Hey Ornlu, how is it going? What are you up to?

Hey! It’s going alright – I’m very busy these days with casting the King of the Desert 4 tournament and finishing up the Age of Empires IV campaigns on my YouTube channel. As to what I am up to now… well, I’m answering these interview questions. I’m not really all that great at multitasking…

What’s your background with the Age of Empires community?

So I have been involved in several different roles within the Age of Empires community, but I’m sure most people will know me for my casting and my YouTube channel. I actually started casting/streaming on a whim back in January of 2018. I was at university and had a bit of free time on my hands, and I actually asked Reddit what I could do to help out the AoE2 community.

A few people suggested casting, so I went with that. As it happened, I really enjoyed casting, and eventually became popular enough to be given the opportunity to cast with other popular streamers.

I was fortunate enough to be invited to Nili’s Apartment Cup 2 back in February of 2019, which was my first LAN event. From there, I was involved in most AoE2 tournaments – whether it be casting them on my own channel, with other streamers, or attending other LAN events.

My YouTube channel has always been kind of a separate project. I love the single player AoE2 campaigns, and my channel really took off when I started playing them with the launch of AoE2: DE in November of 2019.

Because of that, the majority of my YouTube content is focused on official and custom AoE2 campaigns, although I also make multiplayer-focused videos as well such as tier lists, tournament recaps, and exploring weird mechanics within the game.

Why do you enjoy casting to an audience?

To be honest, I am a pretty shy and quiet person in general, so it surprised me that I enjoyed casting so much! I think it speaks to the history/academic side of me that just loves learning and sharing what I know with others.

I suppose I am somewhat known for being an encyclopedia of AoE2 knowledge, just because I have spent two decades of my life exploring every aspect of this wonderful game. Yes, there have been numerous expansions for AoE2, but I still always learn something new about the game every time I cast, and being able to share that with an audience is really enjoyable to me.

What has the experience of growing your profile in the AoE scene been like?

Slow, and a lot of work. I don’t think people realize just how many hours building a Twitch stream and YouTube channel take – especially relative to the financial returns. Unless you are fortunate enough to get a big break and go viral, the only way to grow is just consistent content.

I happened to start streaming just after AoE2 became popular again, and it was only through the relationships I built with all of the other wonderful members of the community that I was able to see the light of day at all – so to say.

In the grand scheme of things, I’m still a relatively small streamer and YouTube channel, but even if my growth is slow, it’s very consistent. The support I get from fans and other content creators has been absolutely critical in motivating me to keep going with Twitch and YouTube.

What’s your favourite historical period?

I’ve always been passionate about history – a fact that is likely both a cause and effect of my love of AoE2. Personally, I study international affairs and history for my university degree, with a concentration in East Asia, and particularly Korea. Beyond the region of the world I enjoy studying the most, I don’t really have a “favorite” era to study.

Since I study international politics, I spend most of my time focusing on more recent history – particularly the 19th century. However, there really isn’t any time period or area of the world I *don’t* enjoy studying. It all feels like adding in more pieces to the puzzle of the human story.

What’s your favourite bit of history in gaming?

So, history in gaming is always a kind of controversial topic in Age of Empires. We literally have decades of memes of hilarious logical and historical inaccuracies like converting riderless War Elephants to Christianity, or slashing a stone building with a sword to set it on fire.

As much as I love history, and think that AoE and other games are a great way to make history interesting and accessible to people… they are still just games at the end of the day.

If the choice is between making the game play better or making historical sense, I say pick gameplay every time. Yes, the AoE2 Chinese lack most gunpowder units, despite inventing the stuff. Well, if they had access to it, they would be incredibly overpowered!

So with all of that said, I still believe that nailing the “big picture” when it comes to portraying history in gaming is critical, as it’s the bridge that connects people from gaming to the real world. Therefore, I would argue that specific “bits” of history are less important than the overarching themes that are portrayed in a game.

What other historical games do you enjoy?

Okay, so this is going to be embarrassing, but other than the Age of Empires series, I don’t really play any other historical games. In fact, I only play 2-3 other games on anything close to a regular basis. Still, I obviously love Age of Empires 2, and have also enjoyed all of the other games in the series (except AoE1, which I never got around to playing).

