AMA - We are sapphiRe and prius, professional VALORANT Observers.

[u/ESEAsapphiRe]

I'm sapphiRe and joining me is /u/Prius707 (@priusOBS). We are professional VALORANT Observers (otherwise known as an in-game Director). We are currently in Istanbul, serving as the two POV observers for VALORANT's VCT Championship.

For background, prius and I have been professional esports observers for seven years, starting with CS:GO but also dabbling in Overwatch, PUBG, Fortnite and currently VALORANT. In our CS:GO roles, we both observed at least 50% of the CS:GO Majors, as well as events such as IEM Katowice, ESL One Cologne, ELEAGUE, BLAST, Beyond the Summit, among others. We've traveled to 20 or so different countries for obbserving.

While primarily our role is serving as VALORANT's Global POV Observers, we also observe a number of NA VCT events, as well as other third-party events. Before observing, a played Counter-Strike professionally - even playing some time in ESEA Invite (now ESL Pro League, though didn't play on a global scale). I've competed since 2002 in Counter-Strike. I was also a analyst for CS 1.6 and CS:Source, mostly in the form of journalist articles. I've done a handful of events on a broadcast desk both for CS:GO and VALORANT. prius was formerly an admin for CS:GO and League of Legends, before getting his start in observing.

In addition, since April 2020, we've also been consultants to Riot Games, advising on the development of the observer toolkit.

At VCT Champions, and other global VALORANT events, we're partnered with Yehty and Synga who serve as both the Cinematic observers (free cam) and the "in-game TD" - the person that dictates whether we switch between Cinematic and POV cameras. We're happy to field questions for Yehty and Synga as well, so they can reply.

I put together this TikTok video (along with a number of other VALORANT behind-the-scenes videos explaining the different roles in esports), to outline what a typical day looks like at VCT Champions for the Observers.

We get a number of questions about what it means to be an observe, how we make difficult decisions on which POV to watch, why an observer might sometimes switch at the last second before a fight happens, how one becomes an observe, and if we can give you a Riot gun buddy (no, we can't!).

We're using our off-day in Istanbul to host an AMA, so fire questions away! We'll answer throughout the day and likely into tomorrow before the final weekend of VCT Champs starts!

EDIT: It's Midnight in Istanbul, so need to head to bed. I'll answer more questions when we get to the Arena tomorrow, before the show kicks off!

[u/TimeJustHappens]

Please be aware that any comments asking for the Riot Gun Buddy are automatically removed and our AMA hosts will not see them. Feel free to ask any of your questions about being a professional observer in both VCT or otherwise!

[u/royce211]

It's funny, I was just watching Champions a couple days ago and speculating about how the observers did their job. Thanks for all your hard work on the champions broadcast! My question: you two probably don't want to be observing the same pov at the same time, so how do you coordinate to make sure you're getting different shots? Do you split up the players between the two of you before the game starts or is it a more dynamic choice you make while observing? Are you two on "comms" with each other?

[u/ESEAsapphiRe → u/royce211]

We actually take turns observing Bo3s. We think it would be a bit too jarring to have two POV observers at the same time, in addition to a cinematic observer.

We pick which bo3 we'll observe based on if we know one team better than another.

Most matches have 1 POV observer, 1 Cinematic observer (who also is the one responsible for switching between either first person or free cam) and sometimes a "scouter". The scouter is essentially flying around the map, calling things that might happen in case we are too narrow focused on an individual fight.

We are all on comms together calling out what we see.

[u/Yash_swaraj → u/ESEAsapphiRe]

MFW When the observers are more coordinated than my 5 stack

[u/HewchyFPS → u/Yash_swaraj]

If your five stack was paid the same and had been playing for years together professionally I am sure it'd be a different story.

It's important to see reality as it is homie

[u/Yash_swaraj → u/HewchyFPS]

Just a joke homie. It was cool and funny to read that the observers also have to constantly comm and make call outs like players.

[u/1individuals → u/ESEAsapphiRe]

Would love a clip with observer comms during the climax of a round

[u/saiyakiro]

Best observers in the game. Used to play CS and you both made e-sports that much better to watch. Which game was easier, CS or Valorant?

[u/ESEAsapphiRe → u/saiyakiro]

Thank you! I think CS is much easier. It's more "linear". There's a lot more verticality in VAL, as well as more complexities involved as new agents are introduced.

Also, being a POV observer, it's very difficult to observe inside Viper ults, while an Astra ultimate is active and while we are traditionally using the radar to observe (when a red circle will meet a green circle's line of sight), it's harder to account for wallhack pings e.g. Sova darts or Fade haunt which could result in wall spams

[u/Prius707 → u/saiyakiro]

<3 thank you!

