World of Ming is arguably one of the most influential PvP blogs around. We caught up with Ming to pick his brain about e-sports and the direction that World of Warcraft is heading.

If you read any sort of blog concerning World of Warcraft, and you're fairly enthusiastic about the arena e-Sport it's becoming, then it's extremely likely that you've heard of World of Ming. Founded by Terry 'Ming' White, World of Ming was a self-funded blog that saw Ming posting one article, every day, on something related to World of Warcraft PVP. In an era before anybody had even heard of 'arena,' Ming chatted endlessly about duelling, world PVP, battlegrounds, PVP videos and anything that related to his beloved 'Rogue' class. Today, World of Ming is the flagship blog, in partnership with Gameriot.com, and WoM is considered to be the PVP blog for competitive World of Warcraft.

These days, while Ming no longer has to post an article every day (he alternates with another blogger he hired), World of Ming continues to operate as part tabloid and part news source for players who want to stay 'in the know' about anything related to WoW arena. It's only in a blog like World of Ming where you'll find Naruto and NBA analogies used to describe World of Warcraft players, with Japanese titles affixed to the end of their names (Hafu-chan, Neilyo-kun and Serennia-sama for a small sample size). As well, it's only in World of Ming that you'll find the fairly innocuous title "3.1 Macros, PVE/PVP Gear Balancing a Big Step in the Right Direction" on one day, and the next article can just as easily be "Hafu-Chan finally Legal?"

On the other hand, World of Ming is arguably one of the most influential blogs in the PVP world, often bringing attention to rising PVP stars and getting them the much needed attention of sponsors. His blog is largely responsible for the huge community of writers that populates Gameriot.com, and it's where humble 'ol me began to write about World of Warcraft. In this regard, while it's easy to dismiss World of Ming as an amateur blog, intent only upon generating ad revenue, if you pick any of Ming's articles to read, you'll very quickly realize that Ming is a savvy man who understands the business aspect of World of Warcraft. Not only that, but he is one of the most enthusiastic and dedicated assets Blizzard has for encouraging World of Warcraft as an e-Sport. Thusly, without further ado, I give you ZAM.com's exclusive interview with one of the biggest names in competitive World of Warcraft!

ZAM: First of all, thanks a lot for consenting to answer these questions.

Terry 'Ming' White: My pleasure.

ZAM: The New York Times recently published an article about professional gaming getting hit pretty hard by this recession. While the article was more focused on console gaming and PC FPSes like Counter-Strike, they largely ignored World of Warcraft Arena. As an easy launching point here, is WoW as an e-Sport suffering from this depression, or do you think it's going to be a hot commodity?

Ming: The same water floats all boats.  There is very little doubt that sponsors will be much more selective this year, and the size of the overall jackpot will probably be smaller as well.  However, WOW's player base dwarfs any other game out there, and the 3v3 format takes fewer resources than say, Counter-Strike.  With Blizzard still sponsoring their own $200,000 tournament and ESL/MLG still putting together events, we will weather the storm better than most other games.   

ZAM: I've also noticed that Blizzard has expressed more interest in fostering their e-Sport community than most other games that have been 'co-opted' into tournament play. For example, there's a massive gap between competitive Counter-Strike and 'pub' Counter-Strike communities, with no real avenues to go from one to the other. Blizzard, on the other hand, actively promotes their tournament realms and tries to generate as much interest as possible in the public community. On the other hand, Counter-Strike remains one of the most popular tournament games around (along with Starcraft), particularly because Valve has given everyone the 'tools' to host their own tournament. Do you think that there is merit in Blizzard fostering (and, by extension, sheltering) their e-Sport communities, or do you think they should give the 'tools' to encourage competitive play, and then let local tournaments spring up like wildfire.

Ming: I believe it is just a matter of time before Blizzard will make tournament realms more accessible.  Monthly online/local tournaments will go a long way in growing arena interest.  A permanent tournament realm with private access accounts to tournament sponsors will be a huge draw.  The tournament realm itself came a long way from 2007.  We have a much better spectator mode and the gear selection is much more balanced as well.  I do believe Blizzard will retain its control over tournament realms as they probably don't want tournament sponsors to drastically revamp rules that deviate drastically from live play.

ZAM: If you think that World of Warcraft as an e-Sport has been suffering (for whatever reasons), what do you think Blizzard should do to make sure it survives? Alternatively, if you think that competitive WoW is doing excellently, what do you think could be done (or not done) to encourage this growth?

Ming: More online tournaments will really allow players to get out there and prove themselves.  It is very expensive (especially in this economy) for a bunch of 18-20 year olds to travel and attend local tournaments, and there are not enough sponsors for every good team.  Invitational online tournaments (say top 10 of each battlegroup is invited) with small cash prizes is very inexpensive to run, and they will allow many more teams to prove themselves and make it easier for sponsors to recognize top talents as well.  Name recognition doesn't always equal success: I am sure SK found out the hard way with the Serennia/Neilyo duo. [Editor's Note: For those who don't know, Serennia / Neilyo are two of the most well known names in competitive North American World of Warcraft. During one tournament, these two celebrities combined to create one of the most hyped teams in competitive World of Warcraft history, with disastrous results].

