Hi Ulrich, what is your role in the world of Counter-Strike’s lans? How did you get to your current position at ESL/Turtle Entertainment?

I started back in 2006 as a commentator, and after a while I took over the editorial lead.

People know about ESL, but not necessarily about Turtle Entertainment. Could you explain what it is, and how these two organisations are linked?

Turtle is the company, and ESL is our main brand. We do a lot of things which are ESL branded, but also a lot which are not. So everything we do is a Turtle product, but not everything has the ESL brand on it.

In this interview, we chose to focus on the “organisational” aspect of lans, as it became even more important since eSport got popular and started invading big halls and stadiums. According to you, when did eSport reach this whole new dimension, allowing tournaments to take place in such prestigious places?

Most of it started in 2014, as esports had been growing a lot and it became obvious people wanted big events – with Katowice 2013 being the first really big one for us. Then in 2014 we took a few risks with Frankfurt and New York – and it worked out, so we started doing more of them.

IEM Katowice 2013, CS:GO was not not represented yet, but the public was already present

Concretely speaking, how do you choose the halls and stadiums where events will be taking place? Do you have some “target” places where you especially want to go?

We have some places where we keep going back, like Cologne and New York for example. Other than that we are always looking to grow in regions where there are a lot of fans – like SEA, where we just added an event in Malaysia this year. We typically look for good places where there are a lot of fans who will come to the event, where the time zone is convenient and where partners are interested.

Concerning the planning, how far in advance do you book the place where the event will take place? For example, we know that for ESL One, the Lanxess Arena is booked from one year to another. Is it an exception or is it usually like that?

With our annual events it typically is like that. When it comes to planning, we typically start 10 to 12 months before the event. Sometimes less, but the planning cycles are definitely becoming longer as things get more established.

Building the stage has changed a lot, with more and more settings, effects and lightings. During the last ESL One Cologne for example, you arranged multiple narrow screens in a semi circular shape. How is it designed? By who? Do you have “specialists” in your team for this kind of things?

Yes, we do have a team of production experts who design our stages and then work with our suppliers on getting them produced. We try to not reinvent everything every time, so for a while we have been using similar player boxes at our events for example. For our biggest events, we always try something new though.

The semi circle of narrow screens at Cologne, above EliGE and peacemaker

How many people does it require to set everything up, the stage, the screens, the lightings, etc.? And how long in advance do you begin these preparations?

The stage planning starts months before the event, the actual setup is typically done within a few days before the event. Sometimes we do not have a lot of setup time so things need to get finished in 48 hours. While we usually would like more time, our team is experienced enough to also work with little time.

Are there any differences between organizing and setting up a Major (for CS) and a more “traditional” tournament?

Mostly the scale of things as there are more teams, and we tend to have more talent and some really unique features at Majors, like Augmented Reality. Obviously Majors are also key for Valve, so we work closely with them and adapt the event together.

On other games like LoL, we often see the players at the center of the hall or stadium, with the crowd all around them. On CS, players are almost always on a “traditional” stage, with the crowd in front. How do you explain this? Could CS also move “to the center” one day?

Center stages are a unique thing, but they also pose some challenges. Players have their backs to the audience, you need to hide all “backstage” elements somewhere, and it sometimes is difficult to properly position shots. Also audio setup is more difficult if the players are in the center. I think Dreamhack are doing a center stage for Vegas, but we are going to stick with the traditional setup for now.

Dreamhack Winter 2014 still remains as one of the only CS:GO tournament to be played on a central stage setup

Recent events like EPICENTER Moscow seem to have set even higher expectations, with a spectacular opening ceremony and fairly advanced visual effects. What did you think of this performance? Is this bound to develop and become usual for all events?

Epicenter had a great opening, and I think those “out of game” elements will become more important as these events get bigger. They will never replace the match content itself, but they will definitely add to it.

Do you think there is a limit to the expansion of eSport? It already takes place on prestigious stages, are there any other places worth going that would exceed everything already done?

More people watching on screen and on site, in more places and more often…I think that is the natural development as esports get bigger. We would certainly like to fill the biggest arenas everywhere – so that is the next step, making sure everything is packed all the time.

Let’s be a bit chauvinistic. There aren’t any big events in France at the moment, except maybe the ESWC and DH Tours, but they don’t appeal to top players anymore. Is there any particular reason why there are no stages planned in France? Is it that you can’t find any place suitable enough? Or can we expect some great surprise in the future?

France is actually something on our list for the very near future. France has great fans, a good sponsor potential, so it is a great fit for an event. Watch out for our announcements…

Which lan did you enjoy most when working on it? Which one was most challenging? Knowing the amount of work all of this required, how do you feel during the lan when the crowd starts screaming, when the players get excited and the atmosphere becomes insane?

Frankfurt 2014 was memorable because it was our first big arena event in Germany, and Cologne 2016 was amazing because we sold out. Events like Manila or Sao Paulo are more challenging because local customs and workflow are often different, but we make it work every time. Nothing can compare to the feeling of seeing the show start in a packed venue. It really shows why you did all this work.

In the end, you are what we call a “shadow worker”: your work allows eSport to develop and incredible events to take place, but you yourself are almost never put in the spotlight. Does this lack of exposure and recognition bother you sometimes?

Not at all, and there is a large team behind all of this who also get little visibility. It is part of the job – the players are the stars, they should be the ones people want to see. For me personally, seeing everyone enjoy the events we put up is more than enough, and knowing I had a part in making it possible.