Interview with DPM - the brain behind Alienware Cup
During the Grand Final between LGD.cn and Na`Vi, the BTS stream broke their records and reached nearly 100k viewers. Was that the expectation going into the game ?
I only had three weeks to prepare the tournament after it was approved by ACE, so I was extremely limited in what and when things could be done. Clashes with existing tournaments and many playdays on weekdays was a big concern. I tend to make more realistic estimations, so reaching almost 100k on the English stream and over 250k total online viewers (not including viewers on Chinese television) was amazing. I believe those numbers were reached due to the TI3 hype, the participating TI3 teams, the excitement level of the games and the performance of our broadcast partners.
What kind of reaction did you have when you saw the number ?
I was happy. Jarrett (Kawa) was extremely excited and we were hoping it would tip over 100k, which I think it would had it been during the weekend. Knowing that many people were interested enough in the tournament to watch it on a weekday was great. I think we were all too tired to go nuts though.
How did you come up with the idea of the tournament ? What motivated you to host it ?
I have always been passionate about contributing to the growth of gaming and eSports. There are so many amazing people who deserve much more than what is currently available. One of my big dreams for 2013 was to have a $500,000 four-season tournament series with multiple divisions, including a more casual open division. I wanted to add structure to the Dota 2 eSports scene to help stabilize the jobs of players and team staff, as well as create jobs. This idea was well received but not enough funding was secured to go ahead. In May, I was then asked to plan a tournament to be held before August. So, I came up with the best possible tournament in the time available to plan and execute it. It is not the exact ideal way I would have run things if I had more time, but I guess that leaves room for improvement and surprises next season
With such time constraint to prepare for the tournament, it turned out to be a big hit. You even managed to pull in Mastercard as a sponsor and people were very impressed with that. How did you get them to sponsor the Cup ? Were they happy with the outcome ?
I can’t take credit for having MasterCard as a sponsor. We owe all our thanks to Alienware for making that happen. I believe that MasterCard and Alienware are happy, but the project isn’t over and not all numbers are in yet. There are many things I still need to deliver on. It’s cool that MasterCard US noticed the tournament, even though the sponsorship is coming from Asia. It goes to show what kind of impact gamers have when they are happy and vocal about things. I am truly grateful that numerous people took the time to share their thoughts.
Given Alienware Cup #1's level of success, when will the next Cup take place ? Will the sponsors (MasterCard, Alienware etc.) continue to sponsor such a great project ?
I took on the project knowing that it would be for two seasons, the other one being later this year. Well, the exception would be if they were unhappy with Season 1 and decided to cut the project short. The dates for Season 2 are not set yet, but they definitely will be coordinated with other big tournaments in the region. The worst thing that could happen is for all of these amazing tournaments to clash with each other. I truly hope that they will continue to support eSports in 2014.
Speaking of clashes, do you think there are too many tournaments going on at the same time ? We are really having troubles trying to cover all the tournaments. Would you prefer to have less tournaments but with bigger prizepools ?
There are definitely a large number of tournaments and I don’t think the current situation is the optimal scenario for Dota 2 eSports. It is currently somewhat manageable but is really hard on the teams, casters, viewers and press. I am seeing a sad trend of people simply not having any time to relax because eSports never sleeps.
With existing tournaments expanding and new tournaments emerging, it is going to become even more hectic. It would be great to have a good number of big tournaments that are coordinated well with each other, rather than multiple small ones. Non-conflicting sponsors would gain more by working together on a huge project. In fact, my first recommendation was to sponsor and expand an existing tournament when I was approached to plan one before August, even though that would mean I would earn nothing from it. Imagine if some tournaments combined forces to replicate something like a LAN mini-TI3!
Alienware Cup offered $60,000 up for grabs and it is not as top heavy as most of the major tournaments out there. Even the last placers get $1,000 as participation prize. What's the reasoning behind this?
My personal goal was to ensure that all of these excellent teams received something for their time and excellent performances. I have many professional gamer friends and know that it’s definitely not an easy life. You can be insanely talented and yet still struggle due to lack of or low salary and top heavy prize pools. You can consistently be fourth and win nothing most of the time.
Of course personal goals need logical reasoning. I convinced them to go with $60,000 as the bare minimum although I was aiming for $100,000. Participation of the top Chinese teams was crucial and this would not be attainable with something lower than $60,000, considering the average and increasingly large prize pools of Chinese tournaments. The prize distribution is still quite top heavy to provide more incentive to play more seriously, since tournaments closer to TI3 are at higher risk of troll games.
Will Alienware Cup #2 have a bigger prizepool ? And will the prize distribution be the same as the first Cup ?
No details of Alienware Cup have been finalized yet. The format will be different and there will be lots of improvements.
Na`Vi's bootcamp trip happened to take place during the same time period as Alienware Cup. Did you specifically plan the tournament to include the Ukrainian team ?
I modified the format and the schedule of the original plan to ensure that Na`Vi and RattleSnake could also play in the tournament. It would increase the value of the tournament to all teams and be much more interesting for the viewers. It was fortunate that Na`Vi happened to plan to be in China. This is one of the many reasons why matches couldn’t simply be postponed.
If they were not bootcamping in China at that time, who would you invite in their place ?
The third place winner for the TI3 East Qualifier, VG.
What sort of hype do you think Na`Vi brought to the table ? Would the tournament not be super successful if Na`Vi wasn't there ?