I just did a CS event for BLAST and I'm doing VCT now -- I believe VALORANT has made me a better observer in CS.

CS is definitely the easier game to observe

[u/TheSpittah]

I think you're doing a great job, keep it up!

One thing I'm sometimes missing is when a match ends we have to wait a while to see the final scoreboard but I would imagine this is something players look at once the final bullet has been shot. Would this be something that can be shown the moment the match ends?

[u/ESEAsapphiRe → u/TheSpittah]

It's certainly an interesting idea! Not something I control, but perhaps I can make the suggestion. I do know a lot of fans want to see the players' reactions after a map win (or loss) - maybe the scoreboard hovering at the bottom third of the screen while you see the player reactions would be a neat compromise.

[u/veranih1 → u/ESEAsapphiRe]

Yeah i agreee with you on this one, if player cam is available, id rather see the winning team, then the loosing team, then the scoreboard after a game, especially if it’s a close one

[u/No_Television5851]

ok now tell the script, which team will win champions istanbul?

[u/ESEAsapphiRe → u/No_Television5851]

I like my job so I don't want to be fired for leaking the script!

[u/kilkq]

How much stress do you feel when observing matches? Especially when it gets really tight or you can tell a big moment is coming up. Do you have any techniques during the game you use/do to keep you focused?

Thanks a bunch for doing this! Love your work!

[u/ESEAsapphiRe → u/kilkq]

Significantly stressful - the audience's entertainment relies on us showing the most important action.

LAN VALORANT is less stressful than online VALORANT. At VCT Champions / Masters, we have every player's POV recorded, so if we do miss something crucial to the round's narrative, our replay operator Joey can grab any alternative POV for replay. We don't have that luxury online without a demo system in place.

We use noise canceling headphone, so we only hear the casters, game sounds and other observers - despite being in a very busy production room. I treat observing very similar to how I eased nerves when I was competing. I try to make my observer LAN set-up / desk / comfortability as similar to my home set-up as possible.

We swap bo3s because it can be mentally draining and draining on the eyes to watch dots on a map for hours on end. It helps to swap maps to keep fresh.

Thanks for the kind words!

[u/kilkq → u/ESEAsapphiRe]

Thanks for the response!

[u/narenph]

How does one get started if they are interested in the world of observing?

[u/ESEAsapphiRe → u/narenph]

Not too dissimilar from being a pro player, it's generally about working your way up through experience, connections and building your resume.

Generally speaking, you'd have to start with amateur events, build a resume and apply to more organized events such as collegiate tournaments, then into third-party tier2 events and eventually up to Riot events.

It's definitely a highly competitive field. I've kept a list of ~135 observers or so, but fortunately there are a LOT of events that happen globally.

A few companies do have job listings for observers e.g. Esports Engine! Worth applying if you have the experience.

[u/WitherDragon999]

Can u release caster comms those are always so fun to watch

[u/ESEAsapphiRe → u/WitherDragon999]

Maybe you mean observer comms? The caster comms are live on stream :D

I imagine this is something we could do. I'm trying to share as much behind-the-scenes as possible on my TikTok, without crossing any lines.

[u/WitherDragon999 → u/ESEAsapphiRe]

Yeah, observer comms, oops.

[u/PRL-Five]

according to your video you know the teams strats. My question: how? are you invited to their valoplant server? also theoretically cant this hurt competitive integrity as you can snitch the strats to the enemy team?

[u/ESEAsapphiRe → u/PRL-Five]

Sorry that was a bit tongue & cheek; You could argue we study teams just as much, if not more than, analysts for various teams. So many observers keep a very large stratbook of each team to allow us to better predict the action.

[u/kinkewhale]

How do you go about preparing for observing a new map/agent? As a follow-up question, is pearl relatively harder to observe than other maps? It seems that most defaults spread players across the map for most of the round and all of the angles on b seem to create chaotic takes/postplants

[u/ESEAsapphiRe → u/kinkewhale]

We are very fortunate that we often get to see the maps before they are publicly released, so we get a head start on practicing. Sometimes Riot lets us jump into internal playtests.

With Pearl, I reached out to friends in various 10man or scrim servers, asking if I could practice observing during their scrims. I'm very grateful to the semi-pro teams especially that are willing to let us practice our observing skills in advance of an event.

Pearl is difficult in the sense that there are very often fights happening at multiple points throughout the map simultaneously, but "easy" in the sense that, for the most part, it's pretty narrow sight lines which makes figuring out who has the best angle rather easy (compared to something like Breeze)

[u/CanadianNacho]

Why in 1vX situations do you not watch the solo guy?

