USC ESPORTS WRAP-UP #22 — “My favorite thing was always the students.”
By: Richard Wang
Heya USC Games! Firstly, we have a quick shoutout for the new Deadlock team: Looking for Deadlock friends? Join the team in Leavey Lab on Friday 4/3 @ 5:00PM for Deadlock challenges, queues, and more fun! Secondly: An exclusive interview with Joe Jacko, the former co-director of the club!
Tell us a little bit about yourself! Name, favorite game, and previous role and responsibilities in USC Esports.
“My name’s Joe Jacko, and I’ve been playing League of Legends for the past thirteen years or so— it’s been my favorite game since I was a high schooler. At the dawn of Esports, I got into collegiate League myself, ultimately transitioning that into a career coaching LoL and running the Esports program at USC alongside Jim Huntley, and now I’m working at Riot Games.”
Do you have a favorite moment or experience during your time as USC Esports, whether as a coach or director?
“As a coach, my favorite thing was always the students. From the first group of students we had until ultimately the final year I was there, I look back very fondly on each team. Watching their growth was one of the coolest parts of being a coach: having a student come in at every skill level and ultimately watching them grow into the best student athlete you can think of. As a manager, my favorite moments would definitely be putting on shows like Conquest. Seeing student peers, families, and friends support the players that I loved was really what made me happy as a director of that event.”
You’re working at Riot now. Did your experience with USC Esports help you land that position? If so, how?
“Every team that I played on, coached, worked on, all helped me get into the fortunate position that I’m in today. Putting on shows and major LAN events where there's technical hiccups helped mold me and grow as an Esports professional. Being a high level player is essential to my job. It’s just something that is important so that we’re able to triage things and playtest at a high level, give high level content feedback, and drive the game in a better direction for our players.”
Working now in the industry, what advice would you give to other prospective students hoping to break in?
“Get real world experience, whether that's on USC’s campus or doing events on site that you host yourself. There are a lot of ways and opportunities to show that you have real marketable skills that's unique to campus, to LA, and even to Esports. The way that you can show your own brand and person is to get involved in those events and show what you can do.”
