I was speaking to Owned own 3D the broadcasting platform I was speaking to eclipsa I was speaking to fanatic and actually it was because of IPL and because of dream hack I was actually speak to fanatic management about maybe being in-house streamer in-house commentator for them because at that time there was still the possibility that the League of Legends ecosystem was going to be run by Third parties that it was going to be tournaments that it was going to be an open market open field um ultimately W came in and said [ __ ] you we're going to run ECS and then I was very fortunate to be able to get an interview and actually land the job there but uh yeah I was looking at these other augs these other avenues where I could have done broadcast you've told the story many times you referenced it here of the gimmick was you said the spell names now the joke is quick shot I won't lie to you mate I don't give I'm the guy who I don't care about the law in any game like don't tell me about noxia the the joke is even if you say the spell name I do think hate the Que I'm just that type of game of me I'm really old school in that sense so I will say I was actually surprised look I'll give you another great take you want like a Richard Lewis to D Man level one when they brought out skins in CS goo I was like what a [ __ ] way who would put a skin on buy the [ __ ] you idiot you just play with it doesn't even change the gun it's cosmetic that'll never take off joke being it made the game 100 times bigger and then I became a [ __ ] broadcast T because of the skin s you can some some of us don't see certain things that come other eyes and so when you did the spell name thing I actually remember thinking like is anyone going to Vibe with this like who knows all this spelles like it's actually it can sometimes be more confusing like is that the ult that is but here's the thing first of all it did instantly make you in a way iconic no one else did it and actually here's the thing I know they admit it but I can tell you I noticed immediately though I used to listen to John de man do leak I noticed immediately all of a sudden it wasn't that Misfortune did the ult it was like oh they did the bullet time the curse of the S all of a sudden they all had to do it every bloody person that's pretty cool to have that sort of like even though you just gambled on it it paid off mate listen it was deliberate it was deliberate I I needed to find something that stood out I didn't think in 2012 I didn't think that just my accent was enough but also I I'm not [ __ ] stupid Thoren and and I've said this and i' I've admitted this to so many when I started at riot in 2013 and 2014 I had to do color commentary and I use those air quotes with bold and underlined right um I applied I told them needed you play byplay I'm a play byplay commentator I'm a host I'm a lead voice I'm the energy guy but they had demon and Joe it was never going to happen now I knew looking ahead I knew looking at the industry I'm not smart enough to compete with the likes of jat the likes of of um uh at the time even Jason Kaplan was was on the the analyst circuit and the pro players that were sure right and I'm definitely not good enough to understand this game so how can I stand out what can I do differently so I thought about my my tone I thought about my energy the spell names it's more than just a gimmick in my head you can make a moment more powerful because those words are just better right every single [ __ ] game has an ALT every single game he hits the AL if you're a play-by-play guy and you want to get energy you don't even stand out between different games by doing that this is the one thing that was unique so yes it was 100% gimmicky but also was Within intent and and if you especially back then in 2012 2013 2014 um Leandra Frozen tomb Jesus Christ I scream another one another great South African tomb I love it see mean right yeah I I also then looked I looked into the spell names and I'm like great what are the the ones that are popular where where will I make sure I overemphasize it I don't give a [ __ ] if 10 to 20 30% of the audience hates my accent and they [ __ ] know who I am and and that was one of the main goals you know but um it's it's something I will wear as a badge of honor for my entire professional career that I individually was the uh Catalyst for change I believe it would have happened at some point personally I'm just glad that I was the first one to really get the ball rolling and and yeah I think it is fair to say that I had a pretty significant impact on that that change in League of Legends commentary one thing you nailed there is there are a certain sort of almost type of person people that are in uh broadcast work who have as you say that like self assuredness or the idea that like I'm going to get there even if I'm not there yet and I'll will say that's another thing by the way probably shock people is if they only knew I mean pretty I believe even on a social media if you ever watch Instagram I believe shocks all talks all the time about have an imposter syndrome sometimes when she goes to CS event she gets it all over again like [ __ ] is this my game am I just here because I'm big in League all a lot of people some of the best talent ever have this imposter syndrome but I have to say quick shot I actually Vibe with you mate because I've never had it I know that's going hilarious cuz I built it into my Persona that I'm supposedly arrogant that's actually not the cas St what I mean is when I first got a gig I was just a journalist in Count Strike and one time a guy dropped out BSL who was going to do an IM and it just happened I was going to the event anyway and kmak was just like could you just like fill in for this event and maybe do some games and I was like yeah yeah but I was thinking mate put me in there with [ __ ] Jo Miller and too good I'll tear the [ __ ] up we talk about and people would think look I was right by the way here's what's crazy get quick I wasn't totally wrong I did show a bit of myself but actually wasn't as good as I thought it was look I do nothing about broadcast I don't know Tech pauses I'm probably doing [ __ ] like [ __ ] talking over him and he's just letting me because I I'm standing in or whatever but in a weird [ __ ] way I sort of feel like it's why I understand why young players have to be cocky in away in a [ __ ] up way I wouldn't have done it if I hadn't have thought that quick really if I have thought like I and that's Jo Miller I don't think you never never heard of me mate you know what I mean no and and the thing is I I but I've done that my entire life right I I know what I'm good at I know where my limits are right and I try my best to curate scar iOS whether I was competing like when I was playing Battlefield 2 I had some of the best [ __ ] game in South African Battlefield 2 because I was playing against middle-aged men so I would play all of The Upfront [ __ ] infantry classes and I could outshoot anybody cuz I was literally a third of their age when I moved to Call of Duty and all of a sudden there was younger kids that had better aim than me I realized I could swap to the AK I could call and I could get into the heads of people right so I played to my strengths I've always known I would be good as a speaker I have felt like I'm a good conversational salesperson I I feel like I can get people to listen to me but I also feel like I can get under people skin and crucially I know how or why I'm doing it right so I've always known I was going to be belong on broadcast but I also know I'm thick as [ __ ] in some areas and there are some areas that I'm just stronger than others so that was a big big big part of my focus like from joining and from moving forward it's like okay Riot to put me in this colorcast position for 2013 to 2014 