We have caught up with the famous journalist, studio analyst and “Esports Historian" Duncan Shields AKA Thorin, and asked him several questions about the ongoing FACEIT Major: London 2018 tournament as well as his personal Esports biography.

Which team do you consider the favourite of FACEIT Major: London 2018? Do you have your favourite?

Astralis are the clear favourite and it's hard to build a case against them. A bad day for them involves a reasonably close loss and practically always comes after three maps of play. They've been through numerous tournaments containing double elimination brackets and, during their prime, not been sent to the lower bracket. This is a team for the ages, win or lose at this major, and as such the central story-line of the major is whether they will win it or not. All other narratives are to be considered subordinate.

What do you expect from this Major?

There will be a lot of upsets en route to the play-offs, with large groups of teams showing parity in form and the gaps between classes of teams seeming smaller than ever. A mixture of teams waiting until after this tournament to make roster moves and some poor roster moves in the previous months have left the level of play below the top five teams at a fairly shaky level. One is reminded of PGL Krakow.

If you were offered to create your own map in CS:GO, what would it be like?

How about a large library, with numerous floors and secret bookcase doors which spin to open and let you through when you activate them with the use key? For me the key is to have a unique theme and some mechanism that other maps don't contain.

Why do you think most players assume you as the leader of opinions in the CS:GO world?

I've wed personality and analysis, so people feel an emotional connection to what I say. Better that people care one way or another than are simply indifferent.

What is the most memorable part of your career?

Burning NBA Hall of Fame player Shaq on 'Inside the NBA', one of my favourite sports shows, was a pretty nice memory.

Is there any tournament that you remember most?

ELEAGUE Atlanta had numerous phenomenal matches, the prestige of being a major and crowned a new champion from the core of one of the most tortured teams in CS:GO history to that point.

Do you follow other Esports disciplines? If so, which one attracts you the most?

On different levels. I follow Overwatch as a game, as it has FPS elements which are exciting and display great skill. I also follow League of Legends, but moreso the scene around it and the narratives connecting the players and teams. Those are in my professional context as a journalist and content creator. For fun I like to watch StarCraft Remastered and Dota2 the most at the moment. They have the best balance between strategy, skill and high level competition.

Where did your nickname come from?

My nickname comes from the book 'The Hobbit' by J.R.R. Tolkien. I read it in my youth and was using a name from it in a Quake server and simply forgot to change it next time and it stuck.

Who are you most pleasant to work with?

CS:GO has a wealth of fabulous talent to choose from, but I think my favourites would have to be moses and Richard Lewis. moses because he is just a very easy person to get along with and Richard because we are in the unique position of coming from a similar background and being granted access to the forbidden realms of on camera talent, typically reserved for former professional players.

Everyone loves memes. And what is your favorite meme?

Dosia.

Could you share some interesting facts about yourself with us?

1. I was a colour commentator on the Intel Extreme Masters circuit in 2010, partnering with Joe Miller.

2. I lived in South Korea for around one and a half years over 2014-2015.

3. I was voted Journalist of the Year at the 2017 Esports Industry Awards.

4. I have the most statistically influential social media presence in CS:GO.

5. The main YouTube clip of my infamous interaction with NBA Hall of Fame player Shaquielle O'Neal has been viewed over 500,000 times.

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Duncan "Thorin" Shields as well as some other top CS:GO analysts is participating in The AnaLOOTics Cup, our international FACEIT Major: London 2018 forecast contest. Everybody's welcomed to join the Cup, and to compete the experts for the Best Analyst title and some prizes.