Discussing the Mettlestate ASUS ROG Dota 2 Cup with DeMoNiK

[vc_row][vc_column width=”2/3″ el_class=”articlebody” css=”.vc_custom_1523270772654{padding-top: 10px !important;padding-right: 10px !important;padding-left: 10px !important;}”][vc_single_image image=”4856″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center” css=”.vc_custom_1528182887930{margin-bottom: 0px !important;}”][vc_row_inner content_placement=”middle” css=”.vc_custom_1523350157423{margin-left: 20px !important;}” el_class=”cat-tag”][vc_column_inner width=”1/4″ css=”.vc_custom_1523351002838{background-position: 0 0 !important;background-repeat: no-repeat !important;}” offset=”vc_hidden-xs”][vc_custom_heading text=”News” font_container=”tag:h3|font_size:12|text_align:left|color:%23ffffff|line_height:1″ use_theme_fonts=”yes” css=”.vc_custom_1524480392987{margin-top: 0px !important;padding-top: 10px !important;padding-bottom: 10px !important;padding-left: 20px !important;background-image: url(https://esportscentral.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Rectangle-26.png?id=2528) !important;background-position: center !important;background-repeat: no-repeat !important;background-size: cover !important;}”][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/4″][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/4″][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/4″][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_custom_heading text=”Discussing the Mettlestate ASUS ROG Dota 2 Cup with DeMoNiK” font_container=”tag:h2|font_size:28|text_align:left|color:%23ffffff” use_theme_fonts=”yes” css=”.vc_custom_1528192014669{margin-top: 0px !important;margin-bottom: 0px !important;padding-top: 20px !important;padding-bottom: 20px !important;padding-left: 20px !important;background-color: #262631 !important;}”][vc_custom_heading text=”Chris ‘Sargon’ House” font_container=”tag:p|font_size:13|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes” css=”.vc_custom_1524480387368{margin-top: 0px !important;padding-top: 10px !important;padding-right: 10px !important;padding-bottom: 10px !important;padding-left: 20px !important;background-color: #2a2b37 !important;}”][vc_separator color=”custom” css=”.vc_custom_1523350609771{margin-top: 0px !important;border-top-width: 0px !important;padding-top: 0px !important;}” accent_color=”#3b455a”][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1528193163626{margin-top: 0px !important;padding-top: 20px !important;padding-left: 20px !important;}”]Last week Mettlestate announced the ASUS ROG Dota 2 Cup with a total prize pool of R55,000. Teams interested have until 07 June 2018 to register on Mettlestate’s website to participate. Entry is free. Qualifiers take place between 11 and 17 June. Only the best teams will advance from the qualifiers to the group stages, which will take place between 24 June and 5 August, with the finals taking place between 11 and 12 August.

I spoke to Mettlestate’s Richard “DeMoNiK” Sjoberg about the comp and how many spots were still left open.

https://youtu.be/j4vKsv4tAWQ

ASUS ROG Dota 2 Cup Q&A

CH: What is the prize pool spread?

DeMoNiK: It’s spread across the top 3. First place gets R30,000. Second place gets R17,500. Third place gets R7,500.

Mettlestate did a great job streaming the Valkyrie Challenge, with weekly streams. How are things shaping up for the Dota 2 Cup?

It depends a bit on how many entries we get. If we manage to get 24 teams, for example, we might not even have the qualifiers. We’ll just actually expand the group stages to include another group. Either way there will be matches in the background on our stream days, that won’t be played on stream. We will try to at least show everyone once. We’ll have two games a day on every Sunday, probably. We’re thinking the stream will take place between 16h00 to 18h00, as they’re Best-of-One.

So it pretty much mirrors the Valkyrie tournament?

Correct. It’s going to have a very similar feel. If you’ve watched Valkyrie, then this is very similar in structure.

Any ideas on talent on panel, casting, et cetera?

Yes, we have organized talent. It’s going to be a bit bigger with Valkyrie in that we will have a panel. We’re announcing the casters at a later stage. I can’t tell you who they are yet. The panel is going to be Snare and Skaapie for most weeks. Tech Girl will do some panel work as well, and when she’s not around I’ll be taking over.

No Barry or GeeMax? 

GeeMax might make an appearance or two. We’ll see. I don’t think we could ever convince Barry to cast Dota (laughter). No, he just said and walked away while we’re doing this interview. (Laughter.) 

Why Dota 2?

There have been two group stages in recent memory that have lasted months, but never culminated into actual finals. This is just the start of trying to get things going again in the Dota community. We want to help make sure they have an active scene. We’ve got some really big plans coming forward for Dota in the coming years. This is just the start of us entering into the space.

What does Mettlestate want to see from the Dota 2 community?

Ultimately we just need to see that competition. We’ve had various roster changes in South Africa recently, and some big names going overseas. There’s been a lot of change in the community, and now we just want to find our footing again. A successful tournament would be to have this tournament run well, to see the teams and players engaging on social media promoting their brands, promoting the game, and trying to get people interested in Dota 2 again.

Any final thoughts before we call this a day?

To everyone out there, if you are even questioning whether or not you should enter into the tournament, just do it. There’s no harm in getting experience. Sure, there might be teams that are better than you. Ultimately to get that experience, to start playing in these tournaments, to help out local esports just by participating is going to help so much in so many different areas. To anyone who is still on the bench, get involved in as many tournaments as you can! Everything that you do as a player helps South African esports.

Thanks for your time!

It was a pleasure. Thank you.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/3″ offset=”vc_hidden-xs”][vc_basic_grid post_type=”post” max_items=”” style=”pagination” items_per_page=”8″ show_filter=”yes” element_width=”12″ gap=”10″ order=”ASC” filter_style=”dropdown” filter_default_title=”Matches” filter_align=”right” filter_color=”blue” item=”2271″ initial_loading_animation=”none” grid_id=”vc_gid:1528193151862-a2e5acbb-e53a-8″ taxonomies=”71, 84, 86, 88, 90, 92, 94, 110″ filter_source=”category” el_class=”results” css=”.vc_custom_1527564819677{background-color: #30303d !important;}”][vc_custom_heading text=”ALL MATCHES” font_container=”tag:p|font_size:10|text_align:center|color:%23ffffff” use_theme_fonts=”yes” css=”.vc_custom_1523611106929{padding-top: 20px !important;padding-bottom: 5px !important;background-color: #30303d !important;}” link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fesportscentral.co.za%2Fall-matches%2F|||”][vc_empty_space][vc_basic_grid post_type=”post” max_items=”” style=”pagination” items_per_page=”8″ show_filter=”yes” element_width=”12″ gap=”10″ filter_style=”dropdown” filter_default_title=”Results” filter_align=”right” filter_color=”blue” item=”2271″ initial_loading_animation=”none” grid_id=”vc_gid:1528193151864-f0244d9d-e015-8″ taxonomies=”76, 85, 87, 89, 91, 93, 95, 111″ filter_source=”category” el_class=”results” css=”.vc_custom_1528177085357{background-color: #30303d !important;}”][vc_custom_heading text=”ALL RESULTS” font_container=”tag:p|font_size:10|text_align:center|color:%23ffffff” use_theme_fonts=”yes” css=”.vc_custom_1523611113209{padding-top: 20px !important;padding-bottom: 5px !important;background-color: #30303d !important;}” link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fesportscentral.co.za%2Fall-results%2F|||”][/vc_column][/vc_row]