Interview with

Dominik "Black^" Reitmeier

Joining me is Dominik "Black" Reitmeier former carry player for Vici Gaming and widely known as the Burning of the West, how are you doing tonight black?

Heya! Pretty cold here tonight : ( and the A/C does not really help me at the moment so it will be a fun night!

Cold in china right now? It's like -20 degrees celcius in Canada, I'd kill for warmer weather. Anyway I kind of want to start at the beginning with everything that has been happening recently so going all the way back when did you first learn about competitive gaming and decide that you wanted to try and get into it?

Basically that was wayyyyyyy back when I watched Starcraft. I was really amazed by how the people were cheering for the players, the players were 100% focused and you could feel the tension all throughout the room. I did pick it up as a dream of mine to be like them in the future, because I really liked gaming anyway, but of course back then it was just a wild thought floating around, I wasn't particular good at any game. Then my friends introduced me to DotA and at first it was only for fun, but then as time passed it became more and more competitive.

So players like Flash, Jaedong, Bisu ect. in broodwar? Were they role models for yourself and do they still have any impact for the amount of time and effort you put into trying to improve yourself in Dota 2?

Back then, definitely. I was a always getting very excited watching them go at it. As for today, I still try to follow Flash as much as possible, because he has left a mark on me. Pretty much just like Burning did. I think those 2 as well as Jaedong were some of my biggest motivations to become a professional gamer.

Speaking of become a professional gamer would you say that the dream started turning into reality back in 2009, when you played with Enro-Griffin which had players like Synderen and Locoste on it? What was it like as you made your way into competitive DotA back then?

Enro-Griffins was definitely my first major team with really good players at the time. I was happy I was given a chance because before that I did not really have a breakthrough.

Although this is jumping ahead a little bit did Enro Griffins have any impact on you playing with Synderen again on Mouz? Or was that just coincidence?

Actually, it had a lot of impact, I knew him from back then and we were really good friends, so I hit him up and things fell into place really easily

Thats pretty cool actually, shortly before you joined Mouz though in Dota 2 you were on the team GamersLeague during part of 2011 with legendary player and now caster Drayich. What was it like at the time even though it was short lived?

We had past experienced in another game together called HoN. We were in a team back then together with many of the team members as well. He is a great player and was a very good leader too.

Has anything that he did or said in HoN or Dota 2 stuck with you to this point? Or was it more just a learning experience from somebody who had been on teams like SK and Online Kingdom?

He definitely taught me a lot. He had a wife and children when I started playing with him, so I kind of saw him like an experienced person and when I had problems I could go to him and ask him for advice. He would always try his best to help me. Not only in life though, but also with DotA and HoN.

Moving along with that, when you joined Mouz shortly after and got a chance to play at TI2 when MUFC ran into problems and you beat World Elite what was it like suddenly being thrown into The International? How did it compare to all the other tournaments you had played in up to that point?

It was definitely the biggest and nicest and best organized tournament I had ever been to. Sadly though, since we did not really expect to play, we went into the event with little to no practice and also had a standin, because one of our players had visa issues at the time. Playing in there though, was amazing and helped me out a lot in the long run

Mouz at TI2, can you name all the players?

Of course afterwards unfortunately Mouz dropped the roster and when Starladder 3 came along you were stuck without a way to get to the lan, could you explain exactly what happened and how you ended up playing as the GD B-Team at Starladder?

Basically what happened was, people were not satisfied how things were going and ultimately we both(organisation and players) decided to drop it. Then after, as you already said, we were stuck without a way of getting there. But Sing was good friends with James H. and they ended up sponsoring our trip there. Huge thanks again for that!

It was a pretty amazing story at the time, and you guys as the underdogs (and even that might be putting it kindly at the time) managed to not only take first place in your group but also beat Empire in the first round of the lan. Was that a unique experience for you? As 2GD really stepped up and allowed you guys to compete I think a lot of people were pretty happy when you beat Empire. Ultimately you guys came 3rd and Mouz picked your team back up again. What did that do for your confidence as players?

We weren't incredibly confident at first, because our practice didn't go so well. But after the news, that 2GD would send us, we all got a huge burst of confidence. We all played much better together and our teamplay rose to a new level. It was a very unique experience for me personally at least, because it was the first LAN I ever really placed in the top 3, so at the time I was very satisfied with out result.

