Panda Global has one of the most talented lineups in the scene right now. With so much room to grow, managers help facilitate that growth and turn talent into raw skill. Taylor "Barcode" Gibson spent the majority of the past year playing competitively, and knows what it's like to want to be the best. Understanding the competitive drive to win, something all professional players have, is a paramount characteristic of good management, a mindset that Mr.Gibson uses to help harbour his team's strength, and his own.
Most know the players, but less know about the people that work behind the spotlight. The talent has always been there for Panda Global, and for Mr. Gibson, helping his team reach their full potential is a very personal endeavour as well. GosuGamers got a hold of "Barcode" and asked him about the challenges of managing and growing a Heroes of the Storm team.
Not many previous players take the step up to become managers, how did you handle the transition from competitive player to manager? Does your approach to the game change? How about your relationship with the players?
”The transition from a player to a manager was difficult for me. After spending over a year practicing roughly 10 hours a day, in the majority of my free-time networking it felt like a lot of hard work down the drain. My time playing competitively did make the process easier, I have managed to form a lot of strong relationships with most of my peers, and especially with the entire Panda Global roster. When I was a grinding Heroes, I was given an opportunity to sub for the Kappa Wolves. Consisting of Michael “MichaelUdall” Udall, Sammuel ”bigempct” Hua, and Stefen “akaface” Anderson, they were kind enough to take me in and become a 6th member of the team which was a big learning experience for me and contributed greatly to my success. Hard work has been what has personally carried me through my career so far, my approach to the game has simply shifted over to making sure my players have the correct mentality and tools they need to succeed. I love my entire team and couldn't ask for a better group of guys to work with.”
New teams have been entering the competitive scene, do you think having a manager gives newer teams a leg-up over other amatuer teams? Do you feel managers are essential to the scene as a whole?
The earlier you can get someone to make sure you have structure and provide a professional environment for you, the better.
”In this industry results are what matters. You could have a super star line up, but if you aren't winning consistently you won’t make it very far. You need to utilize every tool at your disposal in order to succeed. I have been on teams without a manager, and on teams with one, and the difference structure wise between the two is night and day. For newer teams in particular, the earlier you can get someone to make sure you have structure and provide a professional environment for you the better. Having someone who can allow your players to solely focus on improving is absolutely essential if you want to become the best.”
Describe your day-to-day tasks as manager. How many hours do you put into the team? Do you do anything besides manage Panda Global? If so, how do you balance time between the two?
”I am lucky enough to have the opportunity to manage full-time, I spend the majority of my time managing, my day-to-day consists of scheduling scrims, watching every scrim and paying close attention to team communication, vod review with the team, working with our coach Tsukima on how to improve the team in general, and everything in-between. I take pride in my work and will do anything big or small to make sure my team has everything they need.”
What has been the most stressful time/event for you as a manager?
Panda Global played Arcane Esports in a tense back-and-forth game in their ETS Qualifier #4 victory run.
”Honestly the most stressful part is watching any tournament games. What should probably be my time to sit back and relax after all the work is done is quite the opposite. Going from having all this control over what my team does, to having none is somewhat of a nightmare for me. Nothing comes close to seeing your hard work pay off, and the suspense of watching my team put that into action (or not) is one day going to give me a heart attack.”
Qualifying for Los Angeles and a recent victory in GosuGamers Enter the Storm tournament really raises expectations for the team. What will you be doing to carry the success from the past few weeks over into Los Angeles?
”Panda Global as a whole holds everything we do to a very high standard, so in my opinion winning any tournament,the Spring Regional is the bare minimum. Honestly, the biggest change is to ramp up the workload and have a boot camp leading up to any LAN.”
There has been quite a bit of talk about Blizzard’s participation in the competitive scene. What would you like to see from Blizzard to keep the Heroes scene active and growing?
”I think Blizzard has done a great job so far, and I have high hopes for the upcoming years. The overall popularity of the game drastically dictates how far the competitive scene can go. Viewership plays a big role in all of this, if people love the game and want to watch the pros play, they will attract organizations to invest in the game. Optimizing little things like balanced matchmaking, in-game leader boards, grand master league, etc. would be a great start. I'm not sure how feasible a blizzard style league actually is but I think something of that nature would be amazing. Having frequent tournaments or splits has proved successful in multiple games.”
Would you consider Panda Global to have any rivals? Any friendly smack talk for any teams?
”I would say Panda Global has a friendly rivalry with Team Blaze, we get along well and enjoy messing with each other in all chat during scrims. Both teams have players who competed in last year’s Heroes of The Dorm and who will be playing in this year's Heroes of the Dorm event. This will probably add to the smack they give each other in lobbies.”
If there was advice you would give to a would-be or newly appointed manager, what would it be?
Every player is dynamic, and a broad approach cannot be applied to achieve team success.
”As a new manager, I would encourage taking the path very seriously, understanding each player's desire to achieve personal and team success, supporting them in all phases of the game, and life. Every player is dynamic, and a broad approach cannot be applied to achieve team success. It’s your job to create the best environment for your team so they are as prepared and competitive as possible while keeping morale high even after the hardest of losses. It is your responsibility to lead and guide your team to greatness.”
Mr. Gibson also wanted to share a quote to future managers:"A leader's most powerful ally is his or her own example" -John Wooden.
Panda Global will be flying out to Los Angeles this Thursday hoping to take down the best teams in North America, and book their tickets to Seoul. Huge thanks to Taylor "Barcode" Gibson and his insight, his twitter can be found here, and Panda Global's, here.
Follow us on Twitter @GosuGamersHots for more Heroes of the Storm news.
