2GD: 'The game is worthy of more prize money'

2GD havin' fun! Source

First up, thank you 2GD for agreeing to this interview. Only four days are left until Dreamhack starts. Do you have something special prepared for this event?

Not really, we do a pretty good job 'wingin it', it keeps the show fun for us if we just go with the flow, too much preparation & follow the schedule mentality makes the on screen talent very boring. I'm sure we'll put on a fun event for the viewers. We also recommended Ayesee as a caster, as I felt it would be exciting to have him cast with Draskyl again, plus it's his first time in Europe. Should be good.

How much effort goes into hosting a tournament on an event as huge as DreamHack? How much work is done behind the scenes?

I have the hardest time since I have to put on pants each day, Trance on the other hand has to make sure all the production works. DreamHack have done the small amounts of menial tasks like organizing the prize money, tournament structure & schedule, teams participation, building the tournament & production area. Lazy cunts, I should have charged them more.

If you could change anything about Dreamhack in general and its Dota 2 tournament, what would you change?

More prize money. The game is worthy of it, but sponsors catch on slowly. I'm glad to see ASUS ROG do something in Dota 2. We spoke to them about the scene this time last year. I hope the Dota 2 community show their support towards ASUS throughout the tournament. It does actually make a difference. Oh yeah if it was a higher prize pool, potentially some Asian teams that were considering coming to DH would actually come, but it does boil down to risk/reward.

Will we see a return of the GD couch?

Not this year, but we will be sure to get a lot more interviews than last DreamHack. Some of our feedback from last event was we wanted to be closer to the players, so this year DreamHack have delivered. I hate it when people do smart things. I like complaining, and now I can't.

2GD supported BeyondTheSummit's Kickstarter with this interesting clip



QPANDAs are currently down to three players, as their manager you surely must be worrying. Is there any progress in terms of acquiring new players?

Ah it's not a problem really. QPAD the sponsor is happy with the players and want to continue to support them. I only hope they find players over the next 3 months. It's understandable they haven't yet because Sing is super annoying. Have you watched his stream? It's just a lot of screaming. If I wanted that in my house I would have had kids already. So yeah, I kind of have kids but I don't remember having sex to get them. It's a pretty shitty deal.

If not, are you planning to wait until after the International, considering it is likely that some teams will disband and skilled players will be looking for new homes?

Yeah I think it's best they wait to see what players/teams do after The International. I'm also not against them joining up with another team and moving the QPAD sponsorship over as part of the new team sponsorship. QPAD have been really good with the guys, they're a small company but love to give opportunities to players to actually become professional. Or in Wagas case, semi-professional player, professional feeder.

Looking back on the TI3 West qualifiers, what are your final thoughts on your work? How much work was it, how exhausting?

Yeah it was a lot of work, we did fine though. We always review our work as a team and look at what we could do better. but we delivered on what we wanted to. Before every project I have every member of the team do a 'wish list' for an event. If we can afford the wishes, I grant them! I'm like a genie n stuff. So next project I'm sure the guys will have new things for the 'wish list'.

Is there anything you would say you could’ve done better/differently?

The commentary part. I'm not very good at that personally.

Valve recently added in-game casting tools. Have they talked to you about that beforehand or were you as surprised as everyone else?

I never get surprised!



The panel from The International 2 - Bruno, GoDz, Nebula and 2GD



You will be returning to the panel at TI3. Do you know about any changes in regards to last year?

I haven't had my meetings yet with Valve regarding TI3 production and my exact involvement, I've only been speaking to them about recommendations on personnel & talent.

The prize pool has already been increased, as fans and viewers could purchase a Compendium. What is your thought on this approach by Valve to allow the community to contribute to the prize pool? Are there maybe improvements you could think of?

Valve are the best company set-up for eSports monetization (which is eSports biggest problem world-wide). I have a million ideas of how to improve and nurture the community via their available systems and potential new ones, but the problem with Valve is they are annoyingly smart. So I don't give them feedback, because they'll figure out what works for them and the community without me. Though I tell myself it would take them much longer to figure it out than me. To make myself feel better.

Besides Dreamhack and The International, do you have any other projects concerning Dota 2?

Yes, but I'm not telling you, haha. Fuck, I feel like Sundance now, that's not good..

The GD Studio currently has three recurring shows, the show itself, full of steam and beat the studio. Can you explain the concept of those shows to our readers who are not familiar with them, and are there any plans to maybe do more?

The concept of the shows are; We fuck around on camera to be able to pay rent. Rent is expensive in Sweden, please watch our shows and send food.