ESL today announced the pickup of Robb “Flynn” Flynn as part of their English-speaking caster lineup for the Pro League regions of North America, Europe and Latin America. He will be replacing outgoing caster Devin “mzo” Becker for the second half of Season 9 as the latter will be taking a break due to health-related reasons.
The duo of mzo (left) and Flynn (right) at the Six Invitational 2019
Flynn has had a lot of recent top-level casting experience, starting his formal casting career with the Northern Arena Canadian Nationals in the February of 2018. His first feature at a larger tournament was at DreamHack Montreal 2018, which was well received by most fans.
These were followed by more event appearances for the Canadian, including the ESL Euro Cup 2018, the US Nationals 2018, and most recently -- and most high-profile -- the Six Invitational 2019 (Group Stages). Flynn also was the caster for this season, Season 4, of the Cyberathlete Championship Series (CCS) in North America, but will not be continuing on further.
Unfortunately, fans of mzo will have to wait a while before they will be seeing him in action again. The American was not only the oldest Pro League caster at the age of 37, but also the most experienced, having joined the casting team in Season 2 of the Pro League and kicked things off with both the PC and Xbox One Pro Leagues.
Devin "mzo" Becker (Left)
This continued on for Season 3 and the Six Invitational, however his online Pro League contract was not renewed for Season 4 and 5, although he did make appearances at the offline Finals. Following that brief sojourn, though, mzo was confirmed for the Pro League from Season 6 onwards and was part of the team ever since.
Aside from his Pro League casting, mzo is also a part of SiegeGG as the host of the Debrief podcast.
SiegeGG spoke to Flynn about his new opportunity and how he plans to make the most of it.
You have grinded up the ladder through smaller leagues. How does it feel now? Did you ever think you could get this far?
After my very first broadcast in November 2017 for an amateur league that now no longer exists, Parker and I talked about this being basically impossible given the circumstances at the time. So, I resigned myself to the fact that it’d never happen, and that if I wanted to pursue this as a career I’d basically have to be the guy that does everything except Pro League. I knew early on that I’d have to put in a lot of work to get to the level of the other PL casters, I feel like I have much to improve on still, but it’s an honour to be the go-to choice to take the PL desk.
You already have a very impressive list of tournaments under your belt, so this step should come naturally for you, right?
I would say it’s just a case of having more experience than other options, and I’ve been incredibly fortunate to have been given such experience over the last year. I really only got my first paid gig doing the Canadian Circuit cause there was no one else in the GTA (Greater Toronto Area), and it snowballed from there.
Is it intimidating that you will be replacing mzo, one of the longest serving English language casters?
I don’t necessarily feel intimidated by it, but I’d be lying if it hadn’t crossed my mind. I know the fans have favourite casting duos and this will be a disruption to the norm, but my hope is that Milosh and I can be a new duo that the fans enjoy just as well. Mzo has also been an incredible friend, mentor, and duo over multiple events now, and filling in during his absence has a special meaning to me.
Moving to Poland for casting is undoubtedly going to be a challenge for you, how do you plan to tackle this?
Moving to a new continent, in a new country, where I don’t speak the native language will be a shock for sure. However, Parker said he’d buy me a beer when I get there; I’ll go from there and take it a day at a time. It’s a fantastic opportunity to see an entirely alternative way of life on the other side of the world, and every day will be a new experience.
Is there anything you would like to say to your fans in light of this announcement?
To say I even have fans is a trip, but if you’re out there; thank you for sticking with me through strong performances and weak performances, through events with 20 viewers and SI 19 with 250,000, all around the world in a handful of different countries, I hope to do you proud. See you Monday.
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The Pro League returns with North American action on the 11th of March, Monday, at the usual time of 7 PM EST (GMT-5) on the Rainbow6 Twitch and YouTube channels, so be sure to catch Flynn in action for his first-ever Pro League match soon.