I know I'm not going to get the fans on my side I know I'm not going to do anything to like I was [ __ ] doing color commentary in Europe while Kobe and jat were doing color commentary in Na and I'm sorry but like we we're not playing the same game yes sure so what I knew was in order for me not only to keep my job um I also need to make sure that I uh can get into the position that I need to which finally happened in 2015 more importantly I need to be able to be a value ad more valuable behind the scenes and in some weird ways when I you know was talking uh to my wife and I was thinking about prep for this this specific conversation I look back at those two years I'm like hey actually being in that position where I was a joke my content was not great I was I was the jester you know while other people doing analysis I was very fortunate that the game and the scene everything was so much smaller because I wouldn't have got away with that nowaday I wouldn't have got away 5 years ago but what it did what I did do do and I invested so much of my time and my growth was learning the company learning the intricacies of broadcast learning the craft by literally watching studying I was you know full-time I got to travel to all over the world in 2013 and 14 I got to work with so many people who were former pros and um see different playby plays and um there was a lot of development so I also got this free pass of two years of broadcast experience where all of my bosses all of my manages [ __ ] all of the community were like this guy's pretty [ __ ] but you know what he's kind of nice and and it's okay so that by 2015 when I finally got to do the thing that I'm good at well I've had one of the greatest Head Starts you could possibly have um and it was then like an underdog to hero story you know so I I I I got got quite lucky when I think about it because again I don't think I would have been been on broadcast for 6 months with that level if it was happening now the first game I ever did as a commentator in Counter Strike was with Joe millerz the aformentioned story and I have to say I was like you quick shot as a journalist I was watching all the tournaments I watched the painkiller World Tour Etc which if people don't know is where Joe Miller became Joe Miller like because he was basically some like I think it was like 16 or something mad he was just like some Prodigy he was like some fake of that guy that you see him immediately you're like holy sh he's going to be it M so when I did my first game but the the key thing I here's a little tip for you as well if you get in the industry what I did is I didn't go up like oh my God it's Sean Miller oh [ __ ] I hope I'm going to do a good job what I did is I went and talk to him and I was like I heard that [ __ ] like accent and I was like it's like some [ __ ] kid from Sheffield mate like one of the [ __ ] Arctic Monkeys or something I was like ah this is okay we're going to be okay what's it like though because as you say even in League they were already the top ones they were like the oses and tasteless but if you know past games Joe Miller and day man are like they're on another Str that's like M Olympus [ __ ] what like to work with these guys [ __ ] insane I I mean I I'm the same as you entirely in that I never um I've never treated anybody that I've met in the industry as some sort of Superstar crazy like I I don't Fanboy I pay respects where respects are due right um getright is a player that I've watched for a fuckload of time um and the very first time I got to meet him I pay respects you know Hey listen I watch these t i met Joe and D Man and could very clearly explain to both of them where I had seen Joe and tosspot doing one V one commentary for pink a little bit of Quake um when I got to meet de man I remember making fun of him for doing Su Supreme Commander commentary after Call of Duty and that was something that stuck out in his head because not only did I know I I gave him [ __ ] for it cuz he was so proud of it he loved it right and and I was just like mate how can you play this [ __ ] [ __ ] game like of all the strategy games um and I think it helped a lot I I I'm also very fond of the time that the two years in Cologne with Joe um spent a lot of time off off air and outside the studio with him we got to bond and got to chat quite a lot um the the relationship deteriorated once we moved to Berlin and moved away from everything but it was it was really cool to to be able to learn and to watch I do have to say though that at at every single turn at every single opportunity um I saw this really really lame Reddit motivational poster that just stuck with me it's so lame it's so lame it is a black and white picture of the the final four from Pokemon and it says work until your Idols become your Rivals and beat them and I remember seeing that as like a 25-year old 26y old and thinking Joe D man you're you're my you're my master fall and and it's it's something that I've I've never thought of negatively I've never thought of it's it's not something that I'm like uh it wasn't bitterness it was like hey you guys set the bar you guys like are some of the motivating factors for why I'm here and I looked at you guys and went hey what can I do better but that's the way I think about it and I I think at least in League of Legends I feel like I accomplish that but I will I will have that memory seared into my head [ __ ] Pokemon Jo Jo and d man they say no man is an island we all need people who've got our back and supporting me and the content on my channel are the following people Matt Pugo Raca the concept animosity ban diesel Ben glass Jason Jensen Gore Tosh tuken and you know it always a special Thanks goes up me and man jerky's minion do you want to ask a question for my video em do you want to take part one of those lengthy discussions where I talk about whatever topics are on your mind do you want teasers find out who the upcoming guests are or maybe even to suggest a guest or a topic for my content if any of those perks or others catch your fancy well put your money where 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I'm Kelsey MZ and you're watching thoren's Youtube channel where no sandbagging goes unscrutinized right I'm here for another episode of Reflections and my guest is going to be Trevor quickshot Henry who obviously you might know as one to upon a time maybe the face of the LEC or european League of Legends but the players I want to start understandably quick shot is the beginning we're just going to start at the beginning now I've often seen actually in many interviews amas even he actually did a pretty good Riot profile on you many years ago they often tell the story of like where you come from but there's actually a detail I saw in the riot one I never normally saw the other ones normally The Story Goes I come from South Africa I was playing Cod blah y y somehow I'm playing league in Europe but but you told the interesting thing there which is because your dad you also so you were in South Africa then you're in Northern Ireland like me if you're going to pick someone to start an a sport I thought I had a pretty bad in northeast of England M but there's nothing like if people don't know there's not even any sort of like the internet's not very good in these countries at the time you were there and there's no scene there's no like Esports tournaments or I I don't even know if there'd be L cafees here what was it like in that sense what was the what was becoming a gamber in this world like I mean honestly I had no FR of reference so it was just tiny um first of all it's a [ __ ] pleasure to chat um I took a I took a bit of a year to chill and it's actually pretty interesting to me that you've asked this question now and not literally 6 months or 12 months ago because um after