2GD Interview and Community Q&A
Here's another post-TI3 Community Q&A from Team Liquid, and for this one we've invited none other than your favourite anchor James "2GD" Harding. A man with a storied history in competitive gaming, James is founder of The GD Studio, and is Dota 2's de facto man about town. He was responsible for some of the funniest, and indeed, most awkward on-camera moments at TI3, and he is here today to answer some of our questions, and then some of yours.
2GD's Community Q&A will be held on Friday, Sep 06 5:00pm GMT (GMT+00:00). Don't miss it! Meanwhile, here's the interview we did with him.
2GD Interview
Over the course of your career you have probably seen more sides of eSports than anyone else, from being a player, to team manager, then from eSports manager to caster/host and managing a studio, and you are even leading the production of Reborn. What have been some of your favourite experiences, and what can you see yourself doing in the future?
James: Favourite experiences; well it's been a lengthy journey, so let's go on an adventure!
Winning the biggest MechCommander tournament (entitled WW3 haha) at a young age of around 15. The tournament was a 3v3. It felt very cool to lead 2 medical students, who went on to become doctors, to victory. But the camaraderie and sharing in the moment was amazing. I still have them on Skype to this day. They're very good at telling me what kind of STD I might have.
Going to my first big LAN event, Insomnia by Multiplay in the UK. The excitement of meeting everyone was not containable, I was on a permanent high the whole event. I still remember that feeling, and my Grandparents even took me, bless them.
Being scouted as talent to play for UNR in Q3 by 'Rude'. I was pretty bad compared to Blokey and others at first, but having someone believe you were good at your passion and willing to give you the opportunity to be more. It really fueled me to see how far I could go.
My first UK Quake win. It was the 1v1 RA3 Covlan tournament. It wasn't so much the win, but instead having a crowd of people behind me watching, and hearing their comments between rounds on my Shaft. I don't get so many people commenting on that these days, but maybe that's a good thing.
Commentating an Unmatched (legendary German team) TDM game on Winamps Shoutcast plugin back in 2004. Only 20-40 people tuned in, but it felt exhilarating to do something I didn't know I could do or not. I seemed to pull it off, as I got a lot of encouraging messages via IRC.
Signing a contract to be a professional gamer with Dignitas back in 2004. ODEE even spoke to my parents before I signed. It felt nice just to look at the contract once I got it, It felt more like a ticket than a contract. A pass to do something I loved. I went to America for the first time because of team Dignitas, It was awesome.
Finally making it to the finals of a major event at Quakecon. I beat Jibo & Cooller to get there. It's always a great feeling when hard work pays off.
Encouraging Toxic to play better after losing his first Bo3 vs Fatal1ty in the finals of WSVG in NYC. The whole crowd was cheering for Fatal1ty. I thought Toxic needed a bit of encouragement or support from the crowd. He went on to destroy the series and was crowned the Quake 4 world champion. I selfishly felt I was a small part of that. But it was great to see a friend win something I felt he deserved. I'd been looking after Toxic throughout the event since his English was particularly poor. We even shared a hotel room which came with one bed. I slept on the floor since I figured he would need good rest for the finals.
Running Fnatic as GM. I'd like to think Sam Matthews is great at spotting talent. It was really enjoyable to be given the opportunity to assist in the running of his company. I learned a lot here, and got amazing opportunities to grow as a person. I was overly under qualified to do the job though
Hosting the eSport awards for ESL. I was really drunk throughout the show and made a lot of jokes. I didn't think I'd pull off a semi stand-up comedy show & hosting, but it seemed to work.
Meeting & working for Stunlock Studios on Bloodline Champions. I've never been surrounded on a day to day basis by such a talented and enjoyable group of people. Not to say the GD Studio guys aren't great, but Trance needs his regular happy meal to cheer him the fuck up
Hosting DreamHacks SC2 Invitational in 2011. It was my first time back hosting after 2 years, and to a new audience. It was a very enjoyable post event read on team liquid. Felt good to host again.
The ending of our first GD Studio show in March 2012. Was awesome sharing the evening with the very happy and talented team which are The GD Studio.
Playing the first Reborn demo. It was shit. Only jking
All the positive emails I get from the community. I remember a lot of them. I think the one that hit home with me was an email from a viewer, stating after watching us on The GD Studio he felt it was acceptable to play video games in his life, and generally was getting on with life with a more positive attitude towards who he is as a person.
Winning the biggest MechCommander tournament (entitled WW3 haha) at a young age of around 15. The tournament was a 3v3. It felt very cool to lead 2 medical students, who went on to become doctors, to victory. But the camaraderie and sharing in the moment was amazing. I still have them on Skype to this day. They're very good at telling me what kind of STD I might have.
Going to my first big LAN event, Insomnia by Multiplay in the UK. The excitement of meeting everyone was not containable, I was on a permanent high the whole event. I still remember that feeling, and my Grandparents even took me, bless them.
Being scouted as talent to play for UNR in Q3 by 'Rude'. I was pretty bad compared to Blokey and others at first, but having someone believe you were good at your passion and willing to give you the opportunity to be more. It really fueled me to see how far I could go.