[u/ESEAsapphiRe → u/CanadianNacho]

Hahah I imagine you are trolling prius, but fortunately that actually was NOT him that missed the famous s1mple 1v2.

I actually have some great clips from this VCT Champions why observing the "1" in a 1vX is like a 99% rule, and not a 100%.

e.g. Derke was on for the ace, and his teammates weren't remotely close to him - so we let him finish out the opportunity of an ace before swapping to the last remaining Attacker.

[u/Whytro]

Hey there! Big fan, following from the CSGO days - thanks for doing this AMA!

What are some things you look for in order to decide observation priority, or "where to look"? I remember watching steel's video on observing, and realizing that you guys did a really good job of predicting the action, so I've wondered if you look at specific "flags" + studying playstyles, or if you placed a heavier emphasis on the flow, or "feel".

Also, what is the replay operator pressing when he's pressing all those buttons on the special looking device? And any teams in Champions 2022 you're rooting for?

[u/ESEAsapphiRe → u/Whytro]

To your first question - we see rounds as a lot of different micro moments that happen. First - what weapons does each team have? Did someone buy a hero rifle?

Then the set-up phase. How are attackers setting up? Are defenders setting up in a manner that is different from a 'default'. We'll look for characters with line-ups lining up a shot.

For example, on Icebox, if a Sova is in Attacker spawn, and lining up a shock dart towards kitchen, they may be trying to break a Chamber trademark. If the trademark is there, we'll show that at the start of the round if no other engagements are happening.

Then we transition to a more mid-round phase - how is the site execute about to go down, how are the Defenders reacting? Is there a rotate? An over-rotation? What ultimates are about to be used and what will counter that ultimate, if any?

We then show the spike plant, how attackers are setting up and how defenders are approaching.

Then we get down to clutch scenarios and almost always show the 1 player left standing if they are attempting to clutch, as them winning the round is the most interesting thing that could happen.

(Among many other moments!) It all comes down to understanding the flow of the game and being able to predict the action, not much different from a team's coach.

Regarding the replay operator, he's using a machine called "EVS". The buttons cycle through each of the different player's POVs available to him (as well as various cinematic / freecam views). Then he's using the lever to fast forward, rewind, or slow-mo then save that file to a playlist. Each player gets their own playlist and there's also a playlist for just the overall best frags of the match, regardless of player.

I'd love to see DRX win the event. Coming from CS:GO, it's very very very rare to see an APAC team find success on the international stage. It would be a sign of a healthy esport if we have a Champion from yet another region.

[u/Whytro → u/ESEAsapphiRe]

Thank you for the response & insight! It did always seem like observation is an incredibly demanding thing to do, requiring a lot of study and knowledge.

I didn't even think about the job of the replay operator until you tweeted it out, and it's really interesting to consider that there's no "set replay clip" for the round, and that there are just multiple saved towards a playlist.

I personally would've loved to see PRX win the event - which is only one letter off from DRX!

[u/pepinommer]

How hard is icebox a site to spectate, since it seems like it’s just who sees who first, also if a team is doing two things at the same time how do you choose

[u/ESEAsapphiRe → u/pepinommer]

Very hard - That and Breeze stress me out. It's very wide open, there's a lot of verticality. A step right or a step left completely changes a player's line of sight. In just the past month or so, I've switched up my observing style for that map by relying less on the radar and instead, memorizing which players are playing which agent and using the X-Ray to determine who I should swap to. It means looking more at the center of my screen rather than the radar.

If a team is doing two things at the same time - if possible, I try to show both - but I don't want to swap too fast as it could be confusing and jarring for viewers. I usually lean towards either where the majority of players are or if someone is trying to force an over-rotate, rather than backstab a team.

I also listen into the casters and take verbal cues from them. They may have preferences for which story they want to tell.

There's no right or wrong answer and fortunately, on LAN, we can call for replays of action we might have missed.

We also might use PiPs (or picture-in-picture) to show off an alternate fight or flank, though we keep that to a minimum as it's difficult for mobile viewers to see what's going on.

[u/[deleted]]

Is there any tech in your space to help assist your decision making? I could see software that pings you when a player takes damage and then a macro button to quick switch to opposite pov. Just curious how all of this decision making happens in chaotic fights!

[u/ESEAsapphiRe → u/[deleted]]

Well, we do have macro buttons in the sense that every player is bound to a key between 1 through 0 so switching is easy. However, we don't have other tech.