What’s the story with your emote?

Well, it kinda went like this: when I made my Twitch channel, I needed to have some kind of unique artwork to use for emotes, thumbnails, profile icons, etc. The issue is that I have absolutely no talent when it comes to graphic design, and, as a broke college student, didn’t have the money to pay someone to make stream artwork for me.

So, knowing that any attempt I made to create “professional” artwork would just look horrible, I decided to go in the opposite direction, and made all of my first emotes, stream artwork, and YouTube thumbnails in good ol’ Microsoft Paint. The idea was that it would look so obviously terrible that people would find it funny. And, to be honest, that’s pretty much exactly how it worked!

You can watch OrnLu on Twitch and YouTube and follow them on Twitter.

The new entry in the franchise has attracted competitors from a range of different game communities. The $20,000 Genesis competition, hosted by Elite Gaming Channel between 13-14 November, featured players prominent in other Age of Empires titles, as well as Warcraft and Starcraft. However it was TheViper, often considered the best AoE2 player of all time, that won the grand prize.

The Norwegian player defeated the Greek Age of Mythology player Themistoklis “TheMista” Bonidis in the final. He previously scored wins against the British Age of Empires Online player RecoN and Pedro “LucifroN” Durán, a Spanish former professional Warcraft III and Starcraft II player. TheViper won despite a persistent wrist injury.

512 players participated in the open qualifier of the Genesis tournament, which ended with eight players continuing to the main event. They included well known Age of Empires II players Hera and Kasva as well as LucifroN’s younger brother Juan “VortiX” Durán.

The tournament’s rules meant that each player could not use a civilization that they had previously won with in the same series. This meant that players could not anchor themselves to a particular favoured civ. The deciding match of the series between TheViper and TheMista had them playing as the Abbasid Dynasty and the French.

TheViper’s achievement in the tournament establishes his status in Age of Empires IV against a host of new challengers. Meanwhile he remains the preeminent Age of Empires II player, recently achieving victory in the History Hit Open.

1. Hey Nova, tell us about yourself!

Hi guys! Thanks for having me. I’m a 90s kid from Argentina, currently involved in the AoE community as a caster and small tournament admin and host. I enjoy a lot of things besides Age of Empires, namely media production, music and I also love learning new things, which at times makes me wish the day had 48 hours!

I believe life is too short so I try to follow my dreams, do the things I love and pour my heart into them.

2. What was your role in the History Hit Open?

I had begun covering the early stages of the History Hit Open on my own channel when I was recommended by Django to cast the finals for the official account. I covered the remaining matches on History Hit’s own Twitch channel. I also designed and put together the stream scenes we used for that weekend.

3. What’s your background with Age of Empires and casting?

As a child I used to play AoE2 so much, but then my teen years got in the way. I got started with music, playing in bands, and suddenly gaming fell to the side. Already into my twenties I found out the game was actually still alive with some videos from Zero Empires on YouTube.

I’ve always loved this game so much that the moment I saw it had a buzzing competitive scene and people were doing commentary, I started watching AoE2 replays during meals instead of watching TV.

I was sold. I immediately started putting together a YouTube channel of my own. Alas, due to some random life stuff I ended up scrapping the project. It’s something I sometimes wonder about… like “what would it have been like if I had actually started back then?”.

Surely enough though, a few years later I got access to a good enough internet connection to start streaming and decided to go for it. After a while, I noticed shoutcasting was something I really enjoyed, so I stuck to that and I’ve been doing it ever since.

4. Why do you enjoy broadcasting on Twitch?

I enjoy streaming, and Twitch currently is where the majority of the AoE2 (my original favourite title from the franchise) community lives. Streaming is a great way to meet new people from all over the world who share your passion, as well as to push yourself to your limits if you really want to make it as a content creator given how cut throat it can be.

In my pursuit for improvement as a caster, and streaming in general, I spent hundreds of hours trying to improve my English pronunciation, exposing myself to other esports casting and trying to understand what professional matches are really about, what to look for, etc.

