Curro Krugersdorp learner a shoutcaster in training

25 October 2022

The eSports ‘ecosystem’ offers a variety of opportunities for skills development and the exploration of career paths. With a global viewership of over 450 million, eSports is quickly becoming one of the most widely watched sports activities in the world and the commentary given on an eSports game is known as shoutcasting. The eSports shoutcaster plays a significant role in every eSports tournament. Shoutcasters are responsible for discussing the gameplay and describing it for those who are not present and might not know what the game is about. Learners who are familiar with eSports and interested in shoutcasting might be uncertain of where to start.

The Curro eSports team launched a shoutcasting workshop series for any staff members or learners who wanted to explore this field. The workshops were facilitated by Rossouw ‘Shakey’ Byleveld, a former Curro learner who has made a career out of eSports. Roux Pretorius, a Grade 7 learner at Curro Krugersdorp, attended all Shakey’s shoutcasting workshops last term and had the opportunity to shoutcast some eSports matches during the 2022 Curro Cup.

Roux started gaming in Grade 5 with games such as Minecraft, Terraria and Fortnite. He only started competing in 2022 during the first Curro Dota 2 league. Roux enjoyed being part of the team that finished third in that league. According to him, the best part of playing eSports is being part of a team where you discover the game together and learn how to win using each member’s strengths.

When Roux saw Shakey shoutcast the Dota 2 league finals, he decided to find out more. The shoutcasting web series was just the thing. Roux says that he likes the way Shakey shoutcasts because you can really see that he is passionate about the games and sharing his knowledge with smiles and excitement. The one moment in the webinars he will never forget is that shoutcasting must always be fun.

Roux prefers Rocket League because it is fast paced and a lot of commentary happens in a short amount of time.

Roux chose the name Roux_Kangaroo. It is a nickname one of his friends called him and it stuck. This is also his player name for all the eSports tournaments he takes part in. He has started a YouTube channel but has not yet had the opportunity to put the skills he learned in the webinar series into practice. He assures us that he is looking at expanding his hardware setup to include streaming equipment soon.

Mr Hannes Kilian is the eSports coach at Curro Krugersdorp High School and Roux is excited to join his team in Grade 8. He knows Mr Kilian is an exceptionally good coach and Roux is looking forward to participating in Valorant tournaments. He also wants to play in the Overwatch 2 tournaments.

Players want to go to school where they can share the excitement of gaming with their friends. Roux feels that it all starts with playing with friends and also making friends with other players in different grades and schools. Curro eSports provides that opportunity. Shoutcasting is a fun activity that can be shared and streaming with another person makes it a lot more exciting.

We hope to see a lot more from this talented young man in the near future.