S2 DetonatoR talks about the Heroes of Newerth's rapidly growing competitive scene and having a place for Dota genre games in eSports.
This interview was done by the people behind the HoN Super Series.
Visit the website at: HoN Super Series - My Liga
Thank you for talking with us DetonatoR, for those who aren’t aware of who you are, would you please introduce yourself? How did you start playing video games? What is your background?
Hello, my name is Shashi Singh and I'm the eSports Manager of S2 Games. Like most gamers I know I got started playing video games because a computer was easily available for me in my family at a very early age. From playing video games casually I slowly discovered the world of eSports and have been involved in it for about ten years now.
To try to give a quick run down, it started with discovering a trial of the original StarCraft game and then eventually purchasing the game itself. I got involved with clans and played for fun (mostly on fast money maps) and when my clan mates moved on to other games, I followed. It went from Diablo 2 to the WarCraft series and soon after I started playing Counter-Strike 1.3. A lot of my friends in Counter-Strike were fans of the two top North American teams at the time (Team 3D and compLexity) and so they introduced me to IRC and I idled the respective channels.
It must've been fate or something because when I first started idling compLexity's channel they were actually in the process of looking for writers for their new site. Since at this time I was still pretty young I never really thought of writing for any gaming site at all. However, for some reason or another I applied and started my long road of eSports. Worked there for a few years, moved up to Head of Staff and followed them when they joined the Championship Gaming Series with DirecTV in Los Angeles. At the same time I worked for a few different media sites like GiantRealm (GameRiot/WSVG), Dell for their gaming initiative, and organizations like the AGP and eventually the National ESL. After CGS I became the Editor-in-Chief of the Evil Geniuses organization for their new site and through a good friend I became friends with their DotA team. It was actually through one of their players (TheWhat) that I got an invite into the HoN closed beta.
How did you become involved with Heroes of Newerth and then how did you become S2Games staff? What is your role there?
Well, fast forward a few from receiving the closed beta invite, after taking a quick break from eSports I was approached by Loaded to help their organization. This is where I actually got started working in the HoN scene for an organization. Soon after I became their HoN manager since I was already actively playing the HoN beta and knew a lot of the players, and then their Quake CTF team manager for the QuakeCon event in Texas. I was their HoN manager up until the organization was bought out by Evil Geniuses. Instead of going with the team, I simply chose to pursue a job at S2 Games, and here I am today :D -- I'm their eSports Manager.
As eSports Manager, what do you do?
As eSports Manager I oversee and am responsible for all tournaments and competitions in the scene. This includes those that are already happening on their own and those that I work out with the organization or sponsor, which of course means there are a lot of exciting things in the works on a pretty big scale. On top of that I try to make it a responsibility to be accessible for the players and the different types of organizations in the scene today so that I can work with them and help them whenever needed, or simply to get feedback and their opinions on various topics. My goal with this position is to make Heroes of Newerth a viable, respectable eSports title with obviously a respectable, quality scene.
HoN is growing more every single day, and we see more cups sponsored and supported by S2Games. Are you and S2Games Staff happy about these events? Where do you think the competitive scene of the game is going to?
Of course we are very happy with the community's huge interest in running these cups, tournaments, and leagues. It's no secret that Heroes of Newerth was built to be a competitive title and we strive to make it easier to compete on all different levels by supporting these events. Since the scene is still very young, though, it's not right to expect much out of it just yet, especially since a lot of it is still being planned or waiting to be announced. However, I do believe that the way things are going the competitive scene has a ton of potential to make Heroes of Newerth become a big eSports title for the future, and it is certainly on its way. We all (S2 Games, the community, the event organizers, etc.) have to work towards that goal.
HoN Super Series is the first international official HoN League, sponsored mainly by S2Games, and supported by big successful companies like Kaspersky, MadCatz, PNY, Fragster, and Raptor-Gaming. What do you think about this league? Do you this is a successful step to make HoN scene bigger and more active?
I'm excited about the HoN Super Series because it is actually something that I believe the competitive scene needs with the way it is structured and set up. The fact that it is sponsored by so many successful companies is also very exciting, as this is the first rendition of the series. The Super Series is something I see that could definitely be successful and could be around for a very long time.
There are some great prizes, both cash and some awesome hardware accessories. What was your first impression when you heard about the prizes? Do you think these prizes encourage teams to join and participate in the cup?
I think the prizes, both cash and products, are great! The products and software that have been provided for these prizes are awesome. Everyone has a great shot at walking away with at least something, so it of course should encourage teams to compete.
Prizes depending on the placement are like the following for those who do not yet checked
HSS Forums:
1st: 1000 € - 5x Raptor Gaming Headset + 5 Kaspersky
2nd: 500 € - 5x Cyborg mouse + 5x Cyborg mousepad
3rd: 300 € - 5x Cyborg mouse + 5x PNY DDR3 1 GB
4.) 100 € - 5x PNY DDR3 1 GB
5.) 50 € - 5x Raptor-Gaming KB
6.) 50 € - 5x Raptor-Gaming K1
7.) 50 € - 5x Cyborg mousepad
8.) 50 € - 5x Cyborg mousepad
9.-16) 50€
We have more than 260 teams signed up for the cup and 3 divisions; Premier, Amateur and Third Division. Do you have something to say to all those teams who did not yet sign up for this league?
Sign up and play! You have a division for your skill level and have some great prizes to compete for. Why not take a chance and compete?
Thank you very much for talking with us, any final words or shout outs?
I'd like to thank S2 Games for giving me the opportunity to help create something great in a HoN eSports scene and to all the competitive players and team managers for the support they've given me so far.
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