They keep our adrenaline levels high, and esports just would not be the same without them. Casters and hosts – the people that enliven our favorite esports events, sometimes explaining to us, lesser mortals, what is actually happening on screen. In this short article, we would like to pay tribute to some of the most iconic personalities other than players that make electronic entertainment events exciting.
Paul “Redeye” Chaloner
Redeye, now retired, is probably the longest and most accomplished esports host in history as he was active on the scene for 18 years. He hosted some of the most memorable moments in gaming, even with titles as old as Quake 3: Arena, Unreal Tournament and Call of Duty 2. He was the host for several DotA 2 Internationals, StarCraft II and CS: GO tournaments. His portfolio is incredibly rich and his charisma and professionalism won the hearts of many esports fans. Unfortunately, his retirement from esports was forced by scandals that have been proven in court to be untrue. The situation was very stressful for Paul and his family and so he decided to leave the esports scene for good. At that moment in 2020, the entire esports community suffered a huge blow, losing one of its most iconic and cherished contributors.
Tastosis
Otherwise known as the casting “Archon”, this is the self-named duo of Dan “Artosis” Stemkoski and Nicolas “Tasteless” Plott. Their outstanding chemistry, great analytical skills, humor and involvement in the StarCraft II scene made them famous even outside SC2 community. They are some of the first western casters to cover the games in South Korea, helping to share the excitement for esports in its early days with the rest of the world. In recognition of their immense contribution to SC2 and esports, Blizzard Entertainment has incorporated their voices into the game so you can have Tastosis as in-game announcers instead of the default ones.
Anna Prosser
The “Miss Oregon USA” of 2011, one of the most recognizable faces of Twitch, the host of numerous esports events now also famous for her participation in Dungeons & Dragons gaming sessions – Anna’s career has been closely connected to esports from the very beginning. She worked for Evil Geniuses Lair, where she met her future husband, a professional StarCraft II player and caster Geoff iNcontroL Robinson. Several years ago, she became one of the founders of Missclicks, a community supporting female role models in geek and gaming culture. She is also strongly connected to the Pokemon community.
Kaelaris
James „Kaelaris” Carrol is a well known British caster and host for StarCraft II, PUBG, Warcraft III and Heroes of the Storm. He casted some of the most memorable games in SC2 history in Katowice, Poland. With over 10 years of experience in esports, having casted several different games, Kaelaris is a well-established personality on the gaming scene. At some point, he was humorously referred to as the Jaime Lannister of esports, due to his resemblance to the Game of Thrones’ character, very popular at the time he was actively commenting StarCraft II.
Smix
Sue “Smix” Lee is an American host, translator and interviewer of Korean descent. Her skills at translating Korean into English have made interviews with many top SC2 players possible, bringing the international and South Korean scene closer together. Sue became interested in StarCraft after watching her brother play SC: Brood War. She is present at most large tournaments. Sue is currently strongly involved in Riot Games’ Valorant and has become the Sr. Account Manager at Twitch.
Conclusion
These are, of course, only some of the great people that helped shape esports as we know it today, but with so many casters and hosts involved in esports throughout its brief but vivid history, it is impossible to do justice to everyone. They all deserve our thanks!