Due to some financial constraints, I ended up picking up all sorts of skills to improve my channel since I couldn’t commission any of that work. Now that also serves as a bit of a safety net for the future.

5. What’s next?

Even though it’s been a bumpy road at times and I feel like I still have a long way to go, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my journey so far and I’m very excited about the things to come. Things will only get better I feel.

One final thing that comes to mind when thinking about AoE2 casting is all the crazy things I’ve gotten involved in through the years, from casting for Voobly (the community platform for playing Age 2 before the definitive edition came out), my participation as a co-caster on both King of The Desert 3 as well as Battle of Africa 2 with Memb, and even you guys.

All of these experiences really remind me how I’m kind of living the dream in a sense. These things I only thought of some years ago as something completely out of reach all of a sudden start happening. I’m hoping one day I’ll be able to host my own large events and maybe I’ll be able to bring someone along and make them feel the same joy.

Nova casts on Twitch at twitch.tv/novaaoe

The Norwegian player’s defeat of Gan “Yo” Yangfan means he walks away with $1,800 after participating in six rounds of the 1 vs. 1, single-elimination tournament hosted and sponsored by History Hit.

Over 15,000 people concurrently watched the final match of the History Hit Open on 17 October, while total views across the official History Hit Twitch channel and other channels numbered tens of thousands.

The History Hit Open Grand Final, Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition

Image Credit: Xbox Game Studios

“I feel good”

TheViper told the HistoryHitTV Twitch channel that, “I feel good. I feel like I played well so I’m happy with how things played out.”

TheViper defeated Mr_Yo 4-1 in a best of seven set in the Grand Final of the History Hit Open, after beating Villese in the Semifinals, ACCM in the Quarterfinals, and SayMyName, Vivi and Imperio in earlier stages of the competition which began on 27 September.

Despite stalling TheViper’s winning streak in the Grand Final series by winning the third match on the Cenotes map, Mr_Yo was unable to prevent TheViper’s victory in the next two matches.

The History Hit Open Grand Final, Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition

Image Credit: Xbox Game Studios

“I’m still where I’m supposed to be”

TheViper won the deciding match on the History Hit version of Cross, storming all angles of Mr_Yo’s economy with a roaming force of knights to which Yo lacked a counter. A disadvantaged map generation for Mr_Yo and an accidental dock deletion also slighted his chances.

TheViper has won more tournaments than any other Age of Empires II player. His win in the History Hit Open follows a successful recent run in many of the Age of Empires II scene’s largest tournaments. Despite a wrist injury, he said “I feel like I’m still where I’m supposed to be.”

He thanked History Hit for hosting the tournament in Age of Empires, noting that “it makes sense. They are [both] about history, so those two can combine well.”

In second place, Yo’s winnings totalled $1,200 in the tournament, while Ville “Villese” Jämsä secured the third place in the History Hit Open after defeating Dogao 2-0 in a best of three.

After a tense match on Cenotes between Villese and Dogao, the Finnish player was able to capture the third place prize of $700, while Brazilian Guilherme “dogao” Pippi secured $500 in fourth place.

The History Hit Open is a $5,000 Age of Empires II tournament played between 64 players, hosted and sponsored by History Hit. It is History Hit’s first ever Age of Empires tournament. The tournament was administered by FlyLikeDjango and cast by NovaAoE. Follow History Hit’s Twitch and YouTube channels, and continue to read History Hit Gaming.

The Quarterfinals took place on 15 October, broadcast by NovaAoE on the HistoryHitTV Twitch channel. Across four sets, each a best of three, eight players competed for the grand prize in the $5,000 competition.

The Grand Final approaches

Mr_Yo was the first to make it through to the penultimate round, ousting JorDan following a tense standoff on Northern Isles. TheViper followed with a deciding game on the same map against ACCM. In the third set, Villese beat Project Belgium and Dogao became the final semifinalist when he defeated DauT.

The $5,000 prize pool is distributed amongst the finalists. Each quarterfinalist will be awarded $200. By progressing into the penultimate round, the four semifinalists have increased their winnings by a minimum of $300. The fourth-place winnings are $500, while the third-place winnings are $700, second-place winnings are $1,200 and the grand prize is $1,800.

