ELEAGUE: Sue ‘Smix’ Lee takes us behind the reporter’s microphone

Sue ‘Smix’ Lee is ELEAGUE’s reporter extraordinaire, and she spoke to FanSided about how her work is much more than just holding a microphone.

When Turner and IMG’s ELEAGUE needs a post-match interview or a chat with a fan, Sue “Smix” Lee gets the call. She’s the reporter you’ll see holding the microphone, but that’s not all she does.

FanSided spoke to Sue during the current ELEAGUE CSGO Premier to discuss how she became an esports reporter and how much more she puts into reporting than audiences get to see. She asks the questions on every Counter-Strike fan’s mind and makes it look easy, but that’s only because she works so hard on each interview she does.

Learn more about Sue “Smix” Lee below, and make sure to tune into the ELEAGUE CSGO Premier Playoff Preview Show this Friday, Oct. 6 at 10 p.m. on TBS.

FanSided: ELEAGUE fans may not know that you didn’t begin your career as a reporter. How did you find your way to the spotlight?

Sue “Smix” Lee (SL): It sort of happened by chance. It all started with a game called StarCraft 2. I used to do voluntary written translating for a website called TeamLiquid.net; there was a huge pro scene going on in Korea, so I just did a bunch of written translations.

Then when StarCraft 2 came out, and there were all the live tournaments going on and Korean players were winning everything, they needed translators. So they asked me if I wanted to do live translating. I started doing just that; I would be on stage and the host would ask questions and I would just translate.

Then in 2013, tournament organizer named DreamHack was like hey, do you also want to ask the questions? They put a lot of faith in me, I don’t know why, but that’s how I started to host as well. I started hosting in just StarCraft 2, and then over the years I’ve expanded to other games.

FanSided: How does the ELEAGUE brand compare to working for a longer established organizer like DreamHack? How do you think ELEAGUE fits into the esports space?

SL: I’ll always love DreamHack; they’re like a family to me. But with ELEAGUE, I feel a difference in terms of professionalism. I think the thing I like about DreamHack is that they are very much into the meme culture and do more a relaxed desk and sort of relaxed tournament vibe.

But for ELEAGUE it feels more professional. They still have the elements of jokes and whatnot with the social media pushes they do, but everything has a schedule, and I never have to worry about sound issues or countdowns being done correctly or knowing where I have to be for this or anything like that. Everything’s told to me in advance. I just feel like [with] ELEAGUE in particular, I don’t have to worry about things that I have to worry about with someone else.

FanSided: Since you have to interview players immediately post-match, do you have the ability to prepare for interviews, or does it require more working on the fly?

SL: I actually don’t wing it much at all. I do try to prep as much as I can. For example, I always tell the stage manager or whoever is going to grab a player for me to interview, who I want … I do tend to prep during the whole match.

FanSided: Are there specific CSGO players that you’d say always give you an interesting or a quality interview?

SL: There’s quite a few. I love talking to Karrigan from FaZe Clan. I feel like he’s an in-game leader who’s always good at articulating his thoughts as to why this happened this way. And I personally feel he doesn’t BS his answers; he will be pretty honest about why he thinks this didn’t work out.

One time I asked him what happened with FaZe, and why they had decided to do these [roster] changes even though to us they had a pretty good run, and he was pretty honest in revealing what was happening under the surface. So I really enjoy talking to him.

FanSided: From your side of the equation, what would go on the Sue “Smix” Lee highlight reel?

SL: When I think of highlights, I don’t think of anything I did myself. It’s usually big moments that have happened where I was so struck by the emotion coming out of the player. In that regard, the biggest memory I have, because I was so emotionally impacted by it as well, is when Astralis won the ELEAGUE Major.

They were all crying. Their coach was quite overcome as well. I was so close to crying myself because there was so much of a lead-up to it. They had never, ever won [a major]. They had so many mental obstacles to overcome to finally win on the biggest stage where it matters most and I was like, this is so beautiful.

I remember right after I finished the interview with Dupreeh — where to be honest I can’t even remember what I asked because there was so much emotion overcoming me and I could tell he himself was lost in the moment — as soon as I turned around and said “Congratulations, Astralis are your ELEAGUE Major champions,” I just started crying. I was so caught up in the emotion of what I had just witnessed that I went to the green room and I was just crying for 10 minutes.

FanSided: Some fans have a misconception with reporters that your job is holding the mic and letting the players do the talking. Can you discuss what completely goes into esports reporting?

SL: When you see an interviewer it’s easy to just think, that’s a random question or there’s not much thought they put into that or whatever. I can’t speak to everyone, because everyone has a different prep style or how they like to do it. Some people are really good at winging it because that’s how they work and that’ s what works for them.

For myself in particular, I put a lot of thought into storylines and I’m always trying to think about what’s the scene right now? How did they get here? What was the process leading up to this moment. What are the things they’re currently struggling with? What are the things that they’re working on? What’s still not working for them?

I’m constantly thinking about this stuff and looking at their timeline throughout the year. But especially at ELEAGUE, there’s that time constraint. So I’m literally given three questions, and it’s really hard to capture all these crazy ideas in your head in just three questions.

So for me, I don’t think a lot of people [understand]. Especially if you don’t know me, and you think maybe she just got the job because she’s a female, or I doubt this girl knows what she’s talking about, and I bet she sucks at the game.

FanSided: So you’re a great reporter, but you wouldn’t call yourself a great CSGO player?

SL: (laughs) That last thing, they’re probably right. I’m not that good!

Next: Richard Lewis discusses the evolution of ELEAGUE

For more with Sue “Smix” Lee, be sure to follow her on Twitter. The ELEAGUE CSGO Premier will air its Playoff Preview Show on Friday after the MLB postseason on TBS.