ZAM: World of Ming, and now Gameriot, has long been considered 'ground zero' for competitive World of Warcraft gossip. In fact, you pointed out that you consider yourself to be the 'Steve McMahon' of competitive WoW - that is, you believe you're one of the key figures in promoting World of Warcraft competitive play and maintaining enthusiasm. Do you think this is true? If World of Ming didn't exist, do you think that competitive World of Warcraft would have done as well as it has to this day?

Ming: Personally I believe every sport can take a page from Steve McMahon and add a little more "fabric" to the game.  Competitive play at the bleeding edge is one thing, but everyone can use a little trash talking (similar to how wrestlers get fans into the match), and it is extremely valuable for players to develop a real personality.  I love using basketball analogies, and Tim Duncan is probably my second favourite player behind Yao Ming, but the NBA would be very boring if every player acted like those two on and off the court.  Something like Jermaine O'Neal charging into the center court and delivering a haymaker on a fan may be a little too extreme, but one of the Korean teams did a ton of trash talking at WWI Paris, and they backed it up with superb play. Instant fan favourite.  As far as WoM's impact on the sport is concerned, no one is bigger than the game.  If WoM didn't exist, there would have been another site ready to take its place.  On the other hand, I do think we offer the type of coverage most other sites would be too politically correct to post.  We are not afraid to dig up dirty laundry about the players and organizations.  That adds tremendous entertainment value to a game that really doesn't change all that much on a daily basis.  

ZAM: Let's talk a little bit about competitive World of Warcraft right now. Got any favourites playing on the Tournament Realms, or specific players that you're hoping will get recognized and sponsored?

Ming: I wrote a lot of harsh articles about May "Hafu" Wang in the past, and I've even posted her family photo in one of my blogs.  But at end of the day it is pretty amazing what a young girl managed to accomplish in the world of men.  Her Orz.Fnatic was, by far, the most successful American team of 2008, and hopefully they can make another splash in 2009.  While she may not be the strongest player in terms of individual skills on her team, if you have ever watched them play, she is unquestionably the leader of the team, and leadership is the difference between flashy PVP movies and winning championships. As well, like anyone else who watched the Koreans in action, it is hard not to like H.O.N.  They really took the line-up of rogue/mage/priest to an art form.  They won't win every championship, but they will be the fan favourite at every tournament.

ZAM: North America in general had a very poor showing at ESL a while back, with a good amount of pre-game trash talking followed by a plethora of excuses (no 'real' RMP teams to play against in North America, unprepared teammates, 'celebrity' names being sent instead of fresh talent) after Korea exerted its dominance in taking the top two slots. With the democratic setup (arguably) of the Tournament Realms, and the opportunity for rising stars to enter competitive play, do you think North America will stand a chance against its Korean rivals?

Ming: One tournament failure does not prove much.  Americans took two of the top three spots at last year's Blizzcon, and Koreans had a very hard time against our lock/druid/X teams.  The rosters we sent to the ESL global finals was very outdated, and some of the rosters were put together at last minute, like SK-US's line-up of Serennia, Realz and Sck, who only played 100 or so games together, compared to thousands of games for their Korean counterparts.  Other teams, like compLexity, played a very weak primary comp of rogue/mage/druid.  Looking at the teams that did qualify for the American regionals, we have a much stronger roster this time around.  Teams who can survive this year's regionals should do much better come Blizzcon world finals.  I also believe that Americans don't need spectacular RMPs to win a championship - they just need solid RMPs to practice against.  In this regard, two of this year's top eight qualifiers are RMPs, one of them being compLexity, which is playing at a totally different level compared to their performance at ESL. We should be much better prepared against this comp this time around.   

ZAM: That's about all I've got for now, thanks so much for taking the time to answer my questions, any last words before the end of this interview?

Ming: Despite all the perceived imbalances and "faceroll" comps, WoW is an amazingly deep game at the highest level.  I have seen so many teams winning match-ups that they should be losing, and it comes down to the details that you won't see until you play hundreds, if not thousands, of games with the same set of teammates.  The 3v3 bracket specifically is truly easy to get into, and extremely hard to master.  I started a brand new team of rogue/mage/priest myself, four days before season 5 ended, and from the first 20 games where we had a sub .500 record, to the last game in which we earned the Gladiator title, it was simply amazing how much we improved as a team. If you look at our team's skill level, however, it's amazing how much better we have to be to reach the levels of a Korean RMP. It is truly one of the best feelings in gaming when you see something grow and build upon itself before your eyes.  There is no better time to get into arena than season 6, as I truly believe every class has strong options, and for the first time ever, Blizzard is offering PVP rewards equal in item level to PVE.  The water is deep my friend. You can play a few hundred games, but only scratch the surface of it unless you keep an open mind. Believe it!

ZAM: Well, thanks again for everything! Good luck to everyone hoping to go pro!

Ming: Thank you for your time as well.

Chris "Pwyff" Tom
Editor
ZAM.com