Crossbow pressure

The day began with a rescheduled round of 16 match between saymyname and TheViper. Saymyname won the first game by applying constant pressure with his crossbowmen units, boxing in TheViper’s stressed economy. “I let him have the perfect mines game,” said Ørjan “TheViper” Larsen. “He played a way better early game.” Despite this, TheViper rescued a chance for a place in the grand final by defeating saymyname in rounds 2 and 3.

In the first game of the Quarterfinals, Mr_Yo played a successful rush, breaking through a risky quick-wall attempt by JorDan and winning the first round. A second round win by JorDan leads to a deciding game on Northern Isles.

A deadlock in the centre of the map breaks and allows Yo to capture the centre of the map, where he builds a castle to secure control. A progressively improving base of production and wider area of control sees Yo’s score steadily eclipse JorDan’s around 44 minutes in. Yo becomes the first player to enter the Semifinals.

Maritime supremacy

The Viper plays his second game of the day in his Quarterfinals match against ACCM, where he wins both matches. In the first, a failed tower rush by ACCM is followed by a trading game between ACCM’s Chinese camels and TheViper’s Cuman steppe lancers, which, produced from 11 stables, ultimately become too numerous for ACCM who resigns.

Their second game takes place on Northern Isles. ACCM’s recessed dock makes him vulnerable after his land attack on TheViper’s town centre is rebuffed. TheViper, playing Portuguese, stretches into the sea, which allows him to push ACCM’s economy from the water and win the set.

Mangonel misfire

Project Belgium and Villese compete over all three games in the third set of the Quarterfinals. A deciding game on Cross has Project Belgium on the backfoot already when he realises he’s missed an opportunity to upgrade to the Castle Age, leading him to resign. In the second game, a mangonel memorably crushes two of Project Belgium’s villagers at a crucial moment.

In the final set of the day, Dogao defeats DauT in a short decider on Cenotes after quickly establishing a strong economy and outnumbering him DauT militarily three to one. Dogao progresses as the final contender in the History Hit Open Semifinals.

The entirety of the finals will be broadcast on the History Hit Twitch channel. Players are competing in a fast-paced, exciting contest for their share of a prize pool completely sponsored by History Hit. The tournament schedule is listed below.

The History Hit Open began on 27 September with a total of 64 players, 60 of whom were placed by their preliminary rankings and 4 of whom were the result of a wild card draw. You can learn more about the History Hit Open on our official announcement page.

Historian Dan Snow described the History Hit Open tournament as “a modern incarnation literally in the spirit of its medieval ancestors.” The Quarterfinals will be played as a best of 3, while the Semifinals will be a best of 5, and the Grand Final will be a best of 7. A 3rd-place match will be a best of 3.

Finals schedule

Starting times for the first set of each day will be as listed, but following sets may begin earlier depending on the ending time of the preceding set.

Quarterfinals: 15 October

• Q1 – Mr_Yo vs JorDan – 14 GMT (15 BST)
• Q2 – ACCM vs. Viper or SayMyName- 16 GMT (17 BST)
• Q3 – Villese vs. PROject_Belgium – 18 GMT (19 BST)
• Q4 – DauT vs. Dogao – 20 GMT (21 BST)

Semifinals: 16 October

• S1 – 15 GMT (14 BST)
• S2 – 18 GMT (19 BST)

Grand Final and 3rd Place: 17 October

• 3rd Place – 14 GMT (15 BST)
• GRAND FINAL – 16 GMT (17 BST)

The History Hit Open is hosted and sponsored by History Hit. The Open has been administered by professional Age of Empires player, caster and coach FlyLikeDjango, and the finals will be broadcast by caster NovaAoE. Watch the tournament at HistoryHitTV.

Chiefly responsible for administering the tournament is professional Age of Empires player FlyLikeDjango. He explained to History Hit his background with Age of Empires and competitive gaming, his role on the History Hit Open, and what he enjoys about casting games to an audience.

Hey FlyLikeDjango, tell us about yourself!

