twiSta: 'We will be ready in time'

Twista, first of all congrats on getting the invite to the TI3 qualifiers. How do you feel? Was it expected or were you biting your nails all Thursday long?

Thank you. I feel really good right now and quite relieved to be given such an opportunity to compete for the last slot. I had some ideas that we would get one, but with Valve, you never know. And when I say that, it's because they really take roster changes into consideration a lot and Empire has had a few lately.

True. What do you think about the invites (both direct and to the qualifiers)? Anything you would heavily (dis)agree on?

I think all the direct invites are well deserved, I cant really pick on any team that I would disagree on. About the qualifier invites, I guess when you look at the teams in a bigger picture such as roster changes and results, it kinda makes sense who Valve wanted to invite.

Who would you rate as the favorites in both qualifiers?

I think everyone knows that this years' qualifier is going to be a lot harder and more exciting than the previous years. That's because the teams have grown a lot and learned a lot since the last TI. For me, it's very hard to rate someone but I would say DD, RoX.KIS, Mouz, and us, and I say this based purely on what I've seen through scrims. I have yet to see teams such as aL and EG but I guess we will have to wait to see what the teams will be bringing to the table.

RoX.KIS and DD are actually in your group for the qualifier and you will face DD.Dota in the first match. Do you feel confident going in this match, seeing as you are allowed one mistake?

If I wasn't confident in myself and in my team, then we have nothing to do in these qualifiers. I believe it's gonna be hard group and a hard matchup, but if we play our cards right we should be just fine.

What do you think about the qualifier/group format (GSL Style groups)?

I like it alot. The reason for that is because alot of teams are gonna prepare alot of different strats for these matches, you might see some cheese strats and having such a format will allow you to have a 2nd chance and be ready.

You mentioned scrims; how often and long does your team practice? Surely, you still have to get used to each other?

We have a very strict training regime. We practice every day from 16:00 CET to 00:00 CET. Before that, we watch replays, analyze our mistakes and opponents' mistakes. We are a brand new team and obviously the qualifers are not that far away, but I believe in my team and I'm sure we will be ready in time!

That's good to hear, looking forward to see your team perform! With the knowledge from the scrims and your personal expectations, which recent roster change would you rate as the one with the biggest/best impact?

I think the recent addition of Goblak and Silent, has made DD stronger and more versatile in terms of playstyle but I also believe the addition of syndereN into Mouz will help Mouz grow a lot. They were lacking an in-game shot-caller and strategizer, and I believe that syndereN will help them a lot with that.

Sounds about right. When LighTofHeaveN was announced, Empire assured a bootcamp in Singapore. Can you give us exact details about that bootcamp already?

We haven't set any dates for our bootcamp in Singapore. The bootcamp was meant to take place in May but sadly, we had to postpone those plans until after Dreamhack. The reason for that was because we thought that the qualifiers and invites for this year's TI would be around the same time as last year's, around late May or June. Since the qualifiers came a lot earlier, we were forced to postpone our bootcamp plans until the qualifiers and Dreamhack are done. However, be assured that we will be bootcamping in Singapore and we will give the dates as soon as we have decided when we are ready to go!

Speaking of LighTofHeaveN, does he still play on the same level he did before he went inactive?

He still has very high knowledge of the game, its rather interesting to hear his thoughts on the game and how he views it differently. He is still a bit rusty mechanical wise but it's coming along really well, I believe in the next coming days he will be the good old Light that we know.

Does he involve himself in the decision making and drafting or is it just when your team is analyzing replays/matches?

He actually started to help me out a bit with different ideas, it's always refreshing to have someone tell you what he thinks about a certain hero or strategy. Cause sometimes you get caught in some moments where you forget about a certain thing that a certain hero can bring or do for you in teamfights, and having him there with all the experience and knowledge that he has is always a good thing. When it comes to decision making, we all contribute with our little things, but most the time it's me who has to make the last call.

How would you describe his personality and your team's atmosphere in general?

Very calm and thoughtful, always thinks things through before he reacts. I guess one could say that hes a bit special in his own way, and that's what makes him an outstanding player. Our atmosphere is really good right now and it's getting better by every day. I think when you want to build a successful team, there's a few things that need to be there for the team to really mesh well and produce some good results. Atmosphere, friendship and dedication.

I could not agree more. Anyway, let's go back in time a bit: About a year ago you left the scene and occasionally resurfaced as blogger or Tobi’s co-caster. What did you do during that time?

