A newsroom of their own
Games you love and the people who cover them
By Brandon Wong
Photo courtesy of Keith Capstick
theScore Esports reporters in their Toronto newsroom, which is located at 500 King St. W. theScore Esports division was established in 2015.
At the beginning of each shift, Keith Capstick walks into theScore, a Toronto-based digital sports media company, and does his daily routine. He walks into the office at 9 a.m., gets a cup of coffee from the cafeteria before meeting his editors. Then sits at his desk to research ideas for “The story of,” an episodic series on YouTube, that focuses on prominent Esports figures or popular video game franchises, for theScore’s Esports division.
The Esports division launched in 2015 as the first mobile app that provides video game news and data coverage from the world of Esports, a competition-based format involving video games.
“It felt like a startup company at first,” said Keith Capstick, theScore Esports writer. “We were throwing things at the page and trying to find a mix that worked well between traditional sports and video game coverage.”
Capstick, a graduate of the Journalism program at Ryerson University in Toronto, began working on the Esports team as a part-time data entry specialist in 2018. The job required him to watch matches like Dota 2, League of Legends and CS:GO (Counter-Strike: Global Offensive), while updating the scores and stat lines.
Capstick began pitching story ideas about Hearthstone, an online competitive card game developed by Blizzard Entertainment, before becoming a full-time newswriter for theScore.
“A lot of it is being an expert where there is no expert,” he said. “People care about very specific things and if you take the time to learn about it then they’ll gravitate towards it.”
Initially, the Esports team tried to emulate the feel of a traditional newsroom by covering video games and updating matches but found success with long-form stories on games with a devoted fan base.
“There are a lot of stories in this space but not a lot of people were telling them,” Capstick said. “I think that was a big thing because people really liked it and it helped bring in a larger audience.”
theScore’s Esports team started in a room that wasn’t big enough for the employees on shift, so some would work from the sports newsroom where the traditional sports writers and editors were watching the Blue Jays, Raptors, or Leafs.
“On my first day [in 2015] at theScore, there was only a row of 10 computer desks and there wasn’t room for everyone,” former theScore Esports editor, Preston Dozsa said.
However, as Esports increased in popularity, theScore’s Esports division expanded. The YouTube channel has accumulated more than 500,000 subscribers and 139 million views. The Esports team numbers 45 reporters, editors, data entry specialists, and video producers.
Dozsa, a graduate of the joint Journalism program at University of Toronto and Centennial College, started [in 2015] as a part-time data entry specialist at theScore. When applying for the job, the requirements included ability to work under pressure, schedule flexibility, ability to multitask, willingness to learn on the job, attention to detail and a strong knowledge of Esports, specifically Dota 2 and CS:GO.
Photo courtesy of Preston Dozsa
Preston Dozsa, segment producer in the TV studio for a taping of Heads Up Daily
“Aside from the required knowledge of Esports, those are key parts to being a journalist,” he said. “If you’re inattentive or make factual errors then it can get you out of the industry pretty quick.”
“Television is a different beast but I like the challenge,” Dozsa said.
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While Esports reporting is still new with most stories focusing on the statistics and analysis of the games being played, there are more opportunities to experiment and get creative.
“I don’t think there is enough focus on players or storylines that get people invested in Esports,” freelance Overwatch writer Bonnie Qu said. “I feel it doesn’t address the more human side of Esports and there should be a balance between the gameplay and players.”
Qu, who is from Hong Kong, started at age 17 playing Overwatch, an online team-based first-person shooter, after seeing the trailers for the game. She also watched the competitive matches before discovering there was a space for writing about Overwatch.
Qu, who is now 19, pitched stories to the Overwatch League, which got approved. “It was a pretty painless process,” she said.
The Overwatch League then signed her to a freelance contract.
Qu writes articles about the Asian Esports scene for ESPN and ProvingGrounds.TV, a media outlet that provides Esports content, storytelling and journalism development.
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Esports reporters may not report on hard news like traditional reporters, but they are providing the public with content that is new, interesting and relevant.
“We should be held to the same standard as reporters in other fields,” Dot Esports staff writer Nicole Carpenter said in an email. “The only difference is in what we are covering.”
Carpenter has spent two years at Dot Esports, a media outlet that delivers Esports content ranging from the games to players.
“It’s really cool to cover a growing industry,” she wrote. “It feels like everyone has a story to tell that are fresh and untapped.”
Carpenter has interests beyond Esports and Overwatch. She reads books and news that she believes help her come up with ideas.
“It’s like fashion, you have to keep adapting,” Capstick said.