New kids on the block — an interview with Kansas City Pioneers CGO, LJ “Muteified” Browne
Rocket League Esports is no stranger to smaller organisations joining the scene and finding their fame in the community. Kansas City Pioneers made a big leap into the esports scene by signing teams in both Rocket League and Gears of War within a week of each other.
The combined addition of the new rosters rocketed their social presence, taking them from near 1000 followers on Twitter to (at the time of writing) over 7200 in mere months. We sat down with one of the main people behind the scenes at KCP to talk about their Rocket League journey and the future of their organisation.
For those who may not know you, please give us an introduction for who you are and what you do.
My name is LJ Browne, I am the founder and Chief Gaming Officer of Kansas City Pioneers. My job is to manage our rosters, seek new esports talent, and make sure our esports department is in great shape. I build relationships with developers, organisers, and our players/coaches to make sure everyone is happy and can focus on being a better professional on and off the controller/mouse.
How would you best describe the game of Rocket League and what it means to you and your organisation? Additionally, what made you take the jump to get into the esports scene for Rocket League?
Personally, I believe that Rocket League is one of the best esports in the world. It is non-violent and PG. It is something that everyone can enjoy and understand quite easily, but also allows the players to show off all the talent that they have to offer. No matter your age, you can enjoy Rocket League and not have any trouble understanding what is going on. The Rocket League community is also very tight-knit and supportive, as a brand new organisation joining the community we immediately decided to do an Alpha Boost giveaway to show that we’re extremely thankful for the warm welcome and the support and that we’re here to stay and we’re always going to be involved with the community. These are also the reasons we decided to jump into Rocket League (besides our talented players).
The roster (while under the name Flight) significantly struggled during RLCS Season 9 with a 1–8 record. What gave you the confidence inthis roster despite the struggles they had?
The drive of the players on this roster is unmatched. From day one of chatting with them, we knew this was the team we wanted. Personally, I have never met a player who wants to win as bad as Rapid does. He has rebuilt this roster a couple of times featuring Sea-Bass and Memory. We saw the three compete together in RLCS Season 9 and it did not go very well and we knew that, but with the new format, the addition of BeastMode, and the drive of these players, we knew that they could be a top team this season. These guys are relentless and will not stop grinding and playing better. Their work ethic is what sets them aside from a lot of other teams.
Do you consider Rocket League to be a title that you’re in for the long term? If so, what steps will you take as an org to ensure your longevity in the scene?
Yes, we will be here for as long as we can. We love this game and the community. You won’t see us going anywhere. To ensure longevity we intend to continue to engage with the community and build our relationship with Psyonix. This also comes with tournament wins and great placements.
There’s been a massive change in the Rocket League esports ecosystem with the introduction of a new format for RLCS, The Grid, and The Field. Is there anything being done behind-the-scenes (psychologists, nutritionists, etc.) to ensure that your roster remains a focus with so much Rocket League going on?
In the near future, we do intend to have our players and staff overseen by professionals in the psychology field and nutritionists to ensure that they’re maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Mental health is something we do not take lightly at KCP and we will continue to make it a priority to check on our players quite often to ensure they are feeling good about themselves and their teammates. This is something we would love to set as a standard in esports.
So far, we’ve seen car decals in addition to player banners as the only items for esports organisations. What are some things you would pitch to Psyonix to maximise the potential of esports items in the future?
We would love to push Psyonix to have in-game decals in the Esports store for the exclusive 16 teams in The Grid or even the top 8 NA/EU teams. This is something all of the organisations in RL are talking about and Psyonix is aware. I assume info will drop soon about this topic.
In Rocket League, we’ve seen a trend of “city name” teams such as yourself, Susquehanna Soniqs, Pittsburgh Knights, and more. What was the philosophy in creating an esports brand that’s tied to a city name?
Geo-Based organisations are the future of esports. We are in the process of mastering that new generation of geo-based organisations. Our industry is still very untapped and fresh, we’re learning new things every day at a very quick pace. The primary reason for the geo-based brand is to connect with our community here in Kansas City, bring more championships to this city, and create diversity and inclusion with people of all backgrounds. We truly want people to feel included when they say “#MyCity”.
Following up on that, what’s your opinion on having a title sponsor? We have teams such as Vodafone Giants, Renault Vitality, and Endpoint CeX currently. Could that be something you’d be interested in doing assuming it’s beneficial for your org?
At the moment we’re focused on building the Kansas City Pioneers name and branding. We are partnered with a marketing agency called “Social Apex” and we’re also partnered with Under Armour. The Under Armour partnership has not been announced publicly yet, but just know we have some super cool things in the works. Stay tuned on that.
We’ve noticed some connections being made with different players of the Kansas City Chiefs. Are there any details you can reveal about how those relationships developed or if there’s potential for an official partnership down the line?
We have made a ton of new connections with professional athletes and celebrities, we will continue to connect with whoever we can to get involved with our brand and educate them. I won’t spill too many of the beans just yet, just know that we’re the new kids on the block and we’re here to stay and make BIG moves!
Lastly, are there any shout outs you’d like to make?
Most definitely. Would love to thank my family and friends! Huge shoutout to our RL and GoW rosters! My leadership team! All KCP content creators and staff! #MyCity
Author(s):
Achilles (@achilles_xf)
Dion (@dionginge)
Jayski (@1jayski)
