posted by Jooehn

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Image courtesy of TV6

Alliance

Na'Vi

Interview with Kim "Drayich" Larsson

First of all, for those who against all odds have no clue about you, who are you and what's your relation to Dota?

Falun. My relationship with Dota has been a bit crazy, I've been playing for almost 10 years, but as professional for about 4-5 years. I don't really know how to picture it. Nowadays I don't play as much, but I work as a caster for TV6, Dreamleague and The International. I'm Kim "Drayich" Larsson, a 31 year old dude fromFalun. My relationship with Dota has been a bit crazy, I've been playing for almost 10 years, but as professional for about 4-5 years. I don't really know how to picture it. Nowadays I don't play as much, but I work as a caster for TV6, Dreamleague and The International.

Alright, about the TV6, The International and Dreamleague project. You've been a part of it for almost a year now, how did it all begin?

Pure coincidence as always. Someone suggested something to someone who eventually called me and after trying it out I felt at ease. I'm sort of godlike when it comes to eating and talking so it went really well. I'm not completely lost when it comes to Dota either.

Did you have any earlier experiences with casting or is that something that you've picked up on the way?

I've been casting some Heroes of Newerth before, but never as a main caster, only cocaster.

How was it to cast in Swedish?

It was cool! At first I was a bit unaccustomed to it and it felt peculiar, but soon I grew with it and after a while it was awesome. I wasn't prepared for it to work as well as it did.

I agree, it turned out a lot better than I expected as well! Dreamleague has been a success for the rest of the community, how did the Swedish audience respond to it?

Amazing. We had our own tag on Twitter that was more trending than the World Cup tags in Sweden during our TV6 broadcast. Additionally, the feedback has been 99.9 % superpositive.

To start something as huge as this project might be viewed upon as going in with an all or nothing mentality. How do you reckon the outlook on your project has changed during this year?

I think that people are starting to understand that eSport rocks. Simple as that. But then people have been saying "Well, games are nothing to waste time on", but one should not listen to what people say. People are idiots.

Haha, well put! Why do you think that the Swedish culture has been so accepting of eSport compared to other Western cultures?

Because we spend time on it. Because we give it room to grow. It's just like with everything else. If you give women room, one will discover that they are fantastic. But in cultures where they still say that "No, women serve no purpose", that will stay as the main view upon women. I don't know why I choose that example, but it's just like that with games. Give us a chance and we will dominate. Games are the coolest stuff.

How much has Alliance's success mattered to you and affected your project?

It's been incredibly important to us and for the Swedish Dota 2 scene overall.

There have been many Swedish talents and teams that have done well in eSports, for example NiP in Counter Strike. Why do you think that Dota 2 has kicked off this boom and got so much positive feedback?

It goes without saying, Dota 2 is simply a wonderful game. But we shouldn't underrate what the CS scene has achieved. They mad a huge impact on evolving eSport in to an accepted form of entertainment from the start.

The International is quickly closing in on us, what's TV6's and your plans for the event?

Seattle and cover the main event. It feels f*cking awesome. I got invited to cast in English, but declined as TV6 has planned to cover this huge event. We will go toand cover the main event. It feels f*cking awesome. I got invited to cast in English, but declined as TV6 has planned to cover this huge event.

That proves that you have a lot of faith in Swedish casting and TV6's commitment, do you have an ultimate milestone that you want to achieve?

I've already achieved a goal of mine, being able to make money on computer games. But I can't really say what's coming in the future, I don't really know what my goals are either for that matter. It's said that one should be careful of what one wishes for, so I will sit tight for now. However, I do believe in this project, or rather the companies that I cooperate with, otherwise I wouldn't commit to this. So yes, I believe in Swedish casting.

Did you think that this was possible when you started out as a professional player? Did you even dare to dream about this?

Haha, we were insanely impressed when we had 2000 viewers on the GG client when we played the grand finals in Dreamhack 2008 (not sure about the year), so not really. On the other hand, I've never turned my back on gaming.

How do you feel about Dota 2 growing with this pace now that you've put your professional carreer behind you?

I've given this a lot of thought. Certainly it hurts that I couldn't keep on going, especially since I had no choice because of the injury in my arm. At the same time it was impossible for me to continue because of it - so there was no future for me as a player. Being able to find an opportunity like this after that is utterly amazing, so I'm very content.

Going back to television and international level, there's the question if this could become an international phenomena. How do you percieve that TV6's efforts affect the rest of the community and Dota 2's growth as such?

TV6's got their feets in more countries than Sweden. The main company MTGx is a huge organisation, so I do believe it will affect for sure. Then, I see it as a circle, more opportunities to get viewers, more opportunities for viewers. More viewers lead to more sponsors, which leads to additional or better tournaments, it's all connected. Getting to watch Dota 2 on real TV even though TV ratings are lower compared to what they used to be, is at the same time some kind of cultural acceptance that I believe is of great importance to the scene.





It is not important for the coverage itself to make it to television as really television is becoming out dated due to the availablity of internet mediums. At the same time I would say that reaching the community outside of the internet services is important so exposing our industry on large networks like television is important. It is not important for the coverage itself to make it to television as really television is becoming out dated due to the availablity of internet mediums. At the same time I would say that reaching the community outside of the internet services is important so exposing our industry on large networks like television is important.