leaving right and taking some time off I did a lot of therapy last year dun okay and I've I've reflected a lot so there's there's two two big threads the first one is my dad Northern Irish my mother Welsh they met in ptor in South Africa which is the capital okay if people don't know there are actually a lot of people not just from England who were in South Africa right that's where the Heritage made Lo exactly because look uh under the aparty government the British government who they were they've pushed the Dutch colonizers out they paid laborers to go over this oh wow right so I actually have an Irish passport I have a South African passport and I have a British passport and that's because of Northern island island you'll know some of the politics there and whatnot and making reparations for the troubles but um uh when I reflect a little bit on it growing up in South Africa was [ __ ] it's just end of story like I I don't know how many people you know who've been mugged have had their house I've had their car broken um hijacked and broken into and that's happened multiple times my entire family it's just one of the [ __ ] things about living in South Africa and I never really never really acknowledged it never really addressed it and never really understood kind of just how it kind of [ __ ] you up a little bit you know right um and it's one of the things that's like quite heavy so we'll get that out of the way because that's definitely something that uh I'm starting to unpack but what I will say is um I got into gaming at like 12 or 13 and one of the things I've always loved about how you brand yourself and how you talk about yourself online Duncan is just like the historian of orts yeah and you've got a phenomenal a much better memory a much better recall than I do but I've been watching since 99 like I I had the opportunity to meet Jason Lake from complexity recently and I was watching him when his Counter-Strike team was flying to China in the early 2000s like those those are are show matches and events that there's not many people in the industry that are even aware like I I grew up got my first PC at 12 13 so that's 99 2000 started playing um a less than legal version of Warcraft 3 online because there was no local server so you had to crack it there was a cracked hosted server playing Warcraft 3 and and uh got into Battlefield 2 got into Call of Duty 4 and if you want to dive deeper we will but then from there that those scenes introduced me to orts and I watched everything like uh eswc wcg CPL CGS OG like these are all tournament names that will immediately be recognizable to like yourself right but and there wasn't a tournament every month back then mate it was a big deal when the tournament happened yeah a lot of us watch games yeah of course huge huge huge and like you know I mean um I presume you'll remember CPL Fatality and the the painkiller circuit and regardless how you feel about that circuit and him because it was a it was a [ __ ] show but um I actually had the the pleasure of playing against fatality in a 1 V one at one of the biggest lands in South Africa I watched him R land for quick fall right yeah I remember yes correct correct so this this was he was doing a tour with um creative they just released a gaming mouse exactly um and I watched all the show matches on the Friday all the show matches on the Saturday and then I was on the Sunday one I made the mistake of killing him with the ra uh rail the rail gun equivalent it was a state gun painkiller all I did was study his pathing literally straight up right and effectively I just spawn camped I spawned I made a I guess I managed to get the one shot and it was the worst mistake I could have ever done because he made me kill myself twice so I was the only end the weekend with a negative one score line even though you probably won the few people to kill him exactly exct but it's like that that's kind of like the the quick overview of what it's like but like you know in terms of the scene um it's tiny Call of Duty 4 was one of the biggest games you had dedicated servers and I'm talking about 30 to 50 competitive teams over a 12mon circuit and that lasted for about four years and about the same for like Counterstrike source source was really really big in South Africa at the time um it's really really small man it's just small scene small community so everybody knows everybody there's some of the guys I played against that I I still talk to to this day even though like every major franchise people from the old school are always going to think the first game's the best I have heard all the same that people who played Cod 4 think that was like a Zenith point of the series and actually after that it became iterative and it was a game of year not a lot of people think this herea like the sort of cod for Pro Mod these were the glory de people think was it was it a good game was it one of your favorites I mean it was it also was the game I was probably the best at so I got a I've got a warped perspective on it and also I'm not going to be one of these Cod for Die Hard um Defenders we tried to make it [ __ ] Counter-Strike but fast right I'm not being funny but like if you actually go look at proom mod and you break it down more than half of the guns were limited more than half of the um like SES were changed and it's just if quake and Counter Strike could have a baby it was Call of Duty for so it scratched an itch that was a little bit different I still I still don't think that there's been a T shooter the reason you say quick by the way is cuz this actually had like movement was a big part of that game actually maybe people AR aware of that right huge huge huge I mean look I also like I I grew up on Quake 3 cpma and Call of Duty 4 those were my two games so I was more of a twitch shooter I really like the duel in 1V ons um I really liked uh you know timing and arm and stuff like that in Call of Duty you had your slide mechanics you had your movement you you literally had to do a version of strafe jumping like you would get in in Quake 3 but it wasn't the same degree you know what what League of Legends is to DotA Call of Duty is to Quake yeah not bad so it's just a kind of simplification that speeds it up but then of course promod is what made it big uh it also was the last big Call of Duty on PC I think a lot of the die hards as well once once it got big on console and once you know controller took over from keyboard and mouse I think just to be fair I think some of the beauty and some of the flare and the the flick shots and the aim um just got killed by imist an interesting detail I saw in the riot profile about you is actually this is a classic gamer sort of um theme you could say which I'll give you an example cuz I came from Quake actually even though I played Counter Strike from beta one the story is I only ever played it CU when I went to LS and you would have General casuals come who played a little bit of quick they get bored of getting owned by you after like two days M so they just go like can we play something else so I have a chance so what we would do is play every mod that was out there cuz that way we're all starting fresh look in two days I'm still going to be better them but for the first day the [ __ ] Counter Strike you know the guns are and I used to think this is [ __ ] [ __ ] and then the J goes and then 25 years later here I am right I saw that you actually did this people are going to think you must be the biggest fan ever of League maybe you're a daughter get you said that when your brother introduce you to this game you're like this sounds crap basically like what is this and then obviously the joke is here you are today what was that what was the start of League like I mean super simple League of Legends was my easy game that I used when I gave up on competitive