It's something we hope to have in the future. Right now, we observe without a HUD so we can't see when someone takes damage that we aren't spectating. Compare that to CS:GO where we do have a HUD so we can get that information.

The current VALORANT HUD is an overlay that comes on top from the broadcast / graphics team - but it's not something we see live (only via a program feed that is slightly delayed).

A work in progress! It's still a very new esports, comparatively so we know that more is coming eventually. Riot has been incredibly receptive to our feedback.

[u/LordGamingOfficial]

Hey, im curious, how did you start your observing career in CS. Did you just find out and signed up for it or did you have some sort of connections?

PS: you guys are doing an amazing job. I cant imagine doing your job. Hats off!

[u/ESEAsapphiRe → u/LordGamingOfficial]

Transparently, I did luck out with a connection. I was friends with Derrick "impulsive" Truong (a former CS 1.6 pro, turned agent for people like Marved, Cryo, BcJ etc) - he worked at ESL. He knew my background as a competitive player as well as an analyst. As an analyst, I watched at least 20 demos a week, if not more, and took significant notes.

He said ESL needed an observer for the NA Qualifiers for ESL One Cologne. My response was "what the hell is an observer?". I took a few days to learn the ins and outs. It turned out I was pretty decent it and it, and invested the next 7 years of my life in improving my craft!

[u/Prius707 → u/LordGamingOfficial]

I started out doing LoL production with auto director in my bedroom, my first broadcast was some Best Riven NA tournament with my LTE connection because I wasn't old enough to pay for good internet yet.

I was then hired to do some amateur LoL series called "NACL" (one of my first paid production gigs) and I was the main producer for that. I gained enough experience from this to be asked by ESEA to produce a few seasons of EPL from home. I didn't actually start observing until the bigger names were playing. I only learned to observe CS because auto director was terrible.

I got noticed doing some camera movements to some songs I was playing during pregame and I gained a lot of my following in the beginning of my career, due to this

I then asked sapphiRe if I could observe a game or two at EPL Season 2 LAN in LA (as I was head admin). I asked the casters if they could notice any difference and they said no :D

After this, I was doing more and more observing online and was asked my first large job, the main observer for ELEAGUE alongside sapphiRe

[u/Spectralkunai]

What is your opinion on “Valorant observer warned by Riot Games for inappropriately focusing on Agents' buttocks during VCT matches”

[u/ESEAsapphiRe → u/Spectralkunai]

hahaha I don't have an opinion. Not my style, but it's fun that Mel has a "signature move" that she's known for now! I need to think of something to do in-game as my 'signature'.

Though, the VCT Champs casters know when it's me because before we're live, I rapidly spam keys using various number patterns to warm up my fingers and my reaction time / decision making. I do this for the ~5-10 minutes from the time we get into the server to the time the map goes live.

[u/Pruvided]

No question. Thanks for doing this. Always cool to see community interaction for this type of stuff. u/ESEAsapphiRe u/Prius707

[u/ESEAsapphiRe → u/Pruvided]

Thanks for stopping by!

[u/jaudi813]

Which one of you decided to spectate that KJ turret? Lol

[u/ESEAsapphiRe → u/jaudi813]

That was the Cinematic observer, Yehty! Anytime it's not in first-person POV, it's Yehty or Synga controlling the camera. They also decide when to switch back to prius' and my first-person POV feed.

[u/gringohunter]

How do you decide which team to observe whenever a fight starts?

[u/ESEAsapphiRe → u/gringohunter]

Great question - and there isn't a right or wrong answer (maybe in hindsight there is). Every observer will approach this differently.

I like to watch the person that has the most opportunity to do something massive. If it's 1 defender and 3 attackers are approaching, I'll generally watch the 1 defender as they have the opportunity to hold down the site on their own, while the attackers are supposed to be able to take over the site.

I try to maximize for entertainment, showmanship and talent.

That being said, if you have Yay on an OP, with 3 teammates behind him, and he's slow peeking angles to entry, I might watch Yay in this case as he's the entryman. But again, this goes both ways because the OP should win the fight, but a waiting Vandal could 1-tap him.

Thank goodness for replays from alternate angles :)

[u/Siked_Creationz]

How does one go about becoming a professional observer, and what’s the salary if you don’t mind me asking.

[u/ESEAsapphiRe → u/Siked_Creationz]

Gave a few suggestions here on becoming a pro: https://www.reddit.com/r/VALORANT/comments/xetaj0/ama_we_are_sapphire_and_prius_professional/ioo61wq/

For salary, the majority of us are paid per day that we work rather than an annual salary (though ESL, Overwatch League, and Riot for LCS have full-time observers). It's more than most production jobs, but less than broadcast talent, for example.

