N0tail is one of the most successful e-sportsmen ever, he could win the Dota World Championship twice. Now he is retired as a player – and takes care of completely different things.

Johan “N0tail” Sundstein is probably one of the few people you could call the face of professional Dota 2. The 28-year-old Dane talks to Deutsche Presse-Agentur about his break from the game, his adopted country Portugal and the situation in the scene.

Question: How are you doing in your player retirement? Has your lifestyle changed much?

Answer: I still have a lot to do with the game, since I still work closely with OG, but I have also taken on new responsibilities. I have two dog babies that are four months old and do a lot of yard work. The dog babies are now entering their hormonal phase and take up most of my time and attention. This change has been very healthy for me and I have wanted to move away from Dota for a long time. I was a player for 15 years and even though it’s rewarding, it leaves a mark. You have to be willing to put everything on the back burner.

Question: How have you settled in Portugal?

Answer: learning Portuguese has been a very slow process. I have spent a lot of time at home due to pandemic and since I would rather learn from native speakers than Duolingo, it is rather slow going. Still, it’s been a great change, the people and weather are great! I spent many years on the road and never really felt at home anywhere. This is where I want to put down roots now for the long term.

Dissatisfaction with Valve

Question: recently, many people are dissatisfied with developer Valve’s management of the professional Dota scene. How do you see the balance of power between Valve and the teams and fans?

Answer: I definitely think Valve needs to make a change. The people working on Dota are either overworked or understaffed. Corona can’t always be an excuse because things have been going wrong for some time. Dota has a very active community that built the game and without them it wouldn’t exist today. Valve just needs to open a door and start answering emails.

On the other hand, I think Valve’s financial incentives lie with Steam, not Dota. Other companies would lick their fingers for a game like Dota. I don’t know what to do either, many people have failed here but all we can do is keep trying.

Personal information: Johan “N0tail” Sundstein won the Dota 2 World Championship “The International” twice with Team OG. The 28-year-old Dane is one of the highest-earning e-sportsmen in the world.