Sjokz
Sjokz at the 2015 League of Legends World Championship
Born
Eefje Depoortere

(1987-06-16) 16 June 1987 (age 36)
Bruges, Belgium
Alma materGhent University
OccupationTelevision presenter
Employer(s)Riot Games
Electronic Sports League
TelevisionLeague of Legends European Championship
Height1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)

Eefje Depoortere (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈeːfjə dɛˈpoːrtərə]; born 16 June 1987), known professionally as Sjokz (Dutch: [ˈʃɔks]; English: /ˈʃɒks/ "shocks"), is a Belgian television presenter, reporter, and esports player who is currently the host of the League of Legends European Championship. She has also hosted multiple League of Legends World Championships.

Early life

Depoortere grew up in Belgium as an only child. She studied sports journalism at university.[1]

Career

Sjokz during a 2018 interview with G2 Esports owner Ocelote

Depoortere was formerly a competitive Unreal Tournament '99 player and competed in several LANs.[2] The name "Sjokz" is a phonetic spelling of "shocks" in Dutch, and derives from her use of the Shock Rifle in Unreal Tournament.[3][4]

Depoortere began working as a freelance journalist producing esports-related content for SK Gaming and ESFi World. She completed her Master's degree in history (2009), journalism (2010) and a teaching degree (2011) from Ghent University.[5][6][7][8]

Depoortere was crowned as the winner of the 2009 Aardbeienprinses van Beervelde pageant[9] and was the third-place finalist in the 2011 Miss Style Belgium pageant.[10][11][12][13]

It was due to esports journalist Travis Gafford's YouTube show Whose League is it Anyway? that Depoortere became known in the community.[14] Due to her popularity on WLIA she was later hired to be the host of the European League of Legends Championship Series.[2][15][16] She has often thanked Gafford for helping her establish herself in esports.[2][15] Depoortere is also known for the YouTube show Summoner Recap on the SK Gaming's YouTube channel, which was one of the first League of Legends shows.[17] In 2013, Depoortere hosted the World Championship in Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. She has also hosted the 2015 and 2019 World Championship, both held in Europe, and the 2020 World Championship held in China, but cast remotely in Berlin due to the COVID-19 Pandemic.[18][19] Depoortere won the "Best Esports Host" award at The Game Awards 2018,[20] The Game Awards 2019,[21] and The Game Awards 2020.[22]

Awards and nominations

Year Ceremony Category Result Ref.
2017 Esports Industry Awards Esports Personality of the Year Won [23]
2018 The Game Awards Best Esports Host Won [20]
2019 The Game Awards Best Esports Host Won [24]
2020 The Game Awards Best Esports Host Won [25]
Esports Awards Esports Host of the Year Won [26]
Esports Personality of the Year Nominated [27]

References

  1. ^ Hares, Sophie (February 15, 2023). "Game changer: Meet the woman at the center of esports' biggest live events". www.mastercard.com. Retrieved February 28, 2023.
  2. ^ a b c "An interview with Sjokz: "This is what I want to do - nothing else"". Team Dignitas. Archived from the original on 2015-10-08. Retrieved 2013-09-19.
  3. ^ Depoortere, Eefje (1 April 2013). "How to pronounce Eefje "sjokz" Depoortere". YouTube. Retrieved 12 September 2016.
  4. ^ Sillis, Ben (15 September 2014). "Sjokz: A day in the life of a Legends star". Red Bull. Retrieved 20 August 2015.
  5. ^ "Eefje 'sjokz' Depoortere: "I'm really comfortable with where I am"". Gosugamers.
  6. ^ "From Eefje to Sjokz, or how I got into eSports". Electronic Sports League. 10 June 2015. Archived from the original on 6 February 2015. Retrieved 23 April 2015.
  7. ^ Depoortere (6 November 2014). "From Eefje to Sjokz, or how I got into eSports". Electronic Sports League. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 20 August 2015.
  8. ^ "Eefje Depoortere".
  9. ^ "Aardbeienprinses van Beervelde 2009". De Standaard. May 11, 2009. Retrieved October 17, 2015.
  10. ^ Lauwerier, Fanny (20 September 2010). "Celine Pot is Miss Style Belgium 2011".
  11. ^ "Jong, mooi en populairder dan Di rupo en De Wever samen". Het Nieuwsblad. 1 August 2014.
  12. ^ "Tatjana Leurs finaliste Miss Style belgium". Tatjana Leurs. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 20 August 2015.
  13. ^ "Bekijk hier het resultaat van de prachtige individuele strandshoot met 2e eredame Miss Style Belgium 2011 Eefje Depoortere". 2 May 2011. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 20 August 2015.
  14. ^ "Eefje Sjokz Depoortere". Eén. Archived from the original on 26 August 2015. Retrieved 20 August 2015.
  15. ^ a b "Travis and Sjokz take a walk down memory lane". YouTube.
  16. ^ "Tohle jsou nejslavnější moderátorky progamingových turnajů!". Prima COOL. Archived from the original on 7 October 2015. Retrieved 20 August 2015.
  17. ^ "Summoner's Recap". YouTube.
  18. ^ "in2LOL: LoL World Championship casters announced". in2LOL. Archived from the original on 2016-03-26. Retrieved 2013-09-19.
  19. ^ Damiaans, Roel (3 July 2015). "Vlamingen wereldberoemd dankzij populaire eSports". Het Belang van Limburg.
  20. ^ a b Crowd, Dan (December 6, 2018). "The Game Awards 2018: All The Winners". IGN. Retrieved December 6, 2018.
  21. ^ Goslin, Austen (13 December 2019). "All the winners from The Game Awards 2019". Polygon. Archived from the original on 13 December 2019. Retrieved 25 October 2021.
  22. ^ Stedman, Alex (10 December 2020). "The Game Awards 2020: Complete Winners List". Variety. Archived from the original on 18 October 2021. Retrieved 25 October 2021.
  23. ^ "The Esports Industry Awards 2017 – Full List of Winners". Inquirer. 15 November 2017.
  24. ^ Goslin, Austin (13 December 2019). "All the winners from The Game Awards 2019". Polygon.
  25. ^ Stedman, Alex (10 December 2020). "The Game Awards 2020: Complete Winners List". Variety.
  26. ^ Hore, Jamie (21 November 2020). "Here are the winners of the Esports Awards 2020". The Loadout.
  27. ^ Starkey, Adam (21 November 2020). "All the winners from the Esports Awards 2020". GINX.

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