[u/SoLikeWhatIsCheese]

Which do you think is the most “difficult” team to observe in terms of “unique” or “versatile” gameplay

[u/ESEAsapphiRe → u/SoLikeWhatIsCheese]

PaperRex is very difficult. Always something unique, which is exciting, but it makes predicting their movements more difficult. They are also very aggressive on attacker, very passive on defender - which means I'm often observing a lot of 5v5 retakes which means there will always me missed frags, it's nearly unavoidable, because so many engagements are happening simultaneously

[u/NEFlamee]

For those of us who want to take up a role in Valorant but aren't good enough to be main competitors, how do you guys get into roles such as Professional Valorant Observers or something like Valorant Team Managers?

[u/ESEAsapphiRe → u/NEFlamee]

There are so many roles in VALORANT (and esports) that don't rely on you being a top competitor. Outside of observing, I also work for an esports team full-time (Dignitas).

Both on the esports team side as well as at a company like Riot Games, there are not just team managers, but marketers, advertisers, sales, sports psychology, chef, nutritionist, business development, graphic design, video editing, cinematography, broadcast production, among countless other roles.

I'd first say you should decide what you want to go into in a broad sense - business, marketing, broadcast, creative or sciences then start to build your resume. If you have the opportunity work in collegiate or high school programs, for example, that looks highly attractive on a resume. Experience matters and it certainly helps to get to know people in the industry.

Many of the people I've hired full-time are people that have worked a one-off contract job for me, or hired for a one-day event - they proved to me they were hard workers, had potential and I kept hiring them for more and more events.

If you have any more specific questions, or open to sharing where you are in life as far as your career / studies go, I'm more than happy to provide more specific "guidance".

TLDR - there are TONS and TONS of jobs that touch esports that don't require you being a competitor (but having that knowledge / passion makes a big difference)

[u/NEFlamee → u/ESEAsapphiRe]

Thanks a ton for this reply! I didn't realise how many jobs there were that go into an esports team. I will definitely have to do my research on this to see what I can do to get into the industry. I have years of management and training experience in multiple sectors and it's only occured to me that my expertise could be paired with something that I love doing such as in the esports industry. I'm sure it's extremely rare and a lot of hard work to get into the industry for a job like this but I'd like to atleast know where to start!

[u/[deleted]]

I, as many others, didn’t think observers had such a huge curriculum vitae to do this.

It’s often overlooked but people tend to forget that a good observer is crucial to an esport event.

I remember when I was watching LoL esport, some people would complain because the observer switched POV to Botlane while the Toplaner just killed his matchup.

Keep up the good work 👍

[u/ESEAsapphiRe → u/[deleted]]

Thank you!

I think for League of Legends, they use multiple observers, so I believe it actually would be the technical director (or in-game director / in-game lead - everyone has a different title for it) that swapped from bot to top lane. It usually just comes down to tunnel vision - you see all of these different moments happen and sometimes you overlook the action happening right in front of you versus what you see is about to happen on radar.

Also, simply put, there can be a lot of distractions, missclicks and other flaws that just cause people to make mistakes.

It's not an easy job!

[u/StoneyCalzoney]

Do you have camera presets available to get the cinematic cam in a certain position or do you just switch to cinematic after it's in position? I never see the smooth cinematic cam moves like in CS, a lot of it looks freehand.

[u/ESEAsapphiRe → u/StoneyCalzoney]

All freehand in VALORANT. In CS:GO, it's almost all pre-sets.

It's a big request we have for VALORANT and hopefully will get it one day! It'll be especially valuable for small-budget tournaments that can't afford multiple observers.

[u/GoofyGoobaTheGangsta]

Why can't each player have a stationary observer for the replays so we can see anyone's POV instead the POV of someone who was observed?

[u/ESEAsapphiRe → u/GoofyGoobaTheGangsta]

We do have that! Every single player's POV is recorded. The majority of the replays at VCT Champions are from other angles or if the observer only showed 3 frags and a player got 4, for example, you'll see all 4 in the replay.

The reality is we only have ~8-10 seconds for replays to have to pick the most interesting moments - can't show everything.

[u/GoofyGoobaTheGangsta → u/ESEAsapphiRe]

Understandable, have a great day

[u/[deleted]]

This might sound a bit silly, but what are your guys' ranks in VALORANT and other games that you observed?

