A week before the LCS season kicks off, the broadcast’s new play-by-play caster, Marc Alexander “Raafaa” Arrambide, has answered many questions from League of Legends fans in a Q&A session on Reddit.
He said that in addition to working as a new play-by-play caster, he was committed to becoming a voice for emerging talent from the North American Scouting Grounds: “I am insanely passionate about our semi pro and grassroots scene, and willing to push for a narrative that highlights [those] players,” he wrote.
“As a longtime fan of LCS, I think it’s fair to say in recent years, there wasn’t that much origin story telling with players that made their debut after being featured in Scouting Grounds,” he explained. “Most of the time, their stories got passed over for the already loud player personalities that did the brand-heavylifting themselves.”
Raafaa started casting League in 2017, after he gave up hopes of becoming a professional player. “I originally fantasized about being a pro player. Then, solo queue grind eventually wore me down.” Instead of playing scrims, he started commentating them in the team’s lobby. He pursued this path, working on an unofficial LMS cast and amateur leagues for a few years.
Then, he switched on Wild Rift, League‘s mobile title. He brought his skills to a new level ther, casting the World Final in Singapore last Summer. In the meantime, he joined the NA Academy and Proving Grounds official cast in 2021.
Raafaa said storytelling was the main emphasis of his role in this year’s LCS broadcast. In addition to bringing more light on emerging grassroots talent, he’s thinking about ways to “further enhance” storytelling, such as “music or sketch-related segments.”
It’s safe to assume this year’s LCS season is marking a breaking point compared to all previous seasons with the drastic schedule change and departure of its longtime face from the desk, Dash.
While many fans and personalities are worried about how the League’s future is shaping up, bringing a new face could breathe new life into the league.