Of course having Na`Vi there helped make the tournament more popular. Besides their numerous achievement, such as being the TI champions, TI2 2nd-place winners, they have popular players that people simply love. On top of that, it has been a long time or it is the first time for these rosters to play against each other.
During the course of Alienware Cup, a lot of tough decisions were made including Versuta's ban from Twitch. A lot of people said that the decision is controversial. What exactly happened there? How did you respond to the critics ?
From adhoc streaming, forfeited matches and penalties, the final decisions were the best ones for the tournament and scene. Most supported the decisions and appreciated actions being taken decisively. Most of the critics eventually agreed after some clarifications and discussion. Some comments were initial reactions based on what they heard than the facts. I was glad that there was active discussion.
Versuta was temporarily suspended for less than an hour, not banned from Twitch. I think it’s great that people want to cover tournaments, but they should note that streaming without collaborating with organizers could jeopardize the current and future seasons. For example, Versuta was streaming with irrelevant and competing logos. After I reached out and we determined he was unable to cast all games anyway due to his other commitments, he restarted his stream and used our logos without permission.
Another controversy broke out during the Winner Bracket Final between LGD.cn and Na`Vi, during which a pause was invoked by LGD.cn in the middle of a crucial teamfight in game 3. What is your thought on this incident, considering many people were not happy with the pause for different reasons ?
The best judges of whether or not it the pause affected the game would be the players. They are in the game, know what is going on and are the stakeholders. When the players themselves do not complain, it is a huge indicator that it was not a game-changing pause. Furthermore, the casters also concluded that it was a non-crucial pause.
Fortunately the pause happened after the fight was decided. However, if that was not the case and Na`Vi decided to call it unfair, how would you react to that ?
It was lucky that it wasn’t. If that did happen then the case would be taken seriously and investigated. Honestly, I did think about having only admins allowed to pause and players not allowed to pause. My logic was to avoid unfortunate pauses. I did not want a team to be punished simply because the other team was lagging, paused and gained an advantage from it. I consulted with many other people and after assessing the likelihood of this happening I decided that it would only be a hindrance to all teams.
First, it would be extremely silly and detrimental for a team to purposely try to use pause abuse since they would be called out on it. Unless it is The International, they would probably lose much more from that action. Second, requiring the pause to be done by admins alone would cause multiple small inconveniences for the teams. Third, the players are accustomed to pausing and might end up receiving penalties for executing a natural action, without any malicious intent.
Right now, the pausing issue seems to be overlooked by most tournaments, especially online ones. What do you think should be done to prevent pausing from affecting the games in the future ?
It isn’t that it has been overlooked. As I have mentioned, I have put much thought into it. It is just that having multiple unnecessary rules for something that teams have an incentive to avoid at all costs does not make any sense, especially when those rules will cause inconveniences to the players and the game.
Another factor that contributed to the success of the tournament was the casters, especially Bruno and 2GD. How did you get them to America and cast with BTS ?
I told them that I would like to bring them over and they kindly accepted. They were happy to work with BTS and did well over what was expected. I’m truly grateful to James and Bruno because they are both very busy people. The GD Studio has always had a great relationship with BTS.
In addition to Bruno and 2GD, I was informed that you are also in L.A at the BTS studio. How is it like living with the guys there ?
During the tournament, we were staying in a hotel. After Bruno and James flew back, I moved into the BTS house with the kind permission of everyone and the landlord. It’s just a visit for before TI3. It has been great, even though we are all so busy that we barely have time to hangout. But the times we have time to chat, grab something together or play Agricola (a board game) are priceless. The only person missing is GoDz.
So I take that you will be attending TI3. Will you be interviewing players like you did last year or will you take on a new role ?
Twitch is kindly sending me to TI3 and I will primarily be representing Twitch, since I also work with them. They have generously approved my request to be sent for the entire time the players will be there, which is July 30 – August 14. This year, I will not be an official interviewer. I’m not surprised since interviewing has not been my main focus. I do intend to make some fun and quality content. I’m excited because I think my time will be better utilized this year.
I will be able to contribute more unique content rather than asking a couple of questions before and after games, when an English interview is needed. I want us to really get to know people, their stories and bring more behind the scenes action. If all goes well, I’ll also be able to collect a large amount of content for release after TI3. I am extremely grateful to Twitch for making this possible! If you end up enjoying the content, please do feel free to thank them!
Last question: Who do you think will win TI3 ? Who will you cheer for ?
I’m not really rooting for any team in particular. All of them have extremely skilled players and I wish the best for all of them. I would probably be even happier if it’s a team with people I know better because I would be more emotionally invested. I haven’t put any thought into which team might win.
That's the end of the interview! Would you like to give a shoutout to anyone ?
Alienware and MasterCard, thank you for making Alienware Cup possible. A big thanks to e-Club and Perfect World! Valve, we love you for making the game so awesome! Shoutout to the Dota 2 community for being amazing in taking time to show support or give feedback. BTS, GameFY and Virtus.Pro for doing a stellar job in reaching such a huge audience. Everyone who was involved in the execution and coverage of the Alienware Cup, you know who you are (long list, so won’t mention it here)! Twitch for their support for Alienware Cup, contributing tons to eSports and sending me to TI3! Finally, to my boyfriend who keeps me sane. <3