I haven't done much competitive wise besides realising the truth, that I needed to work a lot harder, not only on the mechanics of the game but also as a drafter. I didn't play much but I made sure I kept myself up to date with the teams and tournaments that were going on. My past experience has helped me a lot on how to view things, not only in Dota but also in life.

How and when were you approached by Empire. Did you immediately say yes or were you hesitant?

I was aproached by my good friends, Scandal and Blow, right after Goblat and Silent left Empire. I said yes immediately to the offer given. I know these two players very well from the past and it is a pleasure to receive such an opportunity.

Do you feel any pressure taking on the role of the captain immediately, following the footsteps of Goblak?

I feel the pressure on taking such a role not only from myself, but also from the community. Pressure is something that I'm used to dealing with and I'm sure that I will be able to handle it just fine.

You said that it was Blow and Scandal that approached you. Was it a joint decision to acquire Mitch and LoH then?

We were trying out a lot of people for the past two weeks. I had been playing with Mitch, g0g1 and grizine (former Fnatic players) before, just for some small cups and what not and I knew what Mitch is capable of doing as a player. I suggested him to try out, and his personality and playstyle fit us just after few games. Dima is a different story. I guess everyone know by now that he was aproached by a lot of people to join existing teams or form something new to compete for the qualifiers. We talked to Dima and asked to play some games with us. We scrimmed for 1-2 days and he seemed very happy to play with us as we were with him. So we decided to ask him to be our official fifth member.

A lot of fans fear that language might be an issue. Will it be one?

Haha! Everyone seems to think that. I guess when you put three Russian players, one Norwegian and one Croatian, everyone would assume that it would be a big issue. Luckily for us, everyone speaks and understands English at a good level, so communication will not be an issue for us.

That's good then. You have yet to play an official match with this new roster, but is it safe to assume that Scandal will resume his role as midlaner?

Yes, you will see Scandal back to his normal role, but you will also see him in new roles. I don't wanna spoil too much about what we are doing right now but I guess you will see this in time!

Being flexible is a bless, his support Shadow Demon last week was also very good. Do you think flexibility is a necessity for teams to be successful?

I believe so yes, having four players being so flexible opens up a lot of possibilities to play around with. We have seen some of the same flexibility from the Asian teams, but also from the NA teams such as Liquid and one could safely say that they have been very successful!

Speaking of which, what do you think makes Team Liquid and Alliance, maybe the currently two strongest Western teams, so successful?

#Hardwork #Dedication. Aside from having some very talented players, they play well and train hard. I think last year's TI was an eye-opener to the West, when Asia dominated. I think it's safe to say that without some hard work and discipline you won't be as successful as you would want to be.

So do you think that this time around the Western teams will be able to crack the Asian dominance?

This year's TI is gonna be a lot harder to predict than last year's. The West has evolved not only in terms of skills and strats, but also in professionalism. I think the teams from the West are ready for the East this year.

With such a fast and big progression over the past year, where do you think can the scene go? Will teamhousing be a realistic standard?

The European scene and the North American scene have a long way to go compared to Asia when it comes to team-housing and so on. However, it's safe to say that it's slowly progressing and that's a good thing. I believe with time, we will catch up and team-housing will be a realistic standard to help teams grow more.

Where do you see yourself in the future? How long would you like to play and would you like to pursue a job in eSports afterwards, maybe assume a management position?

It's hard to say for me right now, even though I've been thinking about this for the past year. I will most probably keep playing with my current team for as long as possible. After that, I would like to pursue a job in eSports, maybe even creating something new for upcoming players.

Hoping for the best! Anyway, we were talking about the growth of the scene. Making it all possible are all the tournaments that provide bigger prize pools. However, a lot of viewers prefer faster paced tournaments that last weeks instead of months. How do you feel as a player about that?

Honestly for me, it's the same as long as we have more tournaments! The more tournaments the better, it just means that eSports is growing and going in the right direction. I guess I can say that I feel with the viewers when they say they want some more fast-paced tournaments, having to wait 2-3 weeks to play a final of some tournament can be tiresome but people have to keep in mind that if you look back a few years before, we only had a few cups here and there and Dreamhacks! So I'm happy with any tournament that we get.

True, and the prize pools back then were pretty slim as well. twista, thank you for the interview, do you have any shoutouts?

Shoutout to my team and our sponsors! Seagate, TwitchTV, and Razer! Also shoutout to all our fans out there. Shoutout to Fuk-rog! Special shoutout to BuLba, g0g1, grizine Artour and Murs!