We interviewed UK league of Legends streamer Ali “Gross Gore” Larsen and asked him if he’d ever play for an eSports team in the ESL UK Premiership.
“Firstly, it’s if I was allowed to,” he said. “You’ve got to be in their good books. Would I go into a team if I was allowed? Well, I’m a [Twisted Fate] one-trick, firstly, so that’ll be a bit of a disadvantage. I would do it on the side for fun.
“You know what I wouldn’t mind doing? Being a side manager or coach – I think that’d be more my cup of tea. And to motivate the players, I don’t mind getting them out of bed in the morning and tell them how to play, even though I’m only Diamond 3. I’d like to do that. Like YamatoCannon, he’s Diamond 3 and a great motivator and coach.
“When it comes to playing in a team, I don’t think I’d go that far. Money-wise, it’s something to do on the side I feel, but not full-time. It sounds fun, but takes up a lot of time.”
“You know what I wouldn’t mind doing? Being a side manager or coach – I think that’d be more my cup of tea. And to motivate the players, I don’t mind getting them out of bed in the morning and tell them how to play, even though I’m only Diamond 3.”
What about subbing in for a team as a one-off or taking part in a special showmatch like League Fest? What about guest casting?
“Yeah, sure. If I was allowed to, but I feel like I’m far away from that,” Ali explained. “I need to get into Riot’s good books. I’ve got to sort myself out for a year or two first to get my reputation back. It’s about grinding it out for a few years so they forget about me, then they remember: “Oh yeah, this guy, no drama. He’s actually come far.”
Ali also spoke about what he’d do to improve UK eSports and some of the players he knows in the scene in our full video interview, including that time he went 0/8 when he laned against Team Paria’s mid-laner Vicksy…!
See our full video interview here:
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.
