February 24, 2025
In 2024, a year filled with amazing tournaments, Raidiant collaborated with Riot Games to organize Raidiant Academy. The tournament provided competitors who identify as women or other marginalized genders a chance to showcase their skills and compete for a prize pool of $2000.
Raidiant Academy didn’t offer just new competitive opportunities for players. It also provided ex-pros a new chance to step into the role of casters. One of these casters was Sierra “zhobiii” Frisbee, an American esports commentator who began their casting career in August 2022.
Not only is zhobiii a fantastic caster, but they use their expertise in casting to uplift and pioneer more representation of marginalized genders in the esports scene. So, what is casting for an esports event like Raidiant Academy like? Here’s how the casting experience looked through zhobiii’s eyes.
zhobiii’s background, achievements, and inspirations
Who is zhobiii, and how did they begin their casting experience?
zhobiii: “I am a college student studying computer engineering! I grew up a gamer within my family and was kinda involved in the theater tech space within the sound design world. I discovered esports commentating through a collegiate game changers event called Crescent Cup about two and a half years ago! I was helping my college plan a tech conference and joined a gaming community with an opportunities channel where the job posting was listed.
I had done it for fun with friends in VCs since I played Valorant avidly during lockdowns and said what the heck, lemme give it a shot! From there, I got involved with Galorants, who kept inviting me back for in-house events and, eventually, Astral Clash. From there, I got involved with Collegiate Valorant with CVAL North when I was given a shot as an emergency substitute for someone (hehehe).”
We asked zhobiii what they consider to be their biggest achievements so far.
zhobiii: “I have grown to cast most major collegiate leagues like NECC and CECC! For Game Changers, I now get to cast Raidiant Academy in NA (obviously), but my biggest win has been getting to cast VCT Game Changers in EMEA and all of last year’s GC OFF//SEASON Events in NA and EMEA – NRG Neon Dream, Lioness Cup, and Wingwoman Series!”
Zhobiii’s work with Raidiant Academy 2024 was another step toward uplifting marginalized genders in the competitive Valorant scene. But what was their inspiration for stepping into the world of casting?
zhobiii: “One of my goals is to be the first non-binary representation on a VCT Game Changers broadcast in NA, since they are typically stigmatized for even playing in the league. So, I think on-camera talent showing that sort of representation, too, would be super cool. For me, since Raidiant Academy is the stepping stone for players, it makes sense for it to be the starting point for talent as well. They can get first-hand storylines of new and current players in the space who are or will be playing in the main GC circuit.
The hope then, since Raidiant is the TO for VCT Game Changers, is that Riot Talent Managers would see you putting in the dedication and work for the scene to grow and hone your skills so that they might pick you up for the main league. If that doesn’t happen, then you at least have transferable events on your resume that are Riot-affiliated which helps your notability for booking other gigs, which is super helpful!”
Preparation is key for a successful caster. Here’s how zhobiii prepared for their role.
zhobiii: “If I’m casting with someone new to me as a duo or new to the game, I typically reach out to them to get a feel for their experience and casting style preferences – if we have time, we even do a mock cast sometimes before the actual show day. As for research, my knowledge of the space has kind of become habitual at this point since I’ve been working in the space for 2+ years. I recognize a lot of names and know the history or can find it really quickly. People joke that I’m an “Encyclopedia for NA Game Changers,” but there’s still a lot for me to learn, in my own opinion, haha!
My standard preparation for Raidiant Academy, especially since it is so pug-heavy, is to look at the team’s maps and compositions in the Group Stage and first few rounds of Playoffs. This gives me somewhere to start, and I can start building storylines – players that consistently performed, if they always go map 3s and come back, if they are undefeated, etc. I record all of this on my tablet, with a template I’ve created that I refer to throughout the broadcast!”
zhobiii’s Raidiant Academy highlights
Raidiant Academy was jam-packed with amazing talents. Here’s which teams caught zhobiii’s attention the most and why.
zhobiii: “Ooo, it’s hard to pinpoint specific teams since they’re always changing, haha – as for players, I’ve got to go with the duo that kept sticking around and competing – Karie and Avery – they’ve won 6 and 5 Raidiant Academies, respectively. 5 and 4 of those were done IN A ROW as well until their streak was finally broken in Raidiant Academy 107 (Don’t worry, they came back and won 108, LOL!). Even with everything that would happen during the season (being signed or F/A), they kept playing, trying to make their esports dream. Their individual improvement, the ability to be seen on broadcast by organizations, and even the nice prize pool allowed them to dedicate the time needed to grow.
