This past Tuesday, the 17th, the OTK Hearthstone Invitational Skirmish kicked off. This was the creation of Dan "Artosis" Stemkoski, and he described it as a "love letter" to the Hearthstone community. Produced by Azubu and HungryApp, the skirmish featured some of the best Hearthstone players in the world vying for a $2,500 prize pool in preparation for the 2015 OTK Hearthstone Invitational League later this year. Before the tournament, I got a chance to ask Artosis a few questions about this new event.

Jeremy Waxman, eSports Editor: You made your name with your involvement in the StarCraft 2 community. What drew your attention to Hearthstone, and can you see it achieving the same level of sustained success?

Dan "Artosis" Stemkoski: Before StarCraft, I was a competitive Magic: The Gathering player for many years, dedicating myself fully to learning, understanding, and playing the game, much like I did for StarCraft. I never stopped loving Magic, but stopped only because nothing compared to StarCraft.

When Hearthstone was announced, I was really excited by it. A card game that I could play online, made by the best game company in the world? Sign me up. I got the Alpha release on the first day, and after only a couple of hours, I knew that the game had all it needed to be successful as an eSport.

I definitely think that Hearthstone will not go away anytime soon. This game could easily have 10+ years ahead of it if Blizzard continues to work hard on keeping it fresh and balanced.

JW: What were the biggest challenges you faced in setting up the invitational?

Artosis: The Invitational just took a long time to do. From setting up the original proposal, to having multiple meetings with Azubu and HungryApp (in California, multiple places in Korea, and over Skype), to mapping out the production… it took a lot of time. In fact, I think I started in October, and Azubu was on board since November, and we just now finished up haha. Definitely a long process, but very happy with the first try!

JW: How might this tournament help casual Hearthstone fans to become more involved with the competitive scene?

Artosis: The main goal of this tournament is to get more new players involved in Hearthstone (especially the competitive scene). The approach that myself and my Co-caster Tasteless are taking is to tone down the heavy analysis that is rampant in Hearthstone commentary, and replace it with a really enjoyable and fun show to watch. We still want to discuss the plays and strategies, of course, since that is what will make people really interested, but definitely we are putting more of an emphasis on making a show that can appeal to experts and new players alike.

JW: With so many top level players at the event, were you expecting any unusual or innovative strategies to appear?

Artosis: I didn’t expect anything too new or innovative. This tournament took place right after the ESL Legendary Series Finals, so I knew what the meta-game would look like. I did expect though, for there to be some slight variations, where the players would try to catch each other off guard with a different strong card or 2 from the norm.

JW: If there was one thing you wanted people to know about this tournament, what would it be?

Artosis: I want people to know that this was something that I put a lot of time and work into. I really want people to enjoy OTK so that it can become something regular. Nothing’s carved in stone yet, but I hope to continue onwards and make the show better each and every time.

Thanks to Artosis for taking the time to speak with us about the OTK Invitational! You can find all of the relevant information through Azubu.tv, and the hub for this event is right here.