Rocket League host Liefx on the game’s new Esports Shop: “This shows Psyonix has the esport at the front of their mind.”

We sat down with Brody “Liefx” Moore for the fourth episode of our caster interviews. Recently having switched to becoming the RLCS Season 7 desk host, Liefx was a caster for most of the RLCS seasons since the beginning. Due to visa issues, we had to say goodbye to him for a little while, but as of last season, he’s finally back at the RLCS. Despite being very busy with the RLCS beginning in a few days, Liefx was kind enough to take some time out and talk to us about his life, Rocket League, the RLCS, and the new Rocket League Esports Shop. We’ve embedded an audio version of the interview below for those who prefer to listen!

We're 3 days away from kicking off Season 7 and we're excited to announce The Dynamic Duo, @Liefx and @Lawler_RL, will be joining @Gibbs0o0 as mainstays on the #RLCS analyst desk! pic.twitter.com/2hi4aVbT2r

— Rocket League Esports (@RLEsports) March 27, 2019

 

 

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Michael Kloos (Daily Esports): Thanks for taking the time out to talk to me in a busy time, Lief. First of all, congratulations on your new hosting job.

Brody “Liefx” Moore: Yeah, it’s nuts. It’s sick because I’ve been doing everything. I’ve done play-by-play, color, desk analysis, stage hosting, and I’m on to the desk hosting. I guess I gotta find a position I’m not bad at. Maybe this will be the one [laughs].

Why did you change from casting?

It was a tough decision because I really love casting. Just to be able to be part of a cool moment, to get to yell over it, is really fun. But the biggest [factor in my] decision for me [was] that I always love learning, and when you do something over and over, there will be less things that you learn. That goes with anything.

So I’d been doing a lot of desk hosting with Heads Up Daily and SQUAD, those TV shows. But that’s different because that’s like live-to-tape. It’s filmed as if it’s live, but it’s pieced together later. But live desk hosting is completely different. It’s a different environment with a different atmosphere and different rules. It was a big chance to learn.

The big topic this week was the Esports Shop. If you have seen anything, without going into detail, how worth it was the wait?

I’m just gonna have to say… As is with anything else that’s happened in this scene, every season you hear grumblings from the superfans on the subreddit and stuff, and Psyonix always ends up delivering with something really cool. So all I gotta say is, I would keep the faith. The fact that it’s announced two months earlier than originally planned, which means things went on a fast pace, which means everybody was working really well with Psyonix, I’d say I’m super excited. This shows that Psyonix has the esport at the front of their mind and they’re like, “Alright, we’re gonna make 2019 the year of Rocket League.”

As usual, we’ll continue with some more personal stuff and come back to Rocket League later. So, I’ve always liked your name since I’m Dutch. It was actually surprising to me when you said you knew it means “sweet” or “lovely.” I thought it was just a funny coincidence. Did you choose the name because of it?

No, initially I didn’t. I knew it was a name. In fourth grade, I did a project on Leif Erikson and in grade 7/8 I was reading books called Deltora Quest, and the main character’s name was Lief. I just loved the series and used to go on forums, but lo and behold, Lief is a real name. So I couldn’t go on forums and get the name Brody. It’s not gonna happen. So I had the same with Lief, so I used to add different things [to the name]. Eventually settled on Liefx ‘cause it was simple. It wasn’t until later that someone pointed it out to me that that’s what it meant.

Let’s talk about your journey. How did you get into casting in the first place?

I always did things weird in video games. Me and my brother were playing Resistance and we always glitched through walls; we started speedrunning. We’d play the game in weird, unorthodox ways. And that was probably a good sandbox for making me who I am now. Now my mentality is always to try and do things weird. I always like to experiment. I think that helped with my competitive side. I wanted to be the best, but to be the best, what did I have to do? So I broke it down, coming up with new ways, things people couldn’t do.

So I’d get home from school sometimes and Halo would be on TV. And eventually, I was like, I want to get into competitive gaming — that seems sick. So I started playing Call of Duty GameBattles. And I’d take that thought process of, ‘What weird things can I do?’

