LoL Esports | "You Never Quite Get Over the Nerves" – ERL Hosts on Casting the LEC
If you've been tuning into the League of Legends European Championship this Summer, you may have noticed that the on-air talent pool has widened this year. Back in June, we announced that several guest casters would be joining the LEC's core broadcast team to provide commentary and analysis on matches throughout the season. These guest casters consisted of proven talents from the European Regional Leagues.
In welcoming these talented casters into the fray, we hoped to diversify the voices fans would hear, share the workload among the casters, and give talents from around Europe the chance to hone their skills while sharing their perspectives with the core broadcast team. Now that the LEC 2021 Summer Season has concluded, we couldn't be prouder of the coverage our newly expanded team produced.
**Stepping Up**
We wanted to learn a little more about the experience of casting the LEC, so we caught up with two of this season's guest casters – Ceirnan "Excoundrel" Lowe and Jake "Hiprain" Matthews. Both are well-known British play-by-play casters, who have worked on tournaments including the UK League of Legends Championship and the Northern League of Legends Championship. For both casters, working on Europe's biggest LoL event was both thrilling and daunting.
"I was mega nervous as LEC has been a goal I've chased for a long time now, and I'd finally got to be part of it, so I was super worried about messing up," admits Hiprain. Hiprain's first LEC cast was over Team Vitality vs SK Gaming in Week 2, joined by fellow UKLC caster Adrian "Jamada" Wharlton-Thorne. "Being remote and being with Jamada did help me ease the nerves. Whenever I get nervous for a show, I usually shake off the nerves the moment I'm on air."
"Even though I've done it a few times in the past, you never quite get over the nerves as an 'LEC guest'," Excoundrel agrees. "It's the pinnacle of freelance League of Legends casting in Europe, and you want to do your best. Luckily the LEC team are extremely helpful and supportive, they are great at making you feel at home."
Excoundrel took on casting duties in Week 4, casting over Team Vitality vs Excel Esports, joined by fellow brit Dan "Foxdrop" Wyatt in the 'colour caster' role.
"I'm a huge XL fan, but it was also the weekend where we saw Mark "Markoon" van Woensel and Henk "Advienne" Reijenga debut," says Excoundrel of the pivotal game. "I've seen those two players grow throughout the NLC and European Masters, and to be able to bring their stories to life on a weekend where they showed up for their team, I was so happy for them. One of the most fun games I've been able to cover in my career."
As the pinnacle of European competition in LoL, casting over the LEC comes with a tremendous amount of pressure not only to be accurate and informative, but also to entertain and match the energy of the match as it unfolds. As his first time casting the LEC, this learning experience was particularly impactful for Hiprain.
"It was more about a confidence boost that I took away from my time on the LEC. I've been grinding in the ERL system since before EUM was a thing," he explains. "So to finally see the fruits of my labour and to look back and be happy with what I put out really gave me a needed boost to my self-esteem. Sometimes it's not what you need to work on, but to stop and look at how far you've come which is most useful. Of course, there are plenty of bits that need tidying up."
"This will sound awful, but don't over-prepare," adds Excoundrel. "I felt in Spring I tried to prepare 'too hard', and it meant I had premeditated points I wanted to bring up at every given opportunity in a game. In Summer I made sure I toned it down a bit and it allowed my personality to shine through a little more – I think it's important to put a bit of yourself into your product, and over-preparing can stifle your personality sometimes."
**Top Teams**
Once we had discussed their personal experiences, we had to know – which team had impressed our casters this year?
"Misfits, baby!" says Hiprain. "We were all doomsayers at the start – 'oh we've seen a good start to the split before then they fell off' – but they made fourth at the end of the regular season. Sure, it wasn't the first stop they held at the start, but that doesn't matter at all. They made it, baby!"
Misfits stood out to Hiprain as the most impressive team of the tournament.
"I've been most impressed by Fnatic," says Excoundrel. "I think they took a few risks this season that could have resulted in a flop, but they have really impressed. Adam "Adam" Maanane looks every bit as exciting as he was during the European Masters, and it's great to see his confidence translated to an LEC stage. Gabriël "Bwipo" Rau is living up to the hype, he's been one of the best junglers this split and I'm excited to see where his career goes from here. It's not easy to role-swap mid-professional career and land on your feet, but Bwipo absolutely did."
As the Playoffs draw to a close, fans and casters alike will be turning their attention to the League of Legends World Championship as European teams Fnatic, Rogue, and MAD Lions head to China. Our guest casters will be taking this time to take a well-earned break… or perhaps just grind solo queue. Make sure you keep up with all of the action in the LEC 2021 Summer Finals from 17:00 CEST on 28 August, right here on [lolesports.com.][1]
[1]: https://lolesports.com/
-BY Lolesports Staff
"You Never Quite Get Over the Nerves" – ERL Hosts on Casting the LEC
This year, some exceptionally talented casters from the European Regional Leagues joined the LEC broadcasts. We caught up with two of these casters to learn more about their experiences casting Europe's biggest tournament.
