Evil Geniuses CEO Peter Dager On Playing For, Building, And Managing An eSports Team

In this month’s issue of Game Informer we dove into the world of eSports, detailing how players, teams, and sponsors work with each other to make sure people who excel at games like Street Fighter, Halo, and more can make a living off their skills. Here at Gameinformer.com, we’re also taking a look at some of the periphery aspects of eSports vital to understanding the world of competitive gaming.

Peter “ppd” Dager is one eSports’ most recent success stories. What began as a few excursions in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and Heroes of Newerth tournaments eventually became something more when, in 2014, he signed up with Evil Geniuses’ Dota 2 squad. While on the team he helped elevate the North American Dota scene and scored a million-dollar paycheck when he won Dota 2’s The International tournament in 2015. Since then, he’s gone from captain of his team to CEO of his company, trading competitive glory for a quieter (but busier) lifestyle.

We recently caught up with Dager and talked to him about his early career, what it takes to pick the right lineup in a game like Dota 2, and why he made the transition from player to executive.

Game Informer: When did you first start playing video games?

Peter "ppd" Dager: My big first dive into video games was Mario 64 on the N64. I took it very seriously.

What was the first video game you became really competitive in?

I’ve always been an incredibly competitive person when it comes to pretty much anything, but as it pertains to video games I would probably say Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. My buddies and I would have LAN parties and compete on [online tournament website] GameBattles until we couldn’t stay awake any longer. 

Your first big venture into eSports was in Heroes of Newerth (HoN). What drew you to that game?

I had played Dota and enjoyed it. My friend Ben pushed me into Heroes of Newerth because it was identical to Dota, except with a couple new heroes and much better graphics. It was a compelling game, just as Dota was, but was current for the time.

Ludwig "Zai" Wåhlberg

HoN was where you met [fellow EG teammate] Ludwig “Zai” Wåhlberg, correct? How did that happen?

Zai was just another player on another team when we met. We became friends near the end of our time in HoN, as we both had aspirations of switching over to Dota 2 sooner rather than later.

What prompted your move from HoN to Dota 2?

I was no longer the top dog in HoN and saw an opportunity to start competing in some lower-tier Dota 2 tournaments. Eventually I couldn’t split time and stopped playing HoN to go back to college while I spent my free time learning Dota 2.

Everyone recognizes you as an EG player, but do you have a major accomplishment from the early days on teams like Dignitas, Stay Free, and Super Strong Dinosaurs?

None in Dota 2 really. With Stay Free we managed to find ourselves playing against some top teams and were casted by some of the premium casters, which was cool.

How did the move to EG happen? Why was the team first branded under the S A D B O Y S moniker before being unveiled?

EG went after Arteezy and pitched the idea to him about building a team with Fear. FluffNstuff, Demon, Universe, Zai, and myself were the tryouts. I was chosen for my in-game leadership and rapport with the guys through in-house leagues. I also said I wouldn’t play on the team without Zai (not that he wasn’t strong enough to make it on the team on his own merit).

What do you think it was about that initial roster that catapulted it into a tier-one team?

The idea of playing around a polarizing player like Arteezy made a lot of sense to me. I managed to come up with some cool ideas and convince my team to believe in them, and we ended up changing the way people played Dota 2 entirely.

You’re well-known as one of the best drafters in all of Dota 2. What do think goes into creating a good draft? Why do you think you’re so good at it?

It’s all about giving your team an opportunity to win. I’ve been blessed to have such skilled teammates the last few years that if I can give us even a 40-percent chance to win a game through the draft they’ll make up the difference. I think I’m okay at drafting because I think big picture. I also care enough to work at it, and a lot of my skill comes from my desire to win. Drafting well helps you win!

Similarly, what makes for a good captain?

I think I have a good idea of how to facilitate both communication and ideas. My Dota 2 skill plus the skill of my teammates should be enough to win any game, but if you can’t organize those ideas you won’t go anywhere.

