[PODCAST] Teach Me, Senpai, E5: Esports shoutcasting with Reptar

MANILA, Philippines – Esports has a longer history than most realize (tracing back to the ’70s, says this writeup), but it wasn’t as established and glamorous as it is today. There wasn’t a lot of attention being given to these competitions aside from dedicated fans and gamers. There was hardly any media coverage.

In the past decade, however, esports has gone from being an obscure event that only a niche community follows into a global multimillion-dollar industry.

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Like any sport, it’s founded on many pillars. There are the game developers, the brands and sponsors, the teams that manage the league, and the teams and players. Part of the excitement too are the people who broadcast these games through live streaming platforms, like Facebook, Twitch, and YouTube.

In Episode 5 of Teach Me, Senpai, we will hear from someone who does just that. Renmar Sta. Cruz, known as Reptar in the Mobile Legends: Bang Bang community, is what we call a shoutcaster – a broadcaster or sports reporter who sustains the hype of the games. He joins the show to talk about what it takes to be a shoutcaster.

Reptar is an official shoutcaster for the Mobile Legends Professional League Philippines (MPL PH), one of the largest mobile games competition leagues in Southeast Asia. His job is to entertain both the live audience and those watching online. He helps spectators keep track of every move and play of the competing teams and occasionally makes his own predictions.

Leaving a business consultancy job to join an esports league as a talent manager and later on a shoutcaster was a gamble for Renmar Sta. Cruz – one that, he says, worked out amazingly for him.

While this is a job that most “normies” (people who don’t follow games or esports) would find unusual, Reptar shares that it wasn’t hard to explain his job to his parents. His father,  DZBB’s Ka Rene Sta. Cruz, is a respected journalist and radio broadcaster, so one could say being in front of the microphone is already in Reptar’s blood. – Rappler.com