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The GAIMIN Gladiators are a competitive esports team dabbling in DOTA 2, CS:GO and Rocket League. Following on from their recent booming success and growth – we’ve had the opportunity to chat with Joseph Turner, the Gladiator’s Chief of Esports and co-founder.
We had the chance to chew the fat on recent team performances, the challenges of changing team rosters, and developing roles within the esports industry. Here’s what our conversation with Joseph looked like:
Videogamer: First off, thank you very much for speaking with us today. We’ll get started by talking about the GAIMIN Gladiators’ debut year in the Esports arena. 2022 has really kicked it all off for GAIMIN’s Esports teams. There’s been several impressive performances in big competitions, and quite a few victories too. How challenging has the first year been developing several successful Esports teams?
Jospeh: ‘The first year is always a dangerous area in Esports. People just do not realise that the growth of the industry has made it a complex beast. We had to pick up the phone to contacts from 10 years ago in order to be fully able to enter the sector in the way we did, and thankfully the acquisition of the guys from OCG Esports made our Scouting and Talent search much simpler, as they had the information to grab up some unsigned teams who were performing well.
Beyond everything else, just balancing the books is always a challenge. The growth I mentioned before has transferred into the salaries that Players and Coaches now receive, so if you’re not staying on top of your finances in esports, you start to see what we are seeing on a wider scale now, mass layoffs, lower backroom staff salaries and even entire organisations collapsing. It’s a rough space, but we really battled through this first year.’
The GAIMIN Gladiators Esports teams are well known for their chemistry and teamwork with each other. Of course, these are partly natural bonds grown from playing together, but how much of this cohesion comes from “off-pitch” time spent together?
‘Our DOTA2 Roster actually live in totally different countries to each other. The mixture of Germany, Denmark, Netherlands, Russia and now the USA with us picking up CCNC means that the guys spend very little physical time together, however, they’re all extremely friendly and they do not have the oversized egos we sometimes see in this space, which is hugely important.
Last year, and this year, we have continued to do extended length bootcamps with the teams to ensure they’re exposed to each other for a period before any major competitions. We planned Football competitions, and the guys regularly workout and do psychology sessions together to ensure they’re all in the right frame for their games.
Our other teams, such as APEX Legends, are housed together and spend 24/7 living around each other, but thankfully that is a team of old friends who are used to each other’s company.
Overall, teams being in the same place constantly is not always a great benefit, and it removes almost the huge asset of Online Multiplayer Games being just that, Online, and this generation has no issues with living purely online and building relationships online.’
Towards the end of last year, the DOTA 2 team saw a slight shake-up following BOOM’s departure and Quinn’s arrival. What challenges did this pose to a roster of players who’ve been playing alongside each other for years now?
‘Honestly, it was not a major surprise to us that the team decided to remove BOOM. We are always in discussion with the team, and the core came to us and told us the issues they have with BOOM and also ImmortalFaith after our loss at The International. These guys are professionals, and they want to win, so they understand that sometimes you need to be the bad guy in these types of discussions.
As for Quinn, Seleri spent a long time in open conversation with him, and obviously we all know Quinn from his time in North America DPC, interestingly, we had attempted to sign the former Quincy Crew roster prior to picking up Team Tickles, so it was a hilarious pickup internally to bring Quinn over.
The actual transition from BOOM to Quinn, and also Immortal to Cy-, has been hugely beneficial and has been very simple. The boys are much happier playing their own style of DOTA, which they previously were not able to, and it has shown in the results since TI.’
GAIMIN as a brand is clearly aligned with blockchain technology, and the launch of the upcoming Web 3 game ‘The Harvest’ on the GAIMIN platform looks really promising. We’ve heard there’s a chance you’re looking into acquiring a roster for the upcoming shooter. Is that something you can talk about, and if it is, what sort of risks are involved with signing a team up for a game that’s not released yet?
‘We want to remain at the forefront of the industry, and frankly, the way Game Development is going these days, I do not see a position where Web3 Titles do not become the norm for Gamers. Beyond this, our Partnership with BNB Chain actually introduced us to The Harvest, where we saw the development of a pure AAA title that would entice users from both the worlds of MOBA and FPS into a single title. It balanced what we would expect from a “Pure Esports” Title.
We have now picked up a Harvest Roster, however, due to the development of the game being delayed, it may be some time before you get to see the firepower of our Gladiators in O’Ree-Jin, and that is obviously where the risk lies for any Organization picking up teams in untested games. We did everything we could to mitigate this risk, so it is not an issue for us right now.’
The GAIMIN Gladiators DOTA 2 team were recently matched up against Tundra Esports in the final game of the Western European DPS Split 1 Season. With a win, they could take second place and secure a spot to Lima Major in Peru. The pressure was high, but ultimately the team came out victorious. What did the mental and physical preparation look like for the team before such a high-stakes game?
We prepared for this game the same way we do any game. Cy- is one of the best analysts and Coaches I have seen. He understands the game and how we can balance, trial and test and then perform, so there was very little difference in the preparation.
