Eefje Depoortere (Born: June 16, 1987) is a professional gamer known as Sjokz (pronounced like the word “shocks”). Since breaking onto the scene in 1999, Sjokz has turned into a Belgian television reporter. She remains active in the streaming and gaming scene. However, most of her content revolves around her onscreen duties as a television host for video game tournaments.
Eefje “Sjokz” Depoortere Early Beginnings
Eefje Depoortere was born in Belgium. She was raised in the province of Sint-Andries. Sint-Andries is a suburb of Bruges, which is a province in West Flanders, Belgium.
This European region is home to many famous castles. It’s also surrounded by vast woodlands. Suffice to say, Eefje had a more simple upbringing. She played a lot outdoors and spent a lot of time in her bedroom playing video games.
While she didn’t look like a tomboy, the future Sjokz sure acted like one. You’d never know she’d grow up to be a Famousss star who had men drooling all over her.
Sjokz Enters Unreal Tournament
This Belgium star is one of the OGs in the female gaming niche. She started competitively playing video games back in 1999.
Sjokz entered the Unreal Tournament in 1999. That’s where she earned the name “Sjokz.” Since it’s pronounced like “shocks,” it’s a nod to her heavy use of the shock rifle, especially in the Capture the Flag portion of this tournament.
Quickly, Sjokz soared up the ranks. She competed in many LANs. They prepared her for a couple of ClanBase EuroCups. In those competitions, Sjokz represented the Belgian National Team.
The future professional video game player had moderate success. So, she decided to continue with a career in video games. The best way to do that was to get a degree in journalism.
Sjokz Gets Master’s in Journalism
Eefje Depoortere’s passion for gaming started to run deep. After being enthralled by the competitive world of Unreal Tournament, Sjokz wanted to make a living in this niche full-time. The most guaranteed way to ensure a spot in the video game industry is to host events.
To see this dream to fruition, Eedgje Depoortere enrolled herself at Ghent University in Ghent, Belgium. This prestigious school was founded by King William I of the Netherlands back in 1817!
She earned a double major. One was in History, which was a fallback plan for the future star. If her career in front of the camera didn’t work out, she could always be a teacher or author.
However, her heart set on broadcasting. So, she also majored in Journalism.
As part of her studies, she started freelancing for both SK Gaming and ESFi World. These opportunities allowed Sjokz to network with bigwigs in the gaming industry.
Sjokz Creates League of Legends Content
In 2010, League of Legends blew up, and Sjokz jumped on that bandwagon. She started playing the game regularly, eventually entering in competitions. Sjokz slowly worked her way up the ranks and started gaining credibility.
At this time, Sjokz was gaining momentum in her professional career. She started entering beauty pageants. Most notably, she came in an impressive third place during the 2011 Miss Style Belgium Pageant.
Sjokz was priming herself for the big time. The budding star was getting more confident in her own skin, as well as her hosting abilities.
Eventually, she landed some small hosting gigs surrounding League of Legends content. One of her first interviews was with Snoopeh.
While these opportunities were exciting, her first big breakthrough came in 2012 as the host of the hit YouTube show; Whose League Is It Anyway? This podcast is about League of Legends talk and is co-hosted by SotLTravis, also known as Travis Gafford.
While the show was short-lived, it put Sjokz on the map. To this day, she credits Gafford for helping her break into the world of eSports, especially during a time where it was more challenging for females to get ahead. He even brought her to Korea with him to cover the OGN Championship.
Sjokz Hosts League of Legends World Finals
By 2013, Sjokz was the face of League of Legends. In fact, she even hosted the League of Legends World Finals that year. Since then, she’s hosted the 2015 and 2019 seasons, as well.
Sjokz was set to be the host of the League of Legends World Finals in China for the 2020 season. However, the global pandemic put this in-person event at a halt. With that said, Sjokz still performed her duties virtually.
Sjokz Moves to Germany
Around 2017, Sjokz signed on to host the European League Championship Series ran by ESL. This ESL contract brought the star to Berlin, Germany.
While she enjoyed great success there, her relationship didn’t last long. Riot Games was buying out European League Championship Series. Operations were moving to Berlin, Germany.
Sjokz really wanted to remain on the show. So, she decided to end her relationship with ESL. She signed with Riot Games and moved to Berlin, where she currently resides.
Sjokz and Riot Games
The Belgian starlet struck it big and started getting regular hosting gigs. She was brought on by Riot Games to become a League of Legends analyst.
Sjokz’s show mainly covers the European Championship. It also plays highlights from other competitions taking place all over the world.
On this show, Sjokz has to co-host with Trevor Henry, also known as Quickshot. They had a real hard time getting along at first. However, they found their rhythm and are actually friends.
In addition to her hosting duties for Riot Games, Sjokz hosts Summoner Recap for SK Gaming’s YouTube channel.
Sjokz Wins Best eSports Host at The Game Awards
Sjokz has won the gaming world over with her charm, knowledge, and good energy. In fact, the starlet has nabbed two awards recognizing her talents. Sjokz won Best eSports Host at The Game Awards in 2018 and 2019
In addition, she was nominated for Esports Broadcaster of the Year in 2018 for the Esports Awards. However, she came in third place behind Goldenboy and Maven, respectively.
