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From Australia to the Berlin Major, newly-minted caster Mandy is ready to bring her own personal twist to the desk

Mandy only became a caster earlier this year.

Image: Mandy Powers

While the Berlin Major is going to get hearts pumping with new records set to be broken and new champions potentially set to be crowned, two Australians are set to make history by becoming the first casters at a Rainbow Six Siege Major.

James “Devmarta” Stewart is no unfamiliar name to audiences outside of APAC -- he has been a desk analyst at six different international events since the Six Invitational 2019. But he and his APAC South casting partner, Mandy “Daughter” Powers, will be casting matches for the first time ever at an international event.

Those who do not follow APAC South or the Oceanic Nationals will be largely unfamiliar with this new name. And even those who followed the region in 2021 may still be wondering where Mandy has come from.

Originally just an in-game observer, Mandy revealed that she got into the competitive scene back when she was “a bit of a party girl” in her freshman year at university.

“My parents said … ‘you need to get a job so you can pay for your outings’,” revealed Mandy. “I attended [an ESL-organised career workshop] … I was like ‘I can learn some of these skills, I can do this.’”

The workshop proved to be the ‘in’ for existing Rainbow Six fan Mandy, as ESL was looking for a second observer to help with ANZ and SEA Pro League matches.

“I really loved Siege, I’ve been playing it since Operation Health,” Mandy shared. Yet, despite her experience and knowledge, she realised she needed more to become an effective observer. “I found it really tough to keep up … so I thought it’d be really fun to go and, like, join [an amateur] team!”

While it was not high-brow Siege, the experience immersed Mandy into the competitive aspect of the game and gave her a front-row seat to the strategies, thought, and flow of each match.

She honed her skills as an observer for two years before getting her big break just earlier this year in March in the Oceanic Nationals 2022 Stage 1. And with her experience as an observer, colour casting came naturally to Mandy.

“To be put already in a team of three (alongside Devmarta and Manic on the OCN desk) was such a smooth transition to go into casting,” said Mandy.

As smooth as her transition to the colour casting role was, the news that Devmarta and her were going to be casting the Major came as a shock to both of them. After all, Mandy had only begun casting less than three months prior and thus failed to clock on why Ubisoft personnel were asking for her passport and visa details, and about her casting partnership with Devmarta.

That partnership has also helped Mandy develop a comfortable workflow when preparing for casts at events, including the Berlin Major.

“Dev was obviously a colour-caster before … Dev focuses a lot on the quantitative side of Rainbow Six,” explained Mandy.

“For me, especially with my observer background, I have a much more qualitative perspective of the game. Like, I’ll comment on exactly what’s going through the lobby, what might be going through the players’ heads, what might be going on behind the scenes, the story behind the scrim partners and what their region… I suppose the play style of their region.”

Mandy also shared that she focuses more on the presentation of her words with vocal exercises focusing on tone and clarity to warm up for a cast.

“I suppose as a female caster, I think that as a woman it’s hard to have that… ‘The Caster Voice’,” she shared.

Stepping up into a casting role also meant that Mandy had many existing figures to look up to, with Emi “Fluke” Donaldson highlighted as one of her inspirations, alongside the late Michael “KiXSTAr” Stockley.

“When I watched like KiX and Interro cast, and just the sheer love and passion and love and appreciation that goes into it is something that… like was really inspiring and it really sparked something inside my heart,” revealed Mandy.

Now, Mandy is set to lend her voice on a stage alongside Interro, Emi, and Devmarta.

“I think I would be lying if I said that there was no, like, impostor syndrome,” she shared. “I’m surrounded by so many of these incredible people that have been in the scene for such a long time … for me to get it within six months is just unfathomable. I still can’t really believe what’s going on.”

Catch Devmarta and Mandy’s “down-to-earth, kinda chill vibe” starting with the DWG KIA vs Rogue curtain-raiser today, at 10:30 AM CEST (UTC+2).

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