Balsam: DotA on LAN is quite dead.

Balsam from NE.Dota has had a successful spell with his team in most tournaments so far in Europe. Dota.by caught up with him for a few questions in this candid interview.

Hello! Could you please introduce yourself and tell us a little about yourself for our readers?
- "Hello, my name is Andreas "Balsam" Løchte, I'm 19 years old and I play DotA for NORDIC eSport."

Photo courtesy: Nordic e-Sport
Tell us how and when you come into the world of DotA?
- "Oh boy.. That was a long time ago. I got Warcraft III on my 13th birthday, and after playing all the crappy custom maps for a few years, I got introduced to DotA. At first I sucked real hard at it, and I went for a Dagon on Skeleton King. But, when I got my first real kill alone, I felt some kind of a rush, and I knew this game was for me! *laughs*"

How did you get to join Team NE?
- "Just like everyone else, tired of pub-stomping, I started looking for a team and to my luck, my best friend's brother started a team together with some of his friends. I played a few games with them, and I became better. I then became a part of the team. Today, I'm still playing with a few of them from back then, and now, we are lucky to find an Organization to sponsor us."

Please tell us a little about the team. Who plays what kind of heroes, etc.?
- "That's quite simple on our team. Each of us have a position on the map and we play that 95% of the time to make sure it is flawless. CalculuS takes the mid-lane with semi-carry heroes, Link mostly solos on a hard-lane or a safe-lane (depending on the hero) and we've got Smiske, Kragx, OJJE and me on the Support/Ganker roles. However, mostly, I play a hard-carry hero on a tri-lane with two of the three supporters/gankers."

Will your team participate in large LAN tournaments in the near future?
- "Hopefully, if any of them show up. The offline events are quite dead in DotA at the moment. We're all waiting for DotA 2, I guess."

Are you following MYM Prime Nations? What are your predictions for the upcoming games?
- "Not really. But, I guess Denmark has a really good chance this time."

CalculuS, Balsam, Kragx. Photo courtesy: Nordic e-Sport
What are your top 3 teams in the world? Excluding Team NE, of course.
- "To be honest, I have no idea. Considering the Chinese teams' unstable rosters, I'll leave them out of it this time. But, my top 3 teams at the moment are: Nirvana.MY, Scythe.SG and MYM."

Tell us a little about your life. What are your interests and hobbies?
- "My life is quite simple. I work to get some money. I play DotA or workout at the gym when I'm home. I go out in the weekends to dance with some chicks xD. I will be joining the military in August and hopefully, be back in time for some DotA 2 action!

What are your thoughts on DotA 2? Should we get this game?
- "So far, I have no opinion. I hope that it will turn out to be the best game ever! Go IceFrog!!!"



What are your future plans?
- "I haven't really made any plans as such. I like to take one day at a time and enjoy my life!"

What kind of games you play besides DotA?
- "Lately, I've been playing a lot of online poker, and that's actually a nice investment. I also enjoy games like Left 4 Dead, Call of Duty, Counter-Strike with friends. I try to keep good touch with every game genre."

Thank you so much for this interview. Anyone you would like to convey greetings to?
- "You're most welcome! I'd like to thank our sponsors- PENTIA A/S, RAPTOR-GAMING, Customdata, Gamersuniform, Blue-Elph, Super Avisen, Excellent Servers, Speedgaming and finally MeeBox.net".

Links
Dota.by - Original interview in Russian