Interview with Gaimin Gladiators' co-founder Alex Cuccovillo, which provides an insight into the operations of an esports organization.

For the past year and a half, Western Europe has been the region that has been dominating global Dota 2, and Gaimin Gladiators have exceeded expectations in their rise to the top in this competitive region. With just a single roster change and a new coach after TI11, Gaimin Gladiators won the first two DPC Majors of the 2022-2023 season, along with DreamLeague Season 19. As they battle their way in an attempt to defend their DreamLeague title, GosuGamers caught up with one of the co-founders of Gaimin Gladiators, Alex Cuccovillo, to talk about his foray into esports and how the organization has maneuvered themselves to relatively quick success in the chaotic and volatile world of esports, amongst other things.


Hello Alex! How are you doing? Are you with the Dota 2 team in Europe or are you in North America?

I’m good, thanks for asking! I am currently in Toronto (Canada) right now, and not with the team in Europe. The Dota 2 team isn’t even bootcamping together right now. Only Quinn “Quinn” Callahan is at a bootcamp facility due to some visa issues he has. We are just waiting to get him a permanent resident visa in one of the countries he wants to live in.


The Dota 2 community knows you traveled to the Lima Major, due to your gracious act of helping out Team Liquid when Sameul “Boxi” Svahn was unwell. Do you travel to all major tournaments with the team?

I am one of the co-owners and vice president of Gaimin Gladiators, but I am also in the managerial role for the Dota 2 team. We want to take a slightly different approach than other esports organizations, where the players know someone high up in the company well, and who can be by their side at any given moment. So I try to go to every tournament for the Dota 2 team, and we have one of the owners at any event the organization is at. That way, if there is an emergency or the players need anything, they don’t have to go through multiple channels.

I won’t be at the Bali Major because I have to attend a friend’s wedding, which is a bummer as I’ve always wanted to visit Bali. But other than that, you’ll find me at most Dota 2 events. I’ve been playing the game since 2009, which makes me a big Dota fan first and foremost.


That sounds like a very unique approach, where a higher up travels with the team. Is this something other organizations do as well, as far as you know?

I’ve seen a couple of organizations do it, but they don’t get into the manager role. They’ll come to an event for the mainstage games, so we are unique in that aspect. We have picked up a PubG Mobile team that has a manager already, so eventually we will end up going that route because if not, we end up constantly traveling. But till now, it’s worked well and led to us having a good relationship with the players. It’s a bit cliché to say this, but we’ve kind of built a family here.


I can imagine that takes the stress off players, allowing them to concentrate only on the games. Let’s get to Gaimin Gladiators – the organization is quite nascent. What were you doing before starting an esports organization, and what made you get into it?

Around three to four years ago, me, my brother [Nick Cuccovillo] and Shawn [Porter] started an esports organization in Canada called Oceanus Gaming. We were pretty big in the tier 2 scenes in certain games like Counter Strike and Smash.

Besides that, I was a part owner in a construction company with my parents. That was our main source of income, which we would invest in Oceanus Gaming. Around two years ago, we started looking for investors because of the realization that our investment would not be able to compete with tier 1 esports organizations. That’s when we ran into Gaimin.io, who are a web3 platform that allows you to utilize your computer to earn rewards. We had a meeting with one of the owners, who is from Canada as well, and pitched the idea of how esports could help reach a lot of their target audience. A little more than year ago, they acquired Oceanus Gaming and we merged to form Gaimin Gladiators.


And you got into it only because of the love for the game?

That, and the fact that I used to play esports professionally. I was never a professional in Dota 2, but I was quite high ranked. A few years ago, I was ranked Immortal, playing in the tier 2 scene in North America. But then I transitioned to other MOBAs like Infinite Crisis and Heroes Evolved. I was also commentating and coaching for a few years as well. But that’s all to say, high level gaming has been my passion. I have a very competitive nature. 


All four co-founders of Gaimin Gladiators are Canadian. Why did you think at the time Western Europe was the best place to go for Dota 2?

There was a lot of internal discussion regarding this, and we were initially interested in a few North American Dota 2 teams. But on the flip side, we knew WEU has the most viewership for Dota 2, and we set our sights on this one team that was on the rise [Team Tickles]. They’d had a good first season and had a couple of well known players, one of whom was Marcus “Ace” Hoelgaard.

The salary difference between the NA and WEU teams wasn’t that high, so we decided to take a risk on the WEU team that had more marketability, going against the top teams like Team Liquid and OG every tour. The flip side to that was investing in NA Dota 2, which had only one big team back then – Evil Geniuses.


