As I’m sure you already know, there are tons of interesting people in esports with lots of intriguing stories to tell.
Continuing our top tens of the year, Esports News UK editor Dom Sacco looks back on ten of his most memorable interviews of 2018, in chronological order.
Riot UK Head of Esports Mo Fadl on new Forge of Champions tournament, leaving ESL UK behind & working with LVP
March
Mo was a breath of fresh air when he joined Riot UK a year ago. He’s open, honest and knows how to drop a great quote, so we like to ask him questions because he’s likely to reveal things he shouldn’t!
Back in March he told Esports News UK about the future for UK League of Legends and exclusively revealed the Forge of Champions to us publicly. Cheers Mo.
What’s life like in a gaming house? exceL’s Barnetto & Furndog explain
March
I interviewed exceL Esports’ general manager Ryan “Barnetto” Barnett and League of Legends head coach Josh “Furndog” Furneaux at the org’s OMEN gaming house when it opened earlier in the year.
It was great catching up with Ryan and Josh who gave some valuable insight into what it’s like working in a gaming house.
‘This is the start of Football Manager as an esport’ – interview with i62 winner Dan Fry
April
I interviewed Dan Fry, the winner of the inaugural Football Manager World Esports Championship which took place at Insomnia62 back in April.
Dan, pictured left, alongside ex-England/Ghanaian international player Cherno Samba (centre) and the other finalist Mario Fontan (right), won £15,000 for winning.
Football Manager might not be the world’s biggest esport, but it is a hugely popular game. And I that’s what made this interview memorable for me, as I learnt more about it and how the competitive side works.
Tom Deacon on transitioning from comedian to esports desk host for the Gfinity Elite Series
May
Tom Deacon became the friendly face of the Gfinity Elite Series and has gone on to host other tournaments at the company.
Going from the comedy scene to working in the esports space seems quite a sizeable leap, and in this interview our writer Jamie Wootton asked Tom what fuelled his transition into the scene – and what his experience of working in the industry has been like so far. It as a good read.
NSE executive director Jon Tilbury on the new university esports body’s plans and differences between the NUEL
May
National Student Esports (NSE), a body which aims to support the development of university esports, came onto the scene this year and ruffled a few feathers.
I sat down with NSE executive director Jonathan Tilbury to discuss NSE’s ambitious plans and addressed the elephant in the room – the differences between the existing UK university esports organisation the NUEL and how they differ.
Kiandymundi interview: Inside the mad and marvellous mind of the UK League of Legends content creator
May
I think this is probably my personal favourite interview of the year. I chatted to League of Legends YouTuber and content creator Kiandymundi to discuss everything from how he got into streaming, his unique style and inspirations, to his favourite in-game skins, the battle royale bandwagon and why his drawings are so wacky.
Andy is a great guy, a bit of an oddball like myself and just a quirky lovable bastard who says interesting things. Go watch the interview if you haven’t already.
UK Super Mario Kart champion Sami Cetin on the world of retro esports, breaking records & Play Expo
July
Long ago, before the time of League of Legends esports in stadiums, online leaderboards and Twitch livestreams, gamers across the world invited friends and family to play the likes of Mario Kart together on their old CRT TVs.
I had the chance to interview UK Mario Kart champion and world record holder Sami Cetin to find out more about the world of retro esports.
Jake “Mustard” Neal on ESL UK’s Tekken 7 Summer Skirmish and the rise of the UK FGC
August
Tekken has enjoyed some decent growth on the competitive side of things, but is it a match for Street Fighter?
Jake “Mustard” Neal revealed more about the brawler’s scene and how it may have an exciting future ahead.
What it takes to be World of Warcraft’s best PVP Outlaw Rogue: Video interview with Whaazz from Method Black
August
Another personal favourite for me. As a long-time rogue player in World of Warcraft, it was amazing to hear from one of the world’s best.
Danish World of Warcraft player Oscar “Whaazz” Wulff is captain for Method Black, the European PVP (player-vs-player) WoW team of UK-based esports organisation Method. He gave me some tips on the DPS class and spoke about competitive WoW just as the latest expansion Battle for Azeroth (BfA) launched.
Team Secret on winning the RB6 Prem finals, the rise of UK talent and the secret to a winning mentality
December
The ESL UK & Ireland Winter Premiership for Rainbow 6 Siege concluded earlier this month at the ESL Leicester’s studio.
After Team Secret emerged victorious at the event, ENUK’S Craig Robinson sat down to talk to their British players Matthew “meepeY” Sharples (far left) and Ryan “Lacky” Stapley (second from left) in a post-finale interview. They really provided some deep insight into competitive RB6 and it made for a top interview.
Further reading: Esports News UK’s top 10 most-read articles of 2018
Dom is an award-winning writer and finalist of the Esports Journalist of the Year 2023 award. He graduated from Bournemouth University with a 2:1 degree in Multi-Media Journalism in 2007.
As a long-time gamer having first picked up the NES controller in the late ’80s, he has written for a range of publications including GamesTM, Nintendo Official Magazine, industry publication MCV and others. He worked as head of content for the British Esports Federation up until February 2021, when he stepped back to work full-time on Esports News UK and offer esports consultancy and freelance services. Note: Dom still produces the British Esports newsletter on a freelance basis, so our coverage of British Esports is always kept simple – usually just covering the occasional press release – because of this conflict of interest.