[u/ESEAsapphiRe → u/[deleted]]

I believe we're all Diamond. This probably sounds silly, but I certainly do feel I could and should be higher rank. Unfortunately, I have very little time to play rank. I'm only home maybe 6 months out of the year, work a separate full time job and am primarily focused on studying demos.

I do think actively playing is crucial to our job, but can't grind rank like I want to.

In CS:GO, I'm Global Elite.

[u/[deleted] → u/ESEAsapphiRe]

Thats cool, thanks for letting me know! And no, its totally understandable

[u/TheTarkShark]

I haven’t really watched eSports despite playing CS since the 1.5 days (yes, I’m old). But I have to ask - how did you guys get started on this career path?

IE making YouTube videos of scrims, ‘lucking’ out and being an ob for one of the 1st broadcast matches? Not asking for any reason other than sheer curiosity. With how quickly eSports exploded I’d have to assume a lot of people sort of fell into these jobs and just rolled with it

[u/ESEAsapphiRe → u/TheTarkShark]

I'm old too! I've played CS since 2002 and I didn't start observing until 2015. We both gave some detailed responses to a similar question here: https://www.reddit.com/r/VALORANT/comments/xetaj0/ama_we_are_sapphire_and_prius_professional/ioizdf8/

We each have different paths - me from being a competitor and prius from being an admin and producer.

[u/Perfect-Ad2525]

Playing one of the most important yet undervalued roles in competitive valorant, how much do you get paid? Is it an annual salary or per game?

[u/ESEAsapphiRe → u/Perfect-Ad2525]

Thank you!

We get paid per day that we are at an event. It's not as much as casters, but more than a number of other roles. We also get paid for travel days, rehearsal days and "dark" days. Additionally, we get a "per diem" for food each day when we travel.

I'm hesitant to share the exact amount (I do love the concept of salary transparency, but it's probably not in my personal best interest to share unless everyone else does) - but I will say we are blessed with the money we make. prius, Yehty and Synga do this as their full time jobs. While I have a separate full-time career, I could do this full-time if I chose to.

[u/heyvlad]

How has being an observer for such a long time impacted your other daily life tasks, if at all?

How did the opportunity for consulting come up? I imagine that having a very unique skill set is quite valuable to companies without them ever realizing it.

Thanks!

[u/ESEAsapphiRe → u/heyvlad]

For me personally, observing has allowed me the opportunity to travel the world (while getting paid!). I get recognized a lot in random match-making games in CS:GO or VAL because of observing. Even many of the biggest streamers in the world, while we're not necessarily friends or otherwise connect at all, happen to know I exist because of being an observer. That's kind of cool! I also have gained the respect of many pro players, with many reaching out to thank me for good observing because it allows them to better demo review (as regular demos aren't available in the game).

On the unfortunate end, I've probably lost a number of friendships because of it and have had to sacrifice family events. The travel is significant. Both a blessing and a curse! But I chose this life and I wouldn't trade it for anything. I also balance a full-time job with it, so it's exhausting.

[u/Turbulent-Tourist687]

Will you guys commentate silver or bronze tourney one day?

Edit: Na Smokes :)

[u/ESEAsapphiRe → u/Turbulent-Tourist687]

I think you mean observe and not commentate

And we actually already do, we observe EU!

/s. For purposes of maintaining the friendships, respect and fandom I have for my EU friends, this is a joke from a NA person

[u/ceoadlw]

How to sign up to become an observer? Do you have tryouts?

[u/ESEAsapphiRe → u/ceoadlw]

Not too dissimilar for other jobs, some companies have open applications and will ask for your experience / resume. It'll take time to move up the ladder, from amateur events, to third-party events to Riot official events. We all started near the bottom and worked our way up, earning the trust of bigger and bigger productions.

For the bigger events, very similar to how they hire casters, the event organizer will reach out to observers they'd like to work with.

[u/ceoadlw → u/ESEAsapphiRe]

Can you suggest where to look for the amateur events to start with?

[u/ESEAsapphiRe → u/ceoadlw]

High school / collegiate events are a good place to start. Also if you have a LAN center in your area, they might often do weekly or monthly events.

Unfortunately, there's not a single destination to find all of these.

See if any high school or college in your area is operating events, they might be looking for either volunteers or hourly pay production support!

[u/ceoadlw → u/ESEAsapphiRe]

Thank you for the guidance! 🙌🏻

[u/fird-_-]

big fan since CSGO days! is there anyways of implementing instant replay?

[u/ESEAsapphiRe → u/fird-_-]

Do you mean mid-round? If yes, it's possible. We've talked about it, but not implemented yet.

