Bjarke is the Danish WarCraft 3 player who has succeeded the most. In 2003, he won the CPL Copenhagen, and has this year been one of the biggest names in Danish gaming. Winner of several important national tournaments such as the WCG qualifier and the ESWC qualifier, Bjarke's name still inflict fear in his opponents. He is one of not too many Human players around in Europe, and he plays with style. He is most known for his time in the Danish-based MeetYourMakers, a clan he was the main man in and helped creating what it is today. Now he is a part of the younger European team fnatic. He is an important player in fnatic, and has given fnatic many important points.
In this interview, Bjarke talks about the big tournaments he has taken part in, most recently the World Cyber Games qualifier in Denmark, where he beat the Dane T.MH]Wralth in the final. We also discuss the WarCraft 3 Clan League - about fnatic's current situation in the rankings and Bjarke's own accomplishments. We bring up gaming in Denmark and in general, plus a lot of strategy and patch talks.
Interview with Bjarke
PERSONAL |
- Well, I got cable internet around the same time as the release of ROC beta. Before that the only online play I did was BGH [Big Game Hunters] and Zelda madness :) But I always liked RTS games and have been playing them since Dune 2.
Have you ever been as successful with any other games you've played as you are in WarCraft 3?
- Nope, it's pretty much the only game I have played competitively.
When you first tried WarCraft 3, were you hooked from the very moment, or did it take some while for it to sink in? Did you feel right away that "this is a game I'm going to play for a long time"?
- I liked it a lot from the beginning. I felt much more "at home" in this game than I did when I tried 1vs1 in StarCraft every now and then. When I first got the game I didn't have any plans of playing it on high level, but as I was playing for fun I suddenly found myself in Top 20 on the ladder and decided to see how good I could get.
What did you feel WarCraft 3 had compared to StarCraft which was better?
- I like that the units have more hit points so you can have time to move the targetted unit, and I like that you can dodge siege instead of just getting owned by Siege tanks/reavers. Stuff like that.
Were there anything in StarCraft you wished were to be implemented in WarCraft 3?
- Well, I can't really comment on this, since I didn't play StarCraft much. Maybe some more conspicious counters to some units.
When your name first came up in the WarCraft scene was when you, QDK and Blade joined MeetYourMakers. Why did you decide to join mYm at that point?
- Well, because the clan PaB (clan with ALL the good Danish players) turned out to be real bullshit, and because mYm would send us to this Danish LAN and try to build a good Danish team.
How well did the Danish mYm team succeed when first created? What members were in "the core", apart from you, QDK and Blade?
- Hmm... Well, BladeDK left after a short while, and Geeko joined. I think it was just me, Geeko, and QDK up until after CPL CPH where some more players were added. This was Corey, Ace, Bogey, Smaug and Yskhyr, who helped us get into the WC3L.
You have played quite a number of matches in the WC3L. Any special one you remember the strongest?
- Hmm probably versus Lyn on Echo Isles. I used a variation of the firelord tower rush that I made myself, and it worked out exactly as when I played it out as a thought in my head :) In the end I lost the best of 3 to close position Lost Temple though o_0
Yeah, let's talk some more about your recently WC3L scores. In this season, you have played six matches counting the 2on2, and have not won that many. Comments on that?
- Well, first of all, I played 6 matches (one 2v2), and won 3. One of them was vs FatC though, and their team left the league. The problem for me was that I just recently moved to a new town and didn't have internet. So I didn't really have the option to practice a lot, and the 3 losses were played on 3 different computers :\. Not saying I would have won for sure if I had had internet though :) Oh, and Rainbow got LS [Lightning Shield] xD
Why did you decide to leave MeetYourMakers for fnatic? Needed a change?- Yeah. I didn't like the direction in which mYm was headed. My main reason for staying in mYm after CPL CPH was to have a fully Danish team. I didn't see much good in staying in a clan where I couldn't practice without lag or communicate properly with my teammates.
With that said it seems you do not like teams having so called "mercenaries", in form of Koreans. Opinion on that?
- The thing that I dislike the most about the "mercenaries" is the lag they bring. WC3L is pretty much the only league worth playing for Europeans outside of Germany/France, and I don't like to have the enjoyment of playing this league ruined by clanleaders paying Koreans to come to Northrend 2-3 hours every week. I must say that it has gotten somewhat better though, with clans like mYm having very good hosts ready for the matches.
