How To Make it in America: As an E-sports Broadcaster

This is an excerpt from a magazine feature I created on Justin and the E-Sports scene in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metro area.

In November of 2014, Justin Varghese made a decision that would change the trajectory of his life forever. He sat down behind the counter at the Plano, TX based FX Game Exchange and watched contestants in a Super Smash Brothers tournament duke it out. He sat down next to a few guys he didn’t know that well and narrated the frantic happenings onscreen while critiquing the player movements. Justin did this all on camera. And he loved every minute it.

Since then, the University of Texas at Dallas graduate  traded in his keyboard and mouse for a controller and a headset. Varghese is now the Head of Strategic Partnerships at Tourney Locator LLC. (TLOC), the very company for which he stepped onto the mic for. Varghese and his on-air partner, Nabil Pervez, operate as the main two faces of TLOC, a DFW company that organizes and stream video game tournaments via their Twitch channel. The duo broadcast weekly as JV and Nebtune. Along with a weekly series at the Exchange, TLOC sets up yearly and monthly tournaments, at times sponsoring players and traveling throughout the region.

Prior to joining TLOC and signing a Major League Gaming contract, Justin had extensive video game experience but no broadcasting or recording experience. It all happened kind of fast for Justin, so I asked him to break it down for me.