From L to R: ChanmanV, ThatsAdmirable, SeltzerPlease, Artosis
Chris 'ChanmanV' Chan has been one of the most prolific content producers in the Hearthstone community to date. Between shows like Pro Corner and Value Town and his weekly tournament series Deck Wars, not to mention his Starcraft 2 content and Unfiltered hub show, there was something new from Chanman almost every day of the week.
Deck Wars, which has run for two seasons thus far, takes the form of a weekly showmatch for a number of weeks (twelve for season one and fifteen for season two) where the winners then compete in a finals tournament. The season 2 finals feature established pros such as Amaz, Rdu, TidesofTime and Strifecro and players looking to establish themselves like Koyuki, Kungen and Backspace.
I know you've spoken about it at length, but could you briefly outline why you have decided to leave eSports?
I'm taking a step back from eSports content production because of the time commitment it requires on the weekends. I've been doing it for for a while now and it's been tough juggling family time on the weekends with following and covering eSports for the shows. At this point, my family has an abundance of activities on the weekends that I really want to be apart of and it's just to the point where I really needed to resolve this.
There was a point a while ago with a few controversial issues in quick succession, such as your being banned from reddit and the confrontation between Trump and ek0p on Value Town. Did these controversies affect your decision in any way, or make it easier to step away?
Those "drama" incidents honestly didn't really play much of a factor at all in the decision. If anything, they taught me a lot about how to deal with the stress of being at the center of controversy or drama which until then I had never really experienced. Given I was evaluating all aspects of being in the eSports industry longer term, there were many important lessons learned there. If anything, they motivated me to do even more for the community which I believe I tried to do the last couple months.
Do you think there is more of that drama and negativity in Hearthstone than in other eSports scenes?
No, absolutely not. The amount of those things we see in the Hearthstone community is very normal for a community in its infancy. Right now every bit of controversy is blown up but over time the community will be more experienced and savvy when it comes to these types of things. Also, there is plenty of positivity, passion, and game discussion going on right now in the Hearthstone community that gets overlooked way too often which is needs to change.
Is there anything you wish you could have done that you haven't got the chance to?
A lot of my eSports wish list have checks by them so Im pretty happy with that, but there are still ideas I have in my "Ideas Book". Im not going to say that I will NEVER get a chance to do them since who knows what the future brings but yes, there are more eSport show ideas and projects that I still wanted to explore.
Photo: Helena Kristiansson
"Right now every bit of controversy is blown up but over time the community will be more experienced and savvy when it comes to these things."
Any chance you'd share your favourite with us?
I'd prefer not! But I'll probably share some with folks I know that could execute them the way I'd like to see them done.
I had to ask! Deck Wars has of course been an ongoing weekly series, rather than the more common one-off event. What was the thinking behind a weekly series?
Deck Wars was actually originally going to be a YouTube series on my channel. That was the idea I was developing myself. At the time I wanted to help promote our Liquid Value guys at the time and I felt like this type of showmatch series would accomplish that. It only became a live weekly series when Machinima came to me and wanted to do anything Hearthstone related with me that I decided to change the direction of Deck Wars into a live series.
I think with anything it's incredibly important to be consistent so that the community knows that every week they have Deck Wars on Wednesday to look forward to. Also, creating a storyline with each showmatch leading to the finals was very important to me so it would never have a one off feel to it. That way the series could potentially be a platform we could use to showcase newer players and create matchups nobody has seen or thought of before. It was very important right from the get go that Deck Wars would have a place in the community more so than some event with a crazy prize pool that was more sponsor related than anything else.
What did you learn from the first season that you've used to improve or change the second?
The first season I learned quite a bit. It's a challenge trying to create something big picture wise while trying to expose the community to something brand new. So there were weeks where I had to be more reactive and matchup very popular players more so than give a highly skilled known player the opportunity they deserve. In the end, even though the season 1 finals were amazing, it didn't end up having the storyline lead up we could have had. Also season 1 was 12 weeks long which ended up making the finals a complicated tournament format which led to some tie-breaking controversy. So it was important in the second season that we make as many matches live with a live producer as well as myself really thinking big picture and pacing the season. We've had fantastic producers this season with M1lkcast and Dodgepong so I've been very pleased with this season so far.