” |
- Trimble's comment is somewhat true. I wouldn't say that I didn't have the chance to play in the clanwars, but whenever mYm needed points very badly, they would put a pure Korean lineup which was kind of annoying. But the main reason was probably lack of team spirit from my side. I sometimes found myself cheering for the opposing clan, because they had the players that I talked to and practiced with all the time. So staying in mym just felt wrong.
Do you still have contact with the old mYm team members, and do you play them from time to time?
- yeah, I meet ciara, Quish, and Kepler at lans reguarly. I also play online poker or DOTA with Yskhyr every now and then.
How do you rate fnatic's season in WC3L? Are you satisfied with being on 5th place?- Considering the fact that both me and Creo had to move and start school in a new town, I am very satisfied with 5th place. I think Sase and Rotterdam did an impressive job getting us a lot of points ;)
Do you think you have the shot of winning the WC3L playoffs? Or will 4Kings take home yet another victory?
- Never say never! We have a shot, but I would be (pleasantly) surprised if we won ;)
Which of the fnatic players do you play with the most? Are those your practice partners, or do you have some other you use to sharpen your strategies with?
- I play mostly with Rholle, Rotti, and Sase. I practice with people outside the clan too, but mostly ladder now that we have the reset.
What do you think of the recent changes Blizzard has done to the WarCraft 3 scene? Most of all the recent patches, the ladder reset and now recently their new Battle.Net site?
- I think patching is very good, because it helps keep the game alive. Getting involed in the various tournaments around the globe is a very positive development as well, since it is easier for them to spot imbalances this way ;) I don't really see any significant changes to their site, but maybe I just need to browse around some more...
ESWC 2005: You ended fourth in Group 1, below FuRy, Sky and the shocker Swen. Were you disappointed for not advancing?
- Yeah I was very disappointed, mostly in myself. I was not able to "free my mind" before I started playing. I was annoyed with having to play early day 1 after having spent around 18 hours in a train, mostly on the floor, and getting way too little sleep.
You lost to the fairly unknown player RistA, but then couple of hours later played tied against the Chinese top player WE.Sky. How come it went up and down like that? Because of fatigue?
- I tied 1-1 with Rista. It was my first game, and I had just been 2-3 hours in a traffic jam. I lost on Echo Isles, which was added only a few days before the tour, and yes, I was tired.... And yes, this one map was the reason I didn't advance... xD
” |
- Thanks! :) Well, we started of with some big delays because the computers did not arrive on time. But after we got started things ran pretty smooth, and had much better coverage than any other Danish tournament has had. I felt that I was kinda staggering through the competition, since I did not prepare as much as I would have liked. But I'm really happy that I made it, and I'm sure that I will be able to play better at the finals in November.
Did you expect to face WraLth in the Grand final? Was he a tough opponent? How easy did you coarse through the brackets?
- Yeah, I expected to meet WraLth. He was a very tough opponent and I only barely won. Besides from Rholle and WraLth the matches were fairly easy, but versus these 2 I came very close to losing.
Did you like the 'Computer for alle' exhibition?
- Well, compared to the games convention in Leipzig it was very very small, but I liked looking at the sexy Apple equipment :)
Your first big achievement was winning CPL Copenhagen, then the Bjarke fever started. Are you comfortable with being famous?
- I actually feel better in the underdog position. And I think that today I'm the underdog again.
After CPL Copenhagen, you haven't played in any CPL tournaments, why is that? Too far away? If CPL would stop in any of the Nordic countries, would you attend?
- Well, CPL Europe shut down and CPL in USA only had FPS games. If there would be a big WC3 tourney in Europe I would participate for sure!
” |
- The scene is a whole lot bigger today than it was back then. The prizes are a lot bigger as well. I think WarCraft will continue to grow in prizes et cetera until a new Blizzard RTS game takes over. I don't think it will be able to survive like StarCraft when this happens. I miss a lot of players from back then: The Danish top players, Chemi, Survivor, FatC, Heman, Zeus, nova, Isha, intox, beaver etc etc. imba players, and more mannered than many of the new stars today :)
Which player do you rate as the best of each race? UD, NE, ORC and HU?
- Hmm, standard answer I guess... UD - Fov, NE - Moon, ORC - Grubby, HU - ToD.
You are a very creative player, instead of just going mass casters and footies as many other. Where do you find all those strategies when playing? How do you think when coming up with a new strategy?