StarLadder 3 Bracket







Can you tell me what was different when Empire managed to beat you in the losers bracket if you can remember?

cause they banned pudge. those fuckers lol jk .



I remember, when we beat Empire the crowd went crazy, because they were very very scary back then.

Yeah, it was basically Empire and Na'Vi at the top of Europe back then. Did some of that confidence continue into TI3 qualifiers? Where once again as the underdogs you managed to pull an upset and through the losers bracket managed to win the qualifier over DD?

Well, sadly Kuroky departed a while before the qualifiers and he was our Captain and Drafter at the time, so he left a big gap. We managed to get our hands on Synderen though, who I'd say is equally as good in captaining regards. We started playing pretty poorly in the first half of the qualifier though, we got knocked down to the loser bracket and were to face EG, who were really scary at the time and they were also considered to take the qualifier. Shortly before that game Fata and I had a huge talk with our team about our moral and our mindset when we play the game and apparently it helped out big time. We played better than ever and trusted each other more than ever too. Ultimately we ended up winning it over DD 3-1 I think, I jumped out of my chair in happiness, I even woke my mum up haha.

Unfortunately TI3 didn't go as well for you guys but afterwards you made a huge decision to go and play in China on LGD.int. How did you come to make the decision to leave Europe and travel to china to play Dota 2?

It was something I wanted to do for a long time. Because I have been amazed by how good the Chinese players are at this game, not only mechanically but also their mindset. So when I had the chance I naturally took it, even though it was kind of a rushed decision, because before that I was with mouz for pretty much 2 years straight.

You seem to have enjoyed your time in China though as you're still there currently. You joined CIS after LGD.int fell apart when Misery and Pajkatt left, how was CIS different from other teams you had played on? I've heard that they didn't take rosh timer when you first joined the team.

They were completely inexperienced and had never played in a team before. They didn't take rosh timers, they barely communicated, everything was pretty much treated like a matchmaking game. That was the biggest difference. They all never played competitively in their lives before.

As I recall there were two other massive obstacles for you as well, you were still learning chinese at the time and I believe they had asked you to lead them in-game is that correct?

Yeah. It was the first time I ever really had to lead a team in the game and not speaking the language on top of that was definitely very very hard. But they were patient with me and I was patient with them. Ultimately everything worked out, as we improved a lot together.

You seemed to have a knack for it at this point but you managed to upset TI4 qualifiers as well as you managed to beat DT and TongFu as well as LGD in the group stage to end up taking 2nd place overall and qualifying for the play-ins, how did you guys as a team handle "winning" something so important even if it was just barely qualifying for the play-ins?

Well first, when we made it through the groupstage as top 2, many people were really really surprised, including myself. I didn't think we could take them all out, but I was really happy and proud of them all. When we won vs DT in the play-ins we all bursted out in happiness, as it meant we were going to TI, but I told them its far from over, because actually qualifying for the the play-ins or for the actual tournament is a huge difference. But I can't really blame them, it was their first major experience so naturally they would just be satisfied with that. I think if we were to have the same scenario again nowadays, everyone would try much much harder.

TI4 Chinese Qualifiers

After TI4 your performance really showed in china as you got picked up by VG, Demons went to LV, June got picked up by IG and Inflame went to LV and is now on EHOME. I think I've got that right. We also move on to slightly more current events with VG. First what was it like to be picked up by the power house that is VG? 2nd place finisher at TI4. Was there extra pressure to be able to perform right from the start given their recent accomplishments?

It was definitely a lot of pressure at all times, because Sylar at the time was said to be the best carry in the world and VG is amazing team too. I was pretty scared whenever we had big tournaments, because for an unproven player like me in a team like that, it really means that I can't underperform, because all eyes would be on me at all times. I tried to use that pressure as something positive though, trying to motivate me instead of letting it affect me negatively

So I think you flew in from Germany back to China 2 days before WEC started and you guys beat EG and Newbee and eventually finished 3rd with almost no practice as a team, was that an acceptable result for all of you? Or did that push you to train harder with I-league WCA and ESL One NY qualifiers all on the horizon at the time for you?

