HeroesHearth’s Khroen stays chill under pressure and talks Western Clash

The HGC Western Clash is going on this weekend, and I got a chance to sit down with HeroesHearth DPS player Khroen. He was at bootcamp with the rest of the team, getting ready for the chance to prove themselves on the big stage in Los Angeles.

One thing I was very interested in discussing with him is his goal of making Heroes of the Storm a more positive, inclusive place to play. Khroen is known for being incredibly laid back in his streams, with a chill persona and a motto of “much love.”

Do you ever get heated, either on the ladder or in pro situations?

I am a naturally chill person but I think everybody has those moments. I never really show it, I just kinda get quiet and deal with it in my own way. One thing I try to do is to just focus on me, my personal growth. What I can do this game to better myself. I try not to get too down on myself or talk badly about others because I want to be a good example for kids to look up to in esports.

Do you have any “Serenity Now”-style mantras or techniques to keep cool?

Not really. I try not focus on negative things. It’s all about the personal growth. Focus on the things you can control, and that can benefit you. Getting mad about something you can’t help or can’t change just isn’t constructive. You can’t control how other people play so just keep on improving yourself.

With that in mind, I asked him about the infancy of his team who are now known as HeroesHearth. In mid-2016 Khroen was kicked off Gale Force Esports, and suddenly found himself with no real option other than trying to claw his way back into the HGC through the Open ladder if he wanted to continue to play. B Step, the team McIntyre was on, had also dissolved.

McIntyre’s known as a bit of a hothead. So, with forming HeroesHearth, how did that fall into place? How did you two end up teaming up?

My main thing was, I just wanted to keep playing on an HGC team, so I tried out with some of the other teams and unfortunately didn’t end up making it. I touched base with McIntyre and he still wanted to keep playing, so he talked to BBJ. BBJ subbed with the pros sometimes, played at that level little and McIntyre thought he was a really good player. He reached out to Ishboo too, and Arthelon wanted to come back, so we just went from there. We got kinda lucky that it just seemed to work out so well.

Toward the end of our conversation I asked him about the Western Clash. HeroesHearth is coming in with a ton of momentum, undefeated in North America since the mid-season brawl. They tend to be unflappable in games, known for playing the macro game, even getting well behind in levels during midgame to come back for big wins. Khroen noted “We don’t know if we’re winning if we’re not three levels down. That’s when we’re at our most comfortable.”

HeroesHearth’s record in North America stands for itself. Statistically, their record this split is very similar to Dignitas, and Khroen acknowledged that they are probably HeroesHearth’s biggest competition this weekend. The one difference between the teams is that HeroesHearth has slightly more kills per minute, while Dignitas has fewer deaths per minute. Even if both teams weren’t top seeds this would make any heads-up meeting between these two teams a must-watch.

Khroen also noted that we shouldn’t count out the other North American teams. Though HeroesHearth may have bested them in the regular season, Tempo Storm in particular have been preparing hard for this playoff.

At the very end of the interview I asked him one final question that, as a fan, I kinda hoped I already knew the answer to.

Are there any heroes you wish were back in the meta, that you wish you could play again?

If I could play Li Ming every game I’d be pretty happy with that.

You can find Khroen on Twitter or Twitch, or on stage with his team HeroesHearth this weekend for the HGC Western Clash. Their first game is Friday at 3 p.m. CDT, going up against 4th EU seed Leftovers.