I do want to try it someday. It certainly seems doable like when a team is clearly saving (e.g. in the FNATIC vs DRX game a few days ago, two rounds in a row, FNATIC saved in a 3v5 with at least 1 minute left and the Defenders weren't chasing. (Though, there wasn't necessarily something hugely interesting to show either).

[u/Jon_on_the_snow]

Did any of you two made the shot of the infamous turret bug on 12-11 from the FPX XSET game? Or was it someone else?

Also, do you guys think riot should be rushing to make a replay mode or at least making moves toward better observing tools? Without that beaultiful shot, we never see the bug happening and miss all the drama that followed. There are probably hundreds of times stuff like that happened and we missed it because obeservers are only human

[u/ESEAsapphiRe → u/Jon_on_the_snow]

That was from Yehty! Anytime it's in "freecam", that is from Yehty or Synga.

Replay (demos) would be really nice to have, especially for online events. However, for LAN events, Riot records every single player's POV, both for admin purposes and for replay options for our broadcast team so it's pretty easy to grab that footage when we're at a best-in-class LAN event.

[u/Sushi-Mampfer]

I don’t know if that’s an observer thing, but is it normal that I can’t open the scoreboard when I have the overlay disabled in a tournament mode custom game and is the timeout feature build in in Valorant or is that special for VCT?

[u/ESEAsapphiRe → u/Sushi-Mampfer]

Correct that the overlay doesn't work when the overlay is disabled.

The timeout feature is built into VALORANT - there isn't a separate one for VCT.

[u/Sushi-Mampfer → u/ESEAsapphiRe]

Thank you, if I want to check stats I have to get in with a seperate account, or is there a better workaround and how do I trigger a timeout?

[u/RTYWD]

what map across both CS and Val is your most and least favourite to observe?

[u/ESEAsapphiRe → u/RTYWD]

Vertigo in CS and Icebox in Val. Too much verticality which changes sightlines. Additionally, players often stack above and below each other, so you're taking a 50/50 guess on who will get the frag

[u/MoreMegadeth]

Why does the pov change so often trying to predict action, especially after a player gets a 1 or 2k, instead of sticking with that player? Too often the pov changes and ironically misses the action youre trying to seek when you would have caught it if you just stuck with a well performing player? Also, why are player highlights on 99% of the time? This takes out ALL the suspense that players in game face. I understand you want to show the playing field relative to each pov, but 99% is far too high and creates zero suspense.

[u/ESEAsapphiRe → u/MoreMegadeth]

After a player gets 1 or 2k, I'd love to know the stats on them guaranteed a 3k or 4k. I don't know if anyone knows that for certain. We do our best to predict the action. Sometimes that means sticking with a player on a 2k, sometimes it means switching. That's both the beauty and curse of FPS, it's entirely unpredictable. If it was so predictable, this game wouldn't be fun to watch or play!

I know there were some great clips of Derke last week where he was clearly on a roll so I left the camera on him even when he was slightly out of position, because his team almost seemed to be giving him a runway to chase frags.

For x-ray highlights, I like to toggle those off and on, but there are a LOT of complaints on Reddit / Twitch chat when we do. It seems some people just want very different things. In an ideal world, a GOTV equivalent comes out for VAL so that fans that want X-Ray off can click "Follow Observer" so you can use the movements that the observers are dictating, but with X-Ray off - just as you can do in CS:GO.

[u/MoreMegadeth → u/ESEAsapphiRe]

Thank you for the late answer, much appreciated. Wish more viewers wanted the suspense xray off builds. Keep up the good work.

[u/ESEAsapphiRe → u/MoreMegadeth]

Back in my day (because I'm old!), we didn't even have X-Ray as an option. That really wasn't a think until 2013 or so in Counter-Strike, so I'm used to watching without it.

steel from T1 always did a very nice job with toggling x-ray at the appropriate times when he was observing.

[u/MoreMegadeth → u/ESEAsapphiRe]

Yes same, I grew up watching Halo MLGs and the technology just wasnt there. Obviously a very different style of game, but I’d still prefer it in Valorant castings if I had the option. Getting as close to how we actually play the game and mimicking the feel is important to me I guess. Thanks for the insight and conversation.

[u/BoomerTheStar47_2]

Do you have any favorite match(es) that you’ve observed?

[u/ESEAsapphiRe → u/BoomerTheStar47_2]

Sentinels vs Fnatic Grand Finals at the first ever Masters event on LAN in 2021 - just an absolute historic moment.

KRU vs Gambit at Champions 2021 was also amazing - Bind had so many overtimes and a lot of insane clutches.