That risk seems to have paid off really well, with GG now one of the best teams in the toughest Dota 2 regions. What has been the most challenging thing in this journey to the top?

Issues regarding visas can be really challenging. We haven’t had any major problems yet, but we’ve been living on the edge. That’s a challenging thing for a lot of esports organizations, because you can do everything right and ahead of time, and it still goes wrong. The other stuff, it is challenging, but I’m typically up for that.


How involved are you with the Dota 2 team? Are you involved in the day-to-day workings or just the big picture stuff?

I have a great relationship with all the players. They do their own thing with scrims and practice, but I keep tabs on what teams they are scrimming against, ask them how they’re feeling and if they need a break. I don’t get involved in anything Dota 2 related; I just make sure that all concerns are taken care of.


What advice would you have for others planning to venture into this space? And having been in this space for a few years, what would you say are some of the biggest mistakes organizations make that lead them to bankruptcy?

Dota 2 is a difficult game to get into. We had a bit of luck with the team that we picked up. They are all amazing players! The success they had cannot be easily replicated. But you can’t expect to invest a lot of money and see instant results in this industry. People who are new to this space need to understand that they need to build a team and grow with it. There is a new era of players that are rising, and you need to look out for them.

In terms of mistakes, one of the major ones is not fully understanding the game and doing the research. Organizations with a hefty budget will enter an esport with the thought of picking up the best players and teams, but that approach doesn’t always work in esports. You need to grow with your team. A lot of the organizations that are going bankrupt have too much investment money, they hike up the prices to prevent other organizations from getting in, and there isn't a return on investment because of that. That is killing esports to a certain extent. That’s why you don’t see Gaimin Gladiators entering into many game titles by just picking up the best in the business. We want to do that, but only after we’ve done our due diligence. 


What you say about a new era of players makes so much sense. Just a couple of years ago, you had teams like OG, Team Nigma and Team Secret dominating the scene, and they’ve now been replaced by the likes of Gaimin Gladiators, Team Liquid and Tundra Esports. What other titles are Gaimin Gladiators currently associated with, and what are you planning on getting into?

Gaiming Gladiators are currently into PubG Mobile and Rocket League [other than Dota 2]. We had an Apex Legends team, but the team wasn’t performing to their best potential, so there was a mutual agreement to part ways.

Games that we are planning on getting into in the future include Counter Strike, PubG (the PC version), Fortnite and possibly some fighting games. In our time as owners, we’ve come to realize that investing in a decent player in a solo player game is significantly lower cost than supporting a team of five players; if the team of five does not get the expected results, it is harsh on the investment.

But it’s difficult to predict what we will get into as an organization, because things come up unexpectedly. Case in point, the Gaimin Gladiators PubG Mobile roster was with another organization, and they messaged us because they watched Dota 2 and liked the organization. Options do come up frequently, and if our values align, we will go for it.


And before pulling the trigger on a new roster, do all four owners come together and have a lengthy discussion?

Yes. All four co-owners are huge esports fans. We may not watch every esport, but we’ll keep tabs on players who could potentially be signed in the next year or two. The moment that stops for a title, the perspective on it will be lost. And if a situation advances, we take it to the board for discussion and pitch to them to see if the investment makes sense. Thankfully, we have some very thoughtful and understanding board members that help us make decisions.


You mentioned you are an avid gamer. What games do you like playing in your free time?

I still play Dota 2 whenever I can find the time. I’m not so good anymore, but I’ll play about three games a week. I also like playing single player games with good story lines like The Last of Us or the new Legends of Zelda game with my girlfriend. I don’t have the energy to be competitive and talk shit online anymore! *laughs*


Alex, you have five of the best players in the land. Why don’t you get them in party and make them carry you to victory?!

I could do that, but I don’t want to put them through that! But at events, I’ll play fun custom games like Overthrow with them. Like at the Berlin Major, they were playing a lot of custom games for stress relief.


Thank you for taking the time to talk with us, Alex! Any shoutouts?

Shoutout to every single person at Gaimin Gladiators! We’ve built a solid foundation here, and every employee is amazing. Also to the Dota 2 roster for being genuinely good people, who I am close friends with. I have nothing but love and respect for them, irrespective of where our paths take us in the next few years. They’ve made my first years in esports something that I will always cherish. And lastly, shoutout to Gaimin and all our sponsors – Kayoun, Stoneforged. All of them make it possible to run this company and push forward in the esports industry.