Robert ‘Dagda’ Price is an experienced Irish League of Legends caster that has worked on some of the biggest broadcasts, from LPL to LEC, Worlds, recently MSI 2023, and more. We sat down with him after the JDG vs BLG grand final at MSI to hear about his background, what’s next, and what it’s like seeing these players he’s followed closely play on the final stage in London.
On being a part of the MSI 2023 broadcast talent line-up in London
“It’s been super nice to be a part of it all, especially because I had family who came to see, so being closer to Ireland has been super nice. And I love the new format, the fact that you get so many more closer best-of-fives, games feel like they have more value to them, and even just the excitement that comes with them as well – JDG vs T1 was one of my favourite games we’ve had, that was insane!
“I got to tell the story of a lot of the earlier teams as well. I think a lot of people see these teams hit the international stages and don’t always realise the work they put in to get there, because they might go up against JDG or T1 and get crushed. Now you get to see the growth these teams have.”
On his knowledge of China’s LPL and seeing players from the region do so well at MSI, including the grand final
“I like to think I have good knowledge of LPL teams [having been on the LPL broadcast], but then I talk to people like Emily Rand and I’m like, she’s an encyclopedia! But to see the stories of players like ON, Knight, Kanavi… so many little stories of them that we get to see.
“And Elk, who was known as Jiumeng, we were like, ‘there’s no way this guy is going to ever become a real carry, he’s way too coin-flippy, goes nuts, is way too aggressive’, then you look at him and think, ‘who’s this?!’ (laughs)
“So it’s so nice to see when players pop off and show what they can do internationally.”
“Kanavi and Knight, the fact they were able to play so heavily through that mid/jungle, was absolutely insane. Knight obviously had finals MVP, and I think we got to see how strong JDG are across the entire way.
“Kanavi’s Wukong was nuts in game two, and where Knight got to show off as Annie and Jayce… and I’m so glad we got to see Missing’s Thresh! This has been a personal favourite of mine the entire time I was in the LPL, then you see that passage of play where they’re pushing towards the nexus and he had like five hooks in a row!
“It’s really cool to see these guys [from the LPL]. When you’ve been casting them for three years and learning their story, it’s impossible not to become a fan of them. Shout out to dedicated fans who help us share the stories too, that makes such a difference.”
“I don’t feel like I’ve done everything I want to achieve within casting, but I’m trying to keep an open mind because there are so many cool things that are happening. For the foreseeable future I want to keep pushing myself just to see how much I can achieve.”
Dagda
On esports events in Ireland
“I’d love to have [more League events in Ireland], especially with Riot’s Project Stryker in Dublin, but I think it’s very hard. We have such a small population, getting enough people to fill a stadium is going to be tough.
“But as you can see from MSI London, half the audience is not from the UK, you can hear Chinese, Korean, American chants and more, there’s such a wide variety of people, so I personally would love to see it, even getting to cast at home would be amazing.
“To guys like Medic and Vedius, it means the world to them to cast an event on home soil. But I think Ireland might be a little bit small, and the Irish League of Legends scene has disappeared. But I’m happy to help in the UK!
“Seeing the excitement people have, and people saying hi and thank you genuinely means the world, I read all the lovely messages and it means so much.”
Dagda on his LoL esports casting career so far – and what’s next
“I never expected to be where I am, I used to work in a bank and I had three or four gigs lined up, they offered me redundancy or to stay with them. I thought I’d give this esports thing a shot and see if it works out. After three months I thought, this is great, it’s all going fantastic, and then suddenly I had no work for the rest of the year!
“So I gave myself a time limit, but I got very very lucky and joined the LPL [before the coronovirus outbreak began], and moved to Shanghai in the middle of covid, so it was a bit of a mad one, but it’s a case of pushing to see how far I can go with a lot of it.
“I don’t feel like I’ve done everything I want to achieve within casting, but I’m trying to keep an open mind because there are so many cool things that are happening. For the foreseeable future I want to keep pushing myself just to see how much I can achieve.
“The fact I get to travel to such cool spots, there are very few jobs that allow you to shout like an idiot at a computer screen while also getting to experience cool cultures and foods and everything else!”
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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.
