Interview with Kieran "Kairo" Tulloch, Valorant Caster

Yoann: Hey, hello everyone! Today I'm with Kairo, Valorant caster! How are you, and how would you introduce yourself?

Kairo: Hey! I’m Kieran Tulloch, but everybody calls me Kairo. I have been working as a caster on Rainbow 6 Siege and Valorant on the northern Polaris broadcast.

Yoann: When and how did you get into casting? 

Kairo: This is a really long-winded story, but I basically ended up accidentally queuing into one of the casters, Geometric. She was casting Valorant for a while, and I ended up playing a couple of games with her. When I applied for my first casting job, I asked her for help, and that’s how I started my journey into casting!

Yoann: How did you learn the art of commentating? 

Kairo: I don’t know about other people, but for myself, when I get into something, I become obsessed, I would watch all the pro games for Rainbow Six. I just was continuously watching and studying other techniques, and generally just speaking to the people.

I think the biggest thing for me probably that improved me the most would be the constant reps, the constant practice. 

Yoann: That makes sense, yeah! You have been casting both R6 and Valorant, What are the main differences?

Kairo: It's funny because Rainbow Six and Valorant are different but at the same time similar when it comes to casting.

And it really made me settle into Valorant easier because I could be like, Oh, this is like when this happens in R6. 

I think the key difference would be the 3D element to the maps and also the pace, you have to be slow and methodical on R6. On Valorant, the abilities, understanding the push and pull, the two sites… Stuff like that was difficult for me to get a grasp on.

Yoann: Yeah, I understand! Do you have a common preparation routine with your duo before a broadcast? 

Kairo: Yeah, I do, actually. Usually before a cast, Hazza and I go into like a Spotify session together. And we will always play the same couple of songs. Our favorite song is Finder, by Ninetoes!

There's a clip of us dancing to that song during a break in the Polaris playoffs. That was funny! 

Yoann: Awesome! What is your favorite team to cast? 

Kairo: Oh, that's a tough question. I think my favorite game to cast was definitely Fokus vs. Apeks, because they happened so often. 

I also loved casting and Tier 3 Control vs. Next In Line, which not a lot of people would know about, It was the local derby and everyone loved watching those games! 

Yoann: How do you feel about the future of the Tier 2 scene?

Kairo: Well, I think currently we definitely need changes. But as for how the changes have come in, I think it's fair to say that everybody's worried because there is the same narrative about a team of five friends that can get to Champions, but it just doesn't work like that.

Yoann: Let's now move on to the quick questions! I will ask you ten quick questions and you'll have to answer as fast as possible. Ready? 

Kairo: Yeah!

Yoann: Phantom or Vandal? 

Kairo: Vandal.

Yoann: What's your favorite map? 

Kairo: Breeze!

Yoann: Who's your favorite agent?

Kairo: Chamber!

Yoann: What's your favorite skin collection?

Kairo: Oh, that's a hard one. Glitchpop!

Yoann: Nice. Who are your favorite teams in each region? 

Kairo: Fanatic, Loud, and DRX! 

Yoann: Nice! Can you name the eight teams that won an international event? 

Kairo: Fnatic, Loud, FPX, EG, Gambit, Optic, Sentinels…

Yoann: The last one won Champions 2021 against Gambit. 

Kairo: Oh, it was Acend! 

Yoann: Correct! How often do you play Valorant in your free time? 

Kairo: I’ve been on a grind, but more recently I've been playing less and less. But I genuinely do play quite a lot.

I'm always up for stacking with people whenever I get a message.

Yoann: Great! How would you define your last Night Market in a few words? 

Kairo: It was actually really good! I got a few good weapons!

Yoann: Cool! What's your favorite memory as a caster in esports? 

Kairo: Definitely going to Berlin for the Ascension tournament! Hanging around and getting to meet everyone was probably the highlight of my career so far! 

Yoann: The tournament was very good to watch! 

Kairo: Oh yeah, so good!

Yoann: Can you quote a voice line from your favorite agent, Chamber? 

Kairo: “You want to play? Let’s play!”

Yoann: Haha perfect! Let's now get back to the standard questions. 

What are your hobbies or passions, aside from gaming? 

Kairo: I’m a Celtic Football Club fan, I go to all of their games! I’m also really big into going to the gym, I’ve always done that.

Yoann: That’s cool! How do you feel about the current map rotation?

Kairo: I feel like Sunset is a really nice addition. I think we're going to see some very good pro gameplay on this map, A Fnatic vs. Loud would be la crème de la crème! That's like blockbuster stuff for me. 

I think the Breeze changes are amazing, but I'm a bit disappointed that Fracture is gone. It would be nice to take out Haven or Ascent because we always see it.

Yoann: Yeah, that would be interesting! What would you change to Valorant if you were a developer?

Kairo: I would like to see Valorant implementing unique spray patterns for each weapon, right now, you can only control the first few bullets.

Yoann: What would be your dream roster, if you could pick any player for each role? 

Kairo: I would go Sadhaak as the IGL, Aspas as the duelist, Leo and Chronicle as initiator and flex, and Suygetsu as the sentinel!

Yoann: That’s terrifying! What are your short and long-term ambitions on Valorant? 

Kairo: My short term, is just to become a better caster, and hopefully make it to VCT EMEA.

That's everyone's dream!

As for my long-term ambitions, it would be to be the greatest caster, I don't see why we shouldn't have the ambition of being the best.

Because you want to entertain, you want to be good. I feel that if you give yourself the biggest goal of being the best and you work as hard as you can, then you're always going to be in a good place!

Yoann: That’s great! What advice would you give to someone willing to pursue esports or commentating as a career? 

Kairo: For esports, just be open to disappointment, and be ready to bounce back, but for commentating, I think it's just consistency.

Consistency is the biggest thing for anybody. If you're consistently working with new people, consistently working on yourself, and just practicing, you will always find yourself in a good place by taking that step.

Yoann: Awesome, is there anything else you would like to say?

Kairo: I hope that everybody's enjoyed the interview and make sure to follow Yoann because he's doing some great interviews that I have been reading. It's been awesome!

Yoann: Thank you so much! I wish you the best in the future!

Kairo’s socials:

Twitter (X): @KairoCasts

Twitch: twitch.tv/KairoCasts