Interview with Conrad Janzen

Player Manager of Cloud9



Patrick McCleary: Joining us today is Cloud9 manager Conrad Janzen, aka QuantumPope. Let's start chronologically I suppose. Tell me a little about yourself, why you decided to become a manager, how you came to be the manager of C9 and some of the duties that you are in charge of for the team.

Conrad Janzen: My name is Conrad Janzen. I am from Vancouver, Canada. I have been working full time in esports for about three to four years in a variety of games, but focusing primarily on Dota 2. I have worn many hats, but for the past eight months I have been the player manager for Cloud9.



I never really decided to become a player manager, but my skillset fit the role very well. It was something I always wanted to do but the timing was never right until this year. I have a background in film production where I worked with actors and crew members, which gave me a skillset easily translatable to player managing.



I previously worked with Evil Geniuses and my last major work with them was with Charlie Yang, manager of EG, assisting him at TI4. At the event I proved myself and when Cloud9 were looking for a new manager, Charlie recommended me to fill the role there. I first started working with the team at Starladder 10 and have been with them since then.



In my opinion, the duty of a manager is to provide everything possible to make sure the players can focus on the game. I managed the logistics, scheduling, arranged discussions with Jack, media outlets, tournament organizers, sponsor representatives and more. I also provided a lot of on-site support and in general just tried to besomeone they could speak to about anything. I also ran the c9dota2 snapchat to provide more of a behind the scenes look for fans of the team.

When you joined the team, was there a mental burden that you noticed on the players due to their constant 2nd place finishes during the majority of 2014? Did it affect the team negatively at any point, even though making it to the finals of so many tournaments would be seen by most as a very good sign of a strong team?

I was kind of thrown into the team without a ton of context so I had to do a lot of learning when I first joined. I didn't really get to connect with the 2014 C9 Dota squad as much but I didn't feel like there was any "mental burden." I personally looked at the results as showing the strength of the squad. I believe the players were frustrated at not being able to close out a winning finish; but, I would say most understood that it was a strong thing to finish 2nd at so many tournaments. I do think the placings affected EternalEnVy the most out of everyone, which lead to the roster changes in early 2015.

It's good that it didn't impact them too greatly. As far as roster changes go, how involved were you in making the decisions as the manager? Do the players themselves have most of the say, regardless of what you might feel is the best direction for the team?

I was one the last people to know about the roster change so I had no hand in the roster change. The players on almost every team involved in Dota 2 will have the most say.

Do you think leaving it up to the individual players is the best method for teams to change players? Or should the management be more involved? Considering it can result in serious changes and in some cases not for the better.

I believe management/teams should be consulted before any change happens. In the roster swap for Cloud9 I felt like situation could have been discussed and solved in a more appropriate manner.

Moving back a bit, just before TI5, during ESL One Frankfurt you mentioned that bOne7 was bringing in a coach to help the team. I believe his ID is ppasarel (correct me if I'm wrong). Did you see any direct impact to the team due to his assistance?

Conrad: I enjoyed working with ppasarel during his time with Cloud9. I met him for the first time at our Bucharest boot camp and he is one of the most friendly people you will ever meet. The way he approached the game on top of working on the out-of-game health and communication was extremely helpful to the squad. I think he was only a positive factor for the team.

Leading into TI5 what was the general feeling going into the event? How did you help the team in terms of preparation, dealing with Valve, etc.?

Going into TI5 I was feeling quite confident in the team. I thought they were looking strong and I would like to say the players felt the same way.



My preparation for the event was done a month in advance in terms of logistics- a lot of flight changes, requests for additional hotel rooms, etc. I spoke with Valve very little during that time.

During TI5 itself you had a rough day 1 followed by a very nice recovery in the group stage to make it to the winners bracket. Would you mind sharing where you think the problems really started during the event? Did you gain any knowledge that you believe will help the next group of players that you manage on C9?

Conrad: I don't think there were "problems" per say. The teams we lost to in the main bracket both made top 4, with one team being in the grand finals. The problem was that we did not play to the full potential of each player. If I manage a future team, I will put my foot down a bit more. My managing style this year was too kind.

After losing to CDEC do you think it shook the players up to an extent where they weren't able to play to their potential? Or was it just not being prepared enough from the players themselves?I think I saw bOne7 go into the booth vs VG with a notebook of some kind. Was that something that had been suggested by yourself or ppasarel previously to help during the draft?

