Recently I had the chance to interview Deathsie, gamer, TV personnel and generally a very fun person to get to know. Here is how the interview went.
So tell us a bit about yourself?
Vietnamese American from Texas currently living in London, England. Instead of going to fashion school, I instead moved to this country to do a BA and I'm about to finish my MA at the London School of Economics. Currently a professional Hearthstone player (for Reason Gaming), freelance tournament caster/host, and I'm on an esports/video game television talk show or variety show called The Bridge. I'm into such much random stuff... for example, I was really into the skateboarding world, I also went to aviation school, and I'm an anime fanatic 
What made you get into gaming?
I have a short attention span so I need stuff to focus on. I used to play other games professionally/competitively including (but not limited to) multiplayer Tetris, Checkers, Mahjong (Japanese and Chinese variants), an MMO called Dragon Nest, and Magic the Gathering. I'm very competitive. Back before that when I was really young, I was more into RPGs such as Banjo Tooie, Pokemon Snap, Wild Arms, Chrono Cross, Digimon World, and Morrowind. And I always LOVED puzzles, so naturally games like Professor Layton or physical puzzles/riddles.
Why Hearthstone?
As my life became more chaotic and I was moving all over the world, it became harder to play IRL card games. Mahjong you needed to find 3 other people to play which was already difficult in a niche game. Magic the Gathering you needed to lug decks around and travel out to physical locations which was annoying. Hearthstone (of which I was very skeptical of at first) became a game that was not only convenient, but also was super fun and had a lot of depth. All of the past games I played at a high skill level carried over nicely to Hearthstone. Also Hearthstone is a really flexible game (lifestyle-wise) which I appreciate with work and school commitments.
Do you have any tips for people wanting to start watching esports competitions?
I think you should firstly find which game archetypes you're interested in (be it strategy card games, shooters, or fighters etc.) and then find streamers and tournaments to watch afterwards. For me, however, I've never been into watching tournaments in anything (which includes esports) unless it's the semi-finals or something. I find more happiness myself in playing or watching streamers.
What are some of your best gaming memories/experiences?
Oh man, the esports life is full of great times. For me, most of them are thanks to the people/places/events rather than the games themselves. Just yesterday on The Bridge, the host was talking about how Ali (our co-host) was very supportive, and so jokingly I gave him the nickname 'Brali'... you know, for 'support'. And almost exactly one year ago at Dreamhack Summer in Sweden was a great time. I had gotten so wasted at the Twitch Barn after party that when the police came to shut it all down, I randomly got into a group's cab and one of the girls let me use her as a pillow 
When I got back, I realised that I had forgotten my bag with my laptop and passport in it which I had previously stashed away at the venue so I wouldn't lose it. I had to go back and break into the Barn to find my stuff again. Sadly, that's so Deathsie. https://twitter.com/
What do you hope for with you and gaming in the future (i.e going forward within the esports community)?
I have still yet to do well in a major LAN Hearthstone tournament so I'm still pushing for that right now, but it's so frustrating at times. Ideally I see myself in a future where I'm still proficient at games, but I would rather be focused on the other side, aka being a host, entertainer, presenter, caster. I feel that these skills are much more transferable career-wise. I always recommend for people trying to "make it in esports" to be flexible and to accumulate transferable skills because, just as in Hearthstone, having more options gives you more plays.
You can find Deathsie in the following places,
Also don't forget to watch The Bridge on Twitch as well: www.twitch.tv/ginxtv
Make sure to check back soon for more interviews.
See you later,
TNG
Feel free to contact me any time I would love to hear what you have to say. You can contact me on:
Email : northerngirlgames@gmail.com
Twitter: NorthGirlGames
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