Counter-Strike 1.6

Overwatch League

Dota 2

Madden Shooting

General

andhave one thing in common; they are both powerhouses in the North American esports industry. Jason is the bull that's been spearheading the organization towards immense success in the past decade ever since he founded the company. Jason was kind enough to agree to an interview withas we discussed on a wide array of topics ranging from Counter Strike and the teams coL has fielded over the years in this alluring FPS game, Overwatch League and its approach to esports, popularity and franchising model. He also talked about coL's Dota 2 struggles regarding roster stability and success over the past few years as well as sharing his concerns regarding the security measures at events especially after the Madden Shooting incident at Jacksonville, Florida that involved, NFL player for compLexity, who was one of the unfortunate victims that escaped with minor injuries.I grew up with a passion for video games. I’d get my hands on every new arcade game and console that was available. However, through college and law school I was too busy and didn’t play at all. Following law school I walked into a friend’s apartment and he was playing Counter-Strike. I was immediately drawn to the game and when I discovered the esports/competitive aspect, I was hooked.Team 3D was really the first American team to take esports seriously. They were visionaries and trend setters. When I set out to build America’s foremost organization, Team 3D was the natural rival. In many respects, our back and forth battles paved the way for esports in North America. Craig Levine was a brilliant adversary and I have fond memories of those days.Europe has fielded incredible gamers for as long as I can remember. Whether it was the culture, the early adoption of high speed internet, or something good in the water, they’ve produced an incredible amount of championships per capita. I definitely respect EU gamers.It was a privilege and an honor to work with both Danny and Matt. They were incredibly driven to succeed at young ages and that made my job pretty easy. They’re living legends in American esports in my opinion.Ron was, and is, a consummate professional so it was a fairly easy transition. He’s a hard worker who is meticulous when it comes to the details. Today he’s our coach and it’s been great having him in the family over the course of a decade.No, probably not. It was an early attempt at replicating traditional sports but I don’t think the esports ecosystem was developed enough to accomplish that goal.There were lots of things that lead to the failure of the CGS project but I would agree that the broadcast was not done in an authentic way and it did not appeal to your average esports fan.There was a good bit of in-fighting in the Counter-Strike community during this time. The “old schoolers” felt the game play mechanics of 1.6 were far superior while the Source community felt it was time to move forward with a more modern version of the game.I wouldn’t say it’s perfect, but overall I’m just happy that Valve has contributed to Counter-Strike esports during CS:GO’s tenure. For years we wanted such support and I’m grateful we now have it.I think Overwatch’s approach is a logical extension of the traditional esports ecosystem that can benefit from the same local loyalty that’s created by traditional sports franchises. I’m particularly interested in the ‘meet ups’ where fans can get together and enjoy the broadcasts together over some wings and a beer. Community is critical to the success of any esports title and I think OWL has one of the best fan-bases out there.I only have access to the publicly available data, but it seems that OWL is off to a solid start. The league is professionally operated at a level we have (arguably) not seen before and the feedback I hear from other owners is generally positive. It will be interesting to see how OWL develops over the next couple years.Absolutely. Broadcast and media rights will be a huge source of esports revenue over the next couple decades.We’re always looking for great games and vibrant gaming communities. DotA was an easy choice and still is.Our game plan is to assemble the best possible roster we can and then to develop that roster into a global contender. We’ll be announcing that lineup soon and believe we’ve put together a good one.In any sport you go through periods where your team is thriving and other times when you’re struggling. We’ve been struggling recently and the goal is to turn things around starting this Fall.Soon ™The Jacksonville shooting was a tragedy and our hearts go out to all the victims. We’re grateful Drini wasn’t more seriously injured and we’ve done our best to support him during this difficult time.I’m certainly not a security expert but I do know that all events (large and small) can no longer justify having little to not security. Jacksonville should serve as a wake up call to our community and proper measures should be put in place to make sure everyone attending an esports event is safe.Of course. We’re going to support him in any way we can and if that means taking some time off gaming or not attending certain events we’re going to have his back 100%.We’re certainly not perfect and this business can be extremely competitive so we’ve made our fair share of mistakes. That being said, we sincerely try our best to operate our company with integrity and treat people properly. At the end of the day we’re all out here trying our best and everyone deserves kindness, fairness, honesty and respect.League of Legends continues to be one of the largest esports in the world and will be for some time. I have tremendous respect for the thriving global ecosystem and the players and teams that make it so enjoyable for millions of fans.Thank you very much for the interview!Image Courtesy: Jason Blake Facebook