December 18th, 2019
Hailing from Australia, Toby “TobiWan” Dawson is one of the most recognisable voices in esports. A consistent presence in the jewel in the crown of esports tournaments, The International (Dota 2), Toby actually started out casting FPS titles in his home country, after a childhood spent playing sports and performing in musical theatre productions.
Frankie Ward talks to Toby about his breakthrough in esports and his more recent ventures, such as a foray into producing a presenting game-themed panel show Well Played, and his move into educating future esports talent.
December 4th, 2019
One of the first employees to join Justin.TV's gaming verticle, Twitch, Ben Goldhaber spent several years seeing the streaming giant grow into the behemoth it is today. After leaving Twitch in 2018, he decided to continue his mission of bringing esports to the masses with new "esports aggregator" Juked. He talks to Frankie Ward about gaming as a triplet in California, early shoutcasting and how he esports became his everything.
November 20th, 2019
Rich Campbell, the owner of the most magnificent (but divisive) moustache in esports, gives Frankie Ward a beginner's guide to World of Warcraft, explains how a chance encounter led him to a job at broadcaster MLG, and why wearing deodorant makes him a lesser gamer.
Rich assures fans the Allcraft podcast will be back soon. In the meantime, watch him on Twitch and keep up with him via Twitter and Instagram.
November 6th, 2019
Frankie Ward delves into the history of Swiss CS:GO ex-pro player and analyst Mathieu "Maniac" Quiquerez to find out more about how he discovered Counter-Strike, his first foray into LAN tournaments and the shocking moment that changed the future of his career as a player.
Recorded at the Crowne Plaza Towers, Cophenhagen in November 2019.
Follow Maniac on Twitter - @Maniac_CSGO
October 9th, 2019
Frankie Ward chats to Danish Counter-Strike pro Niels-Christian Sillassen, aka NaToSaphix, about how he made a career from CS:GO. Originally a content creator, Sillassen made his name in pro CS in 2018 as part of the Sprout roster, before joining Heroic for a few months in 2019. Now looking for his next opportunity, the young player also discusses some of the Danish players who he has played alongside during his years of playing the game.
And also his dad, because his dad is rapidly becoming a LAN legend in his own right...
Keep up with NaToSaphiX...
Twitch: NaToSaphiX
Youtube: NaToSaphiX
Twitter: NaToSaphiX
September 4th, 2019
Dan Gaskin is so in demand that this episode took over a year to get recorded (the episode picture was taken over a year prior to recording at the PGI European qualifiers in June 2018). The multi-talented caster and host tells Frankie Ward about his background as a "semi-pro" Halo player and how he moved from player to commentator.
More recently Dan has moved into FIFA, and he explains why a videogame of one of the world's most established sports makes for a compelling esport, and also discusses the work-life balance many esports personalities struggle to maintain.
Keep up with Dan on his Twitter - @DanGaskin
August 21st, 2019
Frankie chats to legendary producer and gameplay director Jason "Alchemist" Baker about his first foray into gaming, making moves in esports, how he recovered from the disappointment of early venture GotFrag going under post-acquisition, and his new studio DNP Entertainment with "work wife" Scott "Sir Scoots" Smith.
The interview was recorded in August over Discord, but the intro and outro were both recorded remotely in a hotel room in Cologne while Frankie was in the city for gamescom 2019, so apologies for a lower-than-average recording quality. (The intro is about one minute long, so this can be easily skipped if it offends your ears.)
August 7th, 2019
Frankie catches up with host Paola Alejandra over lavender-infused drinks in Santa Monica. On the menu: discussion about food, how Rachel "Seltzer" Quirico helped Paola get her start in hosting, and how to get seen for a scratched cornea in Amsterdam when you're an American abroad.
Thanks to the True Food Kitchen, Santa Monica for accomodating our request to turn off the music and being genuine good folks!
Keep up with Paola
June 5th, 2019
In 2002, a lawyer named Jason Lake discovered esports. The following year CompLexity Gaming was born, with its Counter-Strike 1.6 team competing in events across North America. Since its humble beginnings, the organisation has been renamed Complexity and has multiple teams across various esports including CSGO, Rocket League and Dota 2.
In this podcast, the Complexity CEO talks to Frankie Ward about the highest and lowest moments of his life in esports, how the company moved into the Dallas Cowboys' family, and its future - including the signing of future CS:GO star Obo.
Recorded at the Gamestop Performance Centre at The Star, Dallas. With thanks to Esports Stadium Arlington for their assistance in editing resources.
Follow Jason Lake on Twitter
Find out more about the Esports Stadium, Arlington
May 15th, 2019
Frankie Ward chats to Special Effect's Becky Frost about discovering the gamers' charity, her own gaming habits and how you can get involved in fundraising to help gamers with disabilities get back into playing.
