Johan "N0tail" Sundstein is probably one of the few people who could be called the face of the professional Dota 2. The 28-year-old Dane talks to the German press agency about his break from playing, his adopted home of Portugal and the situation on the scene.

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

Answer: I still have a lot to do with the game, because I am still working closely with OG, but I have also taken on new responsibilities. I have two dog babies who are four months old and do a lot of gardening. The baby dogs are now entering their hormonal phase and are taking up the majority of my time and attention. This change was very healthy for me and I wanted to move away from Dota for a long time. I was a player for 15 years and even if it's worth it, it leaves a mark. You have to be willing to put everything on the back burner.

Question: How did you settle in Portugal?

Answer: Learning Portuguese was a very slow process. Due to the pandemic, I have spent a lot of time at home and since I would rather learn from native speakers than from Duolingo, things are progressing rather slowly. Nevertheless, it was a great change, the people and the weather are great! I have spent many years on the road and have never really felt at home anywhere. I want to put down roots here in 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 power relationship between Valve and the teams and fans?

Answer: I definitely think that Valve needs to change something. The people working on Dota are either overworked or understaffed. Corona can not 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 which it would not exist today. Valve just needs to open a door and start answering emails.

On the other hand, I think that Valve's financial incentives are on Steam, and not on Dota. Other companies would lick their fingers after a game like Dota. I don't know what to do either, a lot of people have already failed here, but we can only keep trying.

About the person: Johan "N0tail" Sundstein won the Dota 2 World Championship "The International" twice with Team OG. The 28-year-old Dane is thus one of the best-earning e-athletes ever.