the esports tribune

welcome to behind the tag- the series where we dive into who people really are, behind just their gamertags.

last week i had the opportunity to sit down with dazerin, and discuss everything, from his childhood, to his extremely passionate opinions on mac and cheese.

if you don’t know dazerin, you need to. he’s a professional rocket league commentator for rlcs, and also a host for the first touch podcast. alongside this, dazerin is also a content creator for gen. g, running countless tournaments, and releasing videos.

of course, i had to ask where the name came from. he mentioned a world of warcraft name generator, which illicited a laugh from me- i had a similar story. after changing a few letters, dazerin was born.

but- i don’t care about that. if thats all we wanted to know, you could’ve hopped on liquidpedia.

what i really wanted to know, is who is demar williams?

he laughed initially, and seemed taken aback (a reasonable response considering the hefty question i just asked.) after a few shared giggles and silences, demar introduced himself.

demar is someone who is very caring, and someone extremely passionate about his friends, and family. he loves to laugh, and loves to laugh with the people he loves. he really enjoys anime, some of his favorites are cowboy bebop, samuari champloo, and dragonball z (you can debate this in my comments). he loves movies, but isnt a huge buff. he’s a huge foodie and loves to cook. one dish in particular, he’s extremely passionate about – mac and cheese. its been one of his favorite things recent, specifically baked 3 cheese macaroni! however- a word of caution to readers.

“IF YOU HAVE BREADCRUMBS IN YOUR MAC AND CHEESE, YOU ARE NO LONGER EATING MAC AND CHEESE. THE PUBLIC MUST KNOW THIS.”

– an extremely passionate dazerin. if you have beef with this statement you can take it up with him.

at this point in his life though, demar just wants to make sure he feels good on a daily basis. he’s focused on health in every avenue, mental physical, spiritual, etc. , a task i think we can all strive to do.

in his early life, demar was surrounded by music. his father was an old school dj, and demar just grew up around the sound. as a kid actually, demar wanted to be a musician just like his dad! it was just what made the most sense to him. afterschool, he and his friends would go out and freestyle, making beats together and jamming away their afternoons. they were close to making a music group – but rocket league took over his life. music is something demar thinks about a lot, and is something he certainly wants to pursue post-rl, or just when he has time (he has to get back at the jamesbot disstrack!) he considers playlist making a love language.

his passion for music actually got him his first job. he worked part time at best buy, working to save up to be able to afford equipment, and anything else he may need. “the employee discount went crazy!” – i bet it did.

for someone so successful now, demar has humble beginnings. his origin story actually made me tear up a bit.

he never thought streaming rocket league randomly would amount to anything for him. he was streaming off a ps4, and wasn’t even close to being a professional. his first cast on rocket league was using a microphone, hooked up to a macbook, and he stayed in the game on his ps4 to spectate. he didnt have a pc, hell he didnt have a DESK. he sat on his bed, and would have to hold up the mic because he didn’t even have a mic stand. it was humble beginnings, and he made it work.

demar loved the community, he had felt accepted for just being HIM, and that was the most important thing for him. he had found likeminded people, and developed an unrivaled love for casting. all his initial gigs were unpaid, but that never bothered him. he just loved what he was doing, and never expected to get any sort of check.

as the game grew, demar grew with it. he had been casting more and more gigs, until suddenly, a paycheck was sent to him. it was $60. it was enough to burst him into tears.

he explained to me here that,

yes, $60 isn’t a lot. but in the moment, it felt like the coolest thing in the world.

it meant that much more that he got paid for doing something he LOVED, and demar was so thankful for that.

his “AHA!” moment that maybe this was the path for him came soon after. unpaids gigs made their way into paying ones, and he was soon making enough to quit his jobs. demar was at best buy for 4 years- and wanted out.

he didn’t leap into it blindly though – i came to quickly find demar was too smart for that. his stepbrother saw him doing esports and had the perfect job opportunity in mind. game testing at netherrealm studios. he actually got to work on mortal combat 11, and a few other notable games. (he’s in the credits!!). it seemed perfect- he was working more, getting paid, and they were completely fine with him casting rocket league. the perfect scenario. all of this happened, and he finally quit best buy – something scary, but he couldn’t be happier that he did.

then- the pandemic hit. working at netherrealm studios became working from home, and it became almost tedious. demar felt he could be doing more.

perfect timing- he got his big break in crl. after the end of 2020, demar ended up on the b stream for rlcs, and realized he wanted to take the leap and go full time. he quit nettherealm, and was prepared to go headfirst into rocket league.

his mother didnt understand it at all. “do you have a plan?” “do you know what you’re going to do?” – im sure she echoes the doubts of any esport parent.

demar responded rather sheepishly – “well kinda..”

i’m starting a podcast with my friends.. and we’ll see what happens with that

that podcast was first touch.

they did a few episodes of it, and pitched it to psyonix. quickly, psyonix responded

“we need a meeting immediately”
they wanted to buy the show, and pay them to run the show on the channel.

after this buyout, everything started falling into place for demar, and it was something he didn’t expect at all. first touch became this big crazy thing, and everyone loved it. he then got moved up from b stream to a stream, and got to cast grand finals at the major. it all started with one, silly little podcast idea.

this isnt normal. things don’t happen this fast.

“it was overwhelming initially, ” demar admits. “but after awhile, you learn you have to move within the space”

he was constantly put into high pressure situations, and it became a norm. i asked him then when the last time he really felt ‘nervous’ about something, and he immediately responded.