like um when I so when I stopped playing competitively I I quick timeline here so I got in invited to join a gaming clan in South Africa called big fat bastards and the whole joke was we get pissed we play tournaments hung over and it's about socializing and being just a little bit sweaty not so sweaty that it ruins the drinking but just sweaty enough that semi-finals is the goal and I ran that Clan from 16 years old till 22 um I left South Africa and when I left and I left the clan and I left the gaming side behind me um I also had grown this this clan to be multiple games we had Battlefield 2 Battlefield 2142 Call of Duty 4 we tried Counter Strike and then immediately went this shit's too hard gave up and just went straight back to Call of Duty I had a second Call of Duty team um my brother was like okay he stopped playing he said try this thing out I literally laughed at it I said any game that's called LS got to be [ __ ] um but when I left South Africa in 2010 which is now I'm 22 tur 23 um I started looking for work I got a job in Berlin the game had just dropped 2010 I just started playing 2011 and that was the time that I actually moved to Berlin um I moved to Berlin on a a shitty Community manager and events coordinator job for an online browser company browser game company called just a game and they ran a browser based um military Sim that was civilization meets common conquer okay and it was [ __ ] it sucked like if there wer whales in the game I wouldn't have had a job but during that time frame that's when I started playing League of Legends and then I got really into it and I got really hooked and I couldn't put the game down I'd never played a mooba um all I'd ever known as FS if it wasn't FPS I didn't play it seriously like that was nothing else kept my attention um and that was the first time that I really started to SN my my teeth into it and really dive into the game I I have this vivid memory vivid memory of meeting fantasy who was a dignitas Call of Duty player at antop sports festival actually Richard L was at that event it was the first time I met him as well and I saw him playing an early beta or Alpha of of League of Legends and I chewed him out and I was like what the [ __ ] are you doing how are you playing this game why are you not playing Call of Duty sure and then yeah f for he's actually been in my DMs to be like huh yeah oh right he got you back right okay exactly exactly okay by the way along those lines two things one similar by the way Lads of people have this story Richard Lewis has a great story when de man was at a land might be like an i series or something D Man rocked up like the free League of Legends shirt Richard Lewis was like what you doing play that game that'll never take off another one listen he tells that story himself it's all those classic stories isn't it right here's the question for you then which is another thing I've always found interesting is a lot of people don't know until a game becomes huge and by the way Esports was so Niche back then even I I have to explain to people even if you play Counter Strike or Quake back in the day you might never have even seen a match you might not even know what CPL was you might you might vaguely know there's lands in your area and someone's better than you or you can play One V one so I always tell people actually everyone who was into orts has has something a little bit different like what would what made you want to know like for example who the best teams are or who's good or if there's an orts side to League of Legends I mean the thing is um it's actually the Counter-Strike scene and the Starcraft scene that got that in that that imbued that into me so when when I got invited to play Battlefield 2 um there there may be a chance that some of these guys will watch this but uh chaos ad pumpkin head chuckar u2m um fat Fatso Raz dingbat these are the nicknames of the middle-aged men that invited me into their squad in Battlefield 2 when I was 14 or 15 years old and went listen mate you're pretty [ __ ] good with this 236 do you want to join that introduced me to like competitive Battlefield 2 and then my brain just went what is this so this is you know early 2000s right um early to mid 2000s by this point counter- strike in terms of International Tournament and Starcraft are kind of established if you know where to look and once I started to learn specifically about the Counter-Strike circuit I think back then it was eswc and wcg I think that was the time frame for them um that introduced me to more games and then that when Call of Duty came out I was like okay cool now I I know what to learn I start to look for like the tech 9 forums um I start to seek out that information and it's actually where I started to watch like Joe Miller and d man um one of my favorite commentators when I was growing up was toss spots uh he didn't really do a huge number of events but he just had he could do any game couldn't he he could just do any one of the most unique voices seriously and and also I didn't realize in so many years later but I ended up accidentally modeling some of my energy off the tosspot because I think tosspot was uh overwhelmingly positive a lot of the time you know um so I look I I sort out all this information I sort out all of these these games so by time 2010 2011 drops um frankly I am a pro at knowing where the Esports scenes are which tournaments are good like when the cyberathlete professional league with [ __ ] ass driller or whatever the goddamn name was of the CEO the games that they put in there when I think it was CGS changed the format for Counter Strike and they changed it you know from m115 I I could tell as a mid 20 something year old with no orts like professional experience that those were bad decisions right when I see painkiller going into a circuit instead of Quake my brain tells me okay money's been used for this the format's not the same this is a publisher thing it's not really it doesn't have the competitive right so League of Legends comes out and I don't I don't look at it as anything than it's just the game that I'm playing and I'm having fun with it and I've got a a pretty strong case of ADHD and an unhealthy competitive spirit so throughout all of 2011 all I do is work for eight hours in the office and then play league for six to8 hours at night every day I was single I just moved to Berlin it's pretty [ __ ] weather most of the time I didn't know the city all I did is play the game towards the end of the year what actually got me into league and then got me into this next like you know phase of of my life was that um I got chewed out by my boss I've told the story a couple times in interviews but my boss yelled at me I on my second monitor I always had a League of Legends tournament on in 2011 there was a lot there was online tournaments uh teams were organizing stuff like it was kind of the let's say the counter- strike era 2013 2011 and 2012 of independent tournaments all around the world different hosts different different organizers um and when my boss chewed me out and another lady came over to me at lunch and said so how much League of Elections do you know and I was like well an unhealthy amount she say my boyfriend happens to run a gaming company here in Berlin would you mind talking to because he wants to get involved in League of Legends this is late 2011 as it turns out this was the girlfriend of the CEO of freaks for you gaming who at the time were running join DOTA I think it was join DOTA Toby on thing which was one of the biggest at the time this is pre pre- drama pre yeah um and he and I got chatting and he was kind of the guy that was like hey Trevor you talk a lot of [ __ ] um have you considered commentary and then 2012 was when I started my move towards let's say professional league but 2011 it was