From Brussels with love: At home with Sjokz and Krepo

For presenter Eefje "Sjokz" Depoortere and caster Mitch "Krepo" Voorspoels, the Brussels leg of Worlds 2015 was more than just the tournament Semifinals; it was a return home. Having grown up in Belgium, both were humming with pride at the idea of bringing the biggest esports event yet to their home country.

"It was really, really fun for me to finally see esports enter Belgium," Krepo tells us just after the Semifinals, a few days before SKTelecom T1 would claim the Summoner’s Cup. "esports isn't really that big in Belgium or Benelux, so to come in with such a big event and make a statement, I think for me is fantastic."

For Sjokz, the enormity of the situation hit her as soon as she stepped off the plane. "It's really weird, I've done that trip a lot of times -- a short flight from London to Brussels, or from Berlin to Brussels -- but I still had tears in my eyes when we walked off the plane. I kind of had to stop myself and say, ‘Come on! Don't be such a baby!’ But it then hit me that all that work we've been doing for years and years, I got to do it in my home country. That's a really weird feeling. And cool! But weird."

[[{"fid":"20881","view_mode":"centered","fields":{"format":"centered","field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]":"","field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]":""},"tagName":"IMG","src":"http%3A//admin.prod.lolesports.com/s3/files/styles/centered/public/22233855701_a1c94fc14a_k.jpg%3Fitok%3DOXeDzkZB","type":"media","attributes":{"class":"media-element file-centered"}}]]

This rollercoaster of emotion would continue throughout the Worlds festivities in Brussels. Sjokz and Krepo both had family and friends in the audience, and since it was their home town they wanted to do something special. "We asked if we could say something to the crowd,” says Krepo. “Mostly because I wanted to give a shout out to my friends. They really enjoyed it!" The Belgian duo took to the stage before the games began on Saturday and got a great reception. "It was fun to say thank you to everyone for coming. It's always fun to address the home crowd. It felt really really good."

"My mother has come to a couple of shows already," Sjokz says. "I said thank you to my mum for being there. She was just so over the moon. She had no idea it was going to happen!"

Having friends and family watch the show was a great way to show them exactly what it is they do for a living and introduce them to the world of League of Legends. "The first time I asked my friends if they wanted to come, they were like, 'Okay, maybe, whatever,’” says Sjokz. "Later they were saying, ‘Hey, we'd actually really, really like to come,’ because they heard that it's at the venue where they've all gone to see a lot of concerts. They really wanted to see how it would be. And then I think about seven or eight of my friends decided to come as well, which meant a lot to me."

[[{"fid":"20882","view_mode":"centered","fields":{"format":"centered","field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]":"","field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]":""},"tagName":"IMG","src":"http%3A//admin.prod.lolesports.com/s3/files/styles/centered/public/22256142070_69464375f1_k.jpg%3Fitok%3DSCj3bUbd","type":"media","attributes":{"class":"media-element file-centered"}}]]

Sjokz was able to organise a special surprise for her friends over the weekend in Brussels. "I gave them a backstage tour and they were really impressed. They were like, 'Woah, this is like real TV!' and I said, 'Yes, this is what I've been trying to tell you!'" Krepo had a similar experience.

"A lot of my in real-life friends came to visit even though they knew nothing about League. They now have more respect, more understanding of what we do. One of them said, 'I get the hype.' For me, that was really good to be able to share that."

"Seeing the stadium fill up and, during the introduction of some of the players, seeing how loud the crowd could get, that always gives me goosebumps," says Krepo. "Having been a player myself, I think it's fantastic that crowds continue to do that and I hope they cheer for every single player. Because it's one of the best feelings in the world to be standing there. Most pros don't realise it when they're there, but in their memories afterwards they will cherish that moment."

