We took an exclusive interview from DrHippi after BlizzCon and asked him questions on his career as a professional gamer, his thoughts on the World Championship and a few other important matters from the world of eSports. So without any further ado, let’s begin!

GameSkinny: First of all, please, accept our congratulations on making it into the Hearthstone World Championship Finals. Could you tell our readers how you started your career in professional gaming?

GS: Right now many young people all over the world envy your success. What does it mean for you and your family to be able to take part in the World Championship?

In order to qualify for the Winter Season I had to reach high ranks on ladder, which wasn’t a problem at all. Later, I had to travel for the qualifications and made it through – that is how everything started.

GS: Let’s talk about the Championship. In the Quarterfinals you faced an American player – HotMEOWTH. You won the match-up with the score 4-0. Please, tell us, what do you think about HotMEOWTH’s Blood Warrior deck? How surprised were you to see your opponent play such an experimental deck at the World Championship?

I think the score 4-0 wasn’t the deck’s fault, but the unlucky draws and the lack of experience with that type of deck.

GS: I know that your favorite deck is Freeze Mage, but you brought a typical Tempo Mage for the World Championship. Why have you decided against Freeze Mage? Did it really have no chance of winning?

GS: After winning in the Group Stage all players were allowed to change their decks for BlizzCon. Why have you decided to change Control Warrior for Dragon Warrior and Face Hunter for Zoo Warlock? Were you happy with the changes that you made?

You could also see many other Tempo Mage decks and a few Hunters – three good match-ups against four bad ones. And, since my strategy involved banning Shamans sometimes, the choice of Tempo Mage was the most obvious one.

GS: It was interesting to see the representatives of the two neighboring countries - Russia and Ukraine - to make it into the Grand Finals. How would you evaluate the playstyle of your opponent – Pavel, who eventually won the Championship? Was he just lucky or was he really that good?

Concerning Dragon Warrior, after testing my personal draft that excluded Ravaging Ghouls and Executes, it turned out to do really well against Druid, Control Warrior and Tempo Mage. I think that my deck did very well, and mind you, it wasn’t the strongest deck in my line-up.

I can say that Pavel is a very good player, and he deserves the title of the World Champion.

GS: When everything was over what did you feel – relief or an even bigger desire to come back next year and once again fight for the title of the World Champion?

GS: If you had the chance to play against one of the previous World Champions, who would you choose – Firebat or Ostkaka, and why?

GS: Is there a difference between playing on tournaments and playing on ladder? Many non-professional players say that there is no real difference. Maybe that’s because they lack experience and perspective?

GS: You are a member of the Virtus.pro team. How important is it for a pro-gamer to be a part of the team? There are professional Hearthstone players that don’t belong to any team and still considered successful.

GS: In the recent times you could see some big teams like Archon falling apart, and others leaving Hearthstone as an eSports discipline, as was the case with Na’Vi. What do you think these eSports teams are lacking in order to be able to cooperate with pro-players in the long run?

Everyone should do their job – players should play, managers should solve organizational questions, and the organization should help solve administrative and other matters – all this helps you entirely focus on the game.

Besides that, organization guarantees stability. And lastly, you can always call somebody in the case of unexpected trouble, which is just as important. In short, having a strong and stable eSports organization gives confidence to any pro-gamer.

GS: If you had a chance to make up your own Hearthstone team, who would you like to see in it? Who amongst the current pro-players inspires you the most?

GS: One of the most important features of Hearthstone is RNG, which makes most players “feverish” to say the least. What do you think about RNG in this game?

GS: Let’s talk about the latest Hearthstone expansion – Mean Streets of Gadgetzan. What kinds of mechanics would you like to see the most? What do you think about the introduction of the tri-class cards? And how do you think they will influence the game?

GS: What really helps you stay on top of the rankings season after season, and achieve high spots at the international tournaments?

I cannot say much about the last family (Kabal). I don’t think these classes (Mage, Priest, Warlock) are in great need of the new cards, but some of them do make Reno Mage and Renolock more powerful.

GS: I know that you stream Hearthstone on your own Twitch channel. How does it help you in your professional performances? Is there a need to get used to playing while being watched by hundreds and thousands of people?

Concerning the tournaments, then here things become more complicated. You have to think of your line-up, specific cards in your decks, calculate the meta of the upcoming tournament, and adjust accordingly. If we talk about LAN open cups, then one has to learn to deal with emotions and anxiety.

GS: What advice would you give to beginner Hearthstone players with a lot of ambitions? What aspect of the game they should focus on in order to become successful?

When I play on the tournament, I feel responsibility before all those people that watch me, and the anxiety can affect my gameplay. So before every tournament I try to stream as little as possible, and this really helps me cope.

GS: Where do you see yourself in five years? Will you keep competing or do you have other plans for the future?

GS: And lastly, who would you like to greet or express your gratitude towards?

We would like to once again thank DrHippi for taking the time for this interview, and wish him well in the future.

You can follow DrHippi on his Twitch channel, Twitter and VKontakte.