We close the chapter of October with a busy November for the Hearthstone team for Illini Esports! Known on the Discord community as Trido2, the Hearthstone’s Competitive Leader, was kind enough to take some time to answer some questions! Get to know Trido a little bit more and how leading multiple teams is differently than playing the game itself.
What year and major are you in?
I am a sophomore Mathematics major.
How involved in Esports were you prior to IE?
I just played a lot of Hearthstone, playing in many tournaments, both individual and team.
What lead you to IE in the first place?
I just wanted to compete in TESPA, which is the major Hearthstone college tournament and get the Dalaran Flame cardback.
What made you want to lead the Hearthstone team with Illini Esports?
I am very passionate about everything competitive Hearthstone, I wanted to share that passion through leading the Hearthstone team.
How does leading a team differ than playing competitively?
The main difference is making sure that everything runs smoothly within all our teams. Before I did not have to worry if another team had a dispute.
What does training the team look like?
Before the beginning of the season we scrimmaged with other teams, but during the season most people just show up for matches and participate in discussions about what decks to bring to the match. Most practice comes from learning decks by playing on ladder. Admittedly I have not done a great job in looking at replays of other teams matches and giving my insight on certain plays.
Any upcoming events our students should know about for the remainder of 2020?
We are currently competing in Split 2 of TESPA. I used to do THL (a team tournament, open to anyone) with 2 current members of IE Hearthstone, so there might be an IE THL team soon.
How can more people get involved with IE? Especially if they want to compete with the Hearthstone team.
The Hearthstone team is “open-cut, as long as the number of members is divisible by 3”, so don’t be afraid to join. We have members ranging from Bronze to Legend.