A FAMOUS INTRODUCTION
a short story by Mr Bitter

 

 

Hello Mr.Bitter and thanks for taking time for this interview, could you tell us a little bit more about yourself for the readers who may not know you?

Mr Bitter: Sure! I’m 26! Almost an old fart by gamer standards and I am basically a huge Starcraft nerd. I’ve played RTS for most my life, starting with Age of Empires, graduating to Broodwar, and, of course, moving to SC2 as soon as it was released. I play the game at a decent enough level, and was a member of the pro team VT Gaming for a period of time before they were disbanded to form the new super team Reign.

Now I’m best known for my 12 Weeks with the Pros coaching series, and will soon be moving to Germany to cast full time for the ESL.

What do you do when you are not playing or casting Starcraft 2?

Mr Bitter: Recently I’ve been spending my time away from the computer reading the Song of Ice and Fire series by George R. R. Martin. I just finished the most recent book, though, so now I’m hurting for a new read.

Of course, at the heart of things, I’m a gamer, so there are tons of other games I like to play as well as Starcraft. League of Legends, Marvel vs Capcom 3, Team Fortress 2…. These are all likely to suck up and hour or two of my day if I’m not playing Starcraft.

 

The dire life of a caster
turmoils of gaming

When did ESL first approach you? What are you mainly going to do?

Mr Bitter: ESL approached me after I did some guest casting for NASL back in May. My job at the company will be to commentate Starcraft 2 content alongside Rotterdam, and to play the role of host in a smattering of new  (and old) shows.

Do you think you’ll pop in with TakeSen to?

Mr.Bitter: I don’t know if I’ll be doing much work alongside TakeSen. I’m sure we’ll interact and stuff around the studio, and, of course, I’d love any opportunity to work with someone as well respected as him, but because I don’t really speak any German, I don’t think I would add much to his cast.

Have you put the dreams of pro gaming aside and put your focus on casting, or could we see you in a tournament in the future?

Mr Bitter: Haha, actually part of my job description is to maintain a “high masters” rank on the European ladder, so I have to stay in decent shape. At the end of the day, though, I’m getting paid to be a caster and a show host, and, unfortunately, that means I won’t be allowed the same amount of practice time I’ve enjoyed in the past.

I would love to become a top level pro-gamer, but, at least for now, that dream is going to be put on hold for a little while.

So you basically get paid to play?

Mr Bitter:I don’t know if I’d go that far. I get paid to understand and present the game. If part of that means homework through gameplay, then I’m okay with that.

Will all your new or current productions go under the ESL flag or will you do some outside of ESL as well?

Mr Bitter:Well, for starters, I only cast for Map of the Month. Beyond that, they are their own organization. I really love what they do, and would love to push their product into the spotlight as much as possible, but ultimately that’s not up to me.

As for my own stuff, things like 12 Weeks with the Pros will be continuing, and will be happening through ESL. I’m actually incredibly excited to see how my show works with the awesome production power of ESL pushing it.

Was it an easy decision to move from US to Germany? and what will be the biggest thing you will miss from the US? And beside beer, what is the one commodity in Germany that you are looking forward to?

Mr Bitter: It was difficult in that I was choosing to leave my friends and family and go half way around the world to chase the dream of being paid to talk about video games. (Let’s be honest, most people’s parents don’t hear that and think “wow, that’s a stable, long-term carreer move)

But it was easy in that I was being given a chance to travel around the world to chase the dream of being paid to talk about video games! I’d be lying if I said I didn’t labor over the decision, but deep down I always knew accepting their offer was the best thing for me to do. In terms of things that I will miss: friends and family most obviously.

Things that I’m looking forward to? The travel, man. Living in Europe is just awesome. I love to travel, and I’m a total foody, so I fully expect to be visiting all sorts of new countries and trying all their famous foods. And yea. Beer. I love beer.

Favorite – Non-US brand?

Mr Bitter: Oh man, that’s hard. I’ve been weened on light, American beers, so the whole premise of experimenting with German beer is both exciting and terrifying! I hear you brew it so thick that its chewable.

Are you going to continue casting MLG events after your move to Germany?

Mr Bitter: I would love to continue working with MLG, but that’s another decision that doesn’t rest with me. First I have to do a good enough job in Anaheim for them to want me back.

ESL will allow me to travel and cast other events that doesn’t conflict with their own broadcasts, though, so given the chance I would absolutely love to continue working with MLG.

 

NOT REVEALING SPECIAL TAKTIKS
but helping you out to become a better gamer!