just there was nothing else it was it was my it was my crack shall you say uh that I couldn't get enough League you've told along the lines of that where there's like happen stance and you just have to sort of grab the opportunity when it comes whether you know what it means you've also told the story that basically if it wasn't for like meeting day man and him just for real just having like sort of you could take this guy I'm busy I have to do another event if this doesn't happen like you wouldn't be S here right now right Thoren it's actually it's even better than not just meeting him right I I'd not met him um in 2012 um you've set me up very well I appreciate that in 2012 um I started working for freaks for you I was doing some Community work and basically I was their their pa for sponsorships and Partnerships I joined them as my my nine to5 was liasing with the other brands that they were working with at the time it included like Zotac Razer MSI and any of their gaming team deliverables that need to be checked um any of the applications that need to be F like I was the person that processed that then from 6:00 until 9: I would be allowed to use their Studios and Stream So every Tuesday Thursday and Sunday I got on air and every Tuesday Thursday and Sunday I advertised I knew nobody was going to know my name I knew nobody was going to recognize my nickname nobody knew who the the [ __ ] I was so all I did is hey every Tuesday Thursday and Sunday it's that South African guy that South African guy that South African guy I've got a different voice I've got a different accent I've got a country that a lot of people don't know about and I wore a Star Wars t-shirt every single day it got noticed it got noticed to the point that after a couple of months I did not wear a Star Wars t-shirt on broadcast and um somebody said that South African guy is not wearing a Star Wars t-shirt this is what A League of Legends subreddit thread was back in 2012 right but importantly um those were the events that I was uh commentating and I got one very very big break is that demman and Panky at the time were unable to do a 4pl online qualifier and whatever things I think they had an IU or something to go to like they had another event and they said to Dem man who can you recommend he said well listen that's South African guy is doing some pretty good [ __ ] and he's been consistent go check him out I didn't know oh why you didn't know him that demon had sent him my way until months later and it didn't take that long because my my come up was pretty pretty meteoric I was in the right place at the right time I had a unique selling point in a couple of different ways and I did my first ever go for LOL broadcast around March of 2012 I got this 4pl opportunity and the reason that it the reason I got so lucky is Gambit got eliminated in the semi-finals where Diamond procs was running like a jungle Shiana for like the first [ __ ] time ever right and they lost the game and it was huge it was a number one oh so that made it like the top thread classic right yes right so I just got lucky that like a pre-tournament favor got knocked out in the semi-finals in a gig that happened to get offered to me that then led to me being asked to shoutcast the MLG summer arena in a f hell okay yes how' you go that's Z to 60 in it what the [ __ ] right so that jump to MLG summer arena in August that then got me dream hack in November uh dream hack winter with myself and Panky commentating Fanatic in 20 2012 you know a year and a half after they'd won their [ __ ] Championship uh and I joined riot in January so it was literally nine months from my very first broadcast to the next so on one hand it was literally The Perfect Storm of circumstances on the other hand I was incredibly deliberate I was incredibly specific I knew that if I was broadcasting hey I stepped on people's toes Dean and Joe were the shitness back then they didn't use a single spell name it's not [ __ ] it's not rocket science I literally just studied the game so that I could do something nobody else did it got me noticed and then like they got called out for it and and I was like hey if this this [ __ ] random South African can do this on Thursdays for go why can't the pros um I'm I'm incredibly proud of that year but it also something was like I was lucky and I had the right skills and I was in the right headset so kind of it all came together quite magically when you say that about your accent this is something I actually want to make a point cuz I'm sure a lot of people who are like WN to be commentators broadcast watch interviews like this and they think oh maybe I'll pick up a thing or two and I have to say one of the biggest sort of misunderstandings of the industry I found from newer people is they always think if they don't have like a perfect accent like American accent receipt they think it's going to not work I've even believe it or not I I won't go into what she said but I want to have had a conversation like this with law where all I can tell you is early on she was think like oh they're going to think I took likees and what and I was telling a no you have to understand once they love you that's going to make you unique there's not going to be anyone with that accent like no no one else is even talking to just French they do the French broadcast so I feel like isn't it iconic the quick shot voice and accent we live in [ __ ] Europe we live in Europe accents are [ __ ] real okay like I I um I there is an argument to be made that in the annals of the best commentated Duos for League of Legends quick shot and deficio will be in the top five sure I think that is that is fair to say a South African and a Dane right and I've got a [ __ ] weak soft South African accent i' I've lost a lot of the nuan I've got it's more it's closer to probably British I even have some American in there but like just if you stop and you think about that for a second if if the accent was the most important then that's a pretty interesting one and you either are polarized right I I used it to my advantage because I do especially in 2012 2013 um when at least was popular cocoon yeah there are some words that do sound funny right um I I got I'm not going to say flame that's a bit childish but like there was some hater groups that would try to say let's do quick shot Bingo let's make fun of him and stuff I ended up claiming some of that [ __ ] and turning it around uh use what you have and I think also it's important to be comfortable with your voice so I've had that same conversation with law I've had that same conversation with a lot of a lot of on air Talent um in EU and specifically with Martin specifically with the ficio that man himself will tell you that he speaks with a potato in his mouth but godamn the stuff that comes out past that potato is so much more important than the potato so you know it's about the content it's about knowing what you're saying knowing what you're doing and also if you if you have something use it if you have a French accent make sure you use it connect it to something you know I I I think it's fair to say a lot of people know I'm South African not many people will know my parents are British no no that's my design so since you said you got the gig at MLG summer Arena if people don't know one that was in like the actual MLG offices in New York that's ridiculous already to go there and then two this is actually people don't know piece of trivia the first tournament where Koreans went to the west and clapped everyone that was theu players one so give me some thoughts on this experience was supposed to be a while going to New York oh my god um I never normally tell this side like in adverts or adverts [ __ ] sakes in interviews but um I was supposed to be flying out on the Thursday we did rehearsals Friday and