Tundra are a great team, as proved at The International, but for some reason it always seems to be a game we come out on top of, which is obviously a great sign for us! We never take any opponent lightly in West Europe DPC, as it is such a strong region, and Tundra could be any other team when we get into the server, we are there to win, not assess our opponents!
Since answering this question, our DOTA2 team not only qualified for the Lima Major, but won it! At the time of answering, we are in the middle of qualification for the Berlin Major and ranked #1 in world rankings!
In light of the previous question, Esports has seen incredible amounts of growth in the past few years, and it only makes sense that the science and health practices behind the sport are growing too. In fact, I understand that some Esports teams are now looking out for nutritionists. There’s so many avenues of performance optimisation to drill down on – do the GAIMIN Gladiators have any plans to follow suit?
‘We already have! We wouldn’t be Gladiators if we did not want to ensure our teams are at peak physical and mental performance before any event or game. We have an in-house Personal Trainer in ReshyD, who doubles up as our Content Manager, as well as giants such as Calvin Adamus, who really enforce our outlook in Health Management of our teams.
Further than that, we have had a variety of Psychologists and Performance Coaches, from Traditional to Ayurvedic, who have assessed our Players individually and as teams to ensure that their communication, mindset and abilities are all at the top of their game.
It doesn’t scare or surprise me that everyone is trying to find a way to give themselves the extra edge, but we didn’t see this as being something “new”, as opposed to something clearly needed in the industry, as well as something that has benefited other Sportsmen in other disciplines massively, so why not transfer it over?’
It’s really exciting observing modern sports evolving, though with growth there’s new challenges for the teams to face. What other roles could we see filled to support the GAIMIN Gladiators?
Right now I am really interested in the world of Streaming, Podcasts and Music being utilised to develop the industry further. Tundra picked up music artist P Money last year, releasing “Outplayed” which did really well in the traditional music space, as well as faces such as Snoop Dogg associating with FaZe Clan. This seems logical to me, the core demographic for esports is the 18-35 demographic, and it will spread to those in the younger generation also, so investment in external media, such as Long Form Content, Engagement Content and Music will continue to bring more support, more fans, and in turn, more growth and traction to the Gladiator Brand.
So keep an eye out for maybe a Musician to create our “ring walk” song, or even some content talent who can push our Podcast and Streams to the next level.
Esports performance, much like real sports, is often entirely dependent on an individual player’s form. If a player appears to be underperforming, how difficult is it to help them return to their maximum potential?
We have had a couple of occasions where Players have faltered, whether due to pressure or their drive, it’s always best to approach them directly. These guys are young, but they also understand that they are in a hugely competitive space and they are incredibly privileged to be there, so when you have these issues, a very firm but fair stance is how we deal with it.
Players respect Organisations that look out for them, so if any of our Players are underperforming, we do not immediately sanction or fine them as some other teams do, we sit, we talk, we see if there is anything in the background affecting that Player, and if not, we assess internally with the rest of the team what we can do to assist.
Our last resort, under any circumstance, is the sanctioning or benching of a Player for bad performances, but it does happen, and we have released a couple of Rosters who promised high and achieved low due to whatever reason or circumstance.
The DOTA 2 team picked up the victory at the Lima Major, how did that feel and what is next for the GAIMIN Gladiators in DOTA 2?
‘I cannot even begin to describe the feeling of taking home a Major Trophy. There are some great shots of me in tears whilst the team celebrates. I spent two months of my year in a Bootcamp with these boys, when they didn’t even know I was an Owner, they thought I was just there to order them food and do their laundry! So watching them pick up one of the biggest accolades in all of esports really hit me, and it hit them all too once they got home, but I think we all shared the same sentiment, it was too easy! The issues with Boxi, who we all hope is much better now, making Team Liquid weaker, the games against Entity and Aster went by so quickly that we just felt we needed more of a challenge to call ourselves Champions.
Oh! We are also waiting for the new trophy after the one we lifted fell apart in our hands, the boys are just too strong!
We are currently in the midst of DPC Tour 2, doing well and having beaten Team Liquid 2-0 to kick it off, we are ready for the rest of the season. ESL have now announced their DreamLeague Season 19 and Season 20, along with the Riyadh Masters, so we are really excited to keep tearing through this year and trying to build a legacy in the DOTA2 Community. Another Major or two, Riyadh and The International, that would be a great year I think!’
Finally, 2022 was a huge year for the GAIMIN Gladiators. Each of the teams has picked up huge wins and successes throughout the year, and they’re only just getting started. What can we expect from 2023?
‘Expect Content, rapid, entertaining content. As we continue to grow, winning games on screen is not the only obstacle, we have to remain relevant, so we are going to be flooding all of our Socials with engaging content, such as our Lima Docuseries currently on YouTube.
In terms of our games, that depends on our Players. We know DOTA2 is going to be good for us this year, but our Rocket League team have shown huge leaps and bounds in the past couple of months under the tutelage of new coach Markydooda, and our Apex and PUBGM Rosters are currently trying to cut through their competition in the world of Battle Royale, so it’s a busy year, but I am certain we will be seen on many more stages, holding many more trophies.’
It was a real pleasure talking to you Joseph, and we wish you and GAIMIN Gladiators all the best in the future.