Conrad: I believe that losing to CDEC shook them up a bit, but they sat down and were professional about getting ready for the next match almost immediately. I don't think anyone expected CDEC to be the powerhouse that they were at TI5, and it threw a lot of teams off guard.



Both myself and ppasarel recommended notes for bOne7. ppasarel drew up a very detailed (but also concise) set of notes for each of the opponents. I printed them out and provided the binder to bOne7.

How did you try to handle/comfort/console the players after they lost to VG, in terms of discussion about the future of the team, and when did you find out that all of the players had decided to leave the organization?

Conrad: A lot of hugs. I spoke to them and let them know my thoughts on the past months working with them. I just spoke to them and told them that if there was anything that they needed, just let me know. I made myself available to anyone who needed anything at that point. The future of the players was in their hands at that point. Jack and I made ourselves available if they wanted to continue playing at Cloud9.

Is there any possibility of any of the former C9 members staying with the team moving forward, and are you looking more into the EU scene or the NA scene for players?

Conrad: Can't really say at this point.

Fair enough, just due to uncertainty right now? How does the roster lock effect how you are looking to rebuild the team?

Conrad: It forces teams, organizations and players to make decisions quicker than ever in Dota 2. We will see how it all goes down, but everyone is looking for the best possible squad coming into the next season.

Makes sense. On a more managerial side of things, I was hoping you could tell me what you think of the Team Secret organizational model vs the "traditional" C9/EG type model?

Conrad: Dota 2 is the only esport where an organization like Team Secret can exist, and even then, it's extremely difficult. Team Secret was a super team that ended up winning a lot of tournaments, making the self-funded team possible. They still had an awesome support staff in Cyborgmatt, Kemal and 1437, even though they are considered an "independent team." Being independent comes with the benefit of not dealing with sponsors, media, and pretty much allows you to just focus on playing the game.



By working with an organization like C9/EG, you gain some benefits like salary, equipment, bootcamp, accountants, contacts, and lots of unquantifiable resources. I think both have their pros and cons but it's about finding what works for you as a player.

Do you think it would add any pressure on players that are independent that if you don't win or place well in tournaments you wouldn't have a reliable income?

Conrad: For sure. I think everyone wants to be comfortable and when you have to rely on an entire team to do well, it could lead to some unnecessary tensions. I think there are very few teams out there that can do what Secret did last season.

Alright, I know we already touched on it a little bit but as you formerly managed Aui, who was just recently kicked from EG after winning TI5. I'd like to get your thoughts on the matter, as a manager.



Charlie released a statement saying "Personally, I'm deeply affected by this and I'm very sad to see Kurtis go. I've known him the longest out of anyone on the team. He was the one that originally asked me to be the manager for Potm Bottom years ago, and I cannot state enough how depressed I am to see him go. I cannot imagine how much worse he feels. Professionally, I trust the judgment of the captain and the other players. I will not make roster decisions on their behalf and I will not force players to play on rosters they don't want to play on."



How do you feel about players in the west having the ability to seemingly make these decisions, even on TI winning teams, without needing to really talk/agree with their organizations about it? Do you think the players might have too much control over these types of things, ompared to China where most players are under strict contracts and trades are made under the approval of the team owners and managers most of the time?

I think in the Evil Geniuses situation, it [the roster change] was discussed with the organization. Charlie states that he knew and he probably even spoke about it with the team. Players right now are some of the only people who have the knowledge to make those decisions. Until we get more coaches and high level, knowledgable people in the Dota2 scene, we will still see players making those decisions.

How do you see the upcoming majors affecting the job you do as a manager in the future?

Unfortunately we don't have a lot of information on the majors at the moment, so other than the roster lock dates, I have no clue how it will have an effect on managers

Thank you so much for taking the time to talk to me. I only have three very quick questions left:



1) Which player on C9 did you have to manage the most?

2) How did you come up with the ID QuantumPope, because it sounds amazing?

and 3) What's your favourite hero in dota (and please don't say techies!)?

No worries! Thank you for the interview.

1) I think I had to manage everyone pretty equally. They all had certain things that required special attention, but everyone was pretty even.

2) I came up with it when I was in high school. I was playing a Halo Custom Edition on a server called HIVE. One of the people running the server was called Bishop, so I decided to one up him and use “Pope.” Afterwards, I realized the name was pretty popular so I added Quantum after learning about quantum theory in class.

3) My favourite hero in Dota would have to be Rubick, even though I am terrible. I really love the play makers.

Thanks so much for doing this. I wish you good luck in the future with C9.



Writer: OmniEulogy

Graphics: Julmust

Editor: tehh4ck3r