It was an extremely fun experience, actually. I guess you could say that it's a childhood dream come true for me, like it was something I always fantasized about as a child. Just, you know, actually being there and actually competing. It was incredible, Emil tells us in an excited tone.

HeatoN standing behind the NiP line-up of 2014 in Västerås.

I actually think Anna Book knew who I was before we met up, he says when he mentions the first time they met on the set

I've still got it. I think it's the case for most athletes no matter what sport they dedicate themselves to. That's what I think at least, is how he describes his strong desire to compete at the highest possible level, which has been apparent all throughout his career.

HeatoN attending Birdie LAN in 2014.

It was... Some of the areas were genuinely fucking hard, he says and lets out yet another bout of laughter, whilst still being honest about his explanation.



I had a cold when I was there, too. It was difficult, like really difficult, but incredibly fun at the same time. I'll also just say that it's way harder than it looks. When you're watching from home you always think "are these people really that out of shape!?", but when you actually have to experience it yourself, it'll knock you down a few pegs. It was an incredible experience though!

I definitely saw them at least. I didn't get bit either, so I'm still alive. So no scars from the tigers I'm afraid.

A constant force in esports.

Can I pick JAEGARN? He's a real beast. This is a tough question, actually. I think I'd pick pasha. He'd just dominate the whole thing with his biceps. Yeah, pasha would definitely be a suitablel candidate.



If I'm forced to pick a swede, I'm not sure.. I'm going off a hunch here, but I think Krimz would do well. He's not the most visible kind of guy, but he's just such a fucking talented and smart player. He'd probably be a dark horse, an outsider. Like, I bet he knows parkour or something, he says while laughing.

I've got to pick friberg. He'd win it for us. Friberg is — at least according to himself— the best in the world at everything. So he's the obvious pick, and he'd have to put his money where his mouth is. GeT_RiGhT didn't do to well on Wipeout, so he's out, Christensen says and laughs kindly about his teammates performance on the Swedish show.

Ksharp was always fun to face. We've played so many exciting games against cArn, so it'd be fun to have some Swedish rivalry involved. Neo and his team were just unbelievably good towards the end, so I'd love to be able to put him in his place. He was so difficult to play again, so I'd love to exact some revenge for all of those times.

Team 3D: method, Dominator, Ksharp, Rambo and Volcano at WCG 2005.

This goes to show that Sweden has really warmed up to esports, which is something that all of us within it have worked hard to accomplish. It means a lot to me, and I hope that we see more of us being considered in the future.

The first picture with HeatoN and yours truly. Taken during ESWC 2006.

Us swedes can especially be proud of our esports history, as well as where we are today. How much of a driving force we've been — Counter-Strike in particular— should be revered, Emil says.

I'd love to receive encouragement from fans of the show. So watch Fort Bayard!



Translation: Sam "Wndwrt" Nordmark

Top photo: HeatoNs private Instagram



Yesterday, Fragbite decided to catch up with the Swedish esports icon Emil "HeatoN" Christensen to talk about his appearance on this friday's episode of Fort Boyard. He picks up the phone just as he's passing through Jönköping on his drive home to Stockholm, but is keen to talk about his experience in the Napoleonic fort.During the competition, where competitors are split into teams of three, Emil got the chance to compete with Swedish pop and Eurovision-senseation Anna Book, as well as Peter Englund, who hosts the children's television show "Supershowen". Emil doesn't mince words and describes their time together as extremely enjoyable. He especially lauds his teammate Anna Book, and calls her an incredible warm and gentle person. All-in-all, the aforementioned phrase "extremely enjoyable" is uttered several times when describing the entire ordeal. It's obvious that his experience was something truly special.And Christensen's praise for Mrs. Book is not unfounded either, as she is a seasoned veteran of Fort Boyard. Friday's episode marks her fourth appearance in the show's history, a whole 21 years after she first set foot on the fortress in 1995.When we begin discussing if he felt that his esports-career provided him with any advantages on the fort, Emil laughs heartily. He explains that his desire to win is what he takes with him from his storied career, rather than his sharp aim ..Emil laughs when we ask him about how hard the competition actually was, as well as what he was expecting before it began.We fire off the most important question whilst prefacing if he's actually allowed to answer it: "How close to a tiger did you actually come?". He admits that it's a valid question, but doesn't know if he can answer it.The conversation has been going for about ten minutes, and the occasional bout of static makes itself known. The cellphone coverage on the E4 motorway is far from perfect and the rumbling of his car is constantly in the background. We decide to remove the focus from his own experience and begin discussing which player from the current-day esports scene he thinks would've done well on the fort. He's also not allowed to pick any of the players from his own organization, NiP.We stay on the subject and now allow him to pick two players from NiP he'd feel comfortable in having by his side on the ocean fort. He claims to not know enough about the team's latest recruit to consider him, but states that there's still a clear favorite from the roster.Emil picks Rickard "Xizt" Landström as the final member of his team. Primarily due to his slim and slender build, but also his incredible patience which Emil says is extremely needed in the competition. Rickard has been the closest to what you could call a team captain and in-game leader in the team, ever since NiP:s initial roster took shape in the autumn of 2012.With many years as a pro behind him, it's safe to say that HeatoN has also had his fair share of rivals. He says that he doesn't just want to beat said rivals in CS, but would also love to challenge them on Fort Boyard as well. When asked to assemble the team he'd face in such a competition, he picks Patrik "cArn" Sättermon to begin with. The second member is polish superstar Filip "neo" Kubski, who still competes with the world's best in Virtus.pro. Last but not least he picks the monster AWPer Kyle "Ksharp" Miller, who was the biggest star the US had produced during HeatoN's time as a competitor.We once again shift topics, and discuss what impact he thinks his appearance on the show will have. Emil believes that his contribution doesn't really matter all too much in the grand scheme of things, but emphasizes that it was an incredible experience for him personally. He hopes that this will see more people from esports being considered for game shows of a similar nature. He states that it makes no sense to see such a big market be excluded by mainstream media in favor of personalities from sports with smaller viewership.Emil's presence on TV4 can be viewed as a small part of a bigger puzzle, which is slowly but surely being solved. This isn't anything that'll occur overnight, but the expectation is that this will help increase the acceptance of esports in the public eye.When we ask him to spice things up in order to get our readers to watch, he laughs. His Swedish humility sees him respond with him simply saying: "I don't know... To see me make an ass of myself? That's fun!". Emil hopes that everyone that's interested in esports, including those who aren't initiated, to occupy the TV on Friday. Emil thinks that high ratings for the episode would help esports a lot. It'd encourage media groups involved in marketing esports superstars to attract more viewers from one of the most fleeting demographics. As well as offer something unique to the viewers, which this is.The show will air on TV4 this Friday at 20:00 CET. Watch it, for the sake of esports.