Rising from average fandom on the TeamLiquid.net forums, Sue ‘Smix’ Lee has become one of the most prominent faces in the StarCraft 2 and Counter Strike: Global Offensive scenes. Starting as a translator at IPL 3 in 2011, Smix has transitioned to fill the role of host at an enormous number of events for both SC2 and CS:GO.

Though Smix herself believes that she had a shaky start, her hosting skills have grown enormously through the years. After lots of hard work and experiences, Smix has grown to become one of the best hosts in all of esports.

2016 was a year split three ways for Smix. Between SC2, CS:GO, and her day job working in the Twitch partnership division, Smix is one of the busiest people that I can name. Lucky for us, she took some time out of her schedule after the Eleague CS:GO major in Atlanta to chat about the past, present, and future of her career, and her favourite games.

This interview features footage from both before and after the Eleague major. Special thanks to Smix for making so much time to talk to me.

TIME STAMPS

2:00 – How hard is it to be as busy as you are? Are there any physical or mental affects?

3:45 – You worked through the Eleague major quealifier with wisdom tooth pain. Can you tell us about that?

6:20 – You’ve just returned from Eleague which was your first CS major event. Did you have any additional nerves because this was your first major?

7:30 – Eleague finals broke the record for single stream concurrent viewership on twitch. Were the people producing and working at Eleague expecting such incredible viewership?

8:46 – Were there any upsets at Eleague in your opinion?

10:27 – You’ve said in the past that you’re a very self critical person. Is that still a hurdle that you face?

12:13 – You used to make SC2 parody songs. Were you ever formally trained in voice?

15:58 – You were the voice of SC2 gears, you collaborated with people like Temp0 and Suspence, how did these collaborative projects come together back in the early days of SC2?

17:08 – Your first esports gig was IPL 3. You were recruited thanks to the work that you were doing on the TL forums for free. How did IPL reach out to you?

18:08 – You started as a translator but you later transitioned to fill the role of host as well. How did that transition come about?

19:21 – Have you ever received any formal training in hosting or public speaking? Any mentors?

24:11 – You’re represented by the Cyber Solutions Agency (CSA). How did you come to be represented by them?

25:17 – What are the benefits of working with an agent in esports as opposed to self representation?

27:22 – How much prep time is required for any given event?

28:52 – Broodwar is experiencing a bit of a surge in popularity in Korea. As an old school BW fan, are you on the BW hype train?

29:49 – How did you take the news that Proleague was coming to an end?

32:30 – What are your plans for hosting this year? Will you work with any other games or more CS:GO to fill the gap between SC2 events?

34:01 – I’ve seen some compare the CS:GO scene to SC2 circa 2012. As someone who has worked with both scenes through their rise in popularity, do you think that there are any parallels between the two esports?

36:40 – Fan questions. From /r/starcraft, TheRedViper asks ‘What was the most memorable moment in your esports career?

38:36 - Tossboi asks ‘Who is your favourite player’

39:19 – How do you deal with the sexism/negative attention that you get from people as a woman working in esports?

43:08 - GuitarsDeAmor asks what was your fav event in 2016 and what are you most looking forward to this year?

48:30 – Feardragon asks ‘what are some tricks that you use to get players to open up more in interviews’?

49:50 – Shyrshadi asks ‘whats your favourite event that you’ve worked at’?

51:29 – Do you have any tips for the people who are trying to work their way up in the esports scene?

53:34 – Final thoughts