Hey, I am Django or Joshua. I am 24 years old and have played video games my whole life. Previously I played League of Legends on a high level. In 2020, I discovered Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition and started playing a lot. Today I am a top 1% player in the game.

I started coaching other players and joined the esport organisation GamerLegion as coach in 2021. Since I started streaming, I have been casting all major events. I’ve also started organizing and administering events and tournaments as well.

I am studying sport management in the 3rd semester and like to spend my free time in the gym or with friends.

You’ve been important to organizing the History Hit Open. Can you explain a bit about what you do?

I am the main administrator and organizer of the tournament. My job has been to plan the whole tournament: timeframe, settings, maps, drafts of civilizations and maps, general rules and many more things that come into preparing a big tournament like this.

After that was done I made the announcement posts and controlled and checked registrations. Once sign ups were closed I had to seed players in the bracket corresponding to their Elo [a rating system originating in chess, named after Arpad Elo] and create text channels for players to communicate and schedule their games.

During the tournament, I have to make sure everyone schedules at the right time and drafts and maps are correct. I have to make sure people are on time and the rules of the tournament are being followed while games are going on. I’ve also been involved in selecting broadcasters for the tournament and have casted a lot of games as well.

What’s it about Age of Empires that resonates with you?

I played it as a little kid on a non-competitive level and loved it. Once I discovered that there was a competitive scene I immediately got hooked. I started playing a lot and fell in love with the game.

It’s such a complex game and so many skills are needed to perform on a high level. Also the Age community is pretty amazing and I have been enjoying my time.

What do you find appealing about broadcasting to an audience?

I love to mix analyzing the game and just talking about what is happening. I try to bring joy to the game. I try to explain to viewers what is happening and also why it’s happening. Casting is a really complex job.

My goal is always to get the viewer hooked and interested in the game so they want to stay and watch another series or maybe go and play the game themselves.

FlyLikeDjango shows his own gameplay in tournaments and practice on his Twitch channel. He also casts games and coaches in English and German.

Beginning with the Round of 64 from 27 September and culminating with the Grand Final on 17 October, the tournament will be streamed live on the official HistoryHitTV Twitch channel as well as by supporting casters and competing players. The official bracket can be viewed here, while the full schedule for the tournament and the tournament handbook are presented below.

Matches which will be streamed live can be seen on the calendar on the right-hand side of the announcement at AoEZone.

Original announcement:

We’re announcing the dates of our first Age of Empires II tournament and opening registration to competitive players.

The History Hit Open will include a $5,000 prize pool and is sponsored entirely by History Hit. There are 64 tournament places with 4 wild card slots. Please register using the form. The tournament will be 27 of September to 17 October. The full schedule is beneath the registration form along with the tournament handbook.

Update 27 September: Registration has now closed. The official History Hit Open bracket can be viewed here. Congratulations to the wild card players: jouds, SlyFox, TM webber- and Ivanenko. 

Please share a screenshot of your server pings on the History Hit Open Discord-Server.

Tournament schedule

We are hoping to make more announcements around tournament streaming partners in the next couple of weeks.

Registration opening

• 8 September 10:00 UTC – Official announcement
• 8 September 10:00 UTC – Registration open

Registration ending and seeding

• 24 September 18:00 UTC – Registration closed
• 25 September 18:00 UTC – Official bracket announcement

Match play

• 27 September – 3 October – Round of 64
• 4 October – 10 October – Round of 32
• 11 October – 14 October – Round of 16
• 15 October – Quarterfinals

Finals weekend

• 16 October – Semifinals
• 17 October – 3^rd Place match and GRAND Finale

Tournament handbook

The tournament handbook will be ready at 12:00pm UTC on 8 September 2021.

Dan Snow
Ever since that memorable week when I switched off my phone, stockpiled supplies and spent every waking hour playing Civilization II I have been obsessed with historical gaming. I saw instantly that these games entertain but they also educate. So many people confide to me that they were introduced to a love of history by Age of Empires, or Total War. Like historical novels, games fire the imagination, captivate and set people on the path to a fascination with what has gone before.