Eventually, [I was] doing YouTube where I’d just talk about gaming news and all that stuff. And I always looked up to Chris Puckett. He also was casting and I was like, ‘Well, I’ve never done casting before, so how would I get into this?’ But it was just kind of dormant; I went back to YouTube. But I was still missing that casting thing. I didn’t have that thing that I really was confident enough to feel like people actually wanted to listen to me. I didn’t want to just cast for the sake of casting — I wanted to add value. So when Rocket League came out, that was that final push. A lot of people might look at me, Lawler, Wave[punk] as “OGs,” but a lot of us got into casting at that time. And shoutout to Goldenboy for building us up. Goldenboy was our dad.

So I got on and was like, ‘I’m gonna start casting.’ So I got on casting with vVv; they liked it. I had enough of the voice training that I had given myself through YouTube. And eventually Lawler and I got put on the same night and I was like, huh, he’s not bad at this, and we requested to be together on all the nights. And the rest was kind of history. RLCS got announced five months after we started doing that. Our names got thrown into a bucket. I knew Cloudfuel just from talking to him, so it was kind of like a good combination of everything.

So you studied computer programming, right? Was that your dream job? Did you see your future in that?

No, programming was a hobby. I took it in high school and I liked programming; it was cool making new things. But once I got into college, it was different being told to do it. I still liked programming, but I don’t like all these other things I have to learn. It wasn’t what I envisioned, and while I still enjoyed it, I didn’t want that to be my day-in-day-out. I realized that pretty late and said this isn’t gonna be it for me. And my dad’s always backed me up. I didn’t feel bad dropping out because of him.

Do you have any talents or hobbies that not many people know about?

I played hockey my whole life. I also did kung fu for 14 years. Southern Shaolin kung fu, which I believe is a huge foundation of the type of person that I am. It’s a very defensive yet powerful martial art. The whole point of it is to avoid conflict. The whole idea was to strike as you move way to say, ‘Hey, I don’t want to argue, but if you’re gonna come close, I’m gonna have to.’ And my whole mentality with everything is like that too. I always try to avoid conflict before it even gets to be conflict. I kept taking it to the next level. Instead of getting physical, you can use words. But what if I can avoid even having to use words? What can I do about my demeanor, my posturing, the way I presented myself? What can I do to make sure people don’t even want to have conflict with me? And that was a whole new mentality for me.

Are you doing anything fun this year that’s not Rocket League or esports-related? Something you’re excited about?

That’s tough. On my personal side, one of my stepsisters is getting married, and I’m going to Mexico later this year. Never been to Mexico. That’s about the only thing I’ve planned out that far. I’m a very day-to-day person. I want to go to more esports events, but again, that’s esports. I want to get back into some of my other hobbies. Some more content creation — my buddy wants to do a podcast about anything, just life in general. Concerts too. I  need to get to more concerts.

What’s your favorite genre?

It changes, but I’ll have to say metal and subgenres of it.

Alright, lightning round time. You know how this goes, right? Basic questions, basic answers. Favorite food?

Chicken noodle soup with too many crackers in it.

Favorite movie?

That’s between The Matrix and Interstellar.

Favorite TV show of all time?

Oh, that’s so hard, dude. It’s either Spongebob, Whose Line Is It Anyway?, or Adventure Time.

Favorite band/artist?

Hands down it’s Linkin Park. It forever was and forever will be my favorite band. Rest in piece Chester, I got a tattoo in honor of it. Linkin Park hands down and following that is Thrice, August Burns Red, and surprisingly, Ellie Goulding.

Favorite game of all time? (Rocket League doesn’t count.)

Oh, that is hard. I appreciate different things; it’s hard to pick a top because different things have different values.

Okay, I’ll make an exception. You can give me your top three.

Off the bat, I’m gonna go with what comes to mind. Flower. I played a lot of Mario Kart DS. And Smash Bros Melee.

Favorite holiday destination?

I don’t like resorts; I don’t like cruises. I like to experience culture. My favorite places and would love to go back to — I’ve been to Amsterdam quite a few times. London was an incredible city. Barbados, even though it’s really hot, I loved Barbados. [And] I really loved the beauty of Prague.