Can you reveal anything of the new productions that are in the ESL pipelines? Just because you are so awesome?

Mr Bitter: Haha, I would love to tell you all of our secret plans, but that might get me in trouble.

I can tell you that 12 Weeks with the Pros will continue through the ESL platform, and that we’re planning to feature mostly Terran players.

I’ll be returning to our original format of me playing while the pros coach me for most shows, but we’ll also be doing some specials where viewers can earn a chance to come on for some free coaching as well.

Now that you are going to move to Germany, how psyched are you to be able to attend Home Story Cup 4, Dreamhack Winter/Summer/Invitationals, Asembly.. the myriad of European tournaments?! Best perk ever?!

Mr Bitter: Are you kidding me? The European tournament scene is incredible. Home Story Cup is probably the greatest event that’s ever been held. Seriously. Everything about it was just perfect.

Dreamhack never disappoints, Assembly is unbelievable, and, of course, IEM is comparable to MLG in both its scope and production. This is a dream come true, man. I’m still waiting for someone to pinch me and tell me to wake up!

Are you going to Dreamhack invitational Valencia?

Mr Bitter: All I can say with certainty is that I will be attending every ESL sponsored event. If I can make it to Dreamhack Valencia then you can bet I will be there, but that’s only going to happen if it doesn’t conflict with stuff ESL has planned for me.

Most people have probably heard of your ‘12 weeks with the pro’s’ but for those who have not, could you summarize it briefly and talk a little bit about your experience with that?

Mr Bitter: 12 Weeks with the Pros is basically a coaching show. We bring on the best Starcraft players in the world and we pick their braines for two hours at a time. 

There is a lot of content out there for players who don’t play at the highest level, but as you progress through the ranks it becomes harder to find good information on what to do in very specific situations.

That whole goal behind 12 Weeks is identifying those situations and learning to deal with them. For exampple: We spent an entire week… something like 6 hours, discussing the nuances of recognizing and defending 4 gate in ZvP. That kind of specific stuff can only be taught by top level pros, and that’s exactly how we approached it. 

We feature the best and the brightest from all around the world, and I can’t wait to break down the Terran matchups in the same way we did the Zerg ones.

“We feature the best and the brightest from all around the world, and I can’t wait to break down the Terran matchups in the same way we did the Zerg ones”
Just to be clear you are going to play terran in the future episodes?

Mr Bitter: Yea man. I’ll always be a Zerg player at heart, but part of understanding the game at a high level, is playing it at a high level. Just playing one race is like only knowing 1/3 of the game.

How good is your Terran right now?

Mr Bitter:  Eh, its like mid-diamond right now, but I really attribute that to just now knowing the builds. Terran is a race that really requires specific builds at higher levels. Once I polish that stuff up, I expect my Terran to be comparable to my Zerg.

 

Bam! MLG Anaheim Questions!
just like that

Which games that you aren’t casting during MLG would you really like to cast and which games are you really looking forward to?

Mr Bitter: I’m a Zerg player at heart, man, so obviously I wish I could cast every top Zerg player every time they walk up on stage. I’m so excited to get to cast Dong Rae Gu (I hope I spelled that right), and I really hope that TLO has gotten over his injuries and shows up in form. 

I’m also really eager to see how the open bracket shapes up. There will be so much talent wading through it, and the open games are almost certain to be as epic, if not more so, than any of the main stage games from the group stage.

In the different groups, how do you predict the top two in each group based on the players we know of (as we don’t know the open bracket players)? (Theory crafting <3)

Mr Bitter: Haha… Alright, here are my best guesses. I really want to see foreigners do well here, so forgive me if I show a little bias against the Koreans.

Pool A: Nani and Huk

Pool B: IdrA and Boxer (c’mon, he’s the emperor)

Pool C: Socke and Ret

Pool D: Kiwi and Select

You really think Nani and HuK will beat DRG? ;D

Mr Bitter: I think DRG is awesome, but  HuK has already proven himself over in Korea. Nani has also shown really great results. I’m not as confident in his PvZ, but he’s a super hard worker, and I would love to see him perform.

Which players do you think will take the four open bracket spots?

Mr Bitter: Man that’s an impossible prediction to make. There’s just too much talent, and too much variance in top level play.  The very best players in the world still only win 60% of the time. The truth is, on a good day, any top player can take down the whole event.

I’m really going to be looking to the FXO guys to do well, though. QXC and Tgun, especially, and, even though he’s no longer with FXO, I really want to see Sheth do well.