Sjokz had her own fair share of cherished moments throughout the weekend, particularly when a video feature about her life in Belgium and her work at Riot aired in the 17,000-seat arena. "It was very emotional!" she says. "I hadn't thought through that I would be on stage listening to myself! I felt kind of embarrassed, because I thought, 'Oh, these people have to sit through it,’ but all the people were quiet. They were actually listening and watching and it was an extremely heartwarming moment for me."

The feature touched on some less savoury aspects of being a successful, high-profile woman in a male-dominated industry, particularly sexism and a lack of respect for Sjokz’s work, but since it aired she has received a huge influx of support. Even from people who have been less than pleasant in the past. "Some of them wrote to me and they said, 'Hey, I'm actually very sorry. I didn't realise what I was doing. I really respect your work.’”

"That, together with being in Belgium, and having the fan meets, altogether it was a fantastic moment," she says. "I've just got an overwhelming amount of support from people that really got the message."

[[{"fid":"20883","view_mode":"centered","fields":{"format":"centered","field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]":"","field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]":""},"tagName":"IMG","src":"http%3A//admin.prod.lolesports.com/s3/files/styles/centered/public/22258497249_38a5f6d5f6_k.jpg%3Fitok%3Dca9F1xup","type":"media","attributes":{"class":"media-element file-centered"}}]]

Not only were the Worlds Semifinals the largest esports event ever to grace Belgium, but it was the first time we tried out a new stage setup. Being ‘in the round’ -- in case you’re interested in the organisational jargon -- meant that the pro players were in the midst of the audience, surrounded on all sides. No escape! "It's really good to have the crowd everywhere around the stage," says Krepo. "I'm a big fan of the round setup, especially since the players are facing each other. I think that adds another element. And everybody gets a unique view, instead of just your view being better or worse depending on how far you sit. So overall it's a better viewing experience."

But how does the Brussels audience compare to the audiences in Paris and London? "The French audience is crazy and a lot of that has to do with the fact that the French casters have a lot of interaction with them," Sjokz explains. This audience interaction is something that Krepo feels made Paris a very special stop for Worlds this year. "I liked the fact that there were other casters in house playing with the crowd," he says. "As a caster you can't really play with the crowd yourself. It comes at the cost of the online viewership. Chips and Noi were sacrificing some of their online viewership to actually hype up the crowd for us. I really appreciate what they did, I think they did a really good job -- not only those two, but the whole casting team in French -- to keep the crowd entertained and hyped up, because they made a lot of noise for so few people."

As for London, Krepo was a big fan of how orderly the British fans were. But hey, when queueing is your national sport, it makes for some very chilled out, easy-to-manage fan meets! "Wembley was nice. There were really cool people," says Krepo. "I did fan meets every day after the event and they were incredibly polite. Queuing and respecting the space and waiting their turn. I really appreciate that when people aren't shoving and pushing around."

[[{"fid":"20884","view_mode":"centered","fields":{"format":"centered","field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]":"","field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]":""},"tagName":"IMG","src":"http%3A//admin.prod.lolesports.com/s3/files/styles/centered/public/22276718289_3ca8b0041b_k.jpg%3Fitok%3DS3snX4IB","type":"media","attributes":{"class":"media-element file-centered"}}]]

Unfortunately, the Semifinals results themselves weren’t quite what the audience wanted. "I think the results of the series dampened the potential," Krepo acknowledges. "So it's hard to see the true power of the Brussels audience, because both series were very one-sided 3-0s."

Sjokz agrees. "I feel like they were very, very loud the first day and, because of the result, I think that they were a little more on the quiet side on the other day. I definitely noticed a change in day two. I feel like they did cheer for the other teams a lot, even though it became a little hard after Fnatic especially was going 0 and 3, which I think is relatively understandable when you're in Europe and it's a European team playing."

So what's the solution? How do we unleash the full might of the Brussels audience? "I think we should come back and have some EU teams winning," Krepo suggests with a grin. It may be a while before Worlds returns to Brussels, but should it happen, we suspect he's not the only one who would like to EU come out on top.