June 27, 2025
The esports industry is a massive sector that continues to grow every day. Despite its immense size, the industry continues to struggle with representation. Nowadays, the number of women and individuals of marginalized genders is increasing in the industry.
It’s not easy to break through in the esports industry, but successful people like hemmys are proof that more and more people of marginalized genders are managing to find their place in this massive industry. As hemmys put it: “Raidiant has been able to recognize marginalized gender staff in esports and has made it a welcoming experience for people like myself to gain opportunities in the space.” Now, hemmys is here with us to share their experience as a freelance tournament observer production assistant, with clients growing from Raidiant to Riot.
What does the job of a freelance esports production assistant look like?
A production assistant’s job entails a wide range of unique responsibilities. These responsibilities also come with their own set of challenges.
Hemmys shared their their experience working as a production assistant, what made them interested in following this path, and which challenges they had to face while following this line of work: “As a Production Assistant (PA), our responsibilities usually alternate between being a General PA, Follow Observer, or a Tagboard Operator. General PA duties include assisting the Production Coordinator(s) with administrative work, sending out lunch menus for the crew, going on runs, and more. As a Follow Observer, we ensure that the language feeds — usually English, LATAM, and/or Spanish — are spectating and following the main observers. As a Tagboard Operator, we gather tweets and Twitch chats from the audience that are relevant to the game and put it on broadcast as a Lower Third or Fullscreen graphic, and more.”
Raidiant: What sparked your interest in pursuing this path?
hemmys: As someone who grew up playing video games (thanks to two older brothers), I have always tried to be deeply involved in each gaming community I have been a part of. As I grew older, I figured out along the way that gaming is something that I am passionate about and want to work with. With that being said, I try to take every opportunity I can, as I am always interested and passionate about this scene.
Despite all the good things, this line of work often has its unique set of challenges. Here’s what hemmys highlights as the biggest challenges of being a production assistant:
“I’ve discovered that some great challenges can be wearing a lot of different hats that you may not be familiar with whenever there may be a smaller crew than usual, but we make it work because it takes a village.”
Raidiant: You worked on tournaments from Raidiant to Riot; can you tell us a little bit about your story?
hemmys: I first worked with Raidiant thanks to some previous connections from those in a distinct Valorant community called Galorants. With Raidiant, I would be brought on as a Tournament Admin for events like VCT Game Changers, Calling All Heroes, The Milk Cup, and more. Without Raidiant, I don’t think I would’ve been able to gain the experience to grow or explore my current path in esports. As difficult as it is to get into esports, Raidiant has been able to recognize marginalized gender staff in esports and has made it a welcoming experience for people like myself to gain opportunities in the space. Now, assisting with events like VCT Americas, LTA North, etc., at the Riot Games Remote Broadcast Center (RBC) in Seattle, I have been able to take the skills I’ve learned working with Raidiant and transfer them to my role as a Production Assistant.
Raidiant: Which moments of your career would you highlight as the best?
hemmys: I feel as though moments where I am constantly learning, growing, and/or finding “bigger and better” opportunities are what would be considered the best of my career. I believe that as time goes by, we are constantly finding new ways to improve both ourselves and our careers. Right now, though I am currently still freelance and could be in a better spot, I am grateful for where I am and will continue to do my best to look for opportunities that can provide me with the life that I am comfortable with living. On a more fun note, I have been mainly taking roles as a Tournament Admin/Moderator for events, but have recently competed and qualified for The Milk Cup LAN that was held at L.A. Comic Con in October. I think that it was beautiful and heartwarming to see the people who I usually work with as staff supporting me during LAN as a player.
Raidiant: Do you have any advice for people looking to find a job in this area?
hemmys: In my experience, esports is a very hard field to get into, and I’m sure we all know that. If you are a student, I would try to get involved in clubs because as an Officer, you will most likely be establishing roles and working together to bring something exciting to your community. As a student, there are so many opportunities and resources you can utilize, whether it’s internships with esports orgs/gaming companies, or even wearing different hats and trying something new, because there’s so much room to explore early on in your career. If you are not a student or are no longer a student, it may be difficult, but it’s not impossible. First, you may want to ask yourself, “What specifically do I want to do in esports?” If you are unsure, try it all out! I first started as a Snipe Host for a Fortnite scrim Discord and became Management after quite some time, and I realized that I like growing and engaging with a community. I suggest finding any grassroots tournaments related to the games that you enjoy playing and asking if they need any assistance in any areas. There are also Discord servers like Broadcast.gg that post esports opportunities, or even browsing on hitmarker.net, which is similar to a job board site but for video games. At first, there is a high chance that you may be doing a lot of volunteer or unpaid work, but as you gain connections within the space, grow your brand, and market yourself, you will be known, and people will want to work with you. If you want to work in an esports or gaming role, I strongly emphasize networking and maintaining those connections.
Raidiant: What are your plans for the future?
hemmys: With my current role at the Seattle RBC, I plan to keep learning and shadowing current full-time roles to hopefully promote to one myself. I have been interested in the Production and Media Asset Management areas because I, oddly enough, enjoy doing plug-and-chug tasks. I still have so much love and support for the tournament space, so I will try to continue being involved until I am presented with a big girl job!
Thank you, hemmys, for your valuable input! If you want to find out more about hemmys, you can check out their esports portfolio here.