HuskyStarcraft

      Mike "Husky" Lamond
      HuskyMLG2011.png
      Husky casting a game at MLG Providence in December 2011
      Born Mike Lamond
      (1987-05-04) May 4, 1987 (age 26)
      Nationality USA
      Occupation StarCraft II Caster
      Known for eSports commentator, Nerd Alert
      Website
      Starcraft Huskies

      Mike Lamond,[1] more commonly known by his online alias Husky or HuskyStarcraft, is an e-sports commentator specializing in StarCraft II, a video game published by Blizzard Entertainment. He regularly appears as a commentator at StarCraft tournaments and his commentary is viewable through YouTube channels.[2][3]

      Early life

      Mike "Husky" Lamond was born in Bakersfield, California. For the first 11 years of his life, he grew up in Nipomo, California, then later moved with his family to Gresham, Oregon, where his parents and older brother still reside. At the age of 22, Husky moved back to California to work for The Game Station in Los Angeles.[4]

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      Career

      [A good shoutcast] is really up to personal preference. Some people prefer a highly analytical and educational form of casting to improve their game, while others prefer a more casual or energetic feel. I think it really shows in the quality of the cast if the person doing it loves what they are doing and really wants to help spread the popularity of StarCraft.

      —Husky on shoutcasting[5]

      An avid fan of real-time strategy video games, Husky first learned of StarCraft when he was 11 years old. He stated that he played for 12 years, and spent most of his time on Blizzard's online server Battle.net, accumulating several thousand played matches. Husky began following the electronic sports community when he discovered GOM TV, a streaming service in South Korea that broadcast StarCraft gameplay from professional gamers. This prompted him to begin a YouTube channel where he provided his own commentary on StarCraft: Brood War professional competition. The channel started expanding beyond Husky's own expectations, and at one point Husky was uploading around 100 videos per month.[5] While his channel became popular among other StarCraft: Brood War commentators, he gained a meteoric rise when he decided to exclusively commentate on StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty matches with the game's beta release in February 2010.[6]

      During the beta, Husky collaborated with fellow commentator and friend HD to host the HDH Invitational, a StarCraft II tournament consisting of 16 of the top professional StarCraft II gamers. The tournament was played in an entirely virtual environment over the Battle.net server, and the games were later broadcast on YouTube. The tournament was sponsored and cash prizes were awarded.[6]

      In July 2010 Husky and HD along with several other game casters, participated in the launch of a new YouTube channel titled The Game Station which seeks to emulate an ESPN-esque presentation of gaming videos of all genres.[6] The channel quickly grew in size, and its success has been attributed partly to Husky's own success on YouTube. Later that year, Husky moved to Los Angeles to pursue a full-time job working at The Game Station.[1] HuskyStarcraft has casted a number of professional tournaments, starting with the HDH invitational and his most recent being the AGHL tournament on April 27th, 2013. [7]

      In November 2010, Husky and Kurt Hugo Schneider released a StarCraft-themed music video through YouTube titled Banelings, a parody of Justin Bieber's Baby, which became the inaugural song of the duo's band called Nerd Alert.[8] As of August 2012, the band's videos on YouTube have garnered over 17,500,000 views and the band has released four additional songs: a parody of Rebecca Black's Friday titled Void Rays, an original song titled SCV Love Song, a parody of LMFAO's Sexy and I Know It titled Nerdy and I Know It and the love song titled Dear Peach. In mid-April 2013, Husky teamed up with The Warpzone to create another music video, this time a parody of Maroon 5's "One More Night" titled "One More Fight." [9]

      On March 6th, 2013, HuskyStarcraft began a new series on his channel featuring unprofessional, new players at Starcraft II. This series, titled "Bronze-League Heroes!" after the name of the league that low-experience players are placed in, quickly took off and began averaging 150,000-200,000 views per video shortly after release. [10]

      To explain his view of why StarCraft is an exemplary video game for both casting and spectating, Husky stated, "Nearly every single person I have introduced competitive StarCraft to has completely fallen in love with it[...] The level of skill and mental precision required to play StarCraft 2 at the highest levels is completely mind blowing. This is why it is an extremely fun sport to watch."[11] Husky's commentary style has been described as matching the fast-paced progression of the game, with him often losing his breath at eventful moments. This is contrasted with HD's more composed and analytical approach to casting.[6] In describing his passion for video games and the electronic sports scene, Husky stated, "Gaming has always been more than just a hobby for me. I wouldn't say it's a lifestyle, but I just get so much joy out of it that I will forever try and be involved with it as much as possible[...] No outside job will ever limit me when it comes to gaming."[11]

      On 26th September 2012 Genna Bain announced the creation of Axiom ESports, with TotalBiscuit and Husky as the teams sponsors and CranK, now AxCrank, as their first player.[12]

      In April 2013, his HuskyStarcraft channel passed 750,000 subscribers on YouTube and currently ranks as the 46th most subscribed gaming YouTube channel. [13]

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      See also

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      References

      1. ^ a b Schreier, Jason (2010-11-13). "The Men Who Stare At Protoss". Eurogamer. Retrieved 2010-11-22. 
      2. ^ As at July 2012. Lamond, Mike. "HuskyStarcraft's Channel". YouTube. Retrieved 2012-01-11. 
      3. ^ As at July 2012. Lamond, Mike. "HuskyStarcraft's Channel". YouTube. Retrieved 2012-05-06. 
      4. ^ JP McDaniel. "itmeJP's Real Talk with Husky EP10". YouTube. Retrieved 2012-11-02. 
      5. ^ a b Edwards, Tim (2010-07-27). "Community heroes: StarCraft commentator Husky". PC Gamer. Retrieved 2010-11-22. 
      6. ^ a b c d Pennycook, Jeremy (2010-07-29). "Video Games And Their Evolution Into A New Breed Of Spectator Sport". NPR. Retrieved 2010-11-22. 
      7. ^ "Red Bull AGHL Cast". Retrieved 2012-4-27. 
      8. ^ "NERD ALERT - Banelings - (Justin Bieber - Baby PARODY) ft HuskyStarcraft / KurtHugoSchneider". YouTube. 2010-11-20. Retrieved 2012-01-11. 
      9. ^ "Article on Husky and Warpzone". Retrieved 2013-4-27. 
      10. ^ "Bronze League Heroes YouTube Playlist". Retrieved 2012-4-27. 
      11. ^ a b Kuchera, Ben. "The virtual play-by-play: talking StarCraft 2 with Mike Husky". Ars Technica. Retrieved 2010-11-22. 
      12. ^ "Definitive eSports news article- Axiom ESports announced". Retrieved 2012-11-15. 
      13. ^ "YouTube Gaming Charts". Retrieved 2013-4-27. 
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      External links

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      Last modified on 12 June 2013, at 18:16