American expatriate Wolf Schroder has been living in Korea for the past six years. From the simple beginnings of a self-funded and self-ran weekly StarCraft tournament, the Open Wolf Cup, Wolf built his esports resume into something that was attractive enough to land him a gig with GOMtv casting GSL StarCraft.

From there, Wolf has worked with StarCraft 2, Heroes of the Storm, and most recently Overwatch.  Casting tournaments like ProLeague, SSL, HGC Korea, the OGN Apex league, and many more, Wolf’s repertoire of games is one of the most diverse that you can find in esports, and he transitions seamlessly between them.

Ever knowledgeable about the Korean esports sphere, Wolf told me about his expectations for his main games in Korea, the ins and outs of casting the different titles, and how he became a Korean twitter meme.

Question Timestamps:

1:10 – How did you get into video games?

3:10 – Have you ever been interested in speedrunning?

4:20 – You have a personal interest in Super Smash Bros. Were you ever interested in the competitive side of that game?

7:01 – How did you get involved with StarCraft, your first step into esports?

13:37 – Are there VODs for the Open Wolf Cup?

15:42 – What was it like moving to Korea six years ago?

19:08 – SSL has been announced, along with your return to SSL as a caster. You’ll be casting SC2 and BW. There was a period when people thought SSL was finished and not returning. When did you find out that there would be SSL in 2017?

22:44 – What’s your opinion on the SC2/BW scenes in Korea? Do you believe that there’s room for either or both to grow as the years go on?

31:09 – How did you get into Heroes of the Storm? Why not LoL or Dota 2?

34:55 – How do you deal with criticism from the fans?

40:16 – What’s your opinion on the state of Heroes right now? The community seems upset about its direction.

47:10 – What are your thoughts on the state of Heroes esports in Korea? Do you think that it can grow?

54:00 – You’ve been casting Overwatch recently. What drew you to Overwatch?

57:50 – Do you foresee a world where Korean Overwatch teams are as dominant over foreign teams as they are in StarCraft or League of Legends?

1:03:40 – You’ve said in the past that Overwatch is going to be the next big thing for you. After SSL and Proleague ended, you weren’t expecting to return to SC2. Now you’re casting OW, SC2, SC:BW, and Heroes. Is there a main game for you right now?

1:05:36 – In 2013 you filmed a vlog where you talked about how the casting industry was changing from casters working exclusively with one game, to a state where casters will work with multiple titles. As someone who now works with so many games, what was it like working in the industry through that transition?

1:14:34 – You’ve been getting a lot of attention on social media with your Korean content. You tweet in Korean, stream in Korean, you’ve even been in the Korean Maxim magazine. Tell us whats up with all that.

1:22:04 – How different is the fan interaction between the foreign and Korean esports scenes?

1:26:18 – Which type of Heroes metagame do you prefer casting? Sustain or burst?

1:27:55 – Do you see a point where you’d leave Korea after living there for the past six years?

1:30:39 – What advice would you give to the people who want to replicate your success in esports?

1:34:40 – Final thoughts