Rarely in the spotlight, unlike the players and the coach, the manager of an e-sport team nevertheless plays an essential role behind the scenes. Frenchwoman Alexia “Catwo” Chapus, who has held this position since 2020 for the BDS team on “Rainbow Six Siege”, details her career and her job.
Alexia, how did you get to your position as team manager at BDS?
It was pure chance. Basically, I studied graphic design, and, like any good graphic designer, I like video games. I started playing “R6S”, and met some BDS players who became friends. One day, they jokingly asked me if I could try to wake up a player who had fallen asleep during a boot camp, and if I succeeded they would take me on as their manager. I managed to wake him up, and soon after the team seriously offered me the job!
What does your job involve?
The manager’s function is to be the point of contact between the team, the structure and the game publisher. All information goes through me. My role is therefore to pay attention to everything, and to anticipate everything. I talk and share a lot with the players, it’s one of my favorite aspects. In the event of a problem within the team, it’s me who decides.
What is the most notable moment of your career? And the most stressful?
The most notable thing was when the team won its first Major, in Jönköping in 2022. We were coming out of a complicated period, and in the end we managed to lift the trophy. It was the icing on the cake after so many years of working together. The most stressful thing has been recently getting visas. Especially for Solotov, who is Turkish. We only knew last week that he was going to be able to enter Canada for the Montreal Major, which begins on Thursday…
Do you have any advice for those who would like to follow your path?
I would say that you have to be versatile, have interpersonal skills and be patient. You also have to be bilingual, because English is essential. A third language is a plus. And you have to hang on, because places are expensive in this environment.