Favorite book, if any?

Oh, I think I may have answered that earlier. Deltora Quest. I used to be big into the Harry Potter books until someone just absolutely spoiled everything for me. So Deltora Quest and lately the Halo books.

Okay. Rocket League time. What are you most looking forward to this season in the RLCS? Any storylines you’re eager to see unfold?

The biggest one for me encompasses four different teams and that are the Rival teams from last year. I think the biggest stories are gonna be which one of them proves to be the best of the four going up.

Off the top, I’m thinking Savage. [They] are looking absolutely monstrous right now. As long as they can internally stay strong I think they’re gonna make some waves. Splyce is a big fan favorite, but no one’s expectations are really high for that. I’ve always loved [Bread], but it’s gonna be tough; their first game against G2 is a big one for them.

G2 is another big one. Huge fan favorites but still questionable. But they usually do good in league play. Honestly, there’s a big one I’m excited for in the Rival Series. The whole Shock situation, playing against [Mist and Hockser]. That’s gonna be fun, just a bit of the drama behind it.

There’s so many stories here. Can Dignitas stay on top? Will Scrub Killa finally find his place? Is [Ex-Flipsid3] gonna keep it up with Speed? [Can] PSG finally make their way out of the middle of the pack?

Are there any teams you have doubts on to survive?

The only question marks for me are on the EU side. People say it’s because EU has got deeper skill, but it might be because they’re more inconsistent. But who knows? I think Triple Trouble might end up getting relegated…

Over Mouz?

Well, no, Mouz might drop, but Savage might be the one to stay up. So obviously has gotta take their place and I think Mouz would be that one. But at the same time, I don’t know if I have the confidence in those Rival teams yet. So you might see those team make it to the relegation [tournament], but I’m not too concerned about them being dropped down. We might finally have [the same] solid RLCS teams twice in a year.

What do you think Psyonix should focus on the most in order to grow the esport?

I really think they have a plan, and I think their plan is a little different than what the hardcore fans are thinking of. But once people see how 2019 plays out, I think they’re gonna understand the plan.

I really love grassroots, but I’m starting to wonder if that is not the right way. Because [games like] Street Fighter, Smash Bros. Melee, they’re starting to fall off now because it’s completely unsustainable. So the road that Psyonix is taking right now, I think by the end of 2019 everyone is gonna understand that Psyonix has a good trajectory for Rocket League.

If you could change one thing about the format of RLCS, what would it be?

It’s interesting when it comes to esports. I’m gonna talk about just a broader thing ‘cause I do deal with a lot of different esports. I’ve always questioned — what is the best route? We see esports do points in tours like in Capcom Pro Tour or the Dota Pro Circuit. Is that the right way? Is a promo/relegation league play like Rocket League and LoL used to do the best way? Because it allows new talent to flourish. Or is a franchise league better because now there’s more control for the organizations to employ more people? It’s more consistent; there’s more control for the viewer to understand. Then there’s also the CS:GO way, where [they] have events all over. There’s no final event at the end of the year. You just have events happening all the time.

And right now Rocket League is a mixture of CS:GO and [what LoL used to do]. Personally, I love one big event at the end of the year. Imagine like a Worlds: It’s one location, and of course, I want more Rocket League, but you just extend it. Rocket League also has a lot of these big events like WSOE, all four DreamHacks, ELEAGUE. You have all these circuit events and one-offs. There’s so much Rocket League that I think by the end of the year we’re gonna know which one works best. Obviously, Rocket League is a “sport,” so I do think league play is the best. But as someone who comes from hockey, I want that trophy at the end of the year. I don’t want it to be lifted twice. Of course, it’s harder for the players because they only have one shot at it, but it makes that trophy so much more prestigious.

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And that’s it for this installment of our Rocket League caster interview series! We’d like to once again thank Liefx for taking the time to sit down with us and offer his thoughts on so many different topics! Make sure you check out his Twitter and Twitch channels.

For more content like this, check out our in-depth interviews with Jamesbot, yumi_cheeseman and Jorby