Jamie "Dirk" Ruiz Speaks on His Career and Professional Call of Duty

The esports industry has grown immensely in part to the extremely talented players who have honed their skills in certain games, such as Call of Duty. While the players deliver the highlight plays and clutch moments that make viewers fans for life, the professionals delivering all of the action to you in a manner that any viewer can understand are just as vital to the success of the booming industry. These individuals are the commentators who watch the match right alongside you, and help new and old viewers alike understand the details of what is going on. From a specific strategy to the mechanics of a jaw dropping play, esports commentators are tasked with providing entertaining and insightful descriptions of the action unfolding in a match.

Without the voice behind our favorite event broadcasts, fans would be left to dissect the fine details of matches on their own. Looking to pick the brain of a member of this elite profession, Twin Galaxies spoke to Jamie “Dirk” Ruiz and was able to learn a little more about one of the voices behind professional Call of Duty.

 Could you give me a brief overview of how you got started in the world of competitive gaming?

“It started in Call of Duty 4:  Modern Warfare. One of my friends that I went to school with competed at that time. That was when Call of Duty was pretty small, but it was when they were starting up their national circuit. He used to play with some of the old Envy guy, so he showed me a little bit and introduced me to GameBattles.

I got very deep into it during Call of Duty: World at War. It didn’t have that big of a circuit, but GameBattles was always busy when it came down to Search and Destroy. From that point on, there was not really a time where I backed away. I always stuck around the world of competitive gaming.”

When did you begin to break into the esports industry with your commentating?

“I started commentating in Black Ops 2. That was mostly doing amateur work, as the competitive scene was relatively small. You would have around five commentators for all of the major events. It was where the scene was growing, so there was opportunity for people to enter it. I didn’t begin to see professional level work until Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare. It was around three years in when I got my first shot to commentate at a major professional event.”

With your experience as a commentator for the esports scenes of Call of Duty and Gears of War, which would one would you say you enjoy casting the most?

“I would definitely say that it is Call of Duty because I feel so comfortable when it comes to the game. I know the history, as I have been actively involved in the scene for five years. The majority of my events go through Call of Duty, especially this year as I am more established as a commentator.

Gears of War is something that is growing on me, but there still is not much variety when it comes down to the game modes that they play compared to Call of Duty. I do believe that I would be saying something completely different if I had started my casting career in Gears of War.”

How has your casting work been this year for the Call of Duty: WWII season?

“Personally, I thought last year with the advanced movement era was one of my best years, but this year I have gotten more opportunities. I moved up from the Bravo stream to the Alpha stream and have had the chance to branch out and do more. Moving up to the Alpha stream is why this year has been so great already. The game being back to boots on the ground gives me that Black Ops 2 feel. There is no way the game is at the level that Black Ops 2 was, but you get that nostalgic feel to it, which is what I think a lot of people enjoy when it comes down to it.

Overall, I think the game is good. It does need more maps to go into competitive play, but with it already being two events in I think that it is going great.”

What are your thoughts on the sudden resurgence of Team Kaliber in Call of Duty: WWII and your forecast for the team for rest of the season?

“When that roster first formed, I thought to myself that all of these guys are average players. I was not expecting them to do very much, as they had all struggled over the past couple of years with the advanced movement era. It was very surprising to then see them win that first event when everyone had the likes of OpTic Gaming and Luminosity as the heavy favorites. I then thought to myself, well let’s see if they can do it again.

I know a lot of people wrote them off for the second event, as the FG nerf caused the meta to change. That was where we began to saw the weaknesses of TK. They lost their first series, and that was when people saw that they were beatable, and not this unstoppable team that was going to go undefeated.

Going into the Pro League, they looked as vulnerable as we have ever seen them before. I think it is a bit worrying if you are a TK fan, but we will have to see how the Pro League playoffs and Atlanta goes for them. I don’t think they are going to win Atlanta, I really don’t. When a team goes from looking unbeatable at the first event, to looking a tad shaky in the second event, to looking very shaky in the Pro League, it shows that they are beatable. It wouldn’t surprise me to see them win another event this year, but I do not think they will go for the three peat at Atlanta.

I think at this point in the season, teams have begun to finally catch up to them by figuring out how they play and what maps they need to take out against them.”

If Team Kaliber begins to cool down from their hot start, which team do you see rising up to take their place?

“I think OpTic is an easy number one, as they are one team that no one is going to write off at winning events. With how they have been playing in the Pro League, they look to be a rejuvenated team. However, Rise Nation and Luminosity Gaming are also up there. Since their pickup of Methodz, Rise has become one of my prime time picks to win an event. FaZe had been looking good, but now have been struggling as of late. If you were to ask anyone, they would probably say OpTic Gaming, Rise Nation or Luminosity."

Letting your imagination run wild, what esports title would you jump at the chance to commentate that you have never had the opportunity to before?

“I would say CS:GO. There is a lot of strategy when it comes down to it and that is something I really do like. I appreciate the amount of skill that it takes to play that game at a high level. It is one of those games where the commentators are so good that when I first ever watched it I didn’t know what the hell was going on, but I loved it. One hundred percent, no questions asked, it would have to be CS:GO.”

What does the future hold for Dirk the esports commentator?

“My main goal for the first five years of my career was to become a full-time commentator in esports. The ultimate goal for working in esports is to be able to say that this is my job, and I am able to live daily life because of my work in the esports industry. The dream is still to become a full-time commentator. However, I am at the point now where if any full-time position was offered by an organization, I would take it in order to provide the best possible life for myself, my girlfriend and the little family that we are building.”

Dirk has made a name for himself in commentating professional Call of Duty and has no plans of stopping being the voice guiding you through all of the esports action.

If you are looking to keep up with Dirk’s career, you can find him and all of his esports wisdom on Twitter.

(cover photo courtesy of Kyle Miller)