Part of the #QuakeProLeague curcuit as the manager for cnzQPL and drxmiS representing drgonbornesport.

Hello Jakob, good to meet you again, this time in place between the Realms, where calm of weapons is rule number one; Welcome to The QUAKE PUB! What are you drinking, sir?

Last time we met was in London, and I will start with that event.
How was IRONFIST LAN for you as a manager of Dragonborn Esports?

Good to meet you too Pavel, and thanks for having me. Currently drinking some Coke. Not sponsored, though I wish I was!

Going to London with my players was like a new chapter in my career.

Prior to the event, I had never met anyone in the competitive Quake scene IRL, so to come there and physically meet everyone was a very nice feeling, but also relieving.

I felt like finally I can do what I have been dreaming of doing for 9 years straight: Be at the very top of a competitive esports scene. It was a long journey, but it finally happened.

Meeting Kyle and Kirill strengthened my relationship with them a lot, and we quickly became good friends inside and outside the venue. I think the trip was needed for all of us to remember why we stick in this relatively small but insanely skilled and dedicated scene. 

What is your gaming background, both as a player and manager?

How long do you work at your current position at DBE? Is working in gaming something you would call a dream come true and is it a position that “feeds your family” or do you have some regular day job?

I was introduced to Counter-Strike in 2012 by my friend, and shortly after I realized there was also something called esports. To me it was incredible that you could compete in computer games.

I love competing, and all my life I have been doing it. Before finding esports, I was playing handball and loved everything about it. So as soon as I found out you could compete in Counter-Strike, I started working towards doing that.

Fast forward to October of 2017 and I attended my first big tournament with my friends from high school. It was the Swedish qualifier for World Electronic Sports Games 2017, where all the top teams in my country attended.

We got wrecked in the first match, but it was still an amazing experience that fueled my passion for esports. Between 2017 and 2019 I attended several notable events with my high school team, and we built a name for ourselves both on a national and international level.

In 2019 I stopped competing due to studies, and I started working as a manager instead. That’s when I started working with  Dragonborn esport, which back then was a very small organisation. For a whole year I worked together with CEO  Cecilia and our Counter-Strike team, and the organisation grew rapidly.

After that year however, I had lost a lot of passion for Counter-Strike, and decided to take a break to try my luck someplace else.

I freelanced for a few organisations but never really felt like it led anywhere.

In March of 2021, I was about to go to sleep, thinking about my life and how I needed to change something. I realized maybe it was a good idea to start anew with something completely different.

Quake had also been with me for several years, but on the side while working with CS. I loved watching old school demos, and always admired everything about the game. But I had no idea people were still competing in it.

So the next day I checked it out to see if it still had a competitive scene,
and lo and behold, it still had one!

Over the next week, I made a complete transfer to Quake. I signed for Dragonborn again, started our new Quake division, signed contracts with cnz and QPL, and all of sudden, I had taken a dive right into a tier1 scene of an esport, which I had been dreaming of for ages. 

It was very impulsive, but I am very happy I made such a quick decision, because it was all worth it. So to answer your question, I have been in this position since March 2021.

Because of the limited budget inside the organisation, I am funding this project
a lot by myself. So for that reason, I have chosen to keep my day job
working for the postal service here in Sweden
to be able to live comfortably.

I could do esports full time, but then I would have to take a cut from my players’ prize money and give them a smaller salary to make revenue, and that is not in question. They deserve every single penny of what they get, and it would feel weird to take it from them. Besides, I really like my day job, and I am very happy I can do both things. 

As a manager, do you interfere with the presentation of your players in social media, and what social media should “push the community” forward according to you?

NOTE: Some Teams are taking control over players social media accounts in order to push commercial messages and help in case of events, where players are not able to properly cover and promote themeselves as well as organisation. 

I don’t interfere with my player’s social media at all.  cnz isn’t very active on twitter and of course I wish that he would be, but at the same time I can’t force him. He is doing really well as a player, and in the end that’s all that matters.

After meeting my players in London, we are good friends now, and social media is merely a bonus. What really matters is what happens on the server in my opinion. And that’s when they both deliver. That’s what they are signed for.

I can handle the social media part from the organisation’s perspective, and I like to think I’m doing a pretty good job with that. 

I’m not very good at using social media myself, so to answer the second half of the question is hard for me.

Retweeting, liking and opening for discussion on social media about Quake is very important. And many players aren’t very active. That’s why we really need external sites like Quake Pub to cover what’s happening.

Since Quake isn’t as established as an esport as CS is for example, there also isn’t as much focus on everything outside the game.

We play the game and we love it, but you don’t see so much interest from the media. This is why I think it’s very important to provide continuous updates on what’s happening in the scene.

Organisations need to provide news whenever something happens in the org, not only when their player plays. Are you signing new contracts? Maybe a word from the CEO? Maybe an article about a player? Maybe an interview, like you are doing now with me and a lot of other players? No one is asking for it, but this is what keeps the scene alive too.

If we focus solely on QPL, on what results our players got,
if we won a tournament or not… it will not be good for the scene.

There is much more stuff to write about, that would give the scene more depth and also make it visible to bigger companies that might find an interest in supporting this little scene.

I see the same thing with so many organisations. They literally only write about Quake on social media when their player is playing, and that’s all.

What about interviews, videos, discussions, articles, all that stuff? That’s needed too. Anyone can do it, it doesn’t cost any money, but it can be so valuable. We can see the person behind the alias, and not just the players on the server all the time.

