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Initially created as somewhat of a ‘TV guide’ for Counter Strike fans, HLTV has become a whole new beast over the last 20 years according to Martin Rosenbæk, the company’s co-founder.
In this month’s Better Collective Spotlight, Rosenbæk celebrates the company’s 20th anniversary as he reflects on HLTV’s major milestones, its integration into the Better Collective portfolio as well as plans for the next few months.
SBC: 20 years of HLTV, congratulations! For those that might not know, what is HLTV?
HLTV is the epicenter of Counter Strike, the biggest and most popular esport. Some of the most important things that we do is providing news, coverage, the world ranking of players and awarding the best player of the year.
SBC: Can you tell us about how this brand came into existence?
The initial idea was to create a much needed TV guide for the fans to be able to locate when and where their teams would play. However, it grew into something much bigger, which we are very happy about today.
SBC: What have been the biggest changes within the company in the 20 years of operation?
Over the years, there have been numerous improvements and changes of HLTV, which made it the site that it is today. Most notably, we have added stats of each notable match played, which led to our HLTV rating, world ranking, player of the year and much more.
SBC: What have been the greatest challenges that you have come up against?
The key to success is consistency and keeping the highest level of content. Every. Single. Day. Year after year. That is difficult, but I honestly think that our staff does a great job of keeping the level of content on HLTV high & making it the best site it can be.
SBC: Since it was set up, what would you say are the main achievements of the company?
I think that our main achievement is the fact that we are trusted by the fans, players, team and events in the esports world & our level of integrity is very high. I am also very proud that there have been no shortcuts and we are never ever taking the easy way out.
SBC: HLTV was acquired by Better Collective. In your opinion, how has HLTV strengthened the wider Better Collective brand?
We are part of a huge operation, which is great since a swift and efficient legal and accounting team is essential to run a successful business and Better Collective certainly has that. On the other hand, HLTV definitely strengthened BC’s esports portfolio and it continues to do so.
SBC: Can you give us a sneak peak into HLTV’s plans for the next 12 months?
In the next 12 months, we are hoping to make an even bigger award show and we are hoping to launch multiple local Dust2 sites.