“We have a lot of passionate historical strategy gamers on Team History Hit so it was the natural thing to launch our new gaming section. We’ll be letting our history mad audience know which are the best history games out there and how to play them. Most excitingly of all we will be hosting e-sports tournaments. What could be more historic? Tournaments date from the 12th Century, this is a modern incarnation literally in the spirit of its medieval ancestors.

Hosted by notable competitor Ørjan ‘TheViper’ Larsen, the Age of Empires II tournament took place between 23 and 25 July. It featured 128 players and a prize pool totalling $35,000. Yo is considered the best Chinese player and among the best Age of Empires II players in the world.

“Deservedly won”

The Open Classic Grand Final on TheViper’s Twitch stream

Image Credit: TheViper's Twitch stream

The Grand Final took place between players Yo and Liereyy in a best of seven. The deciding match was on the Islands map. Despite retaining a higher score, Liereyy resigned having failed to prevent Yo exploiting wood supplies and succeeding with the Portuguese civilization and its Feitoria buildings. Yo ultimately won 4 – 2.

“I feel great,” Yo said afterwards on TheViper’s Twitch stream. “I’m so happy with this tournament, with a good prize pool and good players.” He said: “The bracket this time was hard. I think it proved something more.”

Host, participant and commentator TheViper congratulated Yo for his victory, though noted that Liereyy made costly mistakes. “Liereyy could and should have won that game, no matter what. Even though we all hate the way Feitoria plays out, it was still an error of judgement on Liereyy’s end. Yo just did what he should do and he deservedly won.” Yo previously knocked TheViper out of the competition in the Quarterfinals.

The Open Classic

Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition

Image Credit: Xbox Game Studios

The Open Classic is an Age of Empires II 1 vs 1 tournament hosted by TheViper. Players compete over classic maps in the format of a single-elimination bracket. The prize pool was sponsored by Microsoft, Surfshark and TheViper.

Games took place concurrently over 23 and 24 July as players competed in successive rounds. The semifinals, Third Place Match and Grand Final all took place on 25 July. Competitor TaToH achieved third place against JorDan_AoE. “I’m very happy with the tournament,” TheViper told his Twitch audience. “I think it was great in the end.”

The Open Classic 2021

Image Credit: TheViper

“What I felt has been missing lately in tournaments has been straight up tournaments,” he said, “and a draft system where you can actually play what you draft. […] The main thing was to allow people to pick whatever they want, they can prepare, they can play what they get and plan around their civs.”

Player Hera was conspicuously absent from the tournament because he missed an early-morning check-in. “Hera not making it in was a bit awkward,” said TheViper. “We all want to see Hera in the tournaments. It is what it is.”

I’ve spent much of my spare time (there’s been a fair bit) over these last 6 months playing Age of Empires II and it feels like I’m getting somewhere. Having reached the dizzying heights of winning more games than losing on Arabia and Arena on unranked, perhaps its time to earn my spurs on ranked multiplayer and competition? Erm, no. Despite my incessant Spirit of the Law viewing I’m sadly not yet good enough – and I’ll leave that to you guys.

If you haven’t already watched the above video, I implore you to (and you probably won’t be ready for competitive esports yet).

The History Hit Open has been announced for this coming Autumn. That could be late September, or it could be October or November – the exact date is still currently to be confirmed. For the moment we’re looking for top players from around the world to register their interest.

We’re offering a total prize pool for this first Age of Empires tournament of $5,000 and it will be a knockout tournament.

To register your interest, all you need do is email in to esports@historyhit.com with ‘History Hit Open’ in the subject line and your credentials. Do you rank highly on multiplayer? Have you entered (or indeed won) another Age of Empires II contest before? Do you have a dedicated Age of Empires online following? These sorts of things will help us shape the competition details in the coming weeks. There will also be another tournament in the Autumn after the Age of Empires IV release.

Excited? I am. Maybe I’ll even be able to beat you by then by playing a long attritional battle as the Teutons. But I doubt it. Apply within.

This is a preliminary announcement that we will host two Age of Empires tournaments in the Autumn. We are committed to delivering on these tournaments and the prize pools, and will work with the existing Age of Empires II community to do so. A full announcement of tournament details and full registration will come in August.