RotterdaM
From Liquipedia Starcraft 2 Wiki
 RotterdaM [help]
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| Player Information | |
| Name: | Kevin van der Kooi |
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| Birth: | May 8, 1987 |
| Country: |  Netherlands
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| Race: | Protoss |
| Team: | ROOT Gaming |
| Alternate IDs: | RotterdaM, ROOTterdaM |
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| History | |
| Serious Gaming, Fnatic | |
Kevin "RotterdaM" van der Kooi (Dutch: ['kɛvIn vɑn dɛʁ ko:i]) is a StarCraft II player and caster from the Netherlands.
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[edit] Overview
RotterdaM was formerly a WarCraft III professional gamer & commentator and also, former captain of a professional Heroes of Newerth team. RotterdaM stopped competing professionally and instead put his talents towards becoming one of the most highly regarded analytical commentators. While he does not play professionally he practises often in order to keep up his knowledge of the game.
[edit] In Beta
Rotterdam started playing the beta shortly after the release of the first beta keys. He was at this time competing professionally in Heroes of Newerth. He eventually decided he wanted to switch to StarCraft II full-time and joined Dutch professional gaming Serious Gaming alongside NaNiwa.
[edit] Wings of Liberty
In November 2010, Rotterdam announced that he had began working for Turtle Entertainment (ESL TV) as their main English StarCraft II commentator. He moved to Cologne, Germany[1] and began commentating tournaments broadcasted by ESL TV, like the Go4SC2 bi-weekly cup and IEM. He moved in with British progamer DeMusliM, who had moved to Cologne to participate in another ESL run tournament, EPS, and be closer to the unofficial European hub of esports. DeMusliM became a frequent co-caster with RotterdaM which led to the show "All Eyes on DeMusliM" [2] charting the return of the "Devil Terran" after his absence, due to injury, from the esports scene. RotterdaM also began the show "Rotterdam University".[3] This educational show was an attempt to teach ESL product manager "Carmac" how to play StarCraft II. Later DeMusliM announced his decision to move to America and to move in to the EG Lair. This inspired ESL to begin searching for a new, permanent, co-caster for RotterdaM.
This long-term casting partner was found in MrBitter. ESL then announced a trio of new shows that the duo would host: "The grass is always greener",[4] "Map of the Month"[5] and a continuation of MrBitter's old program "12 weeks with the pros"[6] the last of which never came to fruition. The partnership seemed to do only good things for the casters as the were invited to more tournaments within Europe and even in the US. The "BitterdaM duo" as they were now becoming known as casted all of the high profile IEM events in the 2011 season together as well as the European Blizzard Invitational and Lone Star Clash. As they increased in popularity and became a more cohesive group this lead to concerns, voiced by Carmac, that they would inevitably find a better opportunity for work outside of the ESL.
In March 2012, it was announced that he and MrBitter would be leaving Turtle Entertainment (ESL TV).[7] Shortly after, NASL announced that RotterdaM and MrBitter, would be joining the casting crew for NASL Season 3.[8] RotterdaM continues a segment "Euro update" for NASL. He vowed not to abandon his coverage of the European StarCraft II scene simply because he was now in America.[9]
On Real Talk, 2GD mentioned that initially RotterdaM was unwilling to leave ESL TV and MrBitter was going to leave. MrBitter persuaded NASL to put more effort into getting RotterdaM as without him it would not be the big announcement NASL could have had. 2GD mentioned that RotterdaM left ESL TV on good terms.[10]
On May 10, 2012, RotterdaM confirmed that he will participate in the open bracket of the 2012 MLG Spring Championship as a player.[11]
On April 26, 2012, Serious Gaming disbanded its StarCraft II team,[12] and RotterdaM was left teamless. On May 18, CatZ announced that RotterdaM had joined ROOT Gaming, not as a caster, but as a player. With his move from Europe to North America, RotterdaM prioritised his casting career but was looking for a team to quench his competitive nature. RotterdaM sought to be an asset for the team, in particular in the team league region. RotterdaM also began a player stream for his practice games.[13]
[edit] Interviews
[edit] 2013
- 2013-01-17 | Rotterdam 'Grilled' by Thorin of Team Acer at HomeStory Cup VI
[edit] 2012
- 2012-12-09 | Rotterdam Interview at NASL4 Finals by HotBid of TeamLiquid.net at NASL 4
[edit] Gallery
[edit] References
- ↑ RotterdaM moving to Cologne
- ↑ All Eyes on DeMusliM
- ↑ RotterdaM University
- ↑ The grass is always greener
- ↑ Map of the Month
- ↑ 12 Weeks with the pros announcement
- ↑ "BitterdaM leave ESL TV". ESL.eu. March 27th 2012. Thread on TeamLiquid.net
- ↑ "MrBitter, Rotterdam, and Frodan Join for NASL Season 3" March 28th 2012. Thread on TeamLiquid.net
- ↑ RotterdaM confirming he would support the European scene
- ↑ 2GD mentions more on the transition of RotterdaM to NASL
- ↑ RotterdaM confirms his participation at the MLG Spring Championship in Anaheim Twitter.com. May 10th 2012.
- ↑ Serious gaming dissolves
- ↑ RotterdaM joins ROOT Gaming
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