Loving the rush of competitive video gaming
Sam ‘Tech Girl’ Wright is a commentator and host for e-sports
What do you do?
I am a commentator/host for e-sports, or competitive video gaming, and also a content creator focusing on written and video content around technology and gaming. I’m my own boss, which is rather nice, and that has allowed me to work with the likes of Blizzard and Red Bull.
Tell me about e-sports and the tournament you attended in Ukraine recently.
E-sports is gaining traction around the world with multimillion-dollar prize pools for tournament winners and huge stadium events. Even ESPN and the Disney Channel are showing e-sports events now. I am the season 1 and season 2 desk host for Overwatch Contenders Europe.
The Overwatch League has been one of the biggest e-sports competitions this year. The finals took place at the Barclays Arena in New York and both ESPN and Disney signed deals to broadcast it on their various channels. In football terms: Overwatch League is the English Premiership while Overwatch Contenders is the English Championship.
I was hired as the host at the beginning of the year and travelled to Europe for the season. Each regular season consists of five weeks of group stages. We then take a week break and have playoffs to determine our finalists. The finalists compete at a live event to be crowned winner. As desk host for the show, I do all the introductions, chat to experts and give viewers information.
What makes your job stressful?
A live show that is being broadcast to thousands of people is always stressful. Nothing is scripted and there is no teleprompter. You also never know which way a game is going to go so you need to be prepared for all eventualities. I love my job, but it is stressful knowing you’re live and there is no room for error. I’m also really lucky as I get to travel around the world to various e-sports tournaments.
What do you find most meaningful about the work you do?
Being able to showcase new talent and start their story. Competitive gamers face so many hurdles to “make it big” and turn this into a full-time job. I enjoy being able to showcase new talent. Being one of a few South Africans who has been able to get work in the international e-sports arena also allows me to use my work to showcase the developing competitive gaming scene in SA to a wider audience.
What other work would you like to do?
I currently have a small radio segment on the Cuppa JT show on 5FM where I get to speak about gaming once a week.
I’d love to make that longer or even have a TV show where I can share e-sports and gaming with new fans who didn’t even know about it.
I think there is a gamer in all of us so I’d love to showcase that.
Alternatively, I think being a TV producer could be rather fun. It looks stressful and high energy — much like working in esports, so I think I’d love it.