Behind the scene with Kylarii
Joining me today is Caitlin ‘Kylarii’ Kang from ACL Pro. I wanted to find out more about her and her jobs behind the eSports scenes.
First of all, good afternoon Caitlin! As you know, I have been very curious to learn more about you and your exploits with event managements. I have to ask, did you always have a passion for event management? What was the thing that first created your interest?
I’ve always loved managing events – from the planning to doing the hands on work on the day itself. I just love the atmosphere at an event, and knowing that I had a hand in helping to make it happen.
How did you find that led into the gaming industry, more so, League of Legends? Or was there another game that started your passions for gaming?
That’s a funny story, actually! I didn’t use to play computer/video games, and I’d never even heard of most of them. One day, when I was meant to be studying for my first year University exams, my boyfriend started playing World of Warcraft next to me. Naturally, I was procrastinating, so I asked if I could try a few moves. Of course, he was more than happy to let me try it… at the time. To cut a long story short, to this day, I’m still using his account because I grew too attached to my level 30 Paladin, which I had named Kylarii (he had to get a new account and start over, teehee). After some time, the both of us made the transition to casual raiding, and then to hardcore raiding with a small group of friends that we had made on WoW. Sometime after the Dragon Soul patch, we started playing League of Legends and never looked back!
How very gracious of him! That’s pretty big dedication to give up a WoW account like that!
So you first got into working ACL Pro, what made you choose them as an organisation? Did you apply to a bunch of different places? Or did you just know that you wanted to be a part of ACL above all else?
I wanted to get involved in the Esports scene here in OCE, so I asked around and one of my friends recommended I check out the ACL website. I read up on them and then got in touch with ACL Beware, who interviewed me and gave me instructions on what I could do to help. I didn’t know much about what I was getting into before I did it, but working with ACL has definitely been the right decision for me – I’ve met so many amazing people and gotten to help out with so many cool projects!
What was it like when you helped with your very first tournament? Were you nervous and if so, how did you tackle those nerves?
Well, the first tournament I helped with was ACL Online Round 1 in 2013. It was a gradual easing in, so that went alright. The next online tournament, however, was the OCE Championship qualifiers, which ACL was helping to host. That was massive; we had more than 600 teams playing! There was a lot of multi-tasking involved, and dealing with all kinds of different things, so it was a great experience.
The first live tournament that I refereed at was the OCE Championships at PAX Melbourne 2013. I was definitely a little apprehensive about that, because I’d never been to a gaming convention before, much less refereed a live tournament. The ACL team was amazing – they made me feel welcome and were extremely approachable so I could ask lots of questions without feeling silly. The other referees and I were given a referee training session with Riot Benji, and that really helped to clear up a lot of things. I think the way I tackled the nerves at PAX was to keep busy! I helped out everywhere I could, kept looking for things to do, and each subsequent day of PAX was easier to handle than the day before.
PAX ’13 was the first PAX event in Australia and it was huge. I couldn’t imagine what that would have been like, especially for your first live event. I have certainly been to a few live events that you have helped run. You’re always running around like a headless chook, keeping very busy! What are the jobs you look after behind the scenes?
Oooh, that’s a tough one. I don’t actually know off the top of my head, I just do whatever needs to be done at the time! This is by no means an exhaustive list, but I go from settling disputes, to making sure the players have the gear they need, fixing tech issues, making sure the next teams are ready to play, coordinating between the games and the stream team, making sure all the other admins are on the same page.. a little bit of everything, really!
Do you have plans to work with Riot again? Are there any events that you might be able to tell us about?
I would definitely love to keep working with ACL and Riot, and 2014 looks to be very promising for Oceania in terms of developing our Esports scene! I can’t really give any details about events that have not been announced yet, but Riot is really doing their best to help us grow, so it’s a great time to be involved with Esports.
Oh and aren’t we all looking forward to it! When you’re not Kylarii, ACL Admin, what do you like to do in your free time?
I’m an avid fantasy and sci-fi fan, so I read a lot. I still enjoy doing sports (I used to figure skate), but I’ve gotten a little lazy now, heheh. I play LoL a fair bit, my highest solo queue ranking so far is Gold III, and I’m trying to work my way upwards!
Best of luck in your endeavours! If you could give advice to anyone else that was interested in doing work behind the scenes, what advice would you like to give them?
I’d say definitely put yourself out there – don’t be afraid to network with people and get to know the guys behind the computers. Everyone is really friendly and most everyone I know is more than willing to teach dedicated volunteers. Also make sure you’re really attentive to what other people are doing, you tend to pick up a lot just by watching the way people work. Being willing to learn and always being ready to lend a helping hand is regarded very highly and will get you far.
Any last shout outs?
I'd like to thank the ACL crew, ACL Beware, ACL Vanzr, JB and Midnite for welcoming me into the ACL family. A big shoutout also to all the Rioters who work tirelessly to bring us an amazing game. Thanks especially to Riot Benji and Adorabear for taking me under their wing - I've learnt heaps from you both. And last but not least, to my boyfriend for always supporting me in everything I do!
Thank you very much for your time. I for one definitely want to thank you for helping make our events run smoothly and cannot wait to see what else is in store for the future!
Make sure you guys follow her on her twitter @ https://twitter.com/kylarii28