In Los Angeles, facing a group of reporters through a video connection, a somewhat nervous looking David “Killinallday” Acosta takes a seat. “Can they hear me breath?” he asks, to the enjoyment of the journalists. The Californian is the youngest competitor in the Hearthstone Summer Championships, and has taken a break from school to focus on Hearthstone. His favorite movie is Good Will Hunting, he hangs out with his friends and family to unwind… Killinallday is an otherwise ordinary student who’s extremely good at Hearthstone. Except that he also has a cult-like following.

If you’ve followed the Hearthstone competitive scene at least a bit, you will have seen #YOKAD – the Year of Killinallday. Hailed a Hearthstone prodigy by his pro Hearthstone colleagues, everyone is waiting for Killinallday to fulfill his destiny and accomplish great things. The first of those great things might just happen this very weekend, as he aims to take the Summer Championships title and, perhaps more importantly, secure a spot at the next World Championships.

What did it feel like to qualify for the tournament?

It was so crazy. Qualifying for this tournament is something I've been trying to do for so long, I just couldn't believe it when I finally did it. I was excited, pumped, hyped.

What did your practice regiment look like for this tournament?

My prep for this for this tournament consisted of finding good players that weren't in the tournament like Muzzy, SwaggyG, DrJikininki, Korextron... Just guys whose thinking and play I respect. We had a group chat and everyone was telling me what they liked. Obviously, I also talked to my teammates Tarei and Leadpaint, they also gave me their input on what they wanted me to play. I ended up going with what I was comfortable with, but at the same time what I thought was gonna be good versus the field.

Did you use any experience from the last tournament you played in?

In the Playoffs, to qualify for this event, I switched my decks on the last day before the submission, and I brought decks that I was really uncomfortable with. But they were really strong decks, so that made up for it. I played really bad with them though. To practice for this tournament I figured out what I wanted to play pretty early on and did my best to practice it a lot. So I'm not gonna make any mistakes like I did with Spiteful Druid in the Playoffs.

If you win the tournament, what will you do?

I'll be very excited if I make it to the top 4. I'm going to make sure I use this as a way to promote my stream and my brand, so I can have more success throughout the year leading up to the World Championships. Hopefully, I'll be able to just play Hearthstone full time for even longer.

A lot of the fun I have with Hearthstone is from competing. I love competing. Much more than I do enjoy streaming or playing the game at home on Ranked. Tournaments are what I love, and I'll make sure to keep playing them all year around, no matter what. There's just a lot more on the line, the games matter more and there's a big reward if you're doing well. It makes me want to compete at the top level. Also, you're playing against a lot of better players in tournaments and it's actually fun playing against better players, because you can always learn from it. It's fun to see how they think and what they do.

Other than yourself, who's a player you're rooting for in this tournament?

Definitely Dog or Nalguidan. Dog is just someone I got to know more recently. American player, really good guy. Nalguidan is a practice partner I've had for years now, and the South American players don't get enough recognition. He's really, really good, and I hope he does well.

But who do you think has the best chances to take the Summer Championships title?

The best chances... I know XiaoT's decks are really good in his group, so probably him. He has very good decks for his group, so he's likely to make it out. And once he makes it out he only needs to win one more match, so it's looking good for him. Maybe Nalguidan just because of the strength of his play. I think he's one of the best players in this tournament.'

You're one of only two people who brought an aggressive line-up. What were you expecting to come across?

I was expecting a lot of Miracle Rogues and Shudderwock Shamans, and the Aggro decks in those match-ups. Especially since I got to see who's playing in my group before I had to submit the decks, I had a pretty good idea of what they're gonna play. It kind of went in my favor, because all three of them have Shudderwock Shaman and two of them have Miracle Rogue. So I'm in a good position in this group.

So you're feeling good about it?

I'm feeling pretty confident, I'd say, just because I have more time to practice and prepare. I just feel like I'm playing better than I used to, and that's what make me more confident than I used to be.

In your Odd Paladin you have a peculiar card: Boisterous Bard. What made you go with that card?

What the Boisterous Bard is for is that it's really effective when you're playing versus a Druid or Warlock. You can play it on turn three or four to play around Swipe. It pretty much nullifies their removal so you can pull off a Level Up-turn. The same goes with Warlock, against their Defile. It's also pretty good in the Odd Paladin mirror too. You can just trade all your 1/1's across if you play Boisterous Bard. I think it was just a good tech slot instead of playing Stormwind Champion.

Are there any decks that didn't make the cut?