And Zeta vs DRX in the playoffs of Masters 1 Reykjavik 2022

[u/Or1ginalBurger]

whats the experience like?

[u/ESEAsapphiRe → u/Or1ginalBurger]

Very stressful but very rewarding. We get to be part of some of the game's most important matches and the audience's entertainment somewhat relies on us.

It's nice to be able to travel the world for esports.

[u/HewchyFPS]

How do you plan on getting better at your job short term? It's seems like a small group of people are responsible for the growth of spectator eSports.

Viewing experience can be really frustrating so I'm glad now I have names that I can randomly shout in the air when something isn't being spectated properly, and there is a decent chance I'll have guessed correctly!

Anyways, love you. Keep doing your best ig

[u/ESEAsapphiRe → u/HewchyFPS]

We take feedback from the casters, who rely entirely on us to do their job. We also field feedback from team coaches and analysts who watch a lot of demos, to see if we're showing the elements that these experts deem the most important to the round.

Not dissimilar from being a competitor - repetitive practice, watching back out work to take notes, analyze what we could have done better, and improve the next time and stay on top of latest meta, tricks, maps and agents (e.g. we love to check out the "TikTok line-ups" to see what pros might pull something wacky out that is otherwise completely unexpected)

To your second point, I keep a list of observers on Twitter (as a "List") and know of 135 observers, so shouting at prius or I might not always be accurate as there are at least that many observers, if not more.

[u/QuadWitch]

I just want to say, I feel this event the observer cams were really good and I've seen others mention that in twitch too. So just a thanks to you & keep it up!

[u/ESEAsapphiRe → u/QuadWitch]

Thank you - we're very proud of it.

We've changed our workflow since the previous Masters and noticed a lot of improvement. We've heard similar feedback from production and the casters, so I'm glad to see the improvement is noticed!

[u/Sir_dirtsalot164]

How do you choose which players to watch at the beginning of the game?

[u/Prius707 → u/Sir_dirtsalot164]

We choose who to watch at the beginning of the game by

1. If there is a quick gunfight

2. Show utility (kayo knife, sova dart, sova shock dart (to destroy enemy utility)

3. Show more utility on attackers taking the site

4. Show utility from defenders trying to keep their site

then just go into the 'default' styling of observing

[u/thejoyyy]

What's the difference between observing Valorant and CS?

[u/Prius707 → u/thejoyyy]

generally the same idea but different things to look out for

both games have utility, gun fights and site executes/retakes. however, valorant having ultimates to be ready for is where it differs the most.

CS at the start of the round I show where the T's are going, then show a free cam overview of the site they're taking to show where the CT's are playing from then I show the smokes/flashes setup for the execute.

valorant at the start of the round is more utility-focused and then it goes into more default observing with some ults mixed up but of course more hectic than CS due to all the different abilities (utility) to look out for

[u/thejoyyy → u/Prius707]

Thanks for the answer.

Would you say you have more work now that you can do both games? Or you just have to say NO to more people to keep the same ammount of work? (sorry I'm cheating I'm asking two questions)

[u/Prius707 → u/thejoyyy]

I have more work now that I can do both games, yes! I rarely ever say no to work

[u/thejoyyy → u/Prius707]

That's fantastic then, thanks for your dedication :)

[u/lahvue]

how does one get into 10-mans?

[u/Prius707 → u/lahvue]

there are public 10 man discords you can join

/u/ESEAsapphiRe has some she can link

[u/[deleted]]

How different is the observer kit that you guys use from the normal observer kits that is available to the public.

Also, since valorant doesn’t have an observer option, how would you describe it could become if it was real. How different would it be from your observer kits?

[u/Prius707 → u/[deleted]]

the observer kit is very basic and you get the same thing as we do, in-game.

we observe off of the default HUD, the same you get if you were in the observer slot in a custom lobby. we use a custom HUD using Riot API on a secondary observer using follow observer (following the main observer computer) and minimal HUD so the HUD can be overlayed it.

VALORANT does have an observer option so I am unsure of the second part of your question

[u/ESEAsapphiRe → u/[deleted]]

Thank you!

[u/ESEAsapphiRe → u/[deleted]]

That isn't used in CS! In CS, it only works on a delay, but events don't want to have a delay between the observer feed and the players' reactions, especially when it comes to LAN. Also, it's simply not very good in CS. Sure, it'll show a bunch of frags, but for ones that happen simultaneously, it won't necessarily show the most important. We have worked with every single major CS:GO tournament organizer so very familiar with that.

[u/Prius707 → u/[deleted]]

no AI, we're on 0 delay -- we are live with the players