How much communication is going on during a pro match among teammates? Is it very talkative, or do you all know what you’re doing and give each other minimal instruction?

Communication is everything. Sometimes it’s talkative, other times it's not. It depends on what is going in the game.

As soon as someone wins The International, it seems like they start falling off. But EG has staved off that curse and is still one of the highest-rated teams around. What do you think causes that decline? Did you feel you had to make a conscious effort to avoid it?

When we won [The International] 5 I don’t think we ever felt like we were the best team, we just won a tournament that happened to be the big one. We play numerous double-elimination tournaments every year, and TI is just another tournament but with a much bigger prize. I think after winning what was your loftiest goal it makes losing a lot easier. We brought in Arteezy [Artour “Arteezy” Babaev left Evil Geniuses in January of 2015 then signed on with them again in August of that year. - Ed.] and still had the drive to win but losing wasn’t that big of deal, which prevented us from playing 100 percent, in my opinion.

On Page 2, we talk about the Amazon/EG split and Dager's switch to executive.

What prompted your move over to the management side? You took third at last year’s International, and from the spectator side, it seemed you could have had a very successful career as a player ahead of you if you wanted to keep going.

I’m doing what is needed to be done for both the future of EG and myself. I’m still a great player and maybe someday I’ll play again but for now I need to get some things in order professionally. [After this interview, Dager joined team WanteD to compete in the upcoming Dota 2 Kiev Major, though he is still CEO of EG and the team is not a full-time commitment. - Ed.]

What was behind the decision to split EG from its ownership? Obviously some of the conflicts of interests had to factor in there, but was there anything else EG wanted to do that being owned by Amazon prevented them from doing?

That was Amazon/Twitch's decision. We were ready to split off and make our own brand "Sadboys" when they came to us with the opportunity to maintain the EG brand. Being a part of Amazon, EG was unable to acquire new talent for almost two years, which stunted the growth and the expansion of my team's brand.

How did the process of appointing executive officers go? I imagine it wasn’t a meeting held with suits and reports and stuff. Was it a more casual selection process, or was it rigorous?

I've been pushing for ownership of my brand since 2014. executive officers were chosen by myself and our manager Phil [Aram], who helped me throughout the divestment process.

Can you walk us through an average work day as CEO?

My main job is to make sure everything operates smoothly. I’ve also been tasked in bringing on more talent to EG and I am optimistic about re-entering some of the bigger eSport games you might think EG should be involved in.

Although you’re a CEO now, I have to imagine you talk to the current EG roster about strategy and the meta and such. How often do you talk about that stuff with them? How much Dota 2 do you play, still?

I play a lot of Dota 2 still and stream when I have the time to do so. I don’t talk much with the team. Approaching the [Boston] Major I’ve been going over a few things with Clinton [“Fear” Loomis], their coach, and making sure they have some direction. It’s best that I stay out of the loop because I’m not with the guys 100 percent of the time so I can’t know exactly what’s going on with the team.

I assume you manage more than just the EG roster. How has it been learning about other games’ competitive scenes? How much of that do you feel you have to do?

It’s been really exciting to become involved with all of the other eSports that I’ve only watched online. I have a general feel for how most things operate but it’s really neat to see how EG fits into their scenes.

Have you found that you have more time to play games other than Dota 2 since you stopped playing competitively? What’s been your favorite game you’ve played since you entered management?

No, I have far less time to play any games, unfortunately. Along with Dota 2 I've been playing Overwatch and Skyrim.

If you could create a team for any competitive game that doesn’t have a scene and have it be successful, what game would you pick?

Amazon's new game, Breakaway. It is very fun, and it has great potential.

One last question: What is your favorite Dota hero, and if you could give them one buff, what would it be?

I am famous for my Treant Protector so I’ll go with him. If Valve ever listened to me I’d ask them kindly for Oracle’s Fortune End to not remove all of his spells in an AOE for 110 mana on a six-second cooldown!

For more on the world of eSports, check out this month's issue of Game Informer, and be sure to check out all of this month's eSports stories.