We’ve got seen many commentators begin and progress by means of EPIC.LAN. Names like Joshua “Dweg” Nathan, Jamie “TheEternalJay” Martin, and Brandon “BDog” Rawlings spring to thoughts – now we’ve a brand new rising duo that’s trying to emulate their predecessors’ success.
Tim ‘TIMMO’ Musters and Harry “index” Bayliss form as much as forged their first stage on the EPIC.LAN 41 grandfinals. UKCSGO sat down with the casting duo beforehand to speak about why they acquired into commentating, and what it’s like going from profitable and competing at EPIC.LANs to now commenting, and index‘s different venues he works on.
That is your third time as a commentator on the occasion, how has the occasion been, and have been there any groups you had a watch on coming into this event?
TIMMO: It has been going fairly respectable
Index: I’m having fun with it. We’ve got accomplished the final three EPIC.LANs on the bounce everyone seems to be tremendous pleasant and the workers are a pleasure to work with. It normally runs very easily, we all know what’s going on… [Laughs] Often.
EPIC.LAN is a reasonably cool alternative for casters of your stature. How vital is EPIC.LAN been for you guys as a duo.
Index: For me and I do know Tim feels the identical manner. It’s huge, being in the identical room and seeing one another whereas casting makes a world of distinction. I really feel extra energized on LAN.
TIMMO: It’s actually good for chemistry to bodily bounce off one another. There will probably be instances when considered one of us desires to say one thing however the different is in the midst of a rant and we are able to rapidly level out one thing on the display.
Discuss me by means of why you guys began commenting and the way this duo happened.
Index: I began commenting years in the past however for amusing. I might simply do it for the org I used to be enjoying underneath for the time. I used to be on an academy workforce for an org that had two open groups lol. However then I wished to concentrate on enjoying, so I spent 4 or 5 years competing however ran out of steam with that and determined to take a break. I then acquired linked to a tweet that Tim wished to get into casting.
TIMMO: For me, it was round a yr in the past after I had stopped competing. I really like Counter-Strike, it’s a enormous a part of my life and once I stopped competing it felt like one thing was lacking in my life. I used to be looking for a solution to get CS again in my life in a manner that can be productive.
Across the similar time, ESL Prem was doing their group broadcasts so I simply put up a tweet asking if anybody wished to forged with me. I knew that I had a good thoughts for the sport and I wished to train and truly showcase that. Our good friend woodz linked us after I put the tweet out.
Index: I had performed a couple of pugs with Tim and I had a very lengthy dialog with him after I acquired out of the workforce that I spent most of my enjoying time with. I had some time the place I used to be wanting to enter IGLing. I had a protracted chat with Tim in regards to the recreation and his method as he was calling briefly as I knew he had an excellent thoughts for the sport.
So how does this duo work should you each come from positions of information, how do you stability that on broadcast and produce extra PBP?
TIMMO: At the beginning, I used to be not assured in my PBP in any respect, I knew the sport however I used to be not assured being on digicam. We began with me as coloration and Harry on PBP. Neither of us desires to be pigeonholed, nonetheless, so now when Harry has evaluation I give him room to provide coloration, and that goes each methods. Attending to a stage the place we are able to do hybrid and having that chemistry to grasp when the opposite particular person desires to speak.
We had a dialog about it early on that we’d keep in strict roles as we acquired used to one another, or obligations. However as we get extra aware of one another we are able to mix them extra.
index
Index: We had a dialog about it early on that we’d keep in strict roles as we acquired used to one another, or obligations. However as we get extra aware of one another we are able to mix them extra. My favourite commentator duo on the minute is Anders and HenryG. HenryG has an excellent thoughts for the sport however can be a powerful PBP. Much like Anders who has a incredible thoughts. For me, it retains it attention-grabbing.
TIMMO: You don’t need to be that PBP man that doesn’t know something in regards to the recreation, however on the similar time should you simply do the evaluation you don’t need to be that dry man that simply does evaluation.
You talked about HenryG and Anders. Are there some other casters you look as much as and attempt to emulate?
TIMMO: For me, Hugo and Harry have been the primary ones as a result of I knew them personally lengthy earlier than I knew anybody within the UK scene. I went to the Faceit main with them and that’s how me and Harry first met.
