“How many ways can you say somebody killed somebody?” - Doug "Doug" Cortez on his 5-year long casting journey in VALORANT

The voice behind some of the game’s most iconic plays, Doug "Doug" Cortez has reprised his performance in Paris, casting Group Stage games alongside Christy "Ender" Frierson. When he’s not seen in the caster booth delivering gripping play-by-play commentary, Doug is often seen on the analyst desk as well.

Despite being present at almost every VCT international event since the game’s launch, the past year has involved a huge amount of change in Doug’s time with VALORANT. In this exclusive interview, he speaks to his strengths and passion for casting, reminisces about Arten "Ballatw" Esa, opens up about Andrej "babybay" Francisty’s stint on G2, and discusses the possibility of coaching.

Adrian from THESPIKE had the opportunity to sit down with Doug "Doug" Cortez at Champions 2025 to pick the brain of one of the longest standing and most experienced VALORANT casters. Here's what he had to say.

The Craft of Casting

Iconic casting duos like Brennon "Bren" Hook and Josh "Sideshow" Wilkinson have become the voices associated with VALORANT's most memorable moments. Yet, Doug has rotated around different partners whilst keeping up the same artistic flair for the past five years: his ability to stay at the top of the game throughout all this change speaks to his adaptability.

Addressing this, Doug agrees that “adaptability is tricky because people bring different things to a cast,” yet believes that “an S-tier play-by-play and an S-tier color caster who haven't worked together much shouldn’t impact the quality of the product.”

Adaptability is not as much at the forefront of Doug’s mind as opposed to “the craft”, admitting that he is a huge nerd about that.

“The craft is about casting, language, weaponizing words to paint a beautiful picture, ride emotions, and get people on the edge of their seats,” he adds, “how many ways can you say somebody killed somebody? Think about how many times that happens in one map, then a series, then an entire year.”

I want to invoke feeling.

One of the moments that best encapsulates this was Timofey "Chronicle" Khromov’s 1v3 against G2 Esports at Champions 2024.

“There was no other way that play could have worked out for Fnatic. As heartbreaking as it was for G2, that's one of my favorites for sure.”

“I'm very thankful that I've had the opportunity to be part of some of the most special moments in the sport,” he adds, bringing up the line “this is TenZ’s world, and we're just living in it!” as another core moment.

Thinking back to Balla

Out of the people Doug has worked with over the years, he admitted that Balla was the one who impacted his craft and his passion the most.

For those who have been keeping up with VALORANT esports over the years, Balla might be a familiar face in the casting booth with Doug. The duo attended international VCT events from the very start of the game in 2021 until the end of 2023, following Balla’s decision to step back from esports to prioitize family life.

Doug recalled the highs he had with Balla at the inception of the game. He explained that while he was one of his closest friends, Balla brought over prior casting experience to VALORANT and was incredibly intelligent about the game, while loving the craft as much as he did. Doug reminisced about “being able to nerd out with him about words and finding different ways to tell similar stories.”

“That can be hard to find. As much as I love VALORANT, I think the game is missing something because he's not in it anymore. His mind and knowledge of the game are sorely lacked.”

Babybay’s Stint on G2

From the end of the 2024 VCT season until VCT Americas Stage 2 2025, Doug casted alongside former Faze Clan player babybay, a veteran who has been in the scene from the game’s inception. Yet when G2 Esports made a surprise announcement that babybay would be returning to competing to fill in for Nathan "leaf" Orf, Doug found himself without his casting partner.

“Honestly, I'm kind of bummed that he popped off the way he did because I wanted to make fun of him on broadcast,” he jokes, “but no, it's been so much fun to see him perform well and be comfortable on stage. You can tell he loves competing and winning. It's been a ton of fun to watch.”

In a previous interview with Alexander "jawgemo" Mor, G2’s star player mentioned that because of babybay’s casting experience, he brings an extra layer of perspective to the game. “If you joined G2, would that apply to you as well?” Doug was subsequently asked.

“The shooting certainly would not! Josh, if you're watching and somehow thinking about replacing Dre with me, don't do it. I can't shoot.”

A Potential Future in Coaching

Doug has been involved in VALORANT and shoutcasting as a whole for a long time now. With babybay’s step back from casting, Doug also has potential future plans of his own.

Well, not in the near future. He “loves the craft of casting so much—everything you can do with it, and “can't imagine that changing anytime soon.”

Yet Doug hints that “he would love to get into coaching at some point,” only revealing this after the topic was brought up during a private conversation with Adam "kaplan" Kaplan a couple of days before this interview.

“There's the game aspect, obviously, but also having the opportunity to develop character and talent. A lot of these younger guys coming onto the scene are incredibly young. These are often the most formative years of their lives, and having the opportunity to guide them both in and out of the server is something I deeply value. I've always toyed around with the idea.”

Perhaps we’ll see SEN Doug in 2028?

“No, kaplan, keep the job! I don't know that I want that one quite yet. You can hang on to that one”

Catch Doug next season at VCT Americas as well as the Masters and Champions events at Santiago, London, and Shanghai respectively as he continues his journey to perfect the craft of casting.

For more exclusive interviews during this offseason, tune into THESPIKE.GG.