Daniel Ray Stemkoski (born April 6, 1983), better known by his nickname Artosis, is an American professional
esports
Esports, short for electronic sports, is a form of competition using video games. Esports often takes the form of organized, multiplayer video game competitions, particularly between professional players, individually or as teams. Although orga ...
commentator and
Twitch
Twitch may refer to:
Biology
* Muscle contraction
** Convulsion, rapid and repeated muscle contraction and relaxation
** Fasciculation, a small, local, involuntary muscle contraction
** Myoclonic twitch, a jerk usually caused by sudden muscle con ...
streamer. Stemkoski moved to
Seoul, South Korea
Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 of ...
to commentate competitive ''
Starcraft
''StarCraft'' is a military science fiction media franchise created by Chris Metzen and James Phinney and owned by Blizzard Entertainment. The series, set in the beginning of the 26th century, centers on a galactic struggle for dominance am ...
'' games in English. Together with
Nick "Tasteless" Plott
Nicolas Plott (born August 11, 1984), known by his alias Tasteless, is an American esports commentator. He moved to Seoul, Korea in 2007 to give commentary to e-sports competitions. He has provided commentary for multiple '' Starcraft'' and ''S ...
AfreecaTV StarCraft League
The AfreecaTV StarCraft League (ASL) () is a '' StarCraft: Remastered'' tournament series hosted by afreecaTV in South Korea. It began its first season in June 2016 and used '' StarCraft: Brood War'' for its first three seasons prior to the releas ...
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...
. In his youth, his interests included
skateboarding
Skateboarding is an extreme sport, action sport originating in the United States that involves riding and performing tricks using a skateboard, as well as a recreational activity, an art form, an entertainment industry Profession, job, and a ...
,
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...
,
chess tournaments
A chess tournament is a series of chess games played competitively to determine a winning individual or team. Since the first international chess tournament in London 1851 chess tournament, London, 1851, chess tournaments have become the standard ...
, and competitive
strategy games
A strategy game or strategic game is a game (e.g. a board game) in which the players' uncoerced, and often autonomous, decision-making skills have a high significance in determining the outcome. Almost all strategy games require internal decisio ...
. Sports were his primary interest before he found competitive ''StarCraft''. His consuming interest in playing and studying the game interfered with his high school education, where he failed many of his classes. He graduated from Salem High School in 2002.
StarCraft career
Artosis was 14 years old when he was introduced to ''
StarCraft
''StarCraft'' is a military science fiction media franchise created by Chris Metzen and James Phinney and owned by Blizzard Entertainment. The series, set in the beginning of the 26th century, centers on a galactic struggle for dominance am ...
'' at his best friend's house, where he watched his friend play. He received a copy of the game for his 15th birthday and played it casually with friends. When bedridden with a broken ankle and metal implants after a trampoline accident, he began to play ''StarCraft'' competitively. While his friends lost interest, he continued to compete over the Internet. Artosis has said that after his first year, he had spent about 1,200 hours in-game, up to 16 hours a day, and knew he could play in tournaments. As his ''StarCraft'' habits began to affect his life, his parents confiscated his
dial-up modem
A modulator-demodulator or modem is a computer hardware device that converts data from a digital format into a format suitable for an analog transmission medium such as telephone or radio. A modem transmits data by modulating one or more carr ...
and
computer peripherals
A peripheral or peripheral device is an auxiliary device used to put information into and get information out of a computer. The term ''peripheral device'' refers to all hardware components that are attached to a computer and are controlled by the ...
, which he circumvented with replacements. Despite his parents' requests to desist, Artosis decided in high school that he would pursue the game as a career based on the game's popularity in South Korea. At this time, he was ranked within the top three American ''StarCraft'' players. He represented North America twice at the ''StarCraft'' World Championships, and competed in the United States finals eight times.
He began a ''StarCraft'' tournament in New Hampshire, and was motivated to commentate on the matches by the dearth of English-speaking tournaments. Artosis has said that he felt like the game's community deserved more professional commentary, and decided to do it himself. His broadcasts were recorded to a computer and uploaded on the Web. Artosis was later approached by Korean broadcasting company International e-Sports Group (IEG) in 2008, and accepted their offer. He was the second Western ''StarCraft'' commentator, or
caster
A caster (or castor) is an undriven wheel that is designed to be attached to the bottom of a larger object (the "vehicle") to enable that object to be moved.
