SOME WORDS WITH LINKDOTA

An Introduction



I stole this picture from somewhere.



Link is popular here, and seems to always be on the stream list when I start work in the mornings. It felt appropriate to talk to him and ask a few questions. This is the result. Enjoy!

Hi Link, could you introduce yourself?

Yes! I play DotA 2 and before that I play DotA 1 competively. I play for team DD (ex-SK) and everyone here probably know me for my streaming. I am 19 years old and I currently rent a room in Ryzes apartment (he is playing in DD as well). I pretty much stream for a living and I really hope Team Liquid will be supportive about Dota 2!

Since this is your first interview at TL, let's get some background information. How did you get into DotA and why did you continue striving to become better?

. It is still worth it all those few times it comes, and of course not to forget all the fun that I have with the people I play with. But yea basically I was just hooked after some of my very first games and I have been playing ever since. I started many years ago in the Warcraft 3 version of Dota on Battlenet. After a couple of games I just could not stop playing since it was so thrilling to get those kills. I have to warn you though, the thrilling feeling comes up less and less the better you get. It is still worth it all those few times it comes, and of course not to forget all the fun that I have with the people I play with. But yea basically I was just hooked after some of my very first games and I have been playing ever since.

You have played for several teams during your career so far. Does any one lineup stand out as the most memorable for you?

hehe. I was in NE.PENTIA before SK with Balsam, Kragx, Smiske, Ojje and CalculuS and I have been to Ukraine with them those are the ones I miss the most. Especially CalculuS who followed with me to SK-gaming. I think one team really gets to know and like each other after a LAN experience. It does really create strong bonds to have the same passion. Sometimes people tend to forget that when we are off LAN thoughhehe.

What about LoL and HoN? Have you played those games, do you enjoy them?

I played about 100-200 games of HoN when it was beta because it was free to try. I really liked it cause of the good graphics but most of my friends stayed in Dota and so did I. LoL I never played but I watch LoL streams every week and enjoy to watch it. I kind of replaced television with computergames-streams.

What do you think will happen this year with the competitive scenes and the different Dota-genre games? Do you think LoL and Dota will have competitive circuits alongside one another?

Yes I really think a lot of people will choose either one and they will think hard about it before they choose. Perhaps it is possible to play both if you like them both but I do not know since I haven't tried. Competitive-wise I think the tournaments are going to follow each other closely and try to out-compete each other prize-wise, at least that is what I would like to see!

You have been streaming quite a bit lately, do you find that to be a good way to interact with fans and show your games?

Indeed. I have made a lot of friends on the stream already and I really enjoy to speak with some of the people outside of my circle because it makes me reflect on a lot of things. It was a bit weird in the beginning to show my games since you can basically see each little mistake I make and when you watch the games from "above" you don't spot those small things and everyone look better. I cared a lot about my mistakes when I started streaming because everyone could see them. Now I don't really care too much except for my own sake. Apart from the reflecting stuff it is just plain fun to talk with some many cool guys and girls everyday and I have made a lot of friends already.

You have said previously you have switched to Dota 2 full-time. Do play any Dota 1 these days, maybe just for fun?

I do not play DotA 1 at all anymore and haven't done so since I started streaming DotA 2.

With 6.73 out for some time now, do you have any thoughts on it? Are you happy with the changes overall, do you think anything will have to be patched in the near future?

I am overall happy with the changes it seems icefrog is trying to make the gamespeed a little bit faster every time he updates it. The only thing I absolutely not like is that they did not nerf Darkseer wall as well as buffed Dragon Knights stun. It is still hard to say how the game will be like before all the heroes are implanted.

Do you pay attention to any other ESPORTS scenes? Do you watch any other games?

I watch a lot of Competitive Starcraft 2 but I don't really follow the scene. I just click onto one of the streams here on Team Liquid when I have time, sit down with some food and drinks and enjoy!

Are you excited for the coming year? Do you have any specific goals you want to get accomplished by the end of it?

My number 1 goal is to win a LAN tournament as well as being able to support myself fully just off DotA2. I am opening a website and a youtube channel soon as well.

You take your job as a Dota player very seriously. Do you see yourself being a professional for a long time? Do you hope to have a long career doing it?

Yes I am really trying to make it work out and I am taking a lot of risks trying so since no one knows how it will turn out in the end yet even though the stomach feeling is good.

About the near future, you have an important match coming up with EG next week. Do you feel prepared? Do you like DD's chances?

We play official matches almost everyday (not this week because Ryze is on vacation) and we prepare for one day at the time the best we can and we don't prepare more for some matches since we take every matchup serious.

Do you have any special ways to practice for high-profile matches? Do you scout teams to prepare strategies or is it more general practicing? Any specific routines?

Yes this was a thing we used to do in DotA 1 but it is really hard in Dota 2 since the replays cannot be downloaded yet and the replays are not getting uploaded anywhere for self-explorance. We can only watch the VoDs which is from the spectators view and not very informative on the things we are looking for. It is definitely something we are going to pickup again as soon as possible.

Any shout-outs or last words?

Shoutout to all my viewers and all the lovely guys and girls that comes by in my chat to talk with us, the linkdota community! Thanks to all my precious teammates and thanks to everyone I have played with beforehand. Thanks to all the people that donated me a little bit for the hard times, you really made this possible.