We didn't even qualify for it at first, because they were playing with a standin. So basically we had been invited because another team couldn't make it and thats why we went in with only 1 bo3 of practice. I think everyone was happy about the result. Then for the other tournaments we had proper preperation and we prepared a lot too. Obviously losing is always a motivation to keep on trying harder, so we took it as such and tried our best to perform as good as we could.

So what was the major difference between WCA where you guys lost to Alliance and then to C9 and ESL One NY where you beat the newly formed Secret and EG?

Mainly meta game understanding I'd say. We figured everything out after WCA, because shortly before WCA the new patch was released and we had another event scheduled, so we couldn't really prepare as much as we wanted to. We refined our strategies and found our playstyle.

ESL One NY was really your first major tournament win internationally, how did it feel and what did it mean to you to finally get that victory?

It meant a lot to me, because not only was it my first international championship, but also as I said before, I had big shoes to fill, which after winning that tournament I thought I came closer and closer to. We as a team were incredibly happy, because the games were actually really really intense. Mostly we were happy about our prepartion paying off though!

That seemed to continue through the Summit 2 where once again you went through secret in the semi-finals and in particular you and iceiceice seemed really in sync. Especially in game 4 where you were on Void and he was playing Tidehunter and the two of you ended the game with ravage / double chrono. At this point did you feel like you were one of the best teams in the world? As somebody who was normally regarded as the underdog how was it different from Mouz or CIS?

We won both ESL and BTS and at that time I think it was safe to say that we were the best team in the world. Not being the underdog is kind of weird, because you know everyone will be watching you and preparing for you properly, whereas when you're the underdog you can get away with a lot of things. And yes! I really enjoyed doing all these combos with Iceiceice, there w as also a great one vs Secret, when him and I waited for the Sven and Io to relocate back and just blew them up instantly.

Oh right, with Elder Titan and Invoker right?

yeeee. that was insane booom

BigDaddy and Kuroky go "BOOOM"

Did you have any thoughts after winning The Summit 2 that you had surpassed the old Vici Gaming due to them only managing to come 3rd at the first Summit?

Not really, because back then all of the teams were really different. It's really hard to compare I think. I am really happy with our performance though, because in the groupstage it was pretty pretty shaky...

Yeah, I think you had finished 3-2 after the group stage



Alright well let's talk DAC then. First off your thoughts on the tournament itself. I think this is the first tournament of this scale that Perfect World has attempted. In your eyes as a player how did they do?

Pretty good. Good organisation and pretty good format I think. Ensures that the best teams will move onward. The only two downsides were the bigger screens at the practice area, I think 27 inches...But they were swapped out for the actual tournament. Then that the admins were sometimes kind of drownsy, but that was a very small issue. So overall really nice

How do you feel you played overall? You finished in 2nd place going through the winners bracket. Considering how previous TI's have gone for you and DAC being considering a "mini" TI (even though it is currenctly the 2nd largest Dota 2 tournament ever held) can you look back on it and feel good about where you placed or does 2nd place sting a little?

I think we played as it was expected of us. In groupstages we are usually pretty shaky, long sets are usually where we excel and I think it showed up until the grand finals too...sadly then we kind of just uh werent VG anymore I guess? Haha. On top of that EG's draft was amazing in all games. I think placing second overall is not bad, even though I feel placing second hurts much more than actually placing third or fourth...it's just a mentality thing.

Alright, well as many know now and I'm sure when this comes out it'll be common knowledge you were kicked from VG after the tournament with the reason being communication issues. Considering those didn't seem to be an issue during The Summit 2 or ESL One NY I'd like to get your thoughts on that being the reason for you being kicked

Ok that one is a bit tricky. First, right after we won BTS I have been told by a friend of mine (from China) that he read that VG was planning to remove me during the new year shuffle. Obviously during that time I couldn't really grasp or understand why and kind of pushed it away, not really asking my team about it. But as time passed it really started bothering me, especially because we performed pretty poorly in some of the smaller events. So eventually I asked my management about what was happening, why it was even considered right after winning pretty much the biggest tournament at the time. I have been told that this was only a thought BEFORE BTS but not after. Then my team kind of saw us talk and joined us, the end result was 3 people told me I was highly considered to be swapped out and 3 said it wouldn't happen that this talk and the thoughts about it were only there BEFORE BTS. Obviously, that put my mind at unease, because how can an opinion be so split?...Anyway I tried not to let it get to me, because I had been assured by everyone, if we did good at DAC, this would be out of the question anyway. So I put all my strengths in performing well during the tournament, and I think especially during the main event (the group stage not so much..) I played pretty well, except the grand final. Then after the tournament I've been told I would probably be swapped out, but that my skill as well as my communication was not the issue...So right now I am still unsure of why it actually happened and why my team says things in public that haven't been mentioned before...Anyway I don't want to blame anyone for anything so I'll just end this with wishing them good luck and all the best, especially Iceiceice for giving me this opportunity. They better hope our paths do not cross in tournaments though. Ever.

