USC ESPORTS WRAP-UP #16 — “You’re gonna have to do something for free.”

By: Richard Wang

Alivia “Liv” Alva - CS Games ‘28

Heya USC Games! This week, we have a special edition interview with our new League of Legends manager, Liv, a CS Games major and an Esports veteran. Last week, she provided some insight into what being in collegiate Esports is like as both a professional caster and player and how to break into it. 

1. You’ve been in collegiate / Esports for a while. How did you break into it? Why?

“I got into Esports just watching my friends play and thinking I could do better. I couldn’t, but I thought I could, so I started playing. From there, I started as a player in my high sports Esports league, and I figured on the side I wanted to do casting. I also did statistics for them and after a season of doing that, they offered me an official internship position at the United Federation of Esports Athletes— now it's something else; it’s a nationwide high school level Esports league.”

2. What is one challenge you had to overcome in relation to Esports (at any time in your life)?

“I’m not the most outgoing person. My first cast of Esports, I was so nervous, but once the game starts and I can just start yapping, everything settles into place. That also applies to when I’m applying to something. Right now, my main job is at LPL English— I’m a moderator and social manager sometimes— and applying to that was like "Y'know, maybe I should go for it, I don’t know I’m qualified” — it’s about having the confidence to give it a shot. 

3. As a caster, do you have any warm-up rituals that help you get in the mindset of casting?

“Usually before a game what I like to do is to open up my own clips and I’ll just practice casting it as if I were doing it play by play live. I just need to get warmed up, get my brain in the right mindset, and that’s about it.”

4. What is one piece of advice you would give to students who want to go into Esports, whether that's as an extracurricular or a career?

“The fun thing about Esports is that networking is kind of really easy. You get on Twitter, you get on discord, you’re gonna have to do something for free, but just offer, put your foot in the door, and all of a sudden people are gonna know you and you’re gonna have more opportunities to get somewhere that’s gonna pay you.