'Reflections' with Carmac (part 2)

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

Michal 'Carmac' Blicharz, Managing Director of Pro Gaming at ESL, is the star of the 14th episode of 'Reflections'. This is part two of a two part interview. Part one can be found here.

How have Carmac's attitudes about Counter-Strike changed over the years? How does he see the skill depth in different eSports games? Does Dota2's method of balance appeal to him more than LoL's? Why isn't Dota2 in IEM? Could I, hypothetically, displace LoL from IEM if I had enough money to spend with ESL? Does Carmac have a special dislike for people whose fame exceeds their skills?

Time line of topics

• 00:39 Carmac's old bias against Counter-Strike, as a game which didn't require much skill.
• 07:14 Carmac's own subjective view on skill depth in games.
• 11:29 Should we dumb down hardcore games to help make them more palatable to casual players?
• 15:10 How do you solve the problem of eSports existing due to hardcore games and yet becoming big, due to casual games?
• 18:59 My theory that ESL were using the patronage model for games like Quake or CS.
• 23:00 If Carmac likes the "imba vs. imba" method of balancing, then shouldn't Dota2 appeal to him more than LoL?
• 28:48 Does Riot ever attempt to influence tournament organisers who use their game not to use Dota2? Has this anything to do with why Dota 2 is in EMS, rather than IEM?
• 34:09 If I spent more money with IEM than Riot, could my hypothetical MOBA/ARTS game replace LoL in IEM and displace it to a different ESL league?
• 37:46 Does Carmac have any serious regrets over some of the pranks or expressions of his personality over his eSports career?
• 45:51 Does Carmac have a personal annoyance with people whose name/fame is bigger than their skill?
• 48:36 Three amazing players Carmac picks out from eSports history.
• 55:23 Final words/Outro.