Tech Girl Talks

This is a new Counter-Strike series called CHALLENGED. DarfMike and I realised we work the same events but never get to work together, so we made a thing so we could. CHALLENGED is a series focused around the ESL Challenger Events for 2024. We’ll do a pre and post event video showcasing what to expect from the teams competing and then what we got wrong about those expectations. The first episode i...

After months of question marks concerning their performance, G2 beat Vitality in the finals of IEM Dallas 2024, with a stand in. HooXi is attending his sister’s wedding, Major winner Stewie2K who hasn’t competed in ages, stands in. The final is arguably the best CS2 final of the year. So where to go for G2 now? Were the pundits like Kassad who called for HooXi’s head correct? Should the IGL be rem...

Team Falcons was meant to be the incredible Counter-Strike super team. Rumours flowed as Falcons was touted as the Saudi Arabian CS2 team with deep pockets and a list of legendary players were linked with signing to the organisation after they announced Major winning coach Zonic had agreed to move to Falcons from Team Vitality. However, the lineup never materialised and now the team consisting of...

The Heroic Astralis drama that dominated social media and HLTV forums started a soap opera in competitive counter-strike. Stavn and Jabbi joined Astralis to create a “super team” which never got off the starting line. Recently, the Danish move was to drop IGL BlameF and announced that multiple Major winning MVP dev1ce would take up IGL duties. The announcement was met with shock and concern by the...

This is a special short series dissecting the Business of Gaming and Esports in South Africa. Hosted by Sam “Tech Girl” Wright , an esports broadcaster and desk host who was raised in South Africa but now works primarily in Europe on Counter-Strike events, the series targets agencies and business people looking to enter the gaming and esports space in South Africa. It is a unique and developing ma...

This is a special short series dissecting the Business of Gaming and Esports in South Africa. Hosted by Sam “Tech Girl” Wright , an esports broadcaster and desk host who was raised in South Africa but now works primarily in Europe on Counter-Strike events, the series targets agencies and business people looking to enter the gaming and esports space in South Africa. It is a unique and developing ma...

This is a special short series dissecting the Business of Gaming and Esports in South Africa. Hosted by Sam “Tech Girl” Wright , an esports broadcaster and desk host who was raised in South Africa but now works primarily in Europe on Counter-Strike events, the series targets agencies and business people looking to enter the gaming and esports space in South Africa. It is a unique and developing ma...

This is a special short series dissecting the Business of Gaming and Esports in South Africa. Hosted by Sam “Tech Girl” Wright , an esports broadcaster and desk host who was raised in South Africa but now works primarily in Europe on Counter-Strike events, the series targets agencies and business people looking to enter the gaming and esports space in South Africa. It is a unique and developing ma...

This is a special short series dissecting the Business of Gaming and Esports in South Africa. Hosted by Sam “Tech Girl” Wright , an esports broadcaster and desk host who was raised in South Africa but now works primarily in Europe on Counter-Strike events, the series targets agencies and business people looking to enter the gaming and esports space in South Africa. It is a unique and developing ma...

There was once a time when FURIA’s Counter-Strike team was the best of the best when it came to Brazilian CS. But since the transition to CS2 it has been a bit of a hot mess. The benching of IGL arT led to a tell all live stream spilling tea on the general operations and management without the team and FURIA co-owner Akkari has been adding his own voice to discussions around the team and what is g...

Valve announced that Dust2 is now back in the competitive map pool for CS2 with Overpass being removed. ​⁠  @STYKO  joins ​⁠  @Thooorin  & Sam to hate on Vertigo (lies, he's positive the whole way through) and discuss the impact Dust2 will have on pro level CS2 moving forward. 0:00 Intro 00:51 Dust2 & powdered eggs 02:18 STYKO's reaction to Dust2 inclusion in the map pool 03:14 Tho...

On the second episode of Feed The Trolls  @launders  joins  @Thooorin  and myself to get to the bottom of the m0NESY vs donk debate. m0NESY is arguably one of the best players in Counter-Strike but donk's rookie performance at IEM Katowice 2024 was exceptional and he has the potential to be one of the greatest riflers in Counter-Strike history. Both players face pressure and high expectations...