You released the first round match-ups yesterday, which match are you most looking forward to?
That's such a tough question! The winners list is pretty sick so all the matchups are very compelling. Personally I'm looking forward to Strifecro vs Backspace the most in round 1. Both players are ridiculously good players and deck builders plus it gives Backspace a chance to step up and beat someone regarded as a titan in the community.
You mentioned Backspace already, but is there anyone else you think could be a real upset package in the tournament?
Given the list is full of a bunch of well established names, I'd have to say maybe Koyuki. He's always been a very good player but just not high profile lately. He has always had a different perspective on deck building too so it could surprise some folks.
It's a busy time for tournaments with VGVN, Hearthstats League, Deck Wars, Prismata Cup and Lord of the Arena all in the next ten days! Do you think this congestion is good or bad for the scene, and for organisers?
Yes, the next week is insane! Overall, for the scene and particularly the players, it's probably a good thing. I'm always very wary of oversaturation as a consumer and an event organizer. The nice thing though is that most of the events you've listed have some unique angle. Prismata targets only the very best players; Hearthstats is a GSL-like week long event; Lord of the Arena is a fun arena tournament; VGVN is very sponsor angled event; and we're doing our own thing so at least all the events are a little different. But I do worry sometimes as an organizer that there will be fatigue in the viewers when they see the same players playing each other all the time no matter how good they are. It loses the intrigue/mystique very quickly if there's no story line to support it, it will result in less interest and viewership.
That's true - it does present some interesting scenarios like Savjz and Gaara playing each other twice on the same day!
Is that actually happening? I don't actually think that's a good thing, so there may be an adjustment that needs to be made.
They're playing each other on Day 1 of Deck Wars and in Group B of Hearthstats, both on the 16th.
Okay... I'll have to change that match-up on our end.
Why do you think it's not a good idea to have repeat match-ups? Just because it removes the novelty?
Well it's like seeing the same movie twice in a row. It's not as interesting the second time even with some changes.
That's a fair point. Hopefully the reshuffle doesn't cause you any headaches! Moving on, are you proud of Deck Wars overall, and why?
Yes, I am very proud of what we've done with Deck Wars. I believe the season 1 finals was the first or one of the first online only events to show that you could get substantial viewership (30K+). We've never had the crazy enormous prize pools but I feel we've shown that you can create something long standing and successful with a reasonable budget. And because of all this, Deck Wars has become a recognizable brand in the Hearthstone community which is very cool.
The thing I'm most happy about is I feel the community and the players more so have really embraced Deck Wars from the start. They look forward to every season of Deck Wars or really want to be part of it and that's what being a content producer or event organizer is really all about in the end.
Photo by: Helena Kristiansson
"The Hearthstone player community is really just a big happy family and it's awesome when everyone is together."
With you bowing out, is it the end for Deck Wars or will it be continued for a third season?
Machinima will be continuing Deck Wars after I leave. I can't confirm a third season right now but the plan is for them to continue it.
To round up, what will be your favourite moment to look back on from your time in the Hearthstone community?
My favorite moment was getting a chance to host at Dreamhack Summer. Going to a Dreamhack was always on my wishlist so getting to do that plus host the exciting event was a very memorable experience for me. Not to mention, getting to meet all the players in person was a lot of fun. The Hearthstone player community is really just a big happy family and it's awesome when everyone is together.
You've done a lot for the Hearthstone community, I'm sure a lot of players (both pro and otherwise) are sad to see you go. Is there anything you would like to say to the community as a final sign off?
I've enjoyed creating Hearthstone content and organizing events for the community immensely the last year and I will miss it more than you guys will probably understand. I love playing and talking about Hearthstone everyday so it's given me real joy doing Value Town, Deck Wars, Pro Corner, etc. and getting a chance to contribute to this growing community. I can't wait to continue seeing it flourish and hopefully we can finish things off with a great Deck Wars Season 2 Finals for you guys!
Chris, thank you for taking the time to talk to me today - and from us at GosuGamers thank you for everything you've done for the community.
No problem, I appreciate it!
All photos by: Helena Kristiansson / esportphoto.com
