posted by Mantis.,
A few weeks ago, dk Brian [B]'Mania-'[/B] Strandby and dk Jacob [B]'Maelk'[/B] Toft-Andersen's departed from fi [B]Problem???[/B] which led to the disolving of the team and this matter not being officially reported anywhere, puzzled the Dota community on how these two long time partners have gone separate ways.

Former MYM captain, Maelk, is still unofficially playing for Evil Geniuses in various tournaments while MaNia- has joined his fellow Danes in dk [B]SK-Gaming[/B]. Over the past week, SK has been performing flawless dropping no game in three different tournaments and their recent success is mostly attributed by the joining of the famous ganker.

Today, JoinDOTA managed to sit down with the MaNia- to discuss his recent indictment into SK and various questions about his former team Problem???
[B]Hello Brian. You just transferred to SK-Gaming recently. How are things between you and your new teammates?[/B]

Hello! It has been truly amazing joining my fellow Danes. The morale is always high and we are all working really hard to be in top of Europe in Dota 2. I communicate well with all my new teammates and they are all so dedicated to getting our teamwork up and running from the get-go.

[B]What is the normal practice time for you and your team?[/B]

We try practicing as many days as we can during the week. Normally our practice schedule is from around 18:00 to 00:00 CET with pauses to make and have dinner in between.

[B]When you joined SK, Calculus was removed from the team to make space for you. Is there any particular reason why Calculus was replaced?[/B]

Well, I don't like to replace people, but things had been going against SK for some time. It was basically a change to try something new with the team roster to bring some more diversity to the team. It is Calculus' role I normally play, so it was him that was replaced. All the players in SK (including Calculus) before I joined are all really good in my eyes, so of course it is very hard to go and take someone's place. I had some other offers when I was prompted to join SK, but I chose SK because I really think highly of all their players. I also believe that we could form a strong team together.

[B]After your addition to SK-Gaming, the team has shown improved consistency in their games. In your opinion, what did you bring to SK strategy wise?[/B]

I would like to think that I bring experience, but I also try to keep the morale high while we are playing so that people can feel comfortable and confident. I help our strategy-wise too and also try to make sure we play a more low risk and high reward kind of game.

[B]Which recent game do you think showcased this "low risk and high reward game" the most?[/B]

I think our game versus Panzer in D2E Challenge was a good example of how we like to play the game. We take fights when we get the best position and then push towers with a clean getaway. Its a good example of how you dont just dive and take heroes because you're in front, but you actually just build on your lead with backing off and settle with the gold lead you just got. That way, it is very hard for teams to get back in the game.

[B]SK-Gaming is on a roll recently winning eight games in a row. How do you feel about that?[/B]

It is wonderful to see that our hard work is paying off. All my teammates are also very skilled individually, so we have had a good foundation to build on. I really hope we can continue our hot streak.

[B]What do you think is a key factor for that unstoppable streak?[/B]

I think it is the fact that we are playing our style of play. We try to be very aggressive and push multiple towers early. This is also the kind of play style I love to play the most, so I'm really having a lot of fun while playing too.

[B]A lot of people have been asking about the sudden disbandment of Problem??? What exactly happened in the team?[/B]

Well Problem??? has always just been a mix and fun team. We all didn't have any competitive team, so we decided to just play some competitive games ourselves, because we all love to play competitive Dota. Maelk and me each joining different teams later on, was the reason of its demise.



[B]Your former teammate, Maelk, has recently been seen playing with Evil Geniuses recently. Though nothing has been announced, what do you think is happening in EG at the moment?[/B]

I think EG is just working out which combination of players, who fits the best on their team, so they can dominate the Dota 2 world. I hope Maelk joins them, since he has always been a great asset to any team.

[B]Is there any bad blood between you and your long time teammates?[/B]

There is absolutely no bad blood from my side. I hope they do well in the future, and I believe they can accomplish great things. I have played with them for a long time now, so I know their potential is limitless.

[B]You have recently begun streaming on a regular basis. Who encouraged you to do that?[/B]

At first it was MYM encouraging me to stream, but now I do it by myself. Maybe I can earn few coins for internet too *smiles*.

[B]How do you feel having over a thousand people watching you play? Is that a disadvantage letting your opponent watch your play style in extreme details?[/B]

At first when I was streaming is was bit nervous of having people watching me play and judging me, but after some time you don't really think about people watching you. Most of the time you play for fun in those matchmaking games, than you would in clan-wars , so it is sometimes hard to just relax as you normally do while pubbing. *laughs*

I don't think it is a disadvantage at all, unless you are streaming your practice games right before a LAN tournament. Else, it is just to entertain the viewers and try to make them learn something too. I think many people are replacing watching television with streams (at least I do it myself!).

[B]Who gave you the music playlist for the stream?[/B]

I have gotten some from the viewers and some from my own taste. It is not all the music that I have on my playlist but that is the kind of music I would normally hear myself. I like slow and relaxing music while playing rather than for example, dubstep.

[B]What are your plans regarding you and your teams future?[/B]

Our plan is to keep working hard, and take as many top positions in online and offline tournaments as we can.

[B]Thats the end of the interview Brian. Any final shoutouts you want to give?[/B]

Shoutout to all my wonderful teammates and especially to all our fans. Thanks to our sponsors SK-Gaming and Toshiba, Steelseries, Kingston, Sansibar and Gamed.

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