Experienced UK League of Legends caster Will ‘Viperoon’ Whittingham recently announced he was leaving esports for good.
He has worked hard on broadcasts like the UKEL, UKLC, NLC, Baltic Masters and EU Masters, but the underrated caster has often been overlooked for other talent. Dom Sacco sits down with Viperoon in this honest and open Twitch chat about his departure from UK LoL casting and what it was really like behind the scenes. View the full video above and see highlights below.
Your announcement that you’re stepping away from casting seems a bit sudden and sad – what prompted this decision?
It’s actually been in the works for a little while. It was near the NLC last split when I moved towards the European Masters. I was basically thinking about what I’d do moving forward, and just with the changes at the ERL level and LEC, and what the casting career roadmap looked like, it was becoming increasingly obvious to me I wasn’t going to be climbing at a rate that would’ve been viable for me, potentially.
So while I was doing it as a full-time job and bills were being paid, that was it. There was no advancement or growth, particularly for me, it felt like. I was just turning up and getting a pay cheque.
“My heart was falling out of love of casting, the background shenanigans in terms of who gets to what shows was getting to me a little bit, and the constantly being online and the social media side of it, pushing yourself as a brand… it’s weighed me down for years, that social media side.”
One of the reasons I quit is because I look at social media and Twitch chat when I was casting and the scene just didn’t care about me, at all. Initialise and Nymaera, for example, would get praise [on socials].
At EUM finals, I’d come off the back of a pop-off banger series to nothing, to like four likes on my ‘thanks for having me on the show’ tweet. People just didn’t care.
And I had so many things piled up, I guess fatigue as well, as I’ve been in this game a bit longer than some people at this level. Some things didn’t fall into place as they did with other people. And I said: can I see myself in five years’ time being a full-time League caster. Some of my mates and partner said, ‘dude, you’re not happy, can you change the things that’ll make you happy with your job?’
And I said, ‘no, I don’t get to choose that kind of stuff’.
At that point they said if you’re not happy, go and do something else. Fortunately, I’ve got a degree, an education, a decent amount of experience at work, so I thought now’s the opportunity for me to make a change and set that in motion.
Saying that, I don’t think I’ll ever fully quit League of Legend as a game. There have been some chancers in my DMs asking about the NLC Aurora Open, and I’m like, ‘I’ve literally just announced my retirement!’ (laughs)
Also, there are people in the scene, so many good novice casters, who aren’t getting paid. And if my heart is not in it anymore, they’re not gonna break through with my big head in the way! They should get opportunities over someone who is leaving.
Burnout is real, you can get ‘locked in’ to your job and enjoy it less. We’ve seen the likes of Medic and Quickshot take breaks for this reason.
It’s hard to be in the spotlight, be working that hard and be the best. I’m not surprised [the likes of Medic and Quickshot] have needed to take break.
You cannot do anything or make any plans. What if I get called up for EU Masters or LEC? I can’t plan my life because of this. And people have missed [casting] opportunities because of life in general.
You have to make a decision, are you willing to commit your life to League of Legends and have your social circle within that? A lot of people will say yes to that, and if you don’t say yes, you will immediately fall down the pecking order.
You’re known as the caster that was sacked for having long hair, is that correct?
I was fired from the Baltic Masters, and when I asked why, they said: ‘Oh, we don’t like your hair.’
And then they followed up with a bunch of other made-up reasons, essentially. I got the email and will have to frame it on my wall at some point!
They sat me down, I had longer hair than I have now and a beard, and they said they don’t like my presentation on broadcasts, even though my clothing was the same as other casters. They said they didn’t like my hair and facial hair. But I was clean and presentable. It was funny as it was at a time where Medic was going with the long hair look, yet I got fired for it! The whole thing was a sham.
“I was fired from the Baltic Masters, and when I asked why, they said: ‘Oh, we don’t like your hair’. And then they followed up with a bunch of other made-up reasons, essentially. I got the email and will have to frame it on my wall at some point!”
How competitive is the casting world? Everyone seems like they’re friends…
(Waving finger) Oh no no no! There’s a scale. The standard point for casters is everyone is out for themselves, and people will help you as long as it doesn’t not benefit them. That’s the baseline.
Only a few will go out of their way to help you even if it doesn’t help them – DocDa and Carmeline have both willingly put themselves in positions where they were worse off and I was better off, but that’s an exception.
There are a lot of people who will pay lip service to this idea we’re in this together, or will be snakey. I’ve been told info this split that I wouldn’t feel comfortable telling other casters, because I don’t trust them.
You have to be buddy buddy and put on a smile, even if you don’t like them. You won’t be best mates with everyone you work with. Ultimately, it’s a job.
You will go into a green room and chat with people, and some people will come in, put their headphones in and not interact. People are professional the majority of the time though. But we’re not all bessie mates.
People fall out. There is always drama, there is always beef [in the scene as a whole].
You’ve worked for jobs site Hitmarker too, but are moving away from esports now. What are your thoughts on that?
It was great to work in esports. It was a great experience, I have a lot of good memories and a lot of love for people. It was a really worthwhile thing.
Hopefully this isn’t goodbye forever. It’s been a pleasure to have been a part of UK esports and see it develop. I’m looking forward to having a break and coming back as a fan. The hot takes will be unleashed!
Thanks for your time Will and good luck in the future.
Follow Viperoon on Twitter here
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Dom is an award-winning writer and finalist of the Esports Journalist of the Year 2023 award. He graduated from Bournemouth University with a 2:1 degree in Multi-Media Journalism in 2007.
As a long-time gamer having first picked up the NES controller in the late ’80s, he has written for a range of publications including GamesTM, Nintendo Official Magazine, industry publication MCV and others. He worked as head of content for the British Esports Federation up until February 2021, when he stepped back to work full-time on Esports News UK and offer esports consultancy and freelance services. Note: Dom still produces the British Esports newsletter on a freelance basis, so our coverage of British Esports is always kept simple – usually just covering the occasional press release – because of this conflict of interest.
