Lorence
@LorenceTFT
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Operations Lead -- @Esports_Foundry Co-founder: @palacechalice and @CalcLossLAN Tweets are my own, probably
Ohio
Joined July 2012
Hey all, this took a bit to see how things would shake out so I could give as broad of an update as I can. There's a bit to unpack from the past 12+ months but hopefully I can be brief (maybe). To start, I'll line a few things out that have happened in 2023. I was not doing well in my college classes last March and already had my struggles with feeling like I was a failure. Thinking back I realized how little my heart was in my studies now. Conversely I had so much kick in my step on event days; consistently hearing from players how impactful my efforts were brought me so much joy. Those recalled feelings made up my mind and I committed to a year of chasing my dream of working Esports events full time. Over the next year I got to do a multitude of cool TFT events. I helped grow our amateur Leagues at Aegis, continued working part-time in the pro scene, and even got to help with two LANs! Meeting more people in person and growing my ability to lead teams helped me so much professionally and personally. Then after all that I came back down to earth in January, realizing I wasn't that much closer towards full time employment in Esports. Like so many in the space my applications weren't making much headway. Then, by some stroke of luck I managed to get hired part time at @esports_foundry! I consistently got to work LAN events over the past few months as a job that was actually paying the bills. It's hard to believe I managed to get so lucky but it also has felt like a lot of "extra" hours have really paid off. That has all culminated with the most gratifying achievement of my life. On Monday I officially start as a full-time employee for Esports Foundry as an Operations Lead! With this I get to put my time right where my heart is: ensuring that gaming events are a good time for everyone involved. That all being said I'd be remiss to not address an elephant in the room for many of those who have followed me for so long. @AegisEsportsTFT. While I first shout out the dozen+ volunteer coworkers and all their hard work alongside me, I'd be lying if Aegis didn't feel like my home and personal project. So many hours were poured into it with one goal in mind, helping TFT players get more out of their time gaming. Unfortunately, this promotion at Esports Foundry leaves me in a spot where I don't feel comfortable being the Director for such a robust space at the same time. I'm still going to be around and doing consultant work, but I'm handing over the reigns back to my good friend @ravster49 as a sort of interim Director. This decision was incredibly hard for me to make, but I would not be happy splitting my time between two places I know I'd want to give my all. Eventually one would begin to falter in quality. I would also lose even more of my free time which already felt unhealthily low. For now I'd like to try to focus my efforts towards EF and building my new job there towards something I feel will be really special. Thank you all for the support you've shown me over the last year (or more). Though it led to a lot of happy times, it was the hardest year of my life where I felt quite aimless. Even if it feels like you never outright gave me much encouragement, I wouldn't have gotten this far without those little conversations reminding me what it's really all about. I'll see you all around, and I'll be posting more about where I'll be at events this year! Cheers
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@Mortdog Caveat that I don't play a ton so maybe I missed it, but Melee Gangplank would be cool to see work somehow
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@CoachAntor I also think something that gets overlooked with broadcasts is that it is rarely catered to high level players. It's generally better business to be entertaining to a wide variety of viewers. That can often manifest via talent with lower in-game skill for a variety of reasons
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I'm by no means an expert on Scholastic Esports, but in the last year I've been around the space this writeup continues to solidify one of my main talking points. The space is fractured with multiple entities wishing to be top dog. That, in turn, will cause there to be numerous points of overlap and until that gets "solved" to some degree it will continue to be the case. Awards overlap is simply a byproduct of that landscape. My personal take is that it goes beyond journalism collaboration/expansion to solve this issue. From how I see it, this issue is stemming from multiple entities wanting their branding as the main focus in Scholastic Esports. Perhaps to your point though, working towards combined Awards through a central voting system is a good step towards further unifying the space. I think the conversation is great and happy to hear other takes from those that have been around longer!
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This may not fully relate, but I had recently taken a fairly long break from the TFT community and organizing events. At least beyond chatting with TFT friends and playing only a couple games a week. I felt I couldn't reliably organize events I was proud of while I was putting my focus into a new job and taking some time away was a great decision for me. It helped me find more joy in other games again and to create some healthy habits professionally and personally. Then coming back recently with a more solid foundation outside of TFT has me feeling like I'm meeting up with an old friend again after some growth. The direction I see myself going with the game is a lot more clear and I feel so much less pressure to keep doing the status quo that was resulting in burnout. Again, it's all up to your own feelings and maybe your experience will be different from mine. But taking a solid break could be helpful! Wishing you well in any case and hope you find a good direction for yourself.
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RT @esports_foundry: Think you know Esports Foundry? We're here to meet YOUR needs, whether it's gaming center builds, event operations, o…
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RT @imgdub: pulling up to @ScholasticEA like . . just kidding, this is Columbus and it is cold.
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RT @zhobiiiii: A week from today, I will be at the @ScholasticEA! And on Saturday...me alongside these AMAZING peeps will be the OPENING KE…
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RT @karlymatthews_: “Our universities will have sports teams that compete against each other.” “What will they compete for?” “The right t…
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RT @SpurrFM: The Rose Bowl: Our game is rooted in tradition, prestige, and history. Pop-Tart Bowl: Watch this pastry take its clothes off…
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