Maverick entrepreneur calls play-by-play for esports
Summer internships on The University of Texas at Arlington campus sometimes blossom into careers. That’s exactly what Benjamin Kocurek is counting on.
Kocurek, a UTA junior business management major, traveled to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, this past summer to broadcast play-by-play and analysis for an international esports tournament that featured $2 million in prizes. He started in the esports broadcasting business about a year ago.
“A production company called Efuse put out a call to see who was interested in esports broadcasting and production,” Kocurek said. “It was something I was interested in. I was contracted for last spring and the summer.”
He said the job in Saudi Arabia only came about after intense networking and personal marketing. Kocurek, who began his time at UTA as a mechanical engineering major, had previously interned at Lockheed Martin.
“I felt I was in a position to make a pitch to Efuse for the Saudi Arabia tournament,” Kocurek said. “I thought I’d be a good choice for them. They agreed and hired me for the tournament.”
Of course, Kocurek was an esports player himself, so he had some insight to the players.
“I’ve been playing since my freshman year,” said Kocurek, who has earned more than $55,000 in winnings.
He said the check he received for the tournament broadcasting was his biggest paycheck so far, though.
“I saw this broadcasting opportunity as a way of continuing to play without really playing. They were going to pay me for something I like. I had some inside knowledge because I had played against some of these players.”
The shows had a viewing audience of more than 254,000 people for the summer tournament in Saudi Arabia.
“I want to continue to land jobs in the esports broadcasting sector,” said Kocurek, who has started his own company called Freelance. “It’s a constantly growing sector. It seems like a great opportunity.”