Hey there guys, thanks for agreeing to sit down and chat for a few minutes. Firstly, let’s introduce you both – Rikumikko "T-Panda" Kangasmäki and Sean "Snare" Rihlamvu - commentators and hosts. T-Panda cast the North America Qualifiers for The International this year, and Snare cast the Group Stages.

So what are your highlights of the season so far?

Snare: I’ve been casting a bunch of online leagues for Dota, some qualifiers, and then The International Group Stage. I’ve also been working on Street Fighter, Tekken, FIFA, and also some general media work for EVO. The fighting game community and FIFA have a lot of passion and great crowds. Unfortunately for them, Dota is still the best game. 

T-Panda: I started off the year doing Dota qualifiers, mostly working a bunch with lizZard. We did some Elite League Season 1, various DreamLeagues … I ended up triple-booking one weekend doing 29 hours of non-stop casting one day. Rocket League was also quite common, and Finnish LAN events. There were also periods of downtime in the middle, but after I started working for Relog it’s been super busy.

With the DPC, were you casting more, less?

Snare: Definitely more - it put me on a big stage and gave me a chance. Before DPC, you’d not have seen me that much unless you were a die-hard China Dota fan. It’s said that the DPC allowed the tier 2 teams to flourish, but it also gave a chance to the “tier 2 talent”. I do miss the DPC.

T-Panda: I agree. The same is true for the players. DPC gave the structure and a goal for a lot of the non-tier-1 players to work towards, and an opportunity for newcomers to break in.

Snare: A good example is Lou (from Azure Ray). Without DPC, what are the odds that he’d be able to get an opportunity to play with Somnus and Fy, and get a big break? DPC also gave a little more latitude for TOs and teams to experiment with new casters or players respectively.   

T-Panda: When the DPC was cancelled, it felt like there was a bit of a downsizing for both talent and players. Also it was the removal of a stepping stone for both categories of them – a progression from grass roots, to amateur, to semi-professional, to professional, to The International.

Both of you have been casters but also panel hosts, stage hosts, interviewers. Can you chat about this flexibility you have shown?

T-Panda: They all have their own particular flavours. As a desk host you get to drive the narrative - it fits my style to be very serious and structured but also enjoy some more entertaining bits with fluff and fun. In stage hosting, I have to show my energy in a different way - I enjoy engaging with the audience. Doing play-by-play is when I’m in my comfort zone. I have what people call a radio-esque style of commentary - it comes naturally for me since I’ve always watched ice hockey and it’s a common style in traditional sports.

Snare: Similar to him, I’ve also done almost every role - and in multiple titles. I enjoy play-by-play the most, but I think that hosting panels is where I provide the most value and it brings the best out of me. When I was in production (at my previous job), I got quite good at directing, and working out where a show needs to be moving. I think this has given me some expertise at getting buy-in from other panellists; working together to push the segment forwards. I think I over-prepare quite a lot, and that is best expressed as a panel host.

What drives you, and keeps you in Dota?

Snare: The decision to take the road less travelled is never going to be an easy one. It incurs hardship and sacrifice, but you do it because you’re so passionate that you don’t have any other choice. The thing which keeps me in Dota is simply that there’s no other game which engages me and rewards me the same way as which this game does. Despite participating in a bevy of other esports, there’s something genuinely special and unique about Dota which simply cannot be replicated. It keeps me up at night to think about how to communicate the degree of impact this game can have on your life.

T-Panda: I’ve always considered myself the “black-sheep” of my family with my artistic views. When I first started to realise that the gaming dream could be a reality, I became heavily invested in creating an esports career. My parents were always very supportive of me no matter what and I wanted to prove to them it could work out.

Until the next International what are your plans, hopes, goals? What’s one fun sub-objective you’ve got?

T-Panda: We’re in a kind of precarious industry - there’s always some uncertainty involved in the future. I’ve always been a realist, and a very driven person but I want to take it one step at a time. I’d like more studio work, but I’m still waiting for my first LAN in Dota 2 - it’s something that’s eluded me for a few years. An ultimate stretch goal would be to work at TI 2025, but I’m more focused on the journey. My side-objective is to keep Finnish Dota alive!

Snare: I have some personal goals - projects I’ve been cooking on the side that I want to deliver on. The effort I’ve put into that has somewhat curtailed my Dota efforts, so I need to commit to that. In terms of professional ambitions I’m still working towards the same goal I’ve had since 2015 - which is probably the same that most players and talent have had – to participate in the TI Grand Finals. I could do ten tier one LAN events but I’d give that all up for a single TI finals. I also have a spiritual quest which is to maximise and elevate the drip levels at every event I attend!