It’s not every day that you’re invited to travel halfway across the world, especially to talk about a game you love. But when Mandy “Daughter” Powers received the magic ticket, she jumped at the opportunity.
At the surface level, Mandy seems like your everyday university student, studying and attending class. An aerospace engineer in her fourth year, she juggles assignments, exams and deadlines all while competing, observing and casting for multiple esports scenes at once. However, speaking to Snowball Esports, she found it no challenge to balance it all out.
“With the power of Google Calendar and anxiety from deadlines, anything is possible!” she optimistically stated.
Powers was able to simplify her complicated schedule via a comfortable routine. “Esport hours are certainly no nine-to-five. It’s just routine to get weekly tasks completed when it needs to be done.” Powers says.
Mandy started out as a fan of Rainbow Six: Siege, originally joining the community during Operation Health in 2017. Five years on, she’s been committed to Rainbow Six, playing consistently throughout the years as a soft Breacher main.
“I was introduced by my friend during a free weekend,” she explained.
“I borrowed an account for months after that to keep playing until I finally committed to buying my own account! My go-to operators are Buck and Sledge.”
After falling in love with the game, Mandy began looking for more ways to invest herself in a game that she truly loved. That’s how she found herself at ESL Australia, which was the right place to be.
When Ubisoft AU launched a talent development program within the OCE region, Mandy was one of the first in line to give it her best shot. “I started out as an observer at ESL Australia right at the beginning of the pandemic,” she says.
“I was mentored by Rob “Manic” Munday and James “Devmarta” Stewart — my now casting duo during Stage 1 of 2022 — and was given the opportunity to replace Raven in the APACL after he moved into his exciting new role at Ubisoft. Here I am now!”
By far the most exciting opportunity Mandy took was the chance to cast for the 2022 Six Berlin Major. Travelling almost 30 hours from Down Under all the way to Europe, Mandy threw caution to the wind and followed her dream.
There, she joined the ranks of casters like Derry “Dezachu” Holt, Parker “Interro” Mackay and Emi “Fluke” Donaldson, and was more than delighted to meet them all in person. “I loved meeting all the talent, they are so lovely,” she said. “I also had lots of fun getting to know the players and support staff over the week”.
Powers was ecstatic about finally meeting more of the community she had become a part of. “The R6 community is full of incredible people. If I had to highlight some, it would be Emi (Fluke) for being my esports Mom, and Pengu for all the kindness and support throughout the event.”
Not only were the people there great, but she was more than happy to just experience the major as a whole.
“The major was amazing. It’s up there in some of the best experiences of my life.”
When Mandy isn’t casting or observing, she’s a regular fan like the rest of us. While off the broadcast, Mandy typically finds herself doing various things–but she always comes back to video games.
“When I’m not on broadcast, you can probably guess that I spend most of my time playing video games! Recently I’ve been learning CS:GO, but I most enjoy playing single-player games. Other activities I enjoy are driving, singing (with some very mediocre guitar) and painting.”
Mandy will be back on the broadcast this week as Stage 3 of the Rainbow Six APAC South Division kicks off on Thursday, with Aussie squads Knights and Wildcard Gaming looking to qualify for November’s Six Major.