That’s what the scene, the space is for. Growth. As Riot’s leadership has said, they don’t want it to be around forever, so the players using this tool to be the best they can be before the co-ed future arrives are the trailblazers we need to see. I also love their attitude of just coming to have fun and play the game; after all, that’s what Valorant is for!”
Besides amazing teams, we asked zhobiii which plays they deemed the best of the best.
zhobiii: “OMG, Raidiant Academy 104, for sure! It was one of those teams that rarely, I really only recognized one name on (Hyperspeed Red) – my favorite thing to have happened because it means I get to learn about new players/teams. And somehow, They come back from a 2-11 deficit (and a 9-3 curse) to win the map in overtime. Despite losing the series, they were clearly having fun, and my favorite part is that the Organization’s Owner was watching the games live and had the best reactions. In a space where there’s already not a lot of organizational buy-in/support, it was truly inspiring to see there are still people who care like that.
On top of that, it was CeeBeeChan’s (a known Overwatch Calling All Heroes Caster) first Valorant cast ever; they had to go through that chaotic 30-round match, and they took it like a champ! Talk about trial by fire. We were exhausted but laughing messes by the time it was over. It was such a good series and a reminder of why we work in this space, hahaha. Even if you lose, progress is progress – that was the furthest they had made it in a Raidiant Academy, and now they’re making deep runs in actual VCT Game Changers this season.”
zhobiii’s takeaway as a caster
zhobiii has reflected on the takeaways of their casting journey and talent progression Radiant Academy provides, but noted there are still improvements to be made.
zhobiii: “While I looked at Raidiant Academy as an opportunity for me to progress in my casting journey, I’ve almost become a mentor and pillar of support for other casters just getting started in the space, helping kickstart their journeys. I’ve gotten to work with familiar and new faces in the space, which is cool to then work with consistent duos and those who just need a solid partner to hone their own skills. I’ve loved getting to learn more about the scene and new players with each passing event – I’m always surprised when I see someone new I didn’t know, and I know I’ll be able to draw on those pop-off moments later when they make it in VCT GC.
This year, Raidiant has made good strides to make that talent progression pathway more defined with “Match of the Week” Broadcasts, but I do wish the TOs and Riot could work closer together to build those connections between talent and talent managers since that feels like the most difficult jump for any casters trying to break into casting higher than Raidiant Academy (VCL, VCT GC, etc.). We feel stuck without real feedback or knowledge of whether we’re even progressing or being considered for progression. Those sorts of benchmarks or checkmarks would be amazing and can be super motivating as well.”
After four years of amazing work, zhobiii is ready to take on new challenges. Here’s what they had to say about their future as a caster.
zhobiii: Right now, my hiatus from school the past year (where I truly made strides in my casting career) has come to an end. This semester, I am balancing classes and casting. It’s arduous and tiring for sure since I know in my heart I value casting and esports more than school right now, but I know it’s important to have that pillar or emergency support to fall back on. So far, though, I’m still casting collegiate, and I’ve made a major step in that I am now casting Challengers or Tier 2 Valorant! I even cast history in the last Open Qualifier – where Shopify Rebellion GC became the first GC squad to qualify for VCL! It’s a major breakthrough that Tier 2 broadcasts now have non-binary talent, but I won’t stop until I can be that representation on VCT Americas or International broadcasts!
“In addition to that, I’m making VCT Americas/EMEA interview content to ensure I stay in touch with that space, host VCL watch parties, and I’m even the captain as a player of my collegiate Game Changers squad! That means, if I’m not casting, you might even see me playing in a future Raidiant Academy, hehehe~”
zhobiii is making strides in the esports industry while supporting and mentoring those just starting on their path, making a true change for our community, and we’re proud to be able to showcase such talent at Raidiant. Thank you for the interview, zhobiii!