IM Hirai Interview

This article was originally published on GameSpot's sister site onGamers.com, which was dedicated to esports coverage.

What made you decide to start Incredible Miracle in the first place?

I was out drinking with friends, reminiscing about the old Starcraft 1 days when we used to hang out together. To feel the same passion once more, I met up with Xian (currently the coach of Samsung Galaxy), Nestea and ChRh (currently retired) to build a Starcraft 2 team with me as the coach. We also called up MVP, YongHwa and KangHo (LosirA) whom I knew for a long time.

You had worked with KeSPA teams/players before you started IM, how much did this influence your management style?

As the owner, I tried to manage the team in a different manner than KeSPA teams. However, as the team coach, I tried to absorb KeSPA teams’ systems while fixing some weak points.

What was your biggest challenge in the early days of Starcraft 2 and getting the team started?

Being the owner was much harder than being the coach. As the owner of the team, dealing with the management cost was the hardest. Getting sponsors and other processes of building the team was harsh. Furthermore, I have never managed a team before and I lacked skills to do well.

What kinds of difficulties did you go through when searching for sponsors? What kinds of reactions did you receive, what was the process you went through to secure a sponsor?

The hardest thing at first was not knowing anyone in those companies. It was like building up on a waste land. This made me try harder. I started out by calling those companies’ call center. After calling and visiting them in person every day, I was eventually able to meet higher up people. I made hundreds of calls every day and visited them whenever I could. After all that I was finally put through to meet the right people to talk about sponsoring. When I first started the team my wife gave me a business card holder that can hold up to 600 cards. I laughed thinking there was no way I could fill it up. Right now I’m on my way to fill up my 2nd holder. No matter what it is, you can achieve it if you just try.

Even when I was eventually put through to the right people in the company who could help me, majority of them lacked understanding on eSports. Their first reactions were “What’s eSports? Games? What is that?”. They had a lot of doubts about the effect of sponsoring eSports to their marketing. So I started explaining what eSports is all about to those people and it did not end in couple hours. I decided to continuously inform them about eSports to make them put trust in me and my team. I kept in contact with them and informed them about eSports more enthusiastically even if they decided to not sponsor us. Months passed. Then a year and then another year. Eventually they too became experts in eSports. Befriending them sharing the same interest, I believe, is more effective than exaggerating to make eSports look better.

The right process of getting a sponsor is to help the company that is considering to sponsor understand about eSports and explain how we can work together as a team. It’s not easy to persuade them just by talking about benefits. You have to get to know them. Their target population, their direction, brand value, etc. Researching them thoroughly is the best way to get a sponsorship.

IM started off strong and has remained one of the most consistent professional Starcraft 2 teams in terms of success. What was the biggest factor contributing to the team's success?

All teams have their own characteristic and style. I sincerely respect that. Our team has changed a lot through the years and I feel that it is crucial to understand each player’s mental state, personality and state while playing the game. The entire team try to help each other in these aspects. Not every player can do well all the time. Therefore, it is important to motivate players who aren’t showing immediate results by helping them get optimistic about the future and helping them enjoy the game. I use GSTL and other team leagues to motivate these players. A lot of fans criticize me for sending out new players but I believe these things set the foundation for the team to achieve great results in top leagues.

You both manage the players and run the team from a business perspective. You also have a wife and child now, how do you manage your time between all of these commitments?

Haha. I’m also amazed at how I’m doing so much work. I’m managing 25 players in Starcraft 2, LoL and WoW teams. I manage the team and also deal with costs. It’s also my job to get sponsors for the team. Doing all the work by myself leaves a lot of holes. I’m trying my best but I don’t have 10 bodies, haha… Passion and confidence in myself is the only thing that keeps me going.

Many teams choose to have a player manager and keep the teams management separate. Why did you choose to do both yourself?

At first I wanted to do everything by myself and I was confident about it; so I thought I was doing well. However, now I see that I’m lacking in some aspects and I feel that way too. I’m currently thinking of hiring professional people to be more efficient.

Is expanding internationally a possibility for IM at this point? If not teams, what about sponsors, considering IM players reach so many international fans?

I’ve been actively trying to expand team IM to foreign countries since 2011 and I still am. However, I haven’t been able to put it into action due to expenses. If I get a good sponsor or even a benefactor, I’m going to expand at any moment to NA, EU and other Asian regions. Although Team IM is based in Korea, we have participated in many foreign tournaments and plan on continuing. Since they are good opportunities even for foreign sponsors to expose their products, I have received a lot of proposals. If any foreign sponsors are interested, please give me a call any time.

There was a partnership between IM and Quantic in 2011. Eventually the partnership dissolved. What was your intention with the partnership - what did you want to accomplish by partnering with a Western team?

In 2011, Mark, the owner of team Quantic, as well as four other foreign teams called me regarding partnership. Of those, Quantic’s terms matched my goal for the team the most and the conditions were good. Working with a foreign team made me come up with a lot of ideas on team’s scope and future plans. I also noticed different publicity and marketing methods.

In the end the partnership failed, what happened?

At that time I was very impatient as an owner. I put all my effort into sponsors for my team and I didn’t have time to allocate to partnership related tasks. So after a long talk we decided to end our partnership.

Would you ever engage in a similar partnership again? Why/Why not?

I’m always welcome to the idea of working with foreign partners. I wish to try out things that haven’t been done before for the fans to enjoy.

