October 31, 2025
The Milk Cup 2025 was one of North America’s most-watched all-female Fortnite events, garnering a total of 4.3 million views. This feat wouldn’t be possible without an amazing team behind the event.
We had the opportunity to speak to Kelly Link, one of the casters for The Milk Cup 2025. Coming from a family of die-hard gamers, Kelly says that it almost felt like her career path was an inevitability. “Growing up, I spent many hours in front of a computer screen or at the local arcade. In 2012, when I found out about Twitch, it was an obvious decision to start streaming. I was playing games every day anyway, I might as well stream it.“
As Kelly explains, she rose to popularity when she started streaming SimCity and a newer MOBA called Smite. Hi-Rez Studios, the developers of Smite, would soon hire her as a full-time content creator and eventually, their stage and desk host for all Smite tournaments and shows. In comparison to other work Kelly has done, she says that “as far as preparation and providing analysis goes, there isn’t much of a difference when casting the Milk Cup compared to other Fortnite tournaments.”
As for her motivation for joining The Milk Cup 2025 team, Kelly points out that, “to have any support for the women’s scene in Fortnite is amazing. But for it to be on the scale that Gonna Need Milk has provided for the community is unbelievable and something I knew I needed to be a part of.” Here’s everything Kelly had to say about her casting experience on The Milk Cup 2025 tournament.
Kelly’s highlights of casting The Milk Cup 2025
Although she loves a close game, Kelly says that she can’t help but get excited when a team runs away with first place. “During the 2nd Main Event, Kanary and Fraantic were unstoppable, and it was a definite highlight of mine watching them get elimination after elimination.“
However, Kelly points out that some of the most fun moments of the tournament happen outside of casting. “Getting to meet and hang out with all the players and staff at the first LAN was easily my favorite part. The kindness and camaraderie I saw made me even more excited for the future of women’s Fortnite.“
For the amazing players competing in The Milk Cup, Kelly had nothing but words of praise: “I just want to thank all the incredible competitors. They always bring their best and provide nonstop excitement, which makes my job as an analyst on the show that much more enjoyable. Also, watching everyone support and hype each other up at the LAN brings me so much hope for the future of women’s Fortnite. Thank you all for making this scene what it is, and keep doing what you’re doing.“
Kelly’s advice for getting into casting
On a final note, we asked Kelly if she could offer some advice for other women looking to enter the casting field.
“Practice! Start recording or streaming your own commentary over a game. A lot of hosting and casting is about building up a good flow, which is difficult to achieve outside of casting a lot of games. If you can, get a friend to join you to help work on the back-and-forth interactions. If you feel you had a particularly good cast, save the video and put it in a highlight reel. Highlight reels are a great way to showcase your ability and can continuously be added to or edited as you improve.”
Thank you, Kelly, for your valuable insight! Be sure to follow Kelly on X (Twitter) and Twitch.
If you’re interested in more behind-the-scenes content of The Milk Cup 2025, check out our interview with Elisabeth Marchini on her hosting experience.