then the show was like Saturday Sunday if I recall but um or might have been fly Wednesday rehearsals Thursday show Friday that was what it was my a baggage handler actually hit the engine on the way out from Berlin my flight got canceled to the next day and when I landed I ended up missing all of rehearsal and with the time zone difference I had to go straight to Studio yes like for the very first time I landed had never traveled internationally to the US before um I was commentating with Dem man for the first time ever and bearing in mind that for me at this time Dem man was the voice of Call of Duty 4 like yeah a lot of people will know him for League I think it meant more the recognition he had in Call of Duty because of the size of the the the how much smaller how much more intimate everything was and I probably watched every single game he commentated also um Monty was working that event uh uh I'm trying to remember what's the translator from lck he was a fan anyways there's there's a whole number of people and things that happened at that event oh it was chra chra yes chobra the one with the Dr Pepper ridiculous one in it yeah um CH chobra was camping outside um trying to enter Dr Peppa tournament we had to walk past him awkwardly like we were the show and he was just this weird fan and they ended up doing translating and then literally ended up like growing being a huge professional but um it it was terrifying I think when I work the event um something I'm very fortunate for and very happy about is I have mainstream uh traditional business experience because straight out of University um I got a job an 18-month contract at a national retailer for PC part like if you're in the UK think PC World if you're in Europe think Satur and a media Mark I went straight to the head office and I launched a gaming brand focused on selling you know bespoke graphics cards gaming spec CPUs CU these were Moms and Pops office stores um I had business experience I grew up in a household with parents that way so those skills are partially and probably a large part of why I was able to transition like my love orts and my ability to talk [ __ ] into actual because I very clearly remember Chris Pucket I will owe a debt of service to for a very long time he took a gamble on me he was the guy that reached out on behalf of MLG he was that said look I've seen 4pl I've seen the streams that you're doing we need a host I don't know how many names they went down I don't know where I was on the on the call sheet list and I don't give a [ __ ] but I know that Chris was the guy that called me and said look we want you to come out we want you to work with d man we want you to work with um Optimus Tom Monty's going to be there as well and it's going to be a small Tight Crew it's going to be pretty tight show um what do you think uh getting to just work side by side with some of the people that would go on to make fantastic careers for the entire time Monty my favorite interview of Monty ever happened from that event the one that doesn't exist on the internet he's very he so traumatized he hates he hates bringing up daus's pillow and I love love love to think back to it um but it was it was great uh you know I got to see isbi Blaze I got to see curse at the time was the first time I got to meet I dominate as well you know got to interact with some of the guys and TSM of course they were there too um just fantastic uh but also really really good because my very first big giant event was this very small very bespoke four team thing so I got to learn so many important skills that when I would continue on and eventually get to Riot um I I wasn't overwhelmed I wasn't I I wasn't the new kid on the Block you know I was like I've done MLG I proved it I did this [ __ ] in six months from my first broadcast like I'm [ __ ] here to do something being as Monty now has his own sort of like legit States as an elder Statesman in the industry now by the way he's always dreamed this now he's in the Ivory Tower like the academic he thinks of himself as you know what people won't know is this quick shot I obviously I met Monty the year after this I remember Monty Christa who was quite fresh faed to a sports and was coming out like hey I did some replays for Warcraft the the [ __ ] with what you talking about and I remember when he had the shaved head and he was just out of doing all the law stuff who was young Monty cuz he's quite different right honestly H oh this is this is this is a tough one because I think Monty and I at MLG I think we came in with the same energy right I think we came in as very determined very motivated but also very self assured individuals okay in a space where I think it is fair to say a lot of our peers a lot of other professionals a lot of the gamers the players themselves lack some level of social skills lack some levels of professional awareness lack business Acumen um there's a general lack of inexperience right because it is a young industry even even today 20 years on it's just kids replacing kids so I very clearly remember standing in a room speaking to Christopher not speaking to Christopher and me speaking to an adult oh okay and I I so and what I mean by that is I could also see behind his eyes he was driven when the producer said to him we want you to this dyus interview he so so badly did not want to do it but understood in this show in this event with my current status like I've got to do this thing and he made the best of it that he could right but there's that that look in your eye that look of like one day I'm going to be ble to say [ __ ] you I'm not doing this um but I I have never ever ever had anything but respect for back then Christopher and now Monte Christo is he's grown up because I think he's always been living in his Ivory Tower now he's just built it around him right if you know right you know um and I I also I I would feel confident in saying that from that time onwards as well it's like you can just see you can almost just see who's going to who's going to be somewhere in five years who's going to who's going to do something with their time this the exact same reason that you we gave chabra a shot at translating on a live show who was literally just effectively stalking like honestly he camped outside the office but the way he engaged the way he chatted it's that same kind of thing where it's like there was a there was a hunger there was a fire there was a professionalism and there was a there was a youthful energy that was like I'm going to I'm going to get to a point one day where you can't make me into your pillow right since you referenced two of the first events you got was MLG summer Arena and dream hack winter over in right little piece of trivia for everyone because it's going to be another insane surreal connection so the team that no one remembers at MLG summer featured Reckless then dream hack winter was reckless's first tournament in fanatic so correct Reckless essentially by the way is like the main character of I mean maybe caps out but time was the main character of League of Legends for many years he was the face of the league so it's kind of wild you'd even have that connection early on and you see his growth right it really was and I didn't understand it I didn't appreciate it either right League of Legends for me was my fun game right it was my social game and I'm [ __ ] at this game like seriously I I've never gone above gold one I've never tried much harder I actually think there's something about people's brains mate because what's weird is I W brag like I never say I was Pro in CS but I was pretty good like I could play pugs with pros and I've hang I've never ever been able to play a league I just I'm just [ __ ] I just play the one I think this I think people's brains are for different games you know what I me% agree 