Index: We hadn’t spoken earlier than however by means of a mutual good friend Harry had helped me worth manner again some small on-line league that wished me to forged 10 BO1s in a row. It was paid and I acquired 40 euros, I assumed I had made it. So I messaged Harry the way to worth it and I had no thought how a lot folks have been charging. After I acquired to the Faceit main none of my mates had arrived so I messaged Harry to see if he wished to observe some video games. Met Hugo and met Tim.
I might say the opposite casters I appeared as much as are literally your self and Brandon [BDog].
TIMMO
TIMMO: I might say the opposite casters I appeared as much as are literally your self and Brandon [BDog]. I used to be pals with you and Brandon earlier than I used to be competing, and so after my profession once I noticed you guys make your manner into commentary it made me suppose ‘They don’t know as a lot in regards to the recreation as I do, however they clearly made their manner by means of.’ I might argue that you simply guys are extra profitable in esports than I used to be competing, so I assumed ‘If they’ll do it, so can I’.
Choosing up your enjoying profession Tim, you received EPIC.LAN 34 with Coalesce, and have received a global event in Malta. How is it going from competing to commentating? Do you miss it typically?
TIMMO: I miss competing each day. The variety of instances I’m breaking down video games or watching video games for advanced-level groups I sit there and suppose ‘These are a bunch of errors that I can clearly level out, I can play higher than this.’ On the similar time, there are causes I left competing on account of my schedule and never having the ability to stability enjoying in my life.
I miss competing each day.
TIMMO
Index: The variety of instances we each have checked out one another and simply gone ‘Ought to we do it once more?’ It’s so tempting. The explanation why I left is that I had a full-time job and would play CS for a similar quantity of hours as my full-time job, thus, I had no social life. I used to be already getting careworn and burnout with my job and that bled into CS. One needed to go and I fairly like cash so I picked the job.
TIMMO: For me, it’s simply scratching an itch, I really like Counter-Strike and that’s most likely why I began casting within the first place. I really like the sport a lot, however it’s important to have an obsession with the sport to compete at a excessive stage. That by no means goes too.
Index: Snodz is again enjoying, so perhaps someday.
How is it at an EPIC.LAN casting and never competing?
TIMMO: In the back of my thoughts I’m at all times considering, I keep in mind the times of me at EPIC pre covid. I used to be only a lonely inters participant making my manner by means of on hypnotic with cazanap. After Covid, I got here again with Coalesce and received the primary EPIC. You’ve power when you’re profitable that nothing compares to, I want I may return however clearly, I can not complain about what I’m doing proper now.
You’ve power when you’re profitable that nothing compares to, I want I may return however clearly.
TIMMO
Index: I’ve been capable of get to know much more gamers since beginning casting. If you end up on digicam folks are inclined to recognise you extra naturally. However in the previous couple of years, I’ve accomplished a whole lot of private development. When enjoying I used to be a really anxious and socially awkward particular person. I wouldn’t have dreamed of going as much as half the folks at LAN. However now I’m completely satisfied to go speak to folks and have a chat.
Specializing in you Index, you go down some completely different avenues with bsite and stratbox, speak to me about what are they, what’s the thought behind them and what are you making an attempt to construct with them.
Index: Stratbox comes from an thought I had years in the past. I constructed an preliminary model that by no means went public. It’s a workforce supervisor and has a customized strat editor, it presents all of the roles in a very nice format you could have in your in-game overlay. On the time once I was enjoying google docs and spreadsheets sucked so I wished to construct one thing simpler. There are a couple of groups on the occasion that use it which is nice. I actually take pleasure in chatting to them about it.
The Danish, Swedish, and French scenes all have these completely different stay HLTV rating bots. We don’t have something like that, so that’s my aim. We’ve got the stay rating bot, the stay stats are a piece in progress however I can plug demos in after and get correct stats. Quite a lot of the UK tournaments don’t make it to HLTV, you’ve playoffs at greatest. In some unspecified time in the future the aim is, we plug in an EPIC group stage and you’ll see all the pieces. We’re a bit far off and I suppose whereas that is going I wish to convey contributors to keep up the information aspect of it. So if anybody is excited by that they’ll DM me on Twitter. It’s a glamorous job with completely no compensation.
I’ve caster field which is in beta which is a prep software, we use that religiously.
TIMMO: Caster field is a very cool software that Harry made which is mainly a one-stop store for any notes. Once we begin doing tier-3 video games that aren’t on HLTV. You must discover some solution to accumulate all the information to streamline our notes and preparation earlier than video games. On the time it may accumulate ESEA data and you may get map swimming pools from the workforce.