“the very first time we did the first touch pre show in LA at the winter major.” they had never done this, and the whole situation with the desk being outside was another issue in itself. theres so much new stuff that you just have to lock in.

sometimes you think you cant mess this up so you just dont

(this is a quote from daz that i know i’ll be thinking about often)

this is one of my favorite success stories. an extremely humble beginning, to really making it in esports. i think everyone has different moments in their field where they have to think and just revel in the fact that they’ve done it.

for demar, it was the winter major. ssg v team queso – game seven. retals, looking for the demo, rise making the save at the end. it was crazy for him

something i realized very quickly, (and i assume you did too) is demar is very in tune with his emotions. after that moment, he just cried. and cried. and cried. he never thought he would see a moment like that, but to be a part of it was ‘unreal’

what makes it even more special, is he flew his mom and sister out for this event. it was their very first esports event they had ever attended. he never expected to do lower semis because of the sheer talent on their team, but he had felt like he really earned it. to do it, and to have it be what it was, is an experience demar will never forget

walking off the desk and to the greenroom, he saw corey from psyonix, hugged him, and cried- the crying continued when he saw spaceman actually in the greenroom. they hugged while demar bawled – he couldn’t believe he had been a part of something like that. he couldn’t believe people believed in them.

he told me multiple times that it felt like rocket league, in a way chose him.

i loved hearing demars story. it was so inspiring to me – if you want it badly enough, you can make it, and i think demar is a testament to that.

he told me that his 18 year old self would never believe it. in an exact quote, his words would’ve been – “you lying! for real? i guess i should keep doing this rocket league thing.. huh?”

reflecting a little more on his earlier teen years, demar told me about how at 14 he was watching esports, and just trying to be good at games all the time. back then, there weren’t many people on the screen that looked like him. getting to that point felt so out of reach.

if he could show his younger self something, it would be the home demar has found in the rocket league community. he has made such good friends and strong connections – something himself from 14-18 didn’t necessarily have. “they were good friends, and supportive, but it was different.”

to be able to get to this point, and to experience all the things he does – traveling all across the world, meeting so many amazing people – hell owning dior clothes, is still crazy to him.

it would be mind-boggling to younger me. but he would be so, so proud.

-demar

demar’s career is far from over, however. while he doesn’t have specific concrete hopes, he knows there so many different directions to go in. demar enjoys mystery, figuring out what would work and what wouldn’t.

something he outlined overall though, was just wanting to grow as an individual in the entertainment space. he wants to build a space for passionate people – a space where he can hire people for events, and pay them great amounts of money for their passion, and the work they love. a lot of people have told him previously he has a good eye for talent, whether that be production, casting, graphics, logistics, etc. he sees all the people that do good things- but contrary to all the rich jokes, demar is not rich. as of now, he doesn’t have the ability to provide people financially the way he wants to.

his main goal, is to help provide people a space to do great things. to be the person who takes a chance on someone who wants to make it. he wants to give people a home if they don’t have one- much like the rocket league community did to him.

in this hour long call, i came to quickly find demar is one of the most genuine, open, and honest people in the rocket league scene. i can also admit- he is hilarious.

after deep conversations and reminiscing for awhile, i wanted to spice it up. what hana interview would be complete without a game.

ITS HOTSEAT TIME!

hotseat is a game in which i ask rapid fire questions, and you have to answer open, honestly, and thoughtfully, but with speed!

1.) If there were 25 hours in a day, what would you do with the extra hour?

“sleep” – it was an immediate answer and he spoke my exact thoughts. same demar. same.

2.) In the zombie apocalypse, would you survive?

“hell yes, i’ve played too many resident evils” – demar answered quickly, but then immediately analyzed the situation. “actually, it depends on the zombies. last of us zombies have the fungus and shit, and you cant inhale.. they also don’t know about the cure. resident evil you can cure yourself on some of those, but then they have the biomutants and monsters so that could be rough… left for dead zombies would be the hardest to be honest, but they. had four people get through that, so i’ll be okay.”

i laughed at this in depth analysis and didn’t think there were this many answers to this question, but demar surprised me.

“as long as they’re not world war z zombies where they’re building ladders out of bodies and shit. yall can have that. how are zombies that coordinated? they’re supposed to be dead. id just die there honestly.”

3.) ketchup or mustard?

“ketchup. mustard is fine, but ketchup is just better” (bad take imo)

4.) worst food take?

“in and out is just not that good. its pretty regular.”

4.) hot take?

“the office is not a personality trait”

5.) whats your favorite board game?

“monopoly, but thats a rich guy answer” (twitter will eat that right up) “i used to like sorry but i think if i played it now, i wouldnt. also uno!”

6.) ever broken a bone?

“nope”

7.) if you could live anywhere in the world where would you live?

“BORA BORA! its a pretty island, and i wouldn’t have to deal with people.”

8.) who would you trade lives with for a day if you could?

“easy- jayz. i get to wake up and see beyonce everyday. if i was beyonce and had to wake up and see jayz i think i’d be a little upset.”

9.) favorite color?

“blue”

10.) favorite animal?

“dogs. easy. i have one, his name is buster and he’s a maltese yorkie mix. hes a lil baby even though he’s 12, but still a lil baby. i love him- he’s perfect. buster has helped me out more than anyone would ever know, i got him when i was in a pretty bad place, but now i’m in a good place. he was a rescue, but i like to say he rescued me.”

this was, honestly, one of my favorite conversations. i love speaking with real, positive, people in the gaming space, and i think demar is going to be someone who continues to inspires creators, viewers, and players alike, for years to come.