Gladiator’s Summit episode 3 highlights the people behind the characters

Episode 3 of Blizzard’s esports series Gladiator’s Summit is now available for viewing. The latest episode does something I really enjoy when talking about competitive PVP in WoW. It humanizes the people playing. They’re players like ones you’ve known and played with in your time in the game. This time around, Jackson Bliton (known by most as Bajheera) and Elliot Venczel (Venruki) talk about the four teams from the EU that will be going to BlizzCon this year.

The teams in question are ABC, Team Grmbl, Rockets: Eclipse and Method Triforce. While they’re all obviously skillful and knowledgeable players, I took a shine to Grmbl almost immediately. Unlike pretty much every other competitive PVPer I’ve ever seen or met, they admit to being nervous about going to BlizzCon to play against the best players in the world in front of a crowd of thousands. I’d be so nervous I’d shake through my chair!

Despite this, all four of these teams moved on to qualify for BlizzCon. Cervantes of Rockets: Eclipse also got my interest. He spoke of qualifying for BlizzCon twice before, but having to skip the event two years in a row. These human stories make this more than just watching a DK and a Monk lock down a Mage. It becomes a relatable story to me.

If you want to see the human stories behind that Warrior who’s destroying people for Method Triforce, you should watch this video. Sure, you’ll see some of the best PVP players in the world clinch their spot at this year’s BlizzCon. But you’ll also get to see them tell about how they almost quit playing last year. Or how they managed to stay cool despite going back to BlizzCon for a shot at being three time world champions. You get to see the people, and that’s always the most interesting part for me.