My first UK Quake win. It was the 1v1 RA3 Covlan tournament. It wasn't so much the win, but instead having a crowd of people behind me watching, and hearing their comments between rounds on my Shaft. I don't get so many people commenting on that these days, but maybe that's a good thing.
Commentating an Unmatched (legendary German team) TDM game on Winamps Shoutcast plugin back in 2004. Only 20-40 people tuned in, but it felt exhilarating to do something I didn't know I could do or not. I seemed to pull it off, as I got a lot of encouraging messages via IRC.
Signing a contract to be a professional gamer with Dignitas back in 2004. ODEE even spoke to my parents before I signed. It felt nice just to look at the contract once I got it, It felt more like a ticket than a contract. A pass to do something I loved. I went to America for the first time because of team Dignitas, It was awesome.
Finally making it to the finals of a major event at Quakecon. I beat Jibo & Cooller to get there. It's always a great feeling when hard work pays off.
Encouraging Toxic to play better after losing his first Bo3 vs Fatal1ty in the finals of WSVG in NYC. The whole crowd was cheering for Fatal1ty. I thought Toxic needed a bit of encouragement or support from the crowd. He went on to destroy the series and was crowned the Quake 4 world champion. I selfishly felt I was a small part of that. But it was great to see a friend win something I felt he deserved. I'd been looking after Toxic throughout the event since his English was particularly poor. We even shared a hotel room which came with one bed. I slept on the floor since I figured he would need good rest for the finals.
Running Fnatic as GM. I'd like to think Sam Matthews is great at spotting talent. It was really enjoyable to be given the opportunity to assist in the running of his company. I learned a lot here, and got amazing opportunities to grow as a person. I was overly under qualified to do the job though

Hosting the eSport awards for ESL. I was really drunk throughout the show and made a lot of jokes. I didn't think I'd pull off a semi stand-up comedy show & hosting, but it seemed to work.
Meeting & working for Stunlock Studios on Bloodline Champions. I've never been surrounded on a day to day basis by such a talented and enjoyable group of people. Not to say the GD Studio guys aren't great, but Trance needs his regular happy meal to cheer him the fuck up

Hosting DreamHacks SC2 Invitational in 2011. It was my first time back hosting after 2 years, and to a new audience. It was a very enjoyable post event read on team liquid. Felt good to host again.
The ending of our first GD Studio show in March 2012. Was awesome sharing the evening with the very happy and talented team which are The GD Studio.
Playing the first Reborn demo. It was shit. Only jking

All the positive emails I get from the community. I remember a lot of them. I think the one that hit home with me was an email from a viewer, stating after watching us on The GD Studio he felt it was acceptable to play video games in his life, and generally was getting on with life with a more positive attitude towards who he is as a person.
You've now been the host of the previous two Internationals. What are your thoughts on how it has evolved, and what do you think can be improved for next year? Are there things other tournaments can learn from The International? Are there things Valve can learn from other tournaments?
James: Valve and the community have been learning from each other for a while now. I generally feel Valve make very calculated steps regarding improvement with the International, but I'm very sure they are aware of the communities efforts. The better we are outside of the international each year, the better the International will be. That's all I know for sure.
With the departure of SingSing to Kaipi, has there been any discussions on the future of QPAD Red Pandas?
James: QPAD will support the remaining players, which will give them time to build up a new team if they wish. QPAD are really good with players and understand team dynamics. A lot of the staff there have played in CS & Battlefield teams so they are very understanding of the situation
Korea's Dota 2 scene is starting to ramp up. Do you think the Korean eSports engine will be able to create top tier Dota 2 teams? If so, when do you think we will start to see them?
James: I'm certain Korea will produce top tier teams, the question is when. I guess I'd say sooner than we expect.
If you were Icefrog for a day, what is the one balance change you would make, and what is the one thing you would add to the game?
James: I'd improve Axe's late game presence, he's overly good early and mid game, but when you get to late game it doesn't matter how well you play, you feel somewhat under-powered. As for what change, I'd just make him more manly... if that's even possible!
2GD Community Q&A

James with the TI3 analyst team, just before the event.
2GD will be back tomorrow to do the Q&A! Starting at around Friday, Sep 06 5:00pm GMT (GMT+00:00) James will answer your questions right here in this thread.
Have a question you'd like to ask him? Start now!
Questions and Answers
- Now that teams are shuffled up a bit, what teams are you looking forward to watching with their new lineups?
- How do you balance your trolling/cussing/generally Rude but funny behaviour with still making people believe your serious about things?
- What is the current status of Reborn?
- When is the GD Show coming back :D
- Has Bruno ever wingmanned you?
- How much do you love Reborn and how far are you willing to go to get the game done right?
- Can you give any details regarding when people will see something of Reborn, or when a beta will be available?
- Are you planning on publishing Reborn yourself or once you're further in the development process might you consider publishing through a company like Valve?
- Favorite beer?
- you keep an eye on online communities (TL, Reddit, etc) yourself or are you among the many personalities who disregard them as a bunch of angry/entitled children?
