Gaming
Esports
Find out how Sjokz turned her passion for gaming into an esports career
We spoke with EU LCS host Eefje ‘Sjokz’ Depoortere at the Spring Finals in Copenhagen, where she talked about the rise of pro LoL, her career highlights and the advice she'd give to esports newcomers.
“Making your hobby into a job is a gift for everyone,” said Eefje ‘Sjokz’ Depoortere during her interview with us at the EU LCS Spring Finals. The Belgian EU LCS host and esports journalist never intended to pursue a career in gaming, though. Originally her passion was in documenting the achievements of athletes from her homeland who were dominating more traditional sports like like cycling, football and tennis. She'd graduated from Belgium's Ghent University with degrees in history, journalism and teaching, and wanted to be a sports writer.
But then she spotted an opportunity to divert slightly from that career path. She was already involved in competitive gaming, having scored several wins as an Unreal Tournament ‘99 player and watched the professional scene develop around her. So when the role of League of Legends editor for SK Gaming and ESFi World came up, it was an opportunity she didn’t want to pass up. She went for it, and she’s been going from strength to strength ever since as a host, presenter, writer and esports influencer.
Now, with career highlights such as hosting Worlds in 2013, the huge community moment of interviewing Dyrus on his retirement from the game and being present at the EU LCS Finals in Stockholm where Rekkles and Hjarnan got two big pentakills, she’s had plenty of stand-out moments – and there’ll be more to come, no doubt.
Watch our video interview below at the EU LCS Spring Finals in Copenhagen, Denmark, to find out more about Sjokz as she goes into more detail about her career path and how she’s seen the game’s popularity increase over time.
4 min
Sjokz – EU LCS Spring Finals interview
An interview with Sjokz about the EU LCS Spring Finals.
“When you look at League of Legends and its development in the last couple of years, it really has been a meteoric expansion, a rise really, an explosion of the amount of people that play, the amount of people that watch and I think, most notably, in the production quality of the shows all over the world as well as the way teams approach the game.”
Sjokz has not only seen the game grow as a whole, but also her own standing in the industry. From her early appearances on YouTube shows such as ‘Whose League is it Anyway?’ and ‘Summoner Recap’ to taking on a full-time position with Riot as the EU LCS host.
“It’s interesting how you just keep evolving and I think it also keeps you humble and keeps you passionate for what you do," she said. "I do think that often people forget that it’s still a job and there’s still stresses, but if you take a step back, I can only be incredibly happy that I get to do this every single day.”
Humble is indeed the word. Sjokz is still looking for ways to improve and always wants to find the stories viewers want to see and present them in the best way. But while the dream out of university was to be a traditional sports writer, the focus is now on League of Legends and esports.
“When I see how far we’ve come, and what I’ve been able to do and the chances I get here, I maybe don’t think I’ll go back to that just because esports is here to stay," she said. "I love covering it, it's what I’m so passionate about so I think this may be it.”
This can only be great news for anyone looking at a pursuing an esports career. Sjokz is a figure who inspires the next generation of players, journalists and enthusiasts – especially the massively under-represented audience of women in esports.
“It’s crazy sometimes – fathers and 10-year-old daughters come up to me and say how they look up to me and I think that is the greatest gift," said Sjokz. "I’m so happy that I can be a good role model for everyone.”
