So, 13abyKnight, you just played your last game of DotA... It's sad to hear that you're retiring from the professional DotA scene. How do you feel about it right now?
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It's hard to describe exactly how I feel and how I've felt about it these last couple of days, but I guess I have been a little bit flustered and right now I feel really bad for leaving my team. I hope things will work out for the best though.”How did your teammates react when you told them you were leaving?
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I told each of them individually, and I gotta say their responses really made me realize how awesome these guys truly are. They were so supportive of my decision, even if they were sad to see me go of course. Especially Ducky, who really helped me through my decision. :)”Considering that it was recently announced that you were entering the professional StarCraft II scene with Na'Vi, it's not entirely surprising (although still sad) that you chose to quit. Was it difficult to maintain your high-level skills and commitments across both games?
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First of all, I want to say (to make sure I don't offend anyone) that both games have a pretty high skill cap. However, I do believe StarCraft [II] is the kind of game you must practice for at least a certain amount of hours (it differs from player to player) each day to maintain a stable level, thereby allowing a player to be able to compete (win?) in big tournaments. Thus I have been able to maintain a pretty high level in DotA, even though I almost purely practiced StarCraft II.”So, was the amount of time you had to dedicate to maintaining your StarCraft II skills one of the reasons you chose to quit DotA?
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This was of course something I thought about ever since I started playing a lot of SC2, but the decision came about when I joined Na'Vi's SC2 team. It wouldn't be fair to Na'Vi if I played another game professionally (especially for another organization). They offered me a really good deal, and I'm not gonna let them down.”We all know that – currently – the potential rewards on offer for success in the SC2 scene are relatively superior to the prizes in the DotA scene. Some people suspect that this might also have motivated your decision, and while no one could blame you for it, I don't think you're so shallow. So what other factors motivated you to choose SC2 over DotA, especially when you're already such an established name in the European DotA scene?
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Well first of all, I really feel like SC2 is my kind of game. I mean, don't get me wrong, most of the time I really enjoyed playing in a team consisting of five players. But as you might have noticed, I am much more of a solo player and I just love setting goals for myself and then trying to achieve them. And I feel that is much easier for me to do in a 1v1 game like StarCraft. After playing DotA for so many years I had also sort of lost my interest for the game in of itself. I just find StarCraft II to be a much more interesting game. Of course, the money gap between the two games right now is pretty big, so I guess that did factor into my final decision.” One last potential factor that I suspect people will talk about is your personal satisfaction with your team's [Browned Potatoes] results. While the team is a collective of unquestionably excellent individual talent, and has always been competing near the top of the European DotA scene, it could be said that your results haven't been as good as they could have been. Could you clarify for the fans whether you were fully satisfied with your results?
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I could not, and will not ever complain about any of the players I have played with in my time playing for former LOST.eu/BP (except maybe vigoss, but I'd rather leave that as a cliffhanger :D). I have to agree with you though, we weren't doing as well as we should have been. Sure I was sometimes disappointed with my teammates' performances in some of our games, but some times even I! (notice: exclamation point) could have played better, so it goes both ways. ^^” Let's reflect briefly on your legacy as a DotA player. You burst onto the competitive scene practically as a child prodigy, playing at the highest level from a very young age – something that perhaps only KuroKy and yourself have done in the European scene. How did you become so talented at such a young age?
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I think the fact that I devoted so much of my time and thoughts into the game as soon as I started playing it really made me blossom fast. I used to have a very easy time with school, but it really bored me and I wasn't quite sure what I wanted to do with my life, but as soon as I started playing a lot of DotA I knew where I was headed and I really hope I can play StarCraft II for a living in the near future.”While of course it doesn't apply now, it's probably fair to say that in your earlier years, you were a (rather special) boy playing amongst men. Did you ever feel overwhelmed within the competitive scene because of your age?
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I never really looked at it like that, it felt very natural to me. I guess, though, that you could say I was 'overwhelmed' right when I got into the whole 'Clan War' theme, but that's a long time ago and that was before I joined any huge team. :)”Did you ever receive any special advice from your teammates as you grew up as a professional player and a person?
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I don't remember any specific quotes or any particular advice I received, but I guess if I were to mention someone, that 'special prize' would go to Ducky. I really enjoyed playing with him in Unique-eSports and he helped me quite a bit (he was also a big part of the reason why I really wanted to join up with LOST.eu).”So, based on your experiences, what advice would you give to any young and aspiring DotA and StarCraft II players looking to follow in your footsteps?