Casters are used in numerous applications, including shopping carts, office chairs, t ...
, in South Korea, after
Nick Plott
Nicolas Plott (born August 11, 1984), known by his alias Tasteless, is an American esports commentator. He moved to Seoul, Korea in 2007 to give commentary to e-sports competitions. He has provided commentary for multiple ''Starcraft'' and ''Sta ...
.
In Korea, Artosis shared a small apartment with 15 teenage pro gamers. As ''StarCraft II''s launch neared, Artosis and another American commentator living in Seoul,
Nick "Tasteless" Plott
Nicolas Plott (born August 11, 1984), known by his alias Tasteless, is an American esports commentator. He moved to Seoul, Korea in 2007 to give commentary to e-sports competitions. He has provided commentary for multiple '' Starcraft'' and ''S ...
, had individually amassed significant followings, and had the interest of commercial broadcast networks. The two began casting together and became known by a
portmanteau
A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of words Before this partnership, the two knew each other through their former competitive gaming careers, but became friends in Korea. ''
Polygon
In geometry, a polygon () is a plane figure that is described by a finite number of straight line segments connected to form a closed ''polygonal chain'' (or ''polygonal circuit''). The bounded plane region, the bounding circuit, or the two toge ...
'' attributed their success to their "magic" dynamic from complementary personalities, with Artosis being encyclopedic and analytic, and Plott bold and sociable. In July 2013, ''Polygon'' reported Tastosis to be "the most well-known ''StarCraft 2'' casting duo in the world", both broadcasting for GOMTV Global ''StarCraft II'' League. ''
PC Gamer
''PC Gamer'' is a magazine and website founded in the United Kingdom in 1993 devoted to PC gaming and published monthly by Future plc. The magazine has several regional editions, with the UK and US editions becoming the best selling PC games ma ...
''s Rich McCormick cited the pair in 2011 as examples of how the electronics sports profession is developing celebrities. ''
The Verge
''The Verge'' is an American technology news website operated by Vox Media, publishing news, feature stories, guidebooks, product reviews, consumer electronics news, and podcasts.
The website launched on November 1, 2011, and uses Vox Media' ...
''s Paul Miller referred to Tastosis as "the primary practitioners of ''StarCraft'' casting". A
crowdfunded
Crowdfunding is the practice of funding a project or venture by raising money from a large number of people, typically via the internet. Crowdfunding is a form of crowdsourcing and alternative finance. In 2015, over was raised worldwide by crow ...
documentary about their careers, ''Sons of StarCraft'', was released in early 2013.
Artosis and Tasteless prepare separately, with Artosis constantly watching ''StarCraft'' matches and Tasteless studying commentary from non-traditional sports and major ''StarCraft'' news. Together, they incorporate team histories and their respective strategies into their commentary. Tasteless has said that he considers Tastosis's nuanced readings of player tactics and their eventualities as a "gateway" for bringing unfamiliar crowds into ''StarCraft''.
Artosis cast alongside Tasteless at the
2012 StarCraft II World Championship Series
The 2012 StarCraft II World Championship Series (WCS) is part of the Battle.net World Championship Series, a series of video game tournaments held by Blizzard Entertainment, the creators of the video game ''StarCraft II'' (SC2). Tournaments were he ...
Europe finals, Australian and Oceania finals, and UK nationals,
DreamHack
DreamHack is an ESL Gaming brand specializing in esports tournaments and other gaming conventions. It is recognized by the Guinness Book of Records and Twin Galaxies as being the world's largest LAN party and computer festival with the world's fa ...
Winter 2011,
IGN Pro League
''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...
Season Two, and
Major League Gaming
Major League Gaming Corp. (MLG) is a professional esports organization. MLG is headquartered in New York City, New York and was founded in 2002 by Sundance DiGiovanni and Mike Sepso. MLG has held official video game tournaments throughout the ...
2012 Spring Arena, Raleigh, and 2011 Orlando. Artosis cast solo at the 2013 DreamHack Open in Stockholm.
Two in-game
Easter egg
Easter eggs, also called Paschal eggs, are eggs that are decorated for the Christian feast of Easter, which celebrates the resurrection of Jesus. As such, Easter eggs are common during the season of Eastertide (Easter season). The oldest tr ...
YouTube channel
YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second most v ...
