World of Warcraft esports organization Method continues to go strong with the Classic Race to World First livestream event. The event, which began on Aug 26 and will continue to Sept 2, features content experts and speed levelers, as well as players and personalities. These include Esfand, TipsOut, Djarii, Hotted, Maldiva, Sco, and Zizaran.
Shanna “Darrie” Roberts, Method’s general manager, sat down with Daily Esports for an interview about her involvement in the World of Warcraft community, as well as her journey within Method.
DES: You’ve been playing Blizzard games since 1994. Tell us a bit about which games you’ve enjoyed and how you got into Blizzard games in the first place.
Shanna “Darrie” Roberts: My dad bought me Warcraft: Orcs & Humans when I was just a kid, and I used good old fashioned dial-up internet to play online. Before that, I played a lot of Nintendo, but it was my first time with a true PC game and it was the beginning of a love affair with Blizzard games in general. World of Warcraft came along a decade later, and my first character was an Alliance Human Warlock!
DES: How would you describe your journey from being a player to the general manager of a leading esports organization?
Shanna “Darrie” Roberts: At my peak as a player in World of Warcraft, I was tanking and raid leading during Wrath and Cataclysm and we achieved multiple server firsts. I began volunteering at a fansite just because I loved the community, and that turned into a full-time job where I eventually met Scott and Sascha from Method.
When I left the website, I joined Method immediately. At that point, my playing slowed way down, and at this point I am definitely considered a casual! Almost four years later, I’ve been really lucky to be a part of the massive growth that Method has achieved and now run the day to day operations, as well as take the lead on our Race to World First events as the general manager.
DES: What do you enjoy most about working with Method and its community of supporters and fans, and why?
Shanna “Darrie” Roberts: My favorite part of working with Method has been the people. We are a really small, tight-knit group. For almost three years, it was mostly just myself, Scott, and Sascha running things. Now in 2019, we have a great group of staff and managers to help us grow and achieve our goals. Progress both professionally and personally is our main objective, and I think we hit it!
I would also be remiss if I didn’t say that one of the best things about working with Method was meeting my boyfriend, one of their professional players. Our community is some of the most rabid and passionate World of Warcraft fans out there. They demand the best from us in terms of our performance and productions, and we strive to deliver every time.
DES: What does it mean to you whenever Method wins World First achievements?
Shanna “Darrie” Roberts: I’m the first person to cry when we win World Firsts in raiding, Arena World Championships, or most recently the Spring MDI Lan Finals. These guys are my family — I’m their biggest cheerleader and fan.
DES: What is something we haven’t covered that you would like to share with our audience?
Shanna “Darrie” Roberts: I would love for the fans to know that we listen to their feedback. I read the tweets, the Reddit posts, and the emails you sent us. The outreach from the community helps me know if what we are doing is making an impact, whether we are going in the right direction. We want to have the best World of Warcraft players, the most engaging and entertaining streamers, and to put on events that blow your mind with what is possible in this space. Keep telling me how you think we’re doing!
To watch the Classic Race to World First event, you can visit the official Method Twitch channel.
