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Jorien "Sheever" van der Heijden is an English language Dota 2 content creator. She's widely known for hosting Dream League, her work at several Dota Major Championships and as an interviewer, panelist, caster and commentator at The International several times.
The journey of Sheever
Jorien van der Heijden grew up as the third kid in a town in the Netherlands. She liked playing games from early on, having been acquainted with Warcraft III and the universe of Battle.net by her sister.
She was a major fanatic of Tower Defense, and later, DotA. Sheever got serious about gaming with World of Warcraft, striking with bad-to-the-bone assaulting society 'Ascendence' for around 4 years.
It was subsequent to stopping playing World of Warcraft in 2011 that she got a Dota 2 beta key. She began streaming Dota 2 on Owned.tv towards the beginning of December 2011, switching to Twitch.tv in March 2012.
Sheever began her career as a caster when she was asked to help out with an amateur Dota 2 tournament. She was hired as a caster for GosuGamers in April 2012, remaining with them until January 2013 until they were disbanded.
Since then, Sheever has been an increasingly well-known independent freelance caster, host, panelist and interviewer for Dota 2, appearing in many well-known events such as The International, Starladder, and Dream League.
She won the hearts of Dota 2 fans and players with her signature humor, in-depth knowledge about the game, and her keen analytic eyes. With her winning personality, incredible knowledge of the game, and professionalism, Sheever is one of the most beloved talents in the Dota 2 scene.
She once said, "every team is playing without fear, except Evil Geniuses," referring to Clinton "Fear" Loomis, the much-revered Evil Geniuses carry player.
She’s been an ever-present at major events going as far back as The International 2012 and is well-known as the host of DreamLeague.
As one of the few women in the scene, she worked hard to win over fans with her deep knowledge of the game, amicable personality, and sense of humor. But in 2017, it was in her life outside of the game that she faced her biggest challenge yet.
Sheever's diagnosis and return to Dota 2
In May 2017, the popular Dota personality and host announced that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer.
Valve also released a video detailing her fight against cancer, where she gives us a deeper look into her life and how she has dealt with the cancer diagnosis during TI8.
In the video, she said that Owen "ODPixel" Davies was the first person she texted when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. It was obviously a tough time, and as said in the video, having ODPixel, her boyfriend, as well as her parents and siblings beside her, made it a lot easier.
She specifically mentioned the role of her older brother, Mark Van Der Heijden, who was the first to say that he'd be going with her for her chemo sessions.
She told the interviewers that on the day of her first session, her brother knocked on her door, and as he had always been the "tough guy elder brother," seeing despair in him made her break down. She held him and cried, and although they were late for the session, the nurses and doctors didn't mind.
Sheever said that initially, she thought of not going public with her illness, but later on, her mind changed, when her elder sister told her. "you've allowed these people to be with you in your happy times, then why not let them be with you during your tough times?"
Sheever fought back hard and returned to the Dota 2 scene to host The International 2017 in the middle of her chemo sessions. A year passed and Sheever returned to regularly hosting Dota 2 events after she went into remission.
She is now back to regularly casting for Dream League, and her energy and positive vibe is something that all Dota 2 fans want to see in the panelists' hall.
