Once started as a WarCraft3 professional and now a well-known StarCraft 2 caster. And certainly not a total unknown at GGPoker either. Previously he and Nanonoko did the live commentary for the Super MILLION$ and as of today we welcome Kevin, better known as RotterdaM08, to the GGPoker Twitch Squad. We took this opportunity to ask a few questions of Rotti. 

Who is RotterdaM08?

Who are you and where does the name RotterdaM08 come from?

I am Kevin van der Kooi, known in esports as RotterdaM or Rotti. I have been using this nickname since 2003. Previously I had nicknames such as "Kooiman[CV]" and other variations.

This changed when one afternoon I played some 3v3s and 4v4s with some Dutch people on the American Warcraft 3 servers. We had all then created a new account based on the city where we lived. One was called "Amsterdam," the other "TheHague," and I called myself "Rotterdam," because Rotterdam is my hometown. I didn't actually live in Rotterdam but in Hoogvliet, but Rotterdam sounds better anyway!

This nickname became permanent after I had very good stats in 1v1 with this account. It didn't amount to much, but for me this was my first success in Warcraft 3. Rotterdam is a common name and is often already in use by other players. That's why I ended up choosing RotterdaM08. After all, I was born on May 8 and Feyenoord was founded in 1908. Number 8 is also my lucky number!

You are best known as a former Warcraft 3 pro and as a StarCraft 2 caster.
How did you get introduced to (online) poker?

In 2006, there was a trend where many Warcraft 3 pros, started playing poker. And who did really well. Elky and Lex Veldhuis are the best-known examples of StarCraft Broodwar players who took up poker professionally. In addition, many of my Warcraft 3 friends were doing well at poker. I thought, "Then I'm going to do that too." I then started watching a lot of videos, trying to join and I found it very interesting. Compared to now, actually had no idea what I was doing, but I started playing occasional $0.50 - $1 cash games at Partypoker and later at Pokerstars and Full Tilt. Later I sporadically played live cash games- and a few tournaments- at Holland Casino. 

I also played poker abroad, because between 2012 and 2018 I lived in America and there the Commerce Casino was 30 minutes away from me. There I played several days a week. Every three months we went to Vegas once to play cash games and a tournament. Furthermore, in the past I teamed up with Unibet to set up the first "Esports Battle Royale," and won! So I have been active as a poker player for years. 

Many gamers also play classics such as chess, for example. They say that many elements of modern games are reflected in this. Which elements of WC3 & SCII do you see reflected in poker?

It is mainly about the work ethics needed to really good in WC3 and SC2. And this also comes in handy in poker. In poker you have an element of randomness and this is also reflected in these games. You learn from the mistakes you made and then you try not to make these mistakes again. And it is in fact very difficult to become the best in WC3 and SCII. This is also reflected poker, because with an hour a week you will never be able to take your game to the highest level.

What are you most looking forward to now that you are a member of the GG Twitch Squad?

Lots of entertaining streams and fun offline moments during the tournaments. I think it would be great to meet the people you always play against online, but in real life. My goal is to improve bit by bit. To learn as much as possible and also keep it fun, both online and live.

And of course the GG hoodies, because they're pretty nice!

What else do you do in your free time?

Besides Warcraft 3, StarCraft 2 and poker, I watch a lot of sports. Think soccer, MMA/UFC, F1 and a little NFL. In addition, I love dogs and especially Akitas. This does not mean that I do not like other dogs, because my brother has 2 Bullmastiffs,Rico and Ronda. I love to run and walk with them.

Where can you be found?

You can find me on Twitch, Discord, Instagram and very occasionally on Twitter.
We have a subscriber-only Discord with some poker lovers and dedicated poker channels. So if you are a subscriber on my Twitch channel and love poker? Then come over to Discord especially! On my Instagram you'll find mostly videos of Rico and Ronda and hopefully, in the future, highlights of good runs! And Twitter, well, I hardly ever use it.

Starting in April, I will have a schedule of SC2 and poker days. So keep an eye on my socials!