Hi. Today I am going to talk about my interview. The person that I interviewed was named Govinda. He owns a place in Westchester called Encore Esports Lounge. I found this place thanks to my senior option, Sara Hove. After she gave me this place, me and my dad called and asked the manager for a interview. We went to Encore and we met Govinda. When I got there I already loved it, there were vending machines and the front desk to my left which had gaming controllers hung up on the wall. To my right were lines of gaming computers and TV’s with Super Smash Bro’s on them. Me and my brother decided to look around. We explored and saw couches and more computers and people playing WWE and Fortnite; there was also a huge screen projecting a League of Legends twitch stream. And to make the room complete there also was a great view out of the window. Then we went into an office and I conducted the interview with Govinda.

When did you start playing video games and what games did you like?

I started playing video games when I was four to six years old, and played games like Super Mario Brothers, the original. And games on the Nintendo.  

When did you know you wanted to work with video games?

When I was studying to be a lawyer, I was also playing on the rank 5 USA team for World of Warcraft. Actually this facility started out as me being a gaming coach. And that started my career.    

What is your experience in esports?

I liked to play World of Warcraft but now I like shooting and fighting games. I like super smash bros and games like league of legends.

How do you think your facility has affected gamers?

I think that people who don’t necessarily want to go to parties but instead come here to hang out with their friends and play games are big customers because a lot of people need a social outlet. And the people that come here usually come here often and we start to get to know what games they like. Just like if you’re putting the time into playing baseball, you have to put in the time to play these games. And that is kind of how our facility works. We used to have a hourly payment but now you come in here and have to pay 10 dollars, and for the month let’s say you come in here 9 times a month you will pay 90 dollars.   

Do you consider a gamer a athlete? Why or why not?

I think that it varies. If you play games for fun you are not an athlete, but if you are practicing every day to become a pro like a basketball player would, or are a pro, than you are one. Just like if you play on your school team versus just playing at the park. If you are practicing a few times a week than you are an athlete.

If you were a pro gamer what team would you want to sign with?

Some of the pros I played with for World of Warcraft were on cloud nine, so for those reasons, cloud 9.

What games do you think are the most successful in the esports scene?

League of legends – 100%. It crushes all competition. It is like the Yankees, no doubt. It takes critical thinking, teamwork, communication.

How do you think esports will affect the world in the next 10 years?

I think that just like traditional sports took time to be accepted, so will esports. I mean I went to a Overwatch final at the Barclays center in Brooklyn, and it was almost sold out. What I mean by sold out was that three fourths of it was sold out. And the tickets were forty dollars, and at a Nets game they are average 60 dollars.