On this episode of Feed The Trolls, Sam &  @Thooorin  are joined by HLTV's NER0 to discuss whether HooXi is the right IGL for G2. G2's consistent playoff appearances are not enough for this team and a lot of the internet likes to blame HooXi as IGL. Will replacing HooXi solve G2's problems? And if he remains what needs to change in the team? 00:00 Feed The Trolls 01:05 G2's cur...

I had a chance to interview esports organisation NAVI's Performance Coach Urszula "Xirreth" Kimczak about the organisation's Counter-Strike team's win at the first ever CS2 Major. Talking points include: 01:46 The moment NAVI won 01:46 the feeling in the moment that NAVI won the Major - reactions from the team & backroom staff. 03:30 not being the favourites for the Major...

Azin Alikhani was born and raised in Iran. She has gone on to become the Country Head for Africa for ASUS Open Platform Business Group and is also the ASUS Regional Marketing Director for the Middle East and Africa region. The tenacity and drive it takes for a woman to rise up the corporate ranks in an IT company is something impressive but more so when you consider the country of Azin’s birth. In...

I really wanted to have Niklas on the podcast this season because not only is he able to give some valuable insight into work behind the cameras for esports broadcasts, but he has also built a successful esports business from the ground up. Black Molly Entertainment is a Swedish and European esports staple and has had a hand in some incredible broadcasts. I wanted him to share his knowledge not on...

What exactly is a talent manager? I speak to freelance talent manager Mosawer Tokhi, better known as Mo, to find out what exactly is required when it comes to looking after and assisting esports broadcast talent. Mo breaks down what his job looks like, how he explains it to his friends and what a normal day on broadcast looks like for the talent manager, who has to ensure the broadcast team you se...

When you watch the Grand Finals of your favourite esports event, what you’ll see whether in the stadium or watching at home - is an incredible showcase of the best players. It isn’t only a competitive game but a show that celebrates the beauty of the game we’ve all loved. In order to make sure that show looks the way it needs to, someone needs to be in charge of the moving parts that ensure people...

As an esports player, organisation, tournament operator or broadcast talent do you need a specialised esports lawyer? In this episode I chat to Nick Williams, a barrister who represents a host of esports players and broadcast talent while also heading up esports and gaming talent agency DotX Talent. He chats about the specific legal needs in the esports industry. It’s a really insightful chat abou...

Photography is art. Esports Photography is art with a bunch of hurdles thrown into the mix. You need to try to deal with various lighting headaches, understand the complexities of the game because emotional moments are limited and make someone sitting in front of a computer or console playing video games competitively interesting enough to catch attention. One of the best esports photographers in...

Being an analyst for an esports title is not nearly as simple as you might think. It takes a level of knowledge and game understanding that comes from hundreds of hours poured into the server. It also requires a presentability and knack for broadcast. Alex “Mauisnake” Ellenberg has risen up to be one of the top tier analysts for Counter-Strike. In this episode we discuss the nuances of the broadca...

Wilton “Zews” Prado is a living legend in the competitive Counter-Strike community. However, the Brazilian esports coach should be recorded as a legend within the esports industry as a whole. His story is the one they write movies about: how a band of brothers left Brazil to try to take on the best in the world… before becoming one of the greatest CSGO teams the world has ever seen. A multiple maj...

The concept of a performance coach for an esports team or player seems somewhat odd. Surely esports players just sit and play games all day? WHY would they need a performance coach? Urszula Klimczak is an esports performance coach currently working with the ENCE Counter-Strike team. In this episode she breaks down the nuances of competitive gaming and how it compares to traditional sports as well...

In the new season of Tech Girl Talks, Sam chats to friends and colleagues in the esports industry about their specific jobs, how they found themselves in esports and what they do. It’s a deep dive into the esports jobs many people don’t know exist and showcases the diverse nature of the industry. In episode 1, Sam decides to explain what it is she does as an esports broadcaster, desk hosting vario...

Love him or hate him, there is no denying that Duncan “Thorin” Shields has had a global impact on esports both as a content creator and broadcast talent. He has amassed a following across multiple platforms and regularly makes Counter-Strike content that starts conversations (and debates).  It seemed only fitting to end Season 3 with an icon of CSGO. Expect some bangers in this one, it is a p...