This post-match interview came after RisingStars and LGD.cn fought out to a 1-1 draw in the WPC-ACE League 2013. Former LGD carry, current RStars player Sylar, and LGD captain xiao8 were the ones chosen for the interview… An interesting choice, given the way Sylar departed from LGD.
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In this, Team DK fields questions about their careers, life goals, and more. Interaction with fans in the live audience, funny and candid moments, all within this half hour production from WPC-ACE 2013. View in full on Youtube for best effect!
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In this interview with UUU9.com, Mushi is asked about Orange, his joining of DK, and thoughts on DK’s participation at the upcoming and highly hyped MLG in November.
U9: Hello Mushi, thank you for doing this interview with UUU9.com. Previously at TI3, Orange achieved a relatively successful result, so what made you decide to leave your old teammates and come to China?
Mushi: Prior to TI3 I’d already thought about moving to China to compete, but before that could happen I needed to complete my journey with Orange at TI3.
U9: What changes has joining DK brought for you on an individual level?
Mushi: This is a very hard working team, every day it’s laning practice, or replay analysis. Competition is fierce nowadays, so we must do our best.
U9: Your old teammates at Orange have now joined new organization Titan, and the new organization is providing much improved terms of contract. Anything you’d like to say to your old teammates now?
Mushi: I hope they can participate in many events, and bring more excitement to viewers and fans. And win lots too 😛
U9: Let’s talk about your new teammates, one sentence to describe each of them?
Mushi: It’s only been a month for me, let’s leave the juicy reveals for a later date.
U9: Which of your DK teammates have been the most different from what your expectations?
Mushi: They’re all largely as I’d imagined them to be.
U9: Have you been able to get used to life in China? Because of WPC-ACE, your team will be in Shanghai for a long period of time, what kinds of things do you guys like doing outside of practice and matches?
Mushi: Apart from the food, I’ve been fine with everything else. Outside of practice and matches, I haven’t had much else I really liked doing. Mostly spend my time chatting with friends and fans, that’s about it~
U9: Older versions of Mushi have been known to be rather rash in decision-making, sometimes resulting in mistakes. As a result, some Chinese fans had labeled you in the past as “our international friend” (due to Mushi throwing games against Chinese teams). Yet, your improvements this year have been noticed by all, so what is it that has enabled you to make this change?
Mushi: Never stop learning, and always maintain calm.
U9: Following TI3, Chinese teams have all made adjustments. Currently, who do you think will be DK’s biggest rivals?
Mushi: If we perform well, we can defeat anyone. If we don’t perform well, then anyone can defeat us. Haha~
U9: “Such a chaotic scene” at one point was the unofficial label for the Chinese scene, what are your thoughts on this?
Mushi: Every team and every scene is a mess behind the curtains, it’s just that people don’t hear about it. It’s all within the norm.
U9: To join the Chinese scene and come to China to compete, what are your goals and requirements for yourself?
Mushi: Learn the good things, avoid the bad things. Work hard