Just a few days before Micke won BLAST, we met him for an interview ahead of DreamLeague. We talked about why having Insania as part of his in-game tag means so much to him, where Team Liquid currently stand as a team, how he first fell in love with Dota, and how one particular MMORPG once took over a Liquid bootcamp right after scrims and officials a few years ago.
On Insania
Q:You have Insania as a part of your in-game tag. What does it mean to you?
It means everything because I started my career with him in a way. I was 13–14 years old. I played HoN with him and eventually we switched to Dota together. So I’ve been playing with him my whole life. That’s the reason I have him. He’s a very important person in my esport career.
Q:So, you’re sort of continuing his legacy this way?
Exactly, yes. In five years I might play position five even, who knows?
Q:Do you plan to keep it for your entire career?
I think so, unless I get a wife and kid or something, then maybe it changes. For now he will be there for a long time.
Q:When he retired, did you consider doing the same thing?
When he retired it was very emotional for me because I didn’t know where to go next. Should I continue? Should I also maybe take a break? I wasn’t really sure. It felt really weird playing without him, to be honest, because I didn’t feel like myself anymore…
Now I am just here with the other boys trying to figure things out.
Q:What made you stay?
I play with Boxi for a long time as well. Blitz has been my coach since I came to Liquid. So they are my motivation. Nisha has also been here for a long time, Jabz, Chloe… it’s the entire Liquid staff, to be honest.
Dota's Impact
Q:Has Dota changed your life in any way?
Yeah, I think Dota changed everything, really. I sacrificed everything in my life to make a living out of it. I would say it changed a lot, and for the better. I grew a lot as a person and in how I view things. It comes entirely from Dota. I owe Dota a big, big thank you in that sense!
Q:What’s the biggest personal change that happened to you thanks to Dota?
I met a lot of people — Blitz and Insania. I essentially grew up with them and I guess they raised me well. I hope so. We’ll see at the end of my career what they say.
"When I truly fell in love [with Dota], it was probably the first time playing in front of a crowd that supported us."
Q:When did you fall in love with Dota 2?
I think I played Dota 1 when I was 7, so I guess that’s the first time the addiction hit. But when I truly fell in love, it was probably the first time playing in front of a crowd that supported us. I think that’s one of the feelings I will never forget. That feeling is my main motivation right now. The feeling of the crowd and the excitement from everybody is what gets me going.
I think it’s just the depth of the game and how many different things you can do. I don’t think we’ll ever find that in another game, and I think that’s very special and fascinating. Dota is just so complicated, and in 25 years the game hasn’t really been figured out.
Player Identity
Q:What do you think is unique about your playstyle as a carry?
It’s more sacrificial and team-oriented, rather than the traditional carry where you are the main man, I guess. The best way to put it is me, Dyrachyo, Skiter — we have a similar playstyle in some way compared to somebody like Yatoro.
It’s just different playstyles and how the team works around it. Players have to figure out a style for themselves, and that’s the style I went with when we first created a team.
Q:Is this playstyle natural to you or did you have to adjust?
I definitely have some phases where I go from one to another. One season it would be me playing more traditional and another season would be me playing more sacrificial. What’s more natural? I’m not sure.
It’s easier for me to play this style because I was a mid player back then, and I’m always kind of a mid player at heart. So I suppose it fits me more than the traditional carry playstyle.
Q:Your Steam and Discord profiles share the same picture — Naruto character Minato Namikaze. Why him?
I don’t know. I just grew up watching Naruto and he has always been the coolest anime character that I’ve watched and witnessed, so that’s why. I don’t know… there’s just something about him. I’ve just kept it since.
Obviously now there’s more anime coming out and maybe cooler characters have been created. So maybe my character’s a bit outdated, but even if so I am too lazy to change it, so I just kept it.
Q:I still think he’s still the coolest!
Oh okay, that’s good, that’s good. At least we have agreement on something!
Q:Is there anyone you look up to in your life?
Honestly, it would be Insania. We’ve been playing with each other for so long and he’s kind of the reason why I am here. He’s just a very special person and I hope he sees this interview when it’s released.
"It was with Matu and Zai...everyone played Lost Ark and we just sucked in Dota for like two months."
Behind the Scenes
Q:Do you think Team Liquid has finally adjusted to the roster changes?I’d say we adjusted well to the meta but we haven’t really quite figured it out as a team yet. I think we have quite a lot to learn and quite a lot to adjust still. It’s a really long process and journey, so we’re not really in a rush. We still have to figure out our role and how we want to shape our gameplay and create an identity for ourselves.
Q:Are you frustrated that adjustment takes time?
No, I think most of the rosters that I play with usually take some time to shape up and find rhythm in our gameplay, so I think it’s quite normal. Obviously there are honeymoon phases, like when we first played with Zai and Nisha and we just dominated the season. These things can happen, but it usually takes some time to get used to the players and drafting. Every player will react differently to different things, so you need to learn how they are as teammates.
Q:Is there something Team Liquid has achieved behind the scenes that you are proud of?
I guess it’s the amount of talks that we have as a team. We get to understand each other faster. Maybe at the end of the season if you ask me again I’ll have a better answer, but for now our progress is still in motion.
Q:How do you feel coming into this DreamLeague in terms of burnout and motivation?
I think we are quite motivated. We usually don’t do well at DreamLeagues, but we actually tried our best for the last one and for some reason the curse is too strong and we just got knocked out. I don’t know what it is.
We really, really tried last DreamLeague and we still didn’t qualify. It’s a bit frustrating. I don’t know if it’s a mental thing or if it’s cursed. I think we will try hard for the upcoming one and let’s see how it goes.
Q:How do you deal with potential burnout with the current schedule?
I think the burnout is not that bad because we had the whole December off. I think it’s more apparent in a month or two if it’s going to cause burnout, but right now I think everyone’s motivated to play.
What I do not like, though, is tournaments not having a crowd setting, because I think there should be more tournaments with a crowd. I think that’s the main burnout for players. I don’t know if the others have commented on it, but for me it’s like you just travel from tournament to tournament and there’s no excitement. It’s just another tournament.
Whereas if you travel and you play in front of a crowd, it would be more fun. I’d be more motivated to play than the studio ones. I just feel like it’s been a year — no, wait, it’s been even more, because last TI I didn’t even qualify for the crowd stage. So it’s been a long time since I played in front of a crowd… I get jealous when I watch CS because I feel like they always play in front of a crowd every two months or something.
Q:Do you play any other games?
I play every game possible. Right now I’m playing CS with my friends a lot. I am not nerding it out, just playing for fun.
Q:What’s your favorite non-competitive game?
Non-competitive… I used to play a lot of Lost Ark. I remember everyone played Lost Ark on our team. So it was not a great moment, when everyone was launching up Lost Ark after officials on bootcamp.
It was with Matu and Zai, where everyone played Lost Ark and we just sucked in Dota for like two months. It wasn’t a great time, but the game was too good not to play.
Q:Lastly, can you name 3–5 best pub heroes for your role?
Shadow Fiend — this hero is a bit too strong right now. It’s very good to grind with. Windranger. I’ll say Weaver as well. And if you need more ideas, you can tune in to Arteezy’s stream. He is actually a good inventor of heroes.