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You want to be good? Just play the game. Have fun with it. If you want to be one of the best, you do have to put a lot of time into it but I would definitely say it's worth it. Support professional gaming, support e-Sports, make many people happy. <3”And now that you're moving on, what would you say have been your greatest achievements in DotA? And do you have any regrets?
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I feel like I have been a little bit unlucky with my DotA career. Maybe part of it is my own fault, but still. I wish I had more achievements to be proud of but I think that I would say: Winning EDC with my former team Online Kingdom, 3rd place at ESWC 2010 with MYM, 3rd place in the most recent GosuCup with BP, the fact that I've won every single 1v1 tournament I have signed up for, and a couple of others that I don't remember.”Let's look towards the future - 13abyKnight as the StarCraft II player. You already said that it was your "kind of game," but can you tell us what it is specifically about the game that fascinates you?
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I love the fact that whenever you lose a game, you only have yourself to blame. I love pushing myself and my own gameplay to reach new heights. I love being hard on myself which I feel is a little bit contrary in DotA, where you often see people who end up blaming their teammates maybe even for their own mistakes. The game has a high skill cap just like its predecessor StarCraft: Brood War. Last but not least, it's so new and shiny and I just love the graphics and the [game] engine. :)”What kind of skill set and mentality would you say SC2 requires? Is it massively different compared to DotA, for you?
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Yes. I had to put some thought into improving in DotA, but I feel like SC2's much cleaner and therefore the theory crafting becomes much cleaner. This also allows for high level coaching. You simply have to put more time and thought into StarCraft II to become one of the best. DotA was a bit more relaxing for me to play, which was also nice but simply different from the way you have to approach StarCraft II as a game if you want to improve.”You've already had some very encouraging results, but there's still such a long way to go to reach the top. How do you feel about the challenge?
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It's a tough road for sure but I have already improved so rapidly within the last few months that I'm willing to say I'm up for the challenge!”Na'Vi's StarCraft II project has been touted as a collective of up-and-coming talent, but aside from your own personal fame in DotA, your new peers are relatively unknown in e-sports. What else can you tell us about them and the project as a whole? What can we look forward to from it?
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Well Na'Vi has collected a couple of really talented players aside from me. The two Zerg players, HappyZerg (now known as NaViSlavik, who recently won a Go4SC2 tournament) and ALF, were both ranked as high as A on the iCCup ladder in Brood War, which is a pretty huge achievement.I can't talk much about the NaVi related stuff since I don't know much about it/don't know what I'm allowed to talk about. But I guess the future will tell.”
People have found it surprising that it's an international collective of players, whereas previously Na'Vi - a Ukrainian organization - only recruited fellow Ukrainian players. Does the mix of nationalities pose any challenges to you? Are there any language barriers or communication problems between you?
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They all speak very good English, but there have been a few instances where it has been visible that their vocabulary is just a tiny bit lackluster (for example, they have a hard time explaining a very specific scenario or whatnot). But it's very rare and it's not a huge problem at all. They are all a bunch of really cool guys and I enjoy practicing with them.”So which competitions and tournaments in the near future can we expect to see you participating in?
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I will participate in as many of the weekly tournaments as possible (Competo Cup, Zotac Cup, ESL Go4SC2 Cup, ESL Sennheiser Cup, and-the-list-goes-on). Also I hope to get invited to any invitational tournament with a bigger prize pool in the near future. :)”And finally, to conclude this interview, the question that will be on every DotA fans' lips: will we ever see you returning to the competitive DotA scene when DotA 2 is released?
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Haha that is a good question! I honestly don't know what to answer. I might come back or I might not. It's basically gonna depend on a lot of things that I don't really want to go into right now. One thing is for sure: I won't forget about DotA and all the good times I've had with the game, and the people I have played with over the years.”Well, thanks for your time, for all your insightful responses, and for all the good times and entertainment you've provided the DotA scene with. And I wish you all the best in your StarCraft II career. Any last shoutouts to the DotA scene?
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First of all, thank you for coming up with such good questions! I really enjoyed answering them and thinking back on all my good times that I've had with DotA.It's not easy for me to just leave the scene like this, especially since I have been having a really good time in my current team, and I think this team can look forward to a bright future. I want to thank all my friends and fans, and all the people and players who have supported me over the years. All the friendships and all the good experiences I have had in DotA have really meant a lot to me, both as a person and as a professional gamer.”
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