- If you could run a major event of any game in any place you wanted, DH/ MLG/ TI scale, what would it be and where?
- Fuck Kill Marry: Trance, Semmler and your mom
- What caused the worst hangover of your life?
- When does the gd show start again, I'm lost without it
- How did you convince your parents to allow you to play video games for a living/working in the esport business?
- Magnums or Magnum XLs? http://i.minus.com/iJIzUiMQsIJtk.gif
- Do u think axe needs a 2nd beard?
- Are there any shows or production improvements that you wanted to do or implement in the GD Studio, but couldn't due to time or budget issues? Basically, any cool ideas that you never got to do?
- Do you have any comments on Semmlers past career?
- When things don't go as expected (as it did when Godz couldn't make it to cast TI3), how much does that affect you as a caster? Did you guys prepare material ahead of time that all had to be scrapped?
- Still got an affair with Joe from your old ESL days? Those casts were the best
- You have to pick 1 pro player to be your wingman/drinking buddy, who is it and why?
- How do you feel about twitch parties. Do you love them or are you too old for that shit.
- How does the 2GD studio even make money?
- Will you give Semmler a raise now that he's been found out as a male pornstar?
- whats ur issue with KP and NV in particular
- I feel like a lot of people (read: viewers, Twitch chat people, Reddit people) have made a lot of personal remarks about who they think you are (from insecure to egomaniac to "worst boyfriend ever"). Does it amuse you? Do you think the community is just fucked up and needs to stop?
- Jack Daniels or Johnnie Walker?
- In the preview of the GLaDOS announcer, "Dota" is apparently pronounced "ota". Will you start saying "ota" once the GLaDOS-announcer is released.
- What's the progess on Reborn?
- What is your favorite color?
- When are we going to finally play again and when are you going to add me?
- How can i be as dreamy as 2gd.
- 2gd what is your favorite cheese?
- Can Yames give us a final post-mortem on the QPad Red Pandas? What does he think went wrong? What he thinks will become of Wagamama and SingSing? Will he ever try to build another team again?
- What is the current status of Victory Cat and the kittens? Tell us EVERYTHING
- How drunk can you get?
- What is your favorite stand-up comedian?
- When did you have your first threesome?
- How is it to live in Sweden(Stockholm) And what do you enjoy most staying there?
- Because 2GD played and commented for many years I would like to know if he is missing an "old" game in todays competitive/esport scene?
- Will there be a The Meeting accompanying the restart of the GD Show to update us on the workings of the GD Studio? Has been a while now since last time.
- When are you going to do a roadtrip in Sweden?
- Hey James how are you doing? :D
- What do you think is the main ingredient for a game to succeed ?
- how come you don't mention us Quakeworld players from Dreamhack in the best moments!?
- Will you come back to casting/hosting starcraft 2 events?
- What's one line you've said in public that you regret and why?
- How many bottles of Laphroaig, pack of cigarettes and Vesuvio's am I close to become a member of TheGDStudio?
- Is there anything you'd ask of the community that isn't already being asked?
- Any thoughts on Day9's game?
- What's your favourite whiskey?
- Do you get into alot of trouble in your personal or professional life by your "I dont care" kind of personality? I know that you can control it or can I ? :D
- Have you tried militia ?
- What hero is the best Dota hero, and why is it AXE?
- Where is Matt Rider ?
- What do you want to do next?
- What's your issue with Day9?
- I live in Oslo, can I come down to Sweden and be your Au Pair for a weekend or to? I have good references ^.^
- in what countries you got laid already?
- James, how do I get all the ladies?
- Was the "downfall" of QPAD due to rising too fast in popularity, thus creating too much pressure and unrealistic expectations?
- What team were you rooting for during TI3?
- Why are you so fucking handsome
- How would you recommend someone go about getting into the production/casting side of Dota2 professionally? is it just about putting yourself about until you get noticed? or providing alternate streams to matches currently being played? or something completely different?
- On TL we love horses, but yours is awfully high, ever thought of going a bit Icelandic?
- Have you ever met ICEFROG? Who is he?
- Monthly "budget" for spirits each month? Favorite drink & favorite whiskey?
- Do you still watch some Starcraft 2? What would you think be the key feature Blizzard needs to add to improve the game?
- Matt Rider. Tell us everything. Is he coming to The GD Studio for eternity or a one timer? Can you rely on him keeping his nose and act clean? Also, could you tell us stories about you and Matt :3
- I forgot a question, Will you ever cast with incontrol again? probably my favorite moment en esports so far was when you guys were on screen together :D
- Do you think any game can currently compete with LoL and it's massive infrastructure and huge fanbase? Obvisouly the game is no. 1 and will be for quite some time now but if there is a game to compete would you say its DotA 2 ?
- Have you ever trolled to much/to little during an event? If yes what (kind of) troll did you miss/go over the top with?
- What do you think went wrong with BLC? The game was pretty promising but it died almost immediately after the launch.
- Why is GD-Studio so inactive on facebook and not reacting to questions asked on ur page.
- As much as I like him as a host and his humour, I think he's a bit of a twat, but I guess it's just his image. Still doesn't hurt to be a little bit humble every now and then.