I was really close to bringing Egg Hunter. This isn't a deck that's really popular, but with one day left before deck submission, I was confident that I was gonna play this Egg Hunter deck. It's like the Recruit Hunter decks with the Charging Devilsaurs, but instead of the early game package of Prince Keleseth and minions it runs Devilsaur Egg and then you use Play Dead. There's the 3 Mana 3/3 [Terrorscale Stalker] that procs the Egg's Deathrattle. So with the Coin you can go Egg on turn 2, then play the 3/3 so you have a 3/3/ and a 5/5. It's really powerful but it didn't fit the line-up that I wanted to play.

Of the decks you've brought, which one are you most confident in and which one... well let's say you hope your opponents ban it most?

The one I'm most confident with is probably Token Druid. It's such a powerful deck, it's really hard to target and it can win almost any match-ups. Even in its unfavorable match-ups it's very powerful, it can win a lot. The deck I hope that gets banned most is probably my Even Warlock. That deck has potential to get swept and it's very scary playing the deck against some of the line-ups I might face in my top 8 match. That's the deck I'm least confident with.

What do you think of the decks the others have brought?

In my group I have pretty good match-ups. I'm not really scared of anyone, I have pretty good odds. But once I get out of my group and I have to play my top 8 match to make it to the World Championships there's not that many good match-ups for me. So that's gonna be the real tough match and I'm gonna have to practice a lot more to make sure I can have the best odds that I can with my decks.

What has it been like to share some time with the developers and other gamers at the Summer Championships?

It's been a lot of fun to hang around with other players and talk with them about the game. They think so similarly to me. I've known them for a while, and getting to meet some of them that I haven't met before is a lot of fun. Meeting the developers too, they're all really nice and have good focus for the game. They're taking it into a very good direction, so I'm very happy to hear that.

You’re happy with the Witchwood meta right now, then?

I think it's pretty good right now. I like the current meta a lot, especially since Blizzard came in when they realized that some cards were too powerful and after The Witchwood they nerfed those really quickly. They're really keeping on top with the balance of the game. I'm happy with where the game's at right now. You can tell that they really care about the direction of the game.

What are your favorite Witchwood cards?

Ooh uhm... This shouldn't be as tough as it is... Probably the Genn Greymane and Baku the Mooneater. They allow for some really interesting strategies with Even and Odd decks. Right now they're balanced, and I just hope they don't get out of control soon. I don't want them to get nerfed, I really like the way the decks play and feel.

Are there any mechanics you'd like to see Blizzard add to the game?

Hearthstone has a lot of cool features going for it. I think they have most of the stuff I like in games. Maybe like a graveyard feature would be interesting. I know they have stuff that brings back dead cards, but if you have a pool of graveyard cards and stuff like that might be a cool addition. Other than that I like how the game feels and how it plays.

How did you end up on your team, Endemic Esports?

I just met with the organization at an event last year, and they seemed like really good people with a really good vision. It's going really well. They brought me on as one of their first players and then we built the Hearthstone roster, they have a Heroes of the Storm team... It's really awesome being with an organization that cares about their players and has a good vision. I'm thankful for all the support from Endemic.

What are some memorable Hearthstone esports memories you have?

Hm, there are a lot of memorable things. I guess the most memorable would be at the Summer Playoffs last year, where I finished 9th. I remember being so defeated, so sad, because if I'd made the top 8 it would've been pretty big for my career. It made me want to work harder this year, take off a semester off school, focus on the game and see where it can take me. It worked out I guess because I made the Summer Championships. Now I just need to make it to the World Championships.

This just has to be asked: is this the year of Killinallday?

Yeah, it's the Year of Killinallday. This is my first year competing where I'm not going to school, I'm playing full time and feel a lot more prepared for tournaments.

It's such an intriguing phenomenon. How did this entire #YOKAD-thing start?

So it started back at the beginning of last year's HCT season, about a year and a half ago now. I stopped playing Hearthstone for a month, which was the first time I really stopped playing - ever. Everyone was like "No you can't come back after that, your career was over" even though I was irrelevant and I didn't really have a career anyway [laughs]. But I said "No, it's gonna be my year, I'm gonna win some tournaments". Then I finished Rank 1 Legend, so I had the most points in the Americas, and there was a spotlight on my name. That's where it initially caught on. Then it died back down because I didn't really win any tournaments, but then this year when I qualified for the Summer Championships it resurfaced and everyone was cheering for me again.

It's so awesome to see people cheer for me, saying things like "Year of Killinallday". The support is really awesome, there's just so many people, so many fans I didn't know supported me. I can see all their tweets with #YOKAD, it's awesome and I really appreciate it.

Will we see some #YOKAD-swag?
You might see some #YOKAD-swag. Maaaaybe. Maybe.

Do you want to give some shout-outs to round off the interview?

Thank you everyone who voted for me, it means a lot to see you trust me with your packs. I'll get you a lot of packs. And thanks to everyone who uses #YOKAD, it means a lot.