Thanks for sharing that Black, I know it must be tough considering it also might be your shot at TI5 leaving with the team. However if anything has been learned from TI2, 3, and 4, you do strange things in the qualifier and make it work.

Haha, I'm definitely disencouraged right now...because it felt like for the first time in long I actually had a shot of coming closer to my dream. But I guess the only thing to do now is pick up what I learned and try to make it work in another team. If I end up in the qualifier again hopefully I can force my way through once more~

On that note how do you feel in terms of how you've improved since coming to china? You were definitely known as being a farmer when you were with Mouz but after your time with CIS and VG we've seen you play offlane, mid, and safelane carry on quite a number of heroes.

I think I have vastly improved on my playstyle as well as on the heroes I can play and the roles I can play too. I think my mapawareness got a lot better and my decision making when and when not to join my team is a lot sharper now. I think the biggest skill I gained though, is knowing what real communication is like. In VG especially, we wouldnt have a more than 2 or 3 seconds of silence while we were playing, constantly pointing things out and planning ahead.

How does that impact the game compared to your previous teams?

It makes playing much much easier, because you can pay more attention to the map and the enemies movement. Most of the time, people know a lot but they take it for granted and think its not important to share, that is the biggest mistake most people do. Communication is THE MOST important part in DotA 2 in my opinion and playing with VG really revealed that to me.

Ok well I just have a few more questions and I think I'll start with the most important one of them all. Other than Ossau-Iraty Brebis-Pyrénées (did I get that right?) what is your favourite cheese?

It has been a long time since I actually ate proper cheese, because it's not really popular in China, so that one will stay uncontested for now.

You're no fun. Name the first cocktail drink that comes to your mind. And by that I mean name the first thing that you think is a cocktail that comes to your mind.

Uhhhh......It was a non alcoholic-cocktail and that would be the clarity potion from TI3! ...It was really blue....and disgusting.

So that was a real thing?

It was absolutely real and offered in the restaurant.

I thought you were just going insane with iceiceice. I'll make sure that video is linked in the interview.

... hahaha

As promised, matchmaking with Black^ and IceIceIce

Oh do you want to make news? Want to name the team you'll be joining right now?

I dont know which team im joining though

WELL if I had a gun to your head

Small God!



hehehe punny

lol.



Who would that team consist of?

Maybe, Me, Icy, Jerax, and..............

..................

You have to have merlini

Right merlini

He's zeus after all

He is indeed the incarnation of zeus...

Alright last question black. If you were going to date a dota 2 hero who would it be? And why is it Queen of Pain?

I hope that's not the question because of PAST EVENTS that we will not state here. It would probably be Spectre, because whenever you need someone to be there for you she could just haunt and replicate next to you and be there for me and hug me.



LOL



did u expect that? I bet not

Can't say that I was but it's a good answer.



Thanks for taking the time to talk with me today Black I really appreciate it. Got any shout outs or angry call outs?

Shoutouts to all my friends and fans who are strenghtening my back through hard and good times alike, really appreciate it a lot and hopefully you will see me back on track soon. As for angry call outs,........naaah im not an angry person.



Writer: OmniEulogy

Gfx: Shiroiusagi

Editor: Sn0_Man



Front page and banner photo:

Helena Kristiansson of ESL

Front Page Lead

They say that the journey is worth more than the destination. We had the chance to talk to former Vici Gaming carry Black^ who has had one hell of a journey so far. It's taken him across continents and has had him learn two different languages just to be able to get a little closer to his destination. Experience a little bit of it for yourselves as he explains what it has been like to get into competitive DotA and Dota 2.