Shoutcaster of the World. This is probably the best moniker to describe Kimberly Mas, aka BurgerKim, who went on an international shoutcasting spree, raising the flag of Filipino shoutcasters across Southeast Asia.
Her first major international casting stint was the English Broadcast of Razer Southeast Asia Invitational in February 2022 that featured some of the top 10 amateur and professional teams in the region. She then went on to join the English broadcast for the Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (MLBB) Southeast Asian Cup Mekong Qualifiers about two months later. But her exploits this year did not stop there as she also became the first non-local shoutcaster to be featured in the MLBB Professional League (MPL) Malaysia English broadcast last September.
Kimberly Mas, aka BurgerKim
Despite all her achievements and international stints so far, one of her favorites was casting for the MLBB Women’s Invitational, a relatively smaller-reach tournament, which aligns with her personal advocacy of women empowerment in the esports scene.
“I’m very supportive of females in the esports scene,” BurgerKim tells Esquire Philippines. “I actually helped out a female (MLBB) team before. They didn’t have a bootcamp or decent internet, so I volunteered my small studio for them to use during their international tournament. Just a small way of giving back to the community. Especially women.”
Before she started becoming a prominent personality in the shoutcasting scene, BurgerKim had to overcome doubts from her own family along with other discriminatory sentiments hurled against her due to her Chinese roots.
She grew up in a Chinese-Filipino home that influenced a lot of her outlook in life, and also, in a way, held her back from pursuing her passions.
“We were raised to just study well, do good in your job and that's it. Nothing more.” she recalls.
Coming from a Chinese-Filipino household invites racist remarks from fellow Filipinos that she had to weather since childhood.
“We were born and raised in the Philippines. Pilipino kami. We’re just of Chinese descent. Same as Black Americans, etc. Nakaka-hurt minsan kung sinasabi sa amin na ‘Go back to China.’ But I didn’t even grow up there.”
And along with that are some other cultural traditions that she feels aren’t fit for her anymore.
“As a Chinese-Filipino woman, you are usually expected to get married and have kids by a certain age—and getting married is the pinnacle of your life. I’m not dissing those who adhere to this expectation. I think it’s also because the community is so used to the status quo. We don’t like it when someone disrupts the norm, because why change what’s already working?”
Due to her defiant philosophy, BurgerKim was even compared to Mulan by a lot of people around her because she chose to shatter race and gender stereotypes rather than conform to the status quo.
“I want to inspire women in my community too, to do the same. To take risks. To break
away. To speak their mind. To be honest, I feel like a lot of Chinese-Filipino women would like to take unconventional life paths, but they are afraid to do so, because they have been indoctrinated by traditions and to only follow the expected. I hope that this can help inspire those who have burning passions, but are too afraid to take the leap.”
BurgerKim Moderating the MPL PH Press Conference
BurgerKim Traded a High-Paying Animation Job for Esports
BurgerKim is actually an award-winning animator before she became a shoutcaster.
She took up Animation in college and was dreaming of working for Disney or Pixar when she was young.
When she graduated, BurgerKim landed a job in the animation and advertising industry for about four to five years before deciding to take the biggest leap of her life into esports. Her parents strongly advised her against the move.
“I actually won several awards too for my works. Something I’m proud of. I couldn’t stay in the corporate life, so I struck out for a while and did things on my own.”
She had to give up a high-paying job in the lucrative corporate world and decided to risk it all. She went out of her comfort zone and let her passion fuel her toward her goals.
“I got invited to host backstage for the press conference of MPL Philippines S9 Playoffs, I already booked a flight to Singapore and I canceled it to be able to host for MPL,” she said about her first stint in the MPL.
“Na-cast ko na lahat ng major tournaments in different regions, I’m really just waiting for that MPL break. I auditioned for the MPL PH caster search in 2020, but I only made it to the Top 32.”
Two years later, she finally got that much awaited big break when she found herself casting in the MPL Malaysia.
Curiously, it was TikTok that led her to the MPL Malaysia stage when she saw a duet content about the shoutcasting audition in the league.
“Before I left, I remember I got a lecture from loved ones about why I had to fly to Malaysia just to cast for a video game. It wasn’t even a sure seat to the league so they told me ‘Why bother going through all the trouble?’”
The move to Malaysia was such a great leap of faith for BurgerKim. Flying to Malaysia out of her own pocket without anything but passion pushing her onwards. She lost a couple of gigs and jobs back in the Philippines just to make way for this stint in MPL Malaysia.
“A lot of people have been telling me to just let go of esports and casting, pero for some reason, hindi ko talaga mabitawan. I have a huge burning passion and love for the game and that’s what pushed me to go. Minsan talaga, you have to go the extra mile for something you love,” she said.
“I was really excited because this was a much needed break. To be honest, it was my first time doing something so bold. I was crying the entire plane ride, thinking about how crazy the idea was. It was out of my comfort zone because I never got used to taking risks.”