You came into the Quake Family from outside, what do you think about the Quake community in general, and are there any things you would like to see from the community regarding their activities?

Are you missing something from Bethesda, as a developer and company, that should run and direct the show?

I didn’t know anything about the Quake community before signing cnz in March this year, but it has exceeded all my expectations of how an esports community should be. Coming from a CS background, it’s like night and day… The CS community is cold, it’s every team for itself basically, and a lot of hate towards each other.

At least from my point of view the Quake scene is friendly, open-minded and supportive towards everyone, regardless of skill. It’s amazing to see. Meeting everyone in London further strengthened this view of mine. Everyone was so friendly, it was like a big family, and it made me so happy.

In my opinion, it would be cool if more people would work towards strengthening the core of the competitive scene. Hosting small cups, even with only like 20 USD prize pool, will still attract players and keep the scene healthy and active. I know not everyone has the resources to pull off even small cups like that, but I also know many people do.

I’m not missing much from Bethesda. I think they do a really great job, providing us with a Pro League together with PGL, updating the game and maintaining good communication with the community. I can’t really ask them for more, because they keep it all together already.

What I am missing though is other organizers stepping in and hosting tournaments. Like DreamHack for example. Imagine if we had 2 DreamHacks each year with a Quake tournament in them. Wouldn’t even need to be a big prize pool, people from all over the world would still come there to play and have fun.

It would strengthen the scene so incredibly much, and would also provide an opportunity for people outside of QPL to compete on a high level in a LAN environment.

Dragonborn Esports hit Quake community by acquiring  cnz and  dramiS, to cover both main regions in Quake Pro League. Besides this, you have a bunch of streamers and a - given the origin of  Zchiila, as your founder - CS:GO team. 

What are the main goals of DBE as an organisation? Where do you see DBE in 2 years and what type of manager would you call yourself?

Well, actually I don’t communicate that much with the CEO and that side of the organisation.

Part of the deal me and her had when I came back to the org to start the Quake division was that I would run it all by myself.

Basically she handles that side and I handle this one. I know we have a CS:GO team and a couple of streamers, and it’s great to have representation from those sides too. But I only care about Quake now. All my passion for CS:GO is gone basically, so I let her handle that part. So with that said, I can only speak for myself.

In 2 years I hope I am still working with Quake and that the organisation is as healthy as it is today, continuing to support players and hosting tournaments. I don’t really care about “growing” as an organisation as long as I can continue working with the top and support the community on all levels.

I don’t do this to make money, I do it because I love the scene, and that’s what people have to understand. I basically make no money out of this at all, sometimes it even costs me, but what else are you going to use your money for, if it’s not something you love?

I never really think that far ahead though. I do what I love right now and I will do it for as long as I can. I want to build a legacy with my organisation and with my players. Something to look back on and be proud of when I finally decide to retire.

Dragonborn Esports organised its first Quake Champions Tournament back in October and production was quite a success - especially with help of  nyxia-.

How are you going to top it up with the DBE World Cup?

Yep, working with nyxia was fantastic. She did a swell job producing that event and it will be hard to top it! But this time I’m working with ShaftasticTV, and they have proved they are also really talented. So I’m not worried at all. It’s gonna be good.

You could have watched what IRONFIST, GerQC and Polish Quake League did with their broadcasts and organisation. Do you take any notes from such events? Who is going to cast the DBE World Cup?

I watch and follow these events, yes. Not so much for inspiration but because I love watching it. Because I don’t have knowledge about streaming, I don’t take much notes about production. I just enjoy the gameplay.I always work with someone else when I host an event, and I want them to have free hands, to show what they can do. That way, every tournament I host gets its own style, and that’s awesome.

I chose to work with  ShaftasticTV for this event,
they will be producing, streaming and casting it.
They cover a lot of events, but usually not the absolute top ones.

So I wanted to give them a chance to work with a bigger tournament. I know they are capable of that.

DBE World Cup starts with Qualifiers on 11th December and continues on 12th with Finals, so far there are a bunch of huge names signed in already.

 dramiS,  cYpheR,  ZenAku,  St0n3,  RAISY,
 GaRpY,  wolfpl,  SIB,  Lure  - and the list can go on...

If I deny “your players” what other Quake players do you like to follow?

I like to follow underdogs.  Lure,  wolfpl,  St0n3 from the list you gave me, for example. It’s so cool to see an underdog play versus a “favorite” and still do good.

It warms my heart because I know how they feel, I’ve been in the same situation myself years ago. A lot of emotion, and a lot of new valuable experiences for them.

Just look at  wolfpl when he came to London.

His first match was versus  vengeurR, and it was a tough one for him.

Still, he was so happy just to be there in that environment, and that was awesome to see. He wasn’t sad because he had lost, he just saw it as an opportunity.

And that’s why I wanted to make the World Cup open for all. I wanted everyone to have an equal chance, and lesser known players to have a chance to play versus the top ones. That’s what really makes me happy. Of course I always enjoy watching the QPL players too. They are like machines. They have so much experience, sometimes it amazes me how perfect their mechanical skill is, and I understand how many hours they have spent playing the game. 

Thank you for your time and have fun with Dragonborn Esports and see you on stream for DBE World Cup.

Thank you for all the work you put in for the scene.

We need more people like you. :) Yeah see you on the stream, I will probably cast a match or two in the Finals. :)

Looking forward to see you cating, gonna be epic! <3