EPTWhen I started upper secondary school here in Sweden, I knew that a lot of the kids in my school played CS and various WC3 custom game modes, but no one ever seemed to be all that in to SC2 at all. Until I met of my classmates, who had quite the history to him. Some of the people that followed C&C3 closely know him as vOddy one of the best players at that game at the ripe age of 14.
vOddy vs Ukrain$tar
(Bo3)
Naturally, many RTS-players saw their big chance in SC2, people like
SeleCT, avilo, 
TLO and such knew that SC2 was going to be a hit. So vOddy was no slouch, he got a beta-key and has since then played close to 3000 games on his account. He did, however also attempt to keep on playing Brood War at a semi-professional level, even managing to qualify for the AoVs ISL nr 1. However, he didn't get out of the R056 pool.vOddy vs Dragon
vOddy didn't give up on pro-gaming, however, even though school was a pain he still put in the hours to be at the top of his diamond division and also come far enough in several cups, facing adverisaries like MorroW and Fenix.vOddy vs MorroW
(I apologize for the commentary, but the guy himself says that he is inexperienced.)
(I apologize for the commentary, but the guy himself says that he is inexperienced.)
Then what happened? Well, studies starting taking their toll and he couldn't focus as closely on the game as he wanted to. But just as quickly as he went away, he came back fighting in several online cups. Defeating players like
Beastyqt.And just as I heard of him placing high in online tournaments, he had been sent to London, playing for his new team, eNigma at the i44 BYOC LAN. There he managed to win the BYOC, dropping only on set (two games) throughout the entire tournament.
Final set of BYOC finals, v=ddy vs Gomas
http://www.fileplay.net/channels/iseries/i44/14934/ipl4-pre-qualifier-grand-final-gomas-vs-voddy?page=7
( The last game is probably the longest "professional" SC2-game ever. Apollo gets hilarious towards the end! :D)
http://www.fileplay.net/channels/iseries/i44/14934/ipl4-pre-qualifier-grand-final-gomas-vs-voddy?page=7
( The last game is probably the longest "professional" SC2-game ever. Apollo gets hilarious towards the end! :D)
His run in the IPL qualifiers wasn't all too long, unfortunately. He lost 1-2 to Digntias.
Dream in the upper bracket, and later fell to DarKFoRcE 0-2 in the loser's bracket, thus eliminating him from the tournament.This interview was done after his loss, so I apologize if the answers might be short.
vOddy, tell us who you are, what your previous credentials are and what your favorite meal is!
I am an 18 year old male from Sweden. When I was 13, I started playing RTS seriously in the form of Command & Conquer 3. I became one of the best players at that game at the age of 14. My favourite meal is vegetarian pizza with lots of cheese.
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/kPdMH.jpg)
Did you earn enough money to make a living of C&C, and did you ever travel to a WCG to compete?
Im not sure anyone made enough money to make a living of C&C3. The game just wasnt big enough. There were a few spnosored players, like Dignitas Apollo and Dignitas Dackel who may have made enough at one point in time. I did not travel to WCG because Sweden didnt have qualifiers. I would definitely have won the regional qualifiers and represented Sweden.
You sound like a very confident player, how much time a day did you actually spend on C&C daily in order to get in to such great shape at such a young age?
I dont remember, and I didnt keep track of the time. I spent the vast majority of my free time playing it, because I loved the game. So basically most of the time when I wasnt sleeping or in school. I also dont think that age matters, as long as youre not 6 years old or something, since at that age you have lesser intellectual capacity.
So how did you get in to starcraft? I know that you managed to qualify for the first season of the AoV ISL, so you must have been pretty good at BW?
I was decent, but I wouldnt say I was good. I got to B (almost B+, like a win away). But no, I was never good enough to win tournaments in BW, and I wasnt one of the best foreigners. By the time I got in to Brood War, StarCraft 2 was almost out, and when it came out Brood War died, so I never got the chance to really master it.
The BW communities from TL.net and GosuGamers are attempting a sort of foreign "resurgance" of BW, and tournaments are held almost daily with cash prizes. Would you ever considering "switching back" to BW if there was a profit to be made in it?
If I wasnt trying to go pro in SC2, I would probably play Brood War. There are enough tournaments being held to have fun, but you cant make a living off it, which is what I am trying to do. In fact, I kept playing Brood War for a while after SC2 came out because I prefer Brood War over SC2, but then I realized that I have a realistic chance of being a pro gamer in SC2. Even though BW is a better game, I have always wanted to be a pro gamer.
So what makes BW the better game than SC2, according to you?
The short answer: Better design, better balance, more interesting strategies, more interesting micro, less luck based, more interesting units, etc
So in short; everything?
I pretty much prefer everything that Brood War has over StarCraft 2, yes. Its not because of nostalgia - I only really got in to Brood War in 2009, and quit playing it somewhat seriously in late 2010 / early 2011.
I guess that this kind of trails in to the next subject I wanted to ask about, namely your current SC2 career. Do you feel like you are getting to the point where you could be a serious contender in events like IEM/DH?
Not yet. I am good enough to beat many pro gamers, but not the best, which is what you have to do to win tournaments like that. I can win smaller online tournaments, and place decently in major tournaments, but I cant win them yet. I also dont have any practice partners. I only learn from the ladder, which is terrible. There are so many styles that I dont have experience with, and they cost me games in tournaments that I would be able to win if I had practiced more. Only a few ladder games, say one out of ten, give me something useful. If I had practice partners, that would be ten out of ten.
With that being said, you are currently on Team Enigma's roster, correct?
Yes
How did it feel to be the player from team enigma going furthest in the IPL UK qualifiers? Does it motivate you to practice harder, as you now have the financial aid to travel to these types of events?
Being on a team that can send me to events motivates me. This particular event does not motivate me at all, it was a complete failure which I performed really badly in.
Going undefeated in the BYOC up until the finals isn't something a lot of players would consider bad for their first live event.
I lost to dreAm, who I have beaten before, in games that I should have won easily. I played poorly.
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/1i1rE.jpg)
Did you feel like something was off? Perhaps your nerves?
Just playing against a style that I haven't seen before, and making stupid decisions. I have no excuse, I just flopped.
Looking forward, how will you be preparing for your next LAN event?
Trying to find practice partners by doing well in online tournaments so that I can avoid this from happening again.
And finally, how can we keep track of when you are playing in tournaments and shoutouts!
Well, look at the brackets and streams for ESL and other weekly tournaments
The only shoutout is to eNigma. I am thankful for them paying for the air plane tickets to London.This is my first time I interview an active "esporter" (lol), and I hope that it won't be my last. I am sorry if some might find it a bit overkill to post this much text about someone who isn't a big name within the community, but I want to help my friend who is really putting a lot of effort in to this game, and also try myself out when it comes to basic interviews. In any case, I hope that you like it and become a fan.