"ArtosisTV", he regularly uploads content related to ''StarCraft'' and ''StarCraft II''. As of February 2022 the channel has over 128,000 subscribers. In addition, he has a secondary YouTube channel named ''ArtosisCasts'', on which he uploads daily casts of numerous StarCraft matches that primarily involve professional players. As of April 2022 the channel has over 14,000 subscribers.
Artosis and Tasteless both cast for the
AfreecaTV StarCraft League
The AfreecaTV StarCraft League (ASL) () is a '' StarCraft: Remastered'' tournament series hosted by afreecaTV in South Korea. It began its first season in June 2016 and used '' StarCraft: Brood War'' for its first three seasons prior to the releas ...
from 2016 to 2020. On 3 March 2021, it was announced by
AfreecaTV
AfreecaTV ( ko, 아프리카TV, short for "Any FREE broadCAsting") () is a P2P technology-based video streaming service. It is now owned and operated by AfreecaTV Co., Ltd. in South Korea after Nowcom's AfreecaTV Co., Ltd and ZettaMedia split in ...
that they would be discontinuing the English casts of the event. However, through
Patreon
Patreon (, ) is a membership platform that provides business tools for content creators to run a subscription service. It helps creators and artists earn a monthly income by providing rewards and perks to their subscribers. Patreon charges a co ...
support, the two were given permission to cast over VODs of the events, and have them uploaded onto the officia ''AfreecaTV eSports'' YouTube Channel. Additionally, Artosis cast his final GSL Code S Tournament, which had been a hallmark of Korean Starcraft II Tournaments, on October 15, 2022, after which he departed from Korea to move to Canada.
Artosis regularly streams his ''StarCraft'' gameplay on his
Twitch
Twitch may refer to:
Biology
* Muscle contraction
** Convulsion, rapid and repeated muscle contraction and relaxation
** Fasciculation, a small, local, involuntary muscle contraction
** Myoclonic twitch, a jerk usually caused by sudden muscle con ...
channel. Artosis's main sources of income are from venues like Twitch subscriptions,
Patreon
Patreon (, ) is a membership platform that provides business tools for content creators to run a subscription service. It helps creators and artists earn a monthly income by providing rewards and perks to their subscribers. Patreon charges a co ...
, casting gigs, and direct donations through StreamElements and Twitch Bit donations, the majority of which are spurred by viewers of his Twitch chat paying for
text-to-speech
Speech synthesis is the artificial production of human speech. A computer system used for this purpose is called a speech synthesizer, and can be implemented in software or hardware products. A text-to-speech (TTS) system converts normal languag ...
to read out usually inane things on the stream.
Hearthstone career
Artosis began playing the
Blizzard Entertainment
Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. is an American video game developer and publisher based in Irvine, California. A subsidiary of Activision Blizzard, the company was founded on February 8, 1991, under the name Silicon & Synapse, Inc. by three graduat ...
online
collectible card game
A collectible card game (CCG), also called a trading card game (TCG) among other names, is a type of card game that mixes strategy game, strategic deck building elements with features of trading cards, introduced with ''Magic: The Gathering'' in ...
'' Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft'' during its closed beta in 2013, and began publishing ''Hearthstone'' podcasts in September 2013. In November 2013 Blizzard invited Artosis to participate in the Innkeeper's Invitational, a ''Hearthstone'' tournament hosted as part of the annual
BlizzCon
BlizzCon is an annual gaming convention held by Blizzard Entertainment to promote its major franchises including ''Warcraft'', ''StarCraft'', '' Diablo'', '' Hearthstone'', ''Heroes of the Storm,'' and ''Overwatch''.
The first BlizzCon was hel ...
convention. On November 8, Artosis won the tournament and was crowned "Grandmaster of the Hearth".
Artosis regularly is a caster for gaming tournaments that occasionally includes ''Hearthstone'' content, and was featured in the ESports Global Network's Fight Night Hearthstone shows, as part of Team Dogehouse and at the 2015 Seatstory Cup. He streams on Twitch.
Personal life
Artosis is married and lived in
Seoul, South Korea
Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 of ...
with his wife and children. His wife was born on
Prince Edward Island
Prince Edward Island (PEI; ) is one of the thirteen Provinces and territories of Canada, provinces and territories of Canada. It is the smallest province in terms of land area and population, but the most densely populated. The island has seve ...
and moved to Korea around 2009. In June 2022, Artosis disclosed that the family will relocate from South Korea to Prince Edward Island, Canada. He finally departed Korea, which he had resided for much of his life, on October 16th after casting his final GSL Code S Tournament.