The Return of Shoulder Content in ANZ Counter-Strike

Ever since ANZ Champs was wound down, there was a strikingly low amount of shoulder content within the ANZ region. There were very little interviews outside of official events such as ESL Challenger Melbourne and IEM Sydney.

It was hard to build a brand in the ANZ region as a player because there was very little outlets in order to do so. I think the lone podcast and interviews during this time was done by Elfishguy in regards to Geographically Challenged and In Retrospect. These videos garnered a significant amount of views despite geographically challenged also focused on the Asia region.

Flam did advise me that there were a few smaller podcasts back in the day but didn't seem to have the reach. I definitely would have loved to be on some of these podcasts but it can be daunting to reach out to people. I was incredibly nervous when reaching out to Elfishguy initially and was expecting a rejection.

Enter DFrag

I think the herald of the return of shoulder content was heard loud and clear with the return of DFrag in particularly at the recent ESL Challenger Melbourne. DFrag were essentially everywhere with getting key interviews with players, casters and staff.

DFrag also started building their website and started to try and become a HLTV for the Oceania scene. They also wish to become a media outlet as well since they've hired a few writers and myself. They have been some really good articles and a lot to think about altogether. Breadhead and Flam have been chipping in with some absolutely great articles.

They also have players providing videos on key areas of Counter-Strike. The main person has been Roflko who has been providing incredible insight on how rounds are played out in real time. It has also increased my depth as a caster on recognising conditioning, the roles of each player and the differences between executes, pops and contact plays.

Lastly, we can talk about their podcast, "Just The Tip" which just caps off the resurgence of shoulder content in particular. The players were essentially hungering for this sort of content after missing out on ANZ Champs.

We've already had a few players, talent and other reporters on the podcast so far and I think it'll definitely expand into the future.

The Return of the Post-Match Interviews

A big thing that was missing in particular was the post-match interviews as often casters would end stream after the game even on the official broadcast.

I was curious on how you would set it up and banded together some VDO Ninja set up for tucks to come on. It was one of the best things that I've ever done and will continue to do post-game interviews whenever I can.

I'd likely to highly thank all the players who have come on for an interview and in particular, Tito from KZG who has been so prompt and quick on getting players on. I'd also like to thank Eddie as he has been on about 3 times in total on both Joshin-Strike and the post-match interview. I'm still waiting for my favourite player, neo to come on.

We've also been seeing interviews on the official broadcast as well which is awesome to see. We definitely need more of this content to give some character to the players. It allows us to advertise rivalries such as BNK v Rooster, Semper Fi v Talon and add colour to it.

The Joshin-Strike Podcast

It is incredibly hard to write about this without pumping up my own sails. The podcast has been an insane journey of self-discovery and courage. I'd like to give a shoutout to Mavrick in particular who helped me my lightning and other parts of the podcast especially when he has a competing podcast at DFrag.

The hardest part was essentially asking anyone to come on especially with ElfishGuy as previously mentioned and Flamboyant (since it was the first episode). It was difficult to really pitch it to Flam but over time it become so much easier.

I've learnt a lot on putting topics in to discuss and what not. There is so much that I can improve on as an interiewer and as a podcast host. One of the most eyeopening podcasts was definitely by Scr1pt with his time in the cricket academy and bowling to Virat Kohli/Steve Smith.

It is a bit of a shame that a discolated shoulder ended his career as a quick bowler. A disclocated should is probably the worst sort of injury that you can get as a quick!

My next challenge is being able to bring the podcast to a remote location so I can do these podcasts at ESL Challenger Melbourne, PAX, TGX and many other events. I am taking suggestions and equipment I would need as well as media passes to these events!

The benefits of Shoulder Content

I may have missed some epic shoulder content that has been created since then but it is incredibly encouraging that so many people are stepping up to the plate and giving it a go. As a player, talent and anything involved in CS2, you need to be more than just being good at the game.

By having multiple different avenues, you can switch accordingly or even seamlessly from player to content creator, player to podcast host and coach/player to talent. One example is definitely Styko who has gone from player to content creator and recently to talent at Blast.

The one thing to take away from this is that don't be afraid to dream big!