Name: Thomas Kilian
Birthday: 15.08.1981
Star signs: Lion
Age: 27 years old
Profession: :Student
Residence: Mannheim (Germany)


Thomas 'Khaldor' Kilian, NGL Supervisor, GameSports Project CEO and Shoutcaster has taken some time, to talk with us about the reorientation of the NGL and the current situation of the big clans and the hopefully soon appearance of StarCraft II.


GameSports: Hello Khaldor. Thank you for some time to answer a few Questions. First of all could you explain our way to eSports?

Khaldor: It started with Eclipse and I decided to found our own WarCraft III Clan. Because of our so far bad Internet Connection we only played Diablo II online and wanted to switch to the RTS Scene with WarCraft III. We founded the WarCraft III Clan inPanic and started to take part in several tourneys and leagues. A little bit later I joined WarCraft.de as a forum moderator. Step by step I started to shoutcast and after that I joined GameSports.


GameSports: Do you tell your friends about your engagements in eSport?

Khaldor: All my friends know that I am an actively part of the eSports scene. But the responses are quite different. Since many of my friends are also gamers, the concept of eSport is nothing abstract to them. Those who never caught a glimpse into the scene are generally very interested in learning more about it. So far nobody has shown a disliking attitude at all.

GameSports: Did your step to the eSport in any way influenced or even reduced your real life?

Khaldor: In my opinion eSport as such does not differ that much from any other hobby in this regard. There were certainly situations in which someone chooses to neglect other things to pursue his hobby. If you take part in an organizational field you got some responsibilities you have to live up to. For example during my time as manager of 4Kings and mousesports I gave priority to the eSports if the situation calls for it. Even with GameSports and the NGL ONE there is not that much difference. You have to decide for yourself whether what you are doing is important enough and also makes fun. Of course you have to make sure that it does not become rampant. As long as such things are in an healthy frame it is completely normal in my eyes.

GameSports: In your opinion. Has the eSport evolved over the last few years?

Khaldor: If one compares todays eSport situation with that 6 years ago, one has inevitably come to the conclusion, that the eSport (especially in Europa) has experienced a great development. In those days, there were no big leagues whatsoever and coverage as we know it today didn't exist at all. Audiostream were very rare, not to mention video coverages. Today, for many people it's already a desaster if the WTV servers crash during a simple war.
Another aspect is the rising acceptance of the public. Standalone the way the media copes with the topic of eSports has changed quite a lot. While representatives of the media were confronted with something completely unknown to them a few years ago, most reporters one faces today got experience with gaming on their own. One does not have to approve every thing that changed over the past years, but when regarding the development as a whole one has to admitt, that the eSport has evolved a big deal.


GameSports: What do you expect the eSport will look like in about 5 years and what role will the NGL ONE play?

Khaldor: I have to admit that I find it difficult to forecast such a big period of time. The eSports in particular is developing very fast and the last few weeks have shown how quickly things can change: NGL and WC3L changed their league system, and MYM released their whole WarCraft III Squad. When I remember how strong and fast the eSport  grows, such a statement is only partly possible. I would naturally want  the eSports in Europe to gain acceptance over the next 5 years to converge to the great example of Korea. In this context I would be happy to see the NGL ONE as one of the pillars of such a development.


GameSports: Recently the NGL reduced their team league to three players per team and in the same breath you announced a new solo league. What reasons have led you to such a step?

Khaldor: Through the dialogue with the participating teams as well as the G7, it became clear within the last few months, that many clans were restructuring and focussing more and more on solo competitions. For many clans the team leagues are no longer attractive enough with their high player costs. The step to a solo league was the logical way for us to guarantee an attractive competition at the highest level. Although we had different models considered in the adjustment of the team league, however we won’t be happy with those steps and decided to go some new ways with a solo league. The team league is a tribute due to his popularity of our NGL system.


GameSports: This step was quite surprising for many people. How satisfied are you with the feedback you received after you announced to focus on a solo league?

Khaldor: Truth be told, the feedback clearly exceeded my expectations. The decision to form a solo league was welcomed positively in the scene and we were given lots of credit for the compromise concerning the team league. The NGL clanwar system has become very popular in the past and the decision to not abandon the league but continue it with some adjustments was approved by most of the community. Therefore I am very happy with the feedback we received.


GameSports: As already announced there won't be a second division for the solo league. What about the promoted and relegated players?

Khaldor: The regulations will be similar to the existing rules. Of the 24 players participating in then NGL ONE, the top eight will qualify to participate at an offline finale. This is where the best player of the season will be determined in the course of a final tourney. Regarding the relegation, the four players ranked last at the end of the season will have to leave the league. In addition there will be two determination games between the ranks 16/19 and 17/18. The two victors will remain in the league while the losers will have to attend the following qualification tourneys in order to gain one of the now available spots.

GameSports: Only 96 players could participate in the qualification but you allowed anybody to apply for a spot. How do you select the participants of the tourneys and how many a player is allowed to attend?

Khaldor: We are generally anxious to make sure that the best players possible receive the opportunity to take part at the qualification tourneys. In regards to the first qualification tourney, the selection process was primarily based on the recent performance of the applicants. Nonetheless one has to bear in mind, that many players did not apply for all the qualification tourneys as they were not able to attend them due to personal reasons. Within the community some questions were asked why neither Miou nor Soju were considered in the tournaments. The answer is that we simply didn't receive an application of those players.

The decision whether a player was invited to another tournament was in parts constrained to his performance at the former competition. In some cases it also happened that players we invited didn't show up at all or cancelled shortly before the tournament was about to start. In those cases the beneficiaries were those gamers that showed up, though not invited, hoping for a free slot.

GameSports: Why did you insist on selection players in the first place, considering the already mentioned open applications?

Khaldor: Initially we discussed to run the tourneys with a significantly higher number of players in order to give everybody the opportunity to participate. This would at the same time however, lead to an exponential increase of the organizational effort, due to the best of three and double elimination mode. Given this it was inevitable to restrict the number of players and to choose the participants out of the ones who applied for the tourneys.