100% I I have handai coordination I have reaction speed I understand angles I understand Quake like if I need to do the time like timing on my ammo armor and health and I have to keep my momentum like there's a there's a rhythm to it I I yeah so I suck at league so when I got to see the bacon lovers are crazy cool team black at MLG um I can't remember who was invited that that couldn't make it but basically they had to do a mix team because again it was a bit of a Mickey Mouse tournament so you know mix team gets there um watching for like I didn't appreciate at the time just how good he was and what what it was going to mean for the scene right I think I was still quite ignorant I was still quite dumb um and I wasn't I wasn't yet fully absorbed I mean I've been commentating for four to five months by time I got to meet him and by that point I don't think the um IPL 5 had happened I think that was the end of the end of the year yeah very end it was end of the year and that was where I knew it right cuz I got to see him and then IPL 5 happens and then I go [ __ ] I wish I'd spent more time talking to it right so then then that kind of realization sinks in but take my word for it I learned from that mistake Because by the end of 2012 um something that I've never said publicly and never shared um throughout the course of 2012 I was obviously doing this broadcast for freaks for you but I wanted to be a full-time broadcaster I wasn't wasn't getting paid for any of these things this was all my own you know free time um I wanted to try and make a thing of it so I was speaking to Owned own 3D the broadcasting platform I was speaking to eclipsa I was speaking to fanatic and actually it was because of IPL and because of dream hack I was actually speak to fanatic management about maybe being in-house streamer in-house commentator for them because at that time there was still the possibility that the League of Legends ecosystem was going to be run by Third parties that it was going to be tournaments that it was going to be an open market open field um ultimately W came in and said [ __ ] you we're going to run ECS and then I was very fortunate to be able to get an interview and actually land the job there but uh yeah I was looking at these other augs these other avenues where I could have done broadcast you've told the story many times you referenced it here of the gimmick was you said the spell names now the joke is quick shot I won't lie to you mate I don't give I'm the guy who I don't care about the law in any game like don't tell me about noxia the the joke is even if you say the spell name I do think hate the Que I'm just that type of game of me I'm really old school in that sense so I will say I was actually surprised look I'll give you another great take you want like a Richard Lewis to D Man level one when they brought out skins in CS goo I was like what a [ __ ] way who would put a skin on buy the [ __ ] you idiot you just play with it doesn't even change the gun it's cosmetic that'll never take off joke being it made the game 100 times bigger and then I became a [ __ ] broadcast T because of the skin s you can some some of us don't see certain things that come other eyes and so when you did the spell name thing I actually remember thinking like is anyone going to Vibe with this like who knows all this spelles like it's actually it can sometimes be more confusing like is that the ult that is but here's the thing first of all it did instantly make you in a way iconic no one else did it and actually here's the thing I know they admit it but I can tell you I noticed immediately though I used to listen to John de man do leak I noticed immediately all of a sudden it wasn't that Misfortune did the ult it was like oh they did the bullet time the curse of the S all of a sudden they all had to do it every bloody person that's pretty cool to have that sort of like even though you just gambled on it it paid off mate listen it was deliberate it was deliberate I I needed to find something that stood out I didn't think in 2012 I didn't think that just my accent was enough but also I I'm not [ __ ] stupid Thoren and and I've said this and i' I've admitted this to so many when I started at riot in 2013 and 2014 I had to do color commentary and I use those air quotes with bold and underlined right um I applied I told them needed you play byplay I'm a play byplay commentator I'm a host I'm a lead voice I'm the energy guy but they had demon and Joe it was never going to happen now I knew looking ahead I knew looking at the industry I'm not smart enough to compete with the likes of jat the likes of of um uh at the time even Jason Kaplan was was on the the analyst circuit and the pro players that were sure right and I'm definitely not good enough to understand this game so how can I stand out what can I do differently so I thought about my my tone I thought about my energy the spell names it's more than just a gimmick in my head you can make a moment more powerful because those words are just better right every single [ __ ] game has an ALT every single game he hits the AL if you're a play-by-play guy and you want to get energy you don't even stand out between different games by doing that this is the one thing that was unique so yes it was 100% gimmicky but also was Within intent and and if you especially back then in 2012 2013 2014 um Leandra Frozen tomb Jesus Christ I scream another one another great South African tomb I love it see mean right yeah I I also then looked I looked into the spell names and I'm like great what are the the ones that are popular where where will I make sure I overemphasize it I don't give a [ __ ] if 10 to 20 30% of the audience hates my accent and they [ __ ] know who I am and and that was one of the main goals you know but um it's it's something I will wear as a badge of honor for my entire professional career that I individually was the uh Catalyst for change I believe it would have happened at some point personally I'm just glad that I was the first one to really get the ball rolling and and yeah I think it is fair to say that I had a pretty significant impact on that that change in League of Legends commentary one thing you nailed there is there are a certain sort of almost type of person people that are in uh broadcast work who have as you say that like self assuredness or the idea that like I'm going to get there even if I'm not there yet and I'll will say that's another thing by the way probably shock people is if they only knew I mean pretty I believe even on a social media if you ever watch Instagram I believe shocks all talks all the time about have an imposter syndrome sometimes when she goes to CS event she gets it all over again like [ __ ] is this my game am I just here because I'm big in League all a lot of people some of the best talent ever have this imposter syndrome but I have to say quick shot I actually Vibe with you mate because I've never had it I know that's going hilarious cuz I built it into my Persona that I'm supposedly arrogant that's actually not the cas St what I mean is when I first got a gig I was just a journalist in Count Strike and one time a guy dropped out BSL who was going to do an IM and it just happened I was going to the event anyway and kmak was just like could you just like fill in for this event and maybe do some games and I was like yeah yeah but I was thinking mate put me in there with [ __ ] Jo Miller and too good I'll tear the [ __ ] up we talk about and people would think look I was right by the way here's what's crazy get quick I wasn't totally wrong I did show a bit of myself but actually wasn't as good as I thought it was look I do nothing about broadcast I don't know Tech pauses I'm probably doing [ __ ] like [ __ ] talking over him and he's just letting me because I I'm standing in or whatever