In Korea the KeSPA teams all had major corporate sponsors that effectively owned the teams. When Starcraft 2 began, you and other team owners began new teams and attempted to bring on sponsors similar to Western teams. What were some of the challenges you faced in trying to convince companies to support IM and Starcraft 2?

It was hard. I’ve never worked with people in those fields and I didn’t have anyone helping me. However, my confidence in the team made me work hard. I started from the bottom and worked restlessly to the point where there were even companies which I visited every day.

Throughout the years IM has been able to bring on big brands such as nvidia, LG and even Coca-Cola. This was big news in Western eSports. But the nature of these sponsorships was much less glamorous than people had thought. Can you tell us about bringing on some of the larger companies and what the process is like in Korea to secure a large tier sponsor such as these?

I don’t know anything about how other teams interact with their sponsors. In my case, I realized most big name companies don’t fully understand eSports. In fact, some don’t know anything at all. To start, I had to explain what eSports is and what kind of team IM is. I consistently kept in contact with them and earned their trusts by getting to know them one by one. By doing so, I too understood what those companies wanted. By presenting conditions based on their needs too, you are bound to get sponsors.

You eventually brought on a LoL team as it became more and more popular. You were one of the first major teams in Korea to do so, what was your motivation behind this decision?

I wanted to expend the team to other games too. While wondering what game to expand to, I stumbled upon a foreign LoL competition in 2011. When I got back to Korea, I installed the NA version of LoL and tried it out. The game was considerably easy and easy to get into. I was sure of the game’s popularity and from September I began recruiting players before the game was even launched in Korea. Even during partnership with Quantic I came in contact with NA LoL teams and in April 2012 I finally formed a team.

What factors do you usually consider when evaluating when you would like to take on a new game?

The game must be fun and be able to enjoy with other people. I’m good at noticing these in games so I try out a lot of games. Games I possess alone count up to about 100 games lol.

Is there a chance we will see an IM Dota2 team in the near future?

I’ve been trying out Dota 2 Since last summer (2012 summer). Since then I’ve been thinking it would be nice to make a team but our team isn’t financially stable yet, making it difficult to expand to Dota 2. However, I’m in the process of trying to make a team consisting not only Koreans but also foreigners. Currently there are about 3~4 players getting ready.

What factors do you usually consider when evaluating new teams or individual players to join the IM team?

The thing I look for the most when I see a new player is his principles. Even if the player is lacking in skills, I’m confident that I can make him a great player. Therefore, I emphasize the player’s character and diligence. I personally go talk to new players to try to see those in them.

You had Fenix, a player from Peru on your team for a time. Have you considered having other foreign players come and join the team?

I’m always interested in recruiting a foreign player to make him better. I want to train him in our team house under our system and see what kind of results he’ll bring in foreign tournaments. I’m not too interested in players who are already good. I want a foreign player who might not be good at playing but passionate and diligent. I’m sure I’ll find one.

IM was one of a handful of teams to recently join KeSPA. What as the motivation behind this decision?

After leaving eSF, I pondered about the direction IM was going in. I talked about my considerations with KeSPA during this period and found their plans to match mine in a lot of aspects. Naturally I expressed my interest in joining KeSPA.

Many other teams in Korea have lost their corporate sponsors or have dissolved entirely (WeMade FOX, eSTRO, STX, MBC Game, etc.) not to mention ESF teams. What is the current condition of eSports in Korea, overall?

In Korea, eSports is centered around LoL at the moment but in overall it looks good. eSports has taken a place as one of many cultures. This is shown from selling out ten thousand tickets and bringing in other revenues. However, LoL being in the spot light, other games are losing interest from sponsors. I’m planning on trying hard to solve this problem.

What steps are you currently taking to try to solve this problem?

I don’t think this is a problem that can be solved by myself. I feel it is time every team, not only Korean but also foreign teams, get together along with tournament holders to discuss the issue. I’m up for anything that can restore eSports back to how it was. I’ve been planning numerous events and I want to try them out with foreign teams. Cheer me on and look forward to them in the future

What about Starcraft 2 specifically?

As stated above, Korea’s eSports community is too focused on LoL and as expected, Starcraft 2 is indeed losing interest. However, we are still going to try to showcase RTS’s uniqueness and promote Starcraft 2. I hope this effort brings back sponsor’s and fan’s interest.

What do you think, from a team owners' perspective, needs to happen in order to "stabilize" the scene?

It is important to create an environment for people to enjoy Starcraft 2. I think there’s a need to make both watching and playing more approachable. We must make dull aspects interesting. This is a problem not only the tournament holders have to solve, but also something teams have to solve too. It’s about time teams realize getting good results for the team isn’t the only thing. This is what team IM and I are trying to do.

Thank you for your time, do you have any words you would like to send out to your western fans who will read this?

I’ve always wanted to do a lot of things with my foreign fans but because of other issues I haven’t been able to carry them out. Let’s try out things other progaming teams have never done before. Keep cheering for team IM. It’ll be hard at first but I’m going to try anyway. I’ll try to make us feel more like friends then celebrities in the distance. It’s hard for teams to have more than just good results. Putting achievements aside, I want to run the team for our fans. To do so I require all your interests and support. Keep your eye on me ( IM’s boss), our team and the players.

Translated by: Young Won Kim

Photo Credit: GOMtv, TeameSports, PlayXP