Gnimsh, capitain of team Cloud 9 and pro player of Hearthstone was recently interviewed by Ocarine, our specialised hunter. For those who may have missed the recent Numericable Cup where he finished third, here is the occasion to discover (or re-discover) Gnimsh, Poland's best player.
Ocarine : Gnimsh Hello, pleased to be able to interview. Can you introduce yourself briefly?
Gnimsh : Hey! My name is Marcin and I'm 30 years old ! Currently I'm working as a Senior Account Manager in an Advertising Company, but I'm also a pro player playing for Cloud 9 and taking my first steps into the esports world. I live in Warsaw, Poland where it's easy to get foreign visas and travel to other countries.
Why did you choose Gnimsh as name ?
It was given to me by my friends many years ago. Gnimsh is a character from the Dragonlance series and my first pen&paper RPG character was very similar to him. So my friends started calling me that and it kind of stuck. Too many people knew me by this nickname to suddenly change it. Even now people reach out to me and they say "hey are you the same Gnimsh that played this game with me ?".
How did you know Hearthstone ? What did you like in this game ? Which rank are you actually ?
I learned about Hearthstone on the day it was announced. I was following Pax East for the Blizzard announcement and was hyped when Rob Pardo revealed it. I was playing WoW TCG at the time and Hearthstone was taking my favourite game into the digital space. I was also hyped to work with Blizzard directly, as WoW TCG was handled by another company. I love how the game enables us to play the characters from Warcraft lore. You can lead Garrosh to battle and use legendary Gorehowl to kill your opponents. Orcs clash with humans and spells fly above their heads, it's epic. Currently I'm lazy and not playing ladder that much as I'm already qualified for the World's qualifier. I'm preparing for the upcoming tournaments (ESL1 and IEM Shenzhen).
Which champion do you prefer ? and which deck ?
My favorite classes are Mage and Warlock. My favorite deck right now is probably token Druid.
Cloud 9 is a huge team in eSports ! How did you get in ?
My previous team - Doge House - was a brand of its own and we were on a market for some time. We were searching for an organisation that could take us in, the whole team without exceptions. When we started talking to Cloud 9 we instantly knew that this relationship would work. They were looking for a team and we were looking for a home. After initial discussions all pieces fell to place.
How is it going with Cloud 9 ? with Hafu, Kolento, ek0p and Strife ? Not too difficult to understand each other ?
As Team captain my goal is to make the communication smooth. We knew each other before, but the team still has a way to go. I'd really love to have all of them in one place to just hang out and chat, but it's hard right now as everyone lives in a different country. We communicate a lot, but we are still getting to know each other.
What plans do you have for the upcoming months ? Any big tournaments planned ?
This Monday I'm flying to Shenzhen to play in a new Intel Extreme Masters tournament. I might go to Taiwan, but it's still a secret. In August I'm going to be at Gamescom, Cologne. There is a lot of Hearthstone events everywhere. Leagues, tournaments and show matches. I will try to be in as many of them as possible !
Hearthstone aside, are there other games you like ?
I'm a former TCG and MMO player, so I try to play those. From time to time I get back to Star Wars the old Republic to finish leveling my characters. I try to play Star Wars : LCG and Cardfight Vanguard card games, but I don't have enough time to go to the local tournaments unfortunately. I also fell in love with Heroes of the Storm and try to play a bit and learn how it works.
Where can our readers follow you ?
I'm pretty active on the social media, Twitter, Facebook, Youtube, Twitch and Instagram.