but in a weird [ __ ] way I sort of feel like it's why I understand why young players have to be cocky in away in a [ __ ] up way I wouldn't have done it if I hadn't have thought that quick really if I have thought like I and that's Jo Miller I don't think you never never heard of me mate you know what I mean no and and the thing is I I but I've done that my entire life right I I know what I'm good at I know where my limits are right and I try my best to curate scar iOS whether I was competing like when I was playing Battlefield 2 I had some of the best [ __ ] game in South African Battlefield 2 because I was playing against middle-aged men so I would play all of The Upfront [ __ ] infantry classes and I could outshoot anybody cuz I was literally a third of their age when I moved to Call of Duty and all of a sudden there was younger kids that had better aim than me I realized I could swap to the AK I could call and I could get into the heads of people right so I played to my strengths I've always known I would be good as a speaker I have felt like I'm a good conversational salesperson I I feel like I can get people to listen to me but I also feel like I can get under people skin and crucially I know how or why I'm doing it right so I've always known I was going to be belong on broadcast but I also know I'm thick as [ __ ] in some areas and there are some areas that I'm just stronger than others so that was a big big big part of my focus like from joining and from moving forward it's like okay Riot to put me in this colorcast position for 2013 to 2014 I know I'm not going to get the fans on my side I know I'm not going to do anything to like I was [ __ ] doing color commentary in Europe while Kobe and jat were doing color commentary in Na and I'm sorry but like we we're not playing the same game yes sure so what I knew was in order for me not only to keep my job um I also need to make sure that I uh can get into the position that I need to which finally happened in 2015 more importantly I need to be able to be a value ad more valuable behind the scenes and in some weird ways when I you know was talking uh to my wife and I was thinking about prep for this this specific conversation I look back at those two years I'm like hey actually being in that position where I was a joke my content was not great I was I was the jester you know while other people doing analysis I was very fortunate that the game and the scene everything was so much smaller because I wouldn't have got away with that nowaday I wouldn't have got away 5 years ago but what it did what I did do do and I invested so much of my time and my growth was learning the company learning the intricacies of broadcast learning the craft by literally watching studying I was you know full-time I got to travel to all over the world in 2013 and 14 I got to work with so many people who were former pros and um see different playby plays and um there was a lot of development so I also got this free pass of two years of broadcast experience where all of my bosses all of my manages [ __ ] all of the community were like this guy's pretty [ __ ] but you know what he's kind of nice and and it's okay so that by 2015 when I finally got to do the thing that I'm good at well I've had one of the greatest Head Starts you could possibly have um and it was then like an underdog to hero story you know so I I I I got got quite lucky when I think about it because again I don't think I would have been been on broadcast for 6 months with that level if it was happening now the first game I ever did as a commentator in Counter Strike was with Joe millerz the aformentioned story and I have to say I was like you quick shot as a journalist I was watching all the tournaments I watched the painkiller World Tour Etc which if people don't know is where Joe Miller became Joe Miller like because he was basically some like I think it was like 16 or something mad he was just like some Prodigy he was like some fake of that guy that you see him immediately you're like holy sh he's going to be it M so when I did my first game but the the key thing I here's a little tip for you as well if you get in the industry what I did is I didn't go up like oh my God it's Sean Miller oh [ __ ] I hope I'm going to do a good job what I did is I went and talk to him and I was like I heard that [ __ ] like accent and I was like it's like some [ __ ] kid from Sheffield mate like one of the [ __ ] Arctic Monkeys or something I was like ah this is okay we're going to be okay what's it like though because as you say even in League they were already the top ones they were like the oses and tasteless but if you know past games Joe Miller and day man are like they're on another Str that's like M Olympus [ __ ] what like to work with these guys [ __ ] insane I I mean I I'm the same as you entirely in that I never um I've never treated anybody that I've met in the industry as some sort of Superstar crazy like I I don't Fanboy I pay respects where respects are due right um getright is a player that I've watched for a fuckload of time um and the very first time I got to meet him I pay respects you know Hey listen I watch these t i met Joe and D Man and could very clearly explain to both of them where I had seen Joe and tosspot doing one V one commentary for pink a little bit of Quake um when I got to meet de man I remember making fun of him for doing Su Supreme Commander commentary after Call of Duty and that was something that stuck out in his head because not only did I know I I gave him [ __ ] for it cuz he was so proud of it he loved it right and and I was just like mate how can you play this [ __ ] [ __ ] game like of all the strategy games um and I think it helped a lot I I I'm also very fond of the time that the two years in Cologne with Joe um spent a lot of time off off air and outside the studio with him we got to bond and got to chat quite a lot um the the relationship deteriorated once we moved to Berlin and moved away from everything but it was it was really cool to to be able to learn and to watch I do have to say though that at at every single turn at every single opportunity um I saw this really really lame Reddit motivational poster that just stuck with me it's so lame it's so lame it is a black and white picture of the the final four from Pokemon and it says work until your Idols become your Rivals and beat them and I remember seeing that as like a 25-year old 26y old and thinking Joe D man you're you're my you're my master fall and and it's it's something that I've I've never thought of negatively I've never thought of it's it's not something that I'm like uh it wasn't bitterness it was like hey you guys set the bar you guys like are some of the motivating factors for why I'm here and I looked at you guys and went hey what can I do better but that's the way I think about it and I I think at least in League of Legends I feel like I accomplish that but I will I will have that memory seared into my head [ __ ] Pokemon Jo Jo and d man they say no man is an island we all need people who've got our back and supporting me and the content on my channel are the following people Matt Pugo Raca the concept animosity ban diesel Ben glass Jason Jensen Gore Tosh tuken and you know it always a special Thanks goes up me and man jerky's minion do you want to ask a question for my video em do you want to take part one of those lengthy discussions where I talk about whatever topics are on your mind do you want teasers find out who the upcoming guests are or maybe even to suggest a guest or a topic for my content if any of those perks or others catch your fancy well put your money where 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Transcript for:Putovanje Trevora 'Quickshot' Henrija u Esportu

Transcript for:
Putovanje Trevora 'Quickshot' Henrija u Esportu