- I just look at things that really annoy me and try to think of ways to change it. Like, Nigt Elf having bears with 960 HP and a staff fighting rifle with 505 HP and medium armor. So I wanted to to use big HP units and staff myself, and I tested out some different ways of implementing this. Another example is the Raider+Grunt strat. It really annoyed me that the orc had such an easy time just ensnaring a unit and right clicking it. So I made a strat with inner fire rifle and a paladin and a staff.
So you mean they just come naturally?
- Well, if I was in a train and had nothing to do I would think about these things, and test it when I came home.
Why did you start playing Human? Have you been successful with any of the other races? And also, which one's your favourite matcup, and why?
- I started out as random, but I liked the Water Elementals for fast creeping and the Priest for always having full hp army in the fights. My favorite matchup is Human versus Human because all the units move freely in fights, giving some very nice micro fights.
Are you satisfied with the current balance in the game, or would you like to see some changes to make it more balanced?
- Hmm, I think destroyers need a change, there is no cost effective counter at the moment and they can move way too freely, especially versus human. I also think Raider's ensnare last as long as the cooldown, that's stupid. And I also think that Death Knight coiling enemy's creeps is ruining a lot of strategy options.
Do you watch a lot of replays? How much time (in percent) goes into playing and how much into watching replays?
- No I only watch a few, and most of the match I watch it on high speed. I probably spend 5-10% of my wc3 time watching replays.
Known voices about Bjarke mYm|Nordahl, former team manager:Bjarke has been on top of the game for as long as I can remember and he is one of the few top gamers you never see express when he is annoyed, on top of that he is one of my alltime favorite Human players, and he insist on making his own strategies or die trying. fnatic\Rholle, clanmate:Bjarke is the best human I know and also the best danish player. An indeed funny person IRL. U have never seen a guy go around so not-noticed and then suddenly pop up with a golden comment making the entire room laugh and then disappear 5 seconds later to do whatever a man like bjarke does :)  fnatic\triMble, team manager:When I recruited Bjarke to the Fnatic Team, he has just been the bench-warmer in the Korean dominated team from MeetYourMakers. Nobody knew in what shape Bjarke was back then, and some people told me that it could be a misstake to invite him to the roster. Nevertheless, the faith I had in him prooved to be right and now hes back in the world of the top humans. During his time in the Fnatic Team, he has presented a lot of convincing results, like winning his WCG Qualifier and scoring some big points in the WC3L. Besides his performence in WarCraft 3, he's also a great guy an a teammember every clan would love to have.  fnatic\Rotterdam, clanmate:Bjarke is a very special human player who allways come up with new stuff and most of his games are very entertaining to watch. I'm very happy he is my teammate and it hope we can see more of him for a long time.  fnatic\Creo, clanmate:Bjarke is a great human player whose games is really enjoyable to watch as he is really inventive and can win without copying everyone else. This especially applies for NEvsHU where he can win with t3 and staff micro instead of the normal rifle\caster. On a personal level he is really friendly, and he also showed himself to be a fast beer drinker at last ESWC :) fnatic\SaSe, clanmate:As a person Bjarke is very calm and nice, but as a player he is totally wild and do crazy strategies that are almost always fun to watch. Bjarke mostly helps when I need practice and gives me pointers. MANY PRO HUMAN WITH OTHER WORDS^__^ SK|Enrique:Bjarke is a really nice guy. I don't know how much he can play nowdays due to studies as I've heard, but he is playing 100% he is a really good player able to beat most people. mYm|WraLth, former team mate:Bjarke is one of the most talented Human players in the world, since he got his very unique playing style, specially with the tier 3 staff abuse. Hes also very nice guy irl, and hes never nervous when u play against him.  [3wD]Carnifex, GosuGamers admin and [3wD] leader:Bjarke is a top human player and seems also very mannered to me. First I heared of him because of CPL Copenhagen and I was quite suprised, but he has shown several times what he is able to do. GE-Busfisken, Gamingeye editor:Bjarke is one of my clear favourites when it comes to the Human race. A very creative player who actually is fun to watch matches from even if I don't like Human that much. He played really well during the WCG qualifiers in Denmark, and it will be interesting to see how far he goes in Singapore. |
Other articles about Bjarke» GosuGamers.net - fnatic.Bjarke to Singapore » Gamingeye.com - Bjarke interview (after CPL Copenhagen) |
Bjarke has promised us to compile a replay package consisting of his best games. Since the 1.20 patch, he has not played that many games that are worth releasing, so we agreed to wait for a while. Keep yourselves posted!
