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Christian "Devou" Westre Solvang steps up as team captain for GamersLeague eSport HearthStone!

Wed 19th Aug 2015 - 12:04am : HearthStone : Gaming

Christian "Devou" Westre Solvang had an impressive run in the OKS.GG HearthStone League for GamersLeague eSport, but feels he has what it takes to help the team take another step towards the top and will now get to do so in the role of team captain for the HearthStone division of GamersLeague eSport.

With a solid backround as a poker player Christian knows a thing or two about mindgames and what mindset is needed to go all the way. He has also played loads of online tournaments after joining GamersLeague eSport and has shown that he can battle the best of the best when given the opportunity. On top of that he knows how to push his teammates when needed and aims to inspire more activity by being active himself.

We asked Christian a few questions for you guys so you can all get to know him a bit more.

Who are you and how did you end up as a HearthStone player?

Christian "Devou" Westre Solvang: I´m a 22 year old guy from a city in norway called Aalesund, currently working fulltime as a receptionist at a hotel. I started of playing hearthstone mainly due to the wow servers being down and i had a friend who kept telling me how great it was and that i had to try it out. I have never played any TCG games before but i figured to give it a try as the servers were down anyway! I have spent countless hours playing all kinds of poker and i consider myself a semiprofessional pokerplayer! And there are definitely some similarities in my opinion. However i can say that after giving it a go, i was hooked more or less right away!

That's an interesting way to get into a game as competetive as HearthStone and you are surely not the only one that got hooked that way. You have however chosen to take it a step further than most with joining a professional team trying to make it into the big leagues. As you are fairly new to professional gaming what do you think you bring to the table and how can you utilize your poker background as a player and captain?

Christian "Devou" Westre Solvang: I don’t think my background necessarily will give me any advantage when it comes to being a captain of a team such as Gamersleague, i think thats more helping me as an individual player. However the most important for me when stepping up as captain, is that I will try to make the team work as more of a unit than individuals. We have an amazing group of players, by far the best in norway & better than most internationals would seem to think. But we have a long way ahead of us when it comes to working together. We have recently had focus on this matter within the group & the team has shown me that they are backing me up as a captain and support my values. Without their support i would have never even considered stepping up.

It is interesting that you mention the parts of working more like a unit and working together in a game that most people think of as purely a solo game. More and more team leagues and tournaments that involve more than 1 player at a time are popping up almost weekly. Do you think the more team based focus in the community and tournament scene might be the future of HearthStone?

Christian "Devou" Westre Solvang: Definitely, as you just mentioned yourself, more and more team leagues are coming up! I am completely convinced that the future of this games lies within playing it as a team. I can use the ongoing Archon teamleague as an example, it has gotten amazing attention & in my opinion it is the most entertaining competitive hearthstone that has ever been. I believe people in general are bored of the old school HS solo tourneys even if they definitely will still have a place. Preparing for HS as a team is more entertaining both for the viewers and for the players & also it requires a more strategic mindset.

You mentioned before that GamersLeague eSport has the strongest HearthStone lineup in Norway and a strong lineup even by internernational standards. With you as captain might we see more GamersLeague eSport players taking part in online tournaments and leagues? Are you happy with the lineup as it stands or might there be some changes coming up?

Christian "Devou" Westre Solvang: The potential in the team as it stands is endless, the players are amazing but we all have to work harder! I think it goes for everyone in the team that we tend to be abit lazy and that we simply haven’t worked hard enough to achieve what i know we are capable of. When it comes to potential new players, it would have to be something very special. But if we can find this player that has what it takes to strengthen our already very strong roster, then we might see some changes in the future. But for now i am very happy with what we have.

With those final words we in GamersLeague eSport can only say we are proud to have him as part of our team and we truly look forwad to seing what the future brings with Christian captaining the ship.

Zarotan

Zarotan

Kim-Erik Aanes

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