Hello Alisha. Please give our audience a short introduction who you are, why you are interested in DotA and how you became part of Meet Your Makers.

Hi everyone, my name is Gessarin Alisha Sawadiwong, I'm 19 years old and currently residing in Copenhagen, Denmark.

I enjoy playing DotA since I started playing it occasionally with reallife friends. It offers a big variety of strategies due to bans, hero picks, item combinations, etc. and that's what I think is so fascinating about it. Also the constant balancing makes the game always a new challenge.
I came to myMYM through ieS basically. When you manage a team, you get in touch with the admins who run the tournament. After a while of helping out there, I decided to join the crew and take part in it actively.

Do you need good connections or any special abilities to become head admin of a tournament like the Prime Defending, or did you simply write an application?

It's something you grow into, through constant commitment and the work you do without asking for any personal benefit. You can't just write applications for such a position, it's neither everybody's task nor something that you can 'fall' into - it would lead to disaster. A good network with connections is beneficiary for such a position, but you cannot base everything on it, since you have to stay objective and neutral.


Concerning the Prime Nations – will there be another one in the close future, or did MYM abandon this project because big events like the ESWC took notice of DotA?

myMYM haven't abandoned the project, that's all I can say.

When people are talking about the real big and important events in esport most of them combine the most famous tournaments with LAN events. Do you have any plan to escort DotA in this important step, or will MYM focus on online events?

When the Prime Defending League was announced, it was said that we're working on having the second PDL grand finals as LAN event somewhere in the world, and that is still the plan! And since Prime Defending is the base for the PDL, we're of course focusing on both, with online events currently having the main focus.

Actually there is a pretty massive offering of leagues, tournaments, inhouse communities and scene sites. Do you think that consolidating this market will be a benefit for the community as the level of skill to succeed will raise – or will it reduce the chances of upcoming teams to get known in the scene?

I think the past has shown that it is very easy for skilled teams to manifest themselves in the international top, just look at KS, WG and DeN. Regional known teams, which got their breakthrough on the international stage in PriDe tournaments. Also newly formed teams have a high chance of getting internationally known, as seen for example with kM/Met.

Scrims and leagues are also a good foundation for players to keep on practicing, prepare, maintain and improve their level. A high number of fresh available replays also constantly improves the competitive scene. So no, I see the high variety beneficial to the scene.

The bet-business just became a partner of MYM at the running pride. Concerning the latest trouble with e.g. Virtus.Pro, what’s your opinion in this regard?

As first impacts of our sponsorship with XLBet, we were able to offer match-based winnings and higher prize money overall. That way we could provide a much higher motivational factor for each team to come as far as possible in our tournament.

In the long run we hope to provide a long lasting relationship, which DotA, in our eyes will benefit from, due to the higher funding of tournaments, stricter rule sets and overall a higher professional level for the teams.

Problems with match forfeits, or rule benders occur in any sports, so I wouldn't really connect those with the betting business. We are investigating each case as well with the bookmakers to prevent fixed matches, and they are very cooperative in that as it also benefits them - so it's a win/win situation for both of us to keep the tournament nice and clean. There were some accusations from the community, connected with the betting, but they have been proven wrong so far, and we are working very hard on keeping it that way!

From the overall development of DotA to up-to-date concerns. Can you tell how the process of disqualification of Virtus.Pro was managed by both you and the council of gamers? Is it time-intensive or a heavy burden to finally say 'dismissed'?

Of course, it is a heavy burden to punish any team - in the end those teams have signed up to participate in our tournament, and have to leave it due to unpleasant circumstances which draw a bad light on both the team and the tournament itself.

First of all, if suspicions arise, the given evidence has to be double and triple-checked before an investigation even starts. After that the admins gather further evidence and when that is final it is presented to the player council in sever cases, so they can approve or disapprove it. After the evidence is considered valid, the rules have to be reviewed regarding the rule break, and a punishment is being set up, which is again being presented to the player council. After reviewing their recommendations, the final judgement is being formed by the tournament administration and the team is being informed. So yes, it's for sure a time intense process.

And to the second bit blockbuster of the running PriDe. Do you think that MYM was eliminated by their opponents due to bad personal performance, of does the European scene still underestimate the rivals from both Asia and America?

You should rather ask the players themselves about team performance issues. I personally do not believe that anybody in the top 16 is to be underestimated.

Big thanks for the time you took to answer the questions while the running tournament went go. Any shout outs at the end?

Thank you to all participants for making Prime what it is today, and also to our sponsors for providing the DotA community with such a great support!