It sure seems like you agree entirely, but how do you think TV will fare compared to streaming services like Twitch.tv? Speaking of TV dying as a medium, I was meaning to pitch this quote from a highprofile-caster to you.It sure seems like you agree entirely, but how do you think TV will fare compared to streaming services like Twitch.tv?

Yes, I agree to the whole extent. But then, one reaches another kind of audience with TV. We have relatives and family too, for example Alliance that was watching our broadcast, they might usually go to Twitch for the broadcast, but prefer Swedish commentary when gathered with both young and old to watch the games.

Do you think that it's important that the broadcasts will keep the format of streaming services with transmissions of entire best of five finals, or is there room for changes and what would those be?

Without a doubt, there's definitely room for change. Not only shortening the games but maybe even putting more perspective on nationality. For example to only broadcast series with players and teams from one nation doesn't seem too implausible, that's already being done with Football.

Which supposes that there will be Swedish top teams like Alliance in the professional scene. What would happen if they against all odds were to disappear?

The world might come to an end, all the antennas might be destroyed by bombs or all the TV sets might end up being used as microwave ovens. But I proceed with the truth in mind that I experience with both feet on the earth, of course we will have Swedish players in the top tier.

I can't argue with that!

Drayich trivia

How many hours do you spend every week on Dota related content?

Wow! That's actually a great question. I spend between 3 and 60 hours every week depending on if I'm working or not and if that work is related to Dota. Nonetheless, always a few hours every week.

Do you play yourself? Have your old ways stayed with you?

Yes, I play a great deal of games. I'm still good with a few heroes, but overall I slack a lot more. It's tough to learn new heroes. Not to understand them, but to play them.

Understandable. Do have a favourite hero and why?

I play a whole lot of Tony at the moment, a lot of action and then he has the potential to carry the lategame if needed.

Tony is the man! Obviously you watch a lot of Dota, being a caster and all. Who's your favourite player when it comes to entertainment?

Hmm. I love to cast Alliance since I have a connection with those players. But I don't really think that it matters, it's more about the heroes that get drafted.

So Tony?

There's nothing more beautiful than getting crits with Aghanims Scepter and Daedalus with Tiny, or is there? That would be a perma-hex from Tinker. Or a game that gets turned around completely by a Batrider, that's also pleasant.

Going to The International 4, what do you most look forward too?

The people, without doubt being able to meet up with the persons that I might have run in to 5-6 years ago and never got the chance to meet again. Also the fans and the atmosphere. (This answer takes for granted that you get the fact that Dota itself is the main foundation in everything I look forward too)

We got to experience some high quality cosplay from your side at Dreamhack. Will we get to see something like it again?

NO! It was so troublesome and drained a lot of energy. I'm glad it was appreciated, but no, it won't happen again.

PapaDrayich cosplaying as Storm Spirit

Shame, you did exceptionally well! I'm honored to say that I was one of the lucky people that got to see it live. Anyway, on to my last question. What's your strongest Dota related memory?

Personally, it's the Dreamhack tournament where we got matched up against MYM in the finals. They consistently banned Lina throughout the entire tournament but she got through one game and I got her. I didn't die once and scored 13 kills.

Sure sounds like a game worth watching. Do you have any shoutouts?

Shoutout to everybody who loves Dota in Swedish, even "totalbonden". Thanks to MTG and Dreamhack who are all very innovative and cool.

Is Dota 2 on TV the next big thing?

ESL One was held at Commerzbank Arena inand had thousands of people attending and following the events live, not to mention the International 4 with a prizepool that now exceeds 10 million dollars. Dota 2 is thriving and we know it, but what is the next step towards becoming a worldly known and accepted sport with tens of millions of followers?TV6 in Sweden is the first network in the West to truly recognize the value of entertainment that Dota 2 provides and are putting a lot of effort and time into helping it progress. They are hosting blogs with professional Swedish gamers includingJonathan "" Berg andJoakim "" Akterhall fromand have been organising ASUS ROG Dreamleague. What makes TV6 stand out and innovative is the the fact that in their endeavor to aid the community, they've been broadcasting finals and playoffs from Dreamleague and other Dota 2 tournaments live on television during prime time whilst casting and analysing in Swedish.Drayich and his old teammateErik "" Olsson are casting and are a part of the panel which consists of other Swedish eSport profiles, for example Niklas "Wagamama" Högström. Their first move was to broadcast the grand finals of the International 3 when fan favorites Alliance went up againstand since then the project has gained momentum and evolved into something a lot bigger. By now they've been a part of making Dreamleague come true twice during Dreamhack Winter 2013 and Summer 2014 and have been broadcasting both grand finals live with the Swedish panel and commentary. joinDOTA had a conversation with Drayich to discuss his point of view on the matter and the future of Dota 2 on TV.Thanks tofor the interview and toandthat suggested questions.This article was written byJohn Wimarsson, joinDOTA's Writer.Jooehn is a gaming enthusiast who only recently fell head over heels for Dota 2 after watching TI3. If he's not playing his guitar, writing for jD or lying on his couch dreaming about space, he's probably in solo queue trying to reach the 5K MMR dream.Location: Västervik, SwedenFollow him on @Jooehn.