Andrew ‘Zyori’ Campbell 👗🌸🎀

I have been a gamer since I was old enough to turn on a computer. My first love was without a doubt Diablo II. It was the game that got me into games and kept my group of online friends together as we physically drifted apart. Our interests furthered into World of Warcraft as the years passed, deepening our understanding how digital economies operate.

I first discovered esports years later in my early twenties, while studying entrepreneurship and computer science in university. My friends and I were playing a lot of StarCraft II in our free time and eventually entered into an online tournament for amateurs, inspiring me to start hosting micro-tournaments of my own.

In 2012, I became a play-by-play commentator for Heroes of Newerth, the predecessor to Valve’s now popular esport, Dota 2. Shortly after The International 2013, I launched a project called Dota Radio that gained notoriety for a commentary style catered to audio-only listeners. Dota Radio caught the attention of the Dota community, primarily after MLG Columbus 2013 during an explosive interview with then Speed Gaming team manager Marco Fernandez. After that I started doing commentary work for a startup broadcast studio called Beyond the Summit and took on a full time position later that year.

In late 2015, I left the company and started my own esports studio called MoonduckTV that focused designing on alternative game modes in Dota 2. I took on the role of Managing Director and organized 15 tournaments worth $750,000 in prize money over four years. Our final live event, Midas Mode 2, was the first time a professional tournament featured a Virtual Reality plugin that allowed live audience members to control Roshan with special abilities. 

In 2019, I published a book on Amazon detailing my journey starting a career in esports and getting hired at Beyond the Summit, called Surviving Esports: The Zyori Story. The story is focused on self-reflection, perseverance, and firsthand storytelling as an amateur event organizer. The book also includes a detailed account of my notorious sniff sniff live streaming incident where I accidently walked on camera nude and the extreme cyberbullying that followed.

In 2020, I came out publically as a crossdresser and wrote about the experience in an article called Wearing A Dress and Saying Yes to a Copacetic Life. 

In 2021, I stepped down as Managing Director of Moonduck to take a full-time position at Sky Mavis, the creators of the popular blockchain game Axie Infinity, as their Program Lead for Esports and Content Creators. My efforts laid the groundwork for the competitive Axie ecosystem to take root, culminating in the largest web3 esports event in history at AxieCon 2022.

During the blockchain madness in 2021, I become the first person to mint their own hair on the blockchain by launching a collection of 36 NFTs that are unique, individual renders of actual dreadlocks that I still have in real life. They serve as access token for Zyori super fans to engage and collaborate with me directly!

In 2022, I published the first issue of an ongoing, metaverse inspired comic book called The Adorable Zyori that features characters based on NFTs from my collection. Each issue is available digitally for free on webtoons and has 50 collectible covers available on Opensea.

In 2023, I left my role at Axie Infinity to join Laguna Games, the creators of Crypto Unicorns, which is a play-to-earn game on the Polygon blockchain. I’m a member of the product team with a focus on connecting community, communications, and growth. Part of my role involves traveling to the world to talk about blockchain and be an evangelist for the technology will shape the future of gaming!

Gaming Events Attended

MLG D.C. 2010
MLG Dallas 2011
MLG Columbus 2011
DreamHack Summer 2011
MLG Anaheim 2011
MLG Orlando 2011
PAX East 2012
MLG Raleigh 2012
DreamHack Winter 2012
PAX East 2013
Otakon 2013
PAX East 2014
Dota Asia Championships 2015
The International 2014
PAX East 2016
ESL Frankfurt 2016
The Summit 5
The International 2016
The International 2017
The International 2018
ExileCon 2019
Eve FanFest 2022
CONQuest Festival 2023

Blockchain Speaking Events

Surviving the Dark Forest of Web3 Game Development. Rare Evo. Denver, Colorado. 26 August 2023.

Becoming a Web3 Esports Organization. 3XP. Pasadena, California. 9 June 2023.

How to Make Blockchain Games That Don’t Suck. CoinDesk Consensus. Austin, Texas. 28 April 2023.

Utility of NFTs in Gaming: How to Substantiate In-Game Assets and Real-World Value. NFTNYC. New York City, New York. 22 June 2022.

NFTs Are More Than Just JPEGS. DeFiCon. Brooklyn, New York. 18 December 2021.

To NFTs and Beyond: Coordinating Community at Scale. DeFiCon. Brooklyn, New York. 17 December 2021.

The Future of Play to Earn. LisCon. Lisbon, Portugal. 21 October 2021.

Podcasts Hosted

Zyori Plus One (23 episodes, 2020-running)
The New Block (27 episodes, 2021-2022)
Axie Tuesday (14 episodes, 2022-2022)
The Trent & Zyori Podcast (178 episodes, 2013-2022)
What the DUCK!? (52 episodes, 2015-2021)
Shared Tangos with Trent & Zyori (20 episodes, 2020)
In the Studio by 100tb (17 episodes, 2014)
Dota Radio Morning Show (24 episodes, 2013)
The Cosplay Room (12 episodes, 2013)
The Zyori Breakdown (23 episodes, 2012)
The Gosu Complex (9 episodes, 2011)