MonteCristo open to “exploring” CSGO after leaving Overwatch League
After leaving behind the broadcast team of Overwatch League before the start of its third season, Christopher ‘MonteCristo’ Mykles has already hinted at games and events he’d like to work on in the near future, and shared fond admiration for one game in particular.
The departure of MonteCristo from the Overwatch League broadcast team has been a focus point on the narrative surrounding the future and longevity of the Blizzard-run league. Other departures like fellow broadcaster Chris Puckett, and reports like the multi-part behind-the-scenes look by Richard Lewis paint a bleak future for OWL after just two years.
But after creative differences drove Monte away from Overwatch League, he’s wasting little time on the sidelines, and is already making moves towards other viable desks.
In a reply to a Duncan ‘Thorin’ Shields post on Twitter about doing commentary versus desk duties, Monte declared his preference for desks along with Thorin. He claimed analysis desks let analysts “cherry-pick the interesting parts,” let them build up their on-camera personas, and credit them for being more “loose.”
As much as I love casting, I think I have learned that I prefer desks, too. You aren’t a slave to the game and can cherry-pick the most interesting parts to focus on. It’s also better if you want to build up your persona since it is on camera and you can be more loose.
— MonteCristo (@MonteCristo) January 9, 2020
Thorin wasted no time in attempting to recruit his friend to a different competitive shooter, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. Monte replied that he loves CSGO, and that he would be “down.”
With a massive 2020 season coming up, and with an opportunity to take a crack at one of the biggest personalities and draws in the realm of esports talent, the folks at BLAST shot their shot, replying to Monte with the inspective monocle emoji.
Monte replied with just a fraction of his resume, saying he can host desks, prompting BLAST to inform him about the availability of desks at their tournaments.
We have desks at our tournaments.
— BLAST Premier 💥 (@BLASTPremier) January 9, 2020
Dexerto reached out to Monte following these interactions on Twitter, and while he said the replies to BLAST hadn’t yet manifested into something concrete, he did say that he “wouldn’t say no to hosting a CS desk for them.”
Monte further elaborated on his appreciation for Counter-Strike to Dexerto:
“I’ve always been passionate about Counter-Strike and I’ve watched more CSGO in the past two years than any other game besides Overwatch,” he said. “I’ve become good friends with many of the casters over the years but never had an opportunity to enter the scene.
“I’d certainly be welcome to exploring opportunities to start dabbling in CSGO, especially as a desk host since I would need time and experience to get up to speed as a caster or analyst in order to do justice to the game.”
BLAST Pro SeriesBLAST announced their 2020 BLAST Premier Series at the end of 2019, and announced over $4 million in prize pools. In December they announced the 12 teams competing in the first Premier Series.
The BLAST Premier Spring 2020 season is set to start on January 3, in London, England. FaZe Clan and Ninjas in Pyjamas will face each other in the first series.