 

Bam! GSL July Questions
you didn’t see that coming did you?!

Favorite team in GSTL?

Mr Bitter: OGS, of course!

Favorite player in GSL Code S/A?

Mr Bitter: Ummmm…. Losira has been my favorite Korean Zerg for a while. I guess the truth of the matter is I don’t follow Code A closely enough to really have a favorite.

What do you think of the new format of GSTL compared to Code S?

Mr Bitter: Getting into Code S is really, really hard. I would like the qualifier to be a  little bit less strenuous.
I love the GSTL format. Man, watching QXC all-kill IM was just incredible. I think it might make for the most exciting Starcraft 2 to date.

Who do you think is going to win the Code S finals between Losira or NesTea, can the apprentice become the master?

Mr Bitter: No. Nestea is too good. Losira is a great player, and I definitely expect him to take games off of Nestea, but I just don’t see him taking the whole tournament.

Losira has a really cool ZvT and ZvP style. He relies on mobility and strong countering. That doesn’t really translate as well to ZvZ. I expect Nestea to shut him down pretty hard.

Is there anyone else you you might have wanted to see in the Code S playoffs?

Mr Bitter: I think everyone wanted to see Nestea vs MC. Unfortunately, it just wasn’t meant to be this time. I was also very disappointed to see HuK go out.

Favorite Foreigner?

Mr Bitter: There are so many that I like! I’ll break it down by race.

I love the safe and solid playstyles of Sheth, IdrA, and Ret, but nothing excites me more than watching Vibe play late game ZvT and ZvP, so he wins for Zerg. 

My favorite Terran is DDE. He’s such a hyper-aggressive player and his control and multi-task is absolutely incredible.

For Protoss, I don’t think we can really call HuK a foreigner anymore, so my vote will go to his European counterpart: Naniwa

The EG – Puma – TSL ‘situation’, SK forming partnership with oGs, coL with MVP; is this an ongoing trend or isolated events? Do you think we will see a lot more Koreans in foreign teams or only brief partnerships every now and then?

Mr Bitter: Starcraft 2 is bigger in the West than it is in Korea. With the exception of the guys in Code S, and really close to Code S, I absolutely expect to see a continued migration of Koreans to non-Korean teams.

 

Personal time with Mr Bitter!
Conga!

Favorite food?

Mr Bitter: Barbecue. I love Barbecue. I’m from the South, I grew up on it. It’s the greatest thing in the world, and I will miss it so very much. :*(

Favorite color?

Mr Bitter: Um…. Red?

Favorite movie?

Mr Bitter: Boondock Saints!

Favorite drink?

Mr Bitter: Depends on the occasion. I like Bloody Maries, and Captain and Coke.

If you were an animal, what kind of animal and why?

Mr Bitter: Definitely a shark man. Top of the food chain!

If you were a game, any game which game would you be (Sc2 excluded)? And why?

Mr Bitter: The whole concept of “being” a game is a little bit new to me… Probably would take the Sims, though. I love mack’n on the ladies.

What kind of music do  you listen to?

Mr Bitter: I’m actually not a big music guy. I prefer 8 bit tracks and video game songs to mainstream music. I also really enjoy classical music when I’m driving. Tchaicovsky is an all time favorite of mine.

You are trapped on an island with 1 caster, 1 pro gamer and one map, who who and which? Why that map?

Mr Bitter: I would be stuck on Belshir Beach with Kelly Milkies and Slayers_Eve, duh. Do I even need to explain that?

With your amazing Starcraft skills you are going to pick up a girl, what do you say?

Mr Bitter: lol. These questions are beyond epic.

All jokes about infesting spawning pools aside, I’d probably just tell her that I prefer a long macro game over a cheesy rush any day (and every night) of the week.

Again, thanks for taking your time to do this interview! Do you have any shout outs?

Mr Bitter: Just a few. Thanks to you guys, obviously, for reaching out to me. It always blows me away that people even know who I am.

Obviously big shout out to MLG, please check me and Husky out on the Blue Stream.

Huge shout out to ESL. I cannot wait to get over to Germany and start working my ass off on the continued growth and consumption of e-sports.

But most of all, shout out to all the Starcraft fans out there. Keep watching, keep reading, keep playing. We’re taking over the world man. One nerd at a time!

 

Mr Bitter did not have a picture of him that would fit into a gangsta video so here’s a picture of Mr T!

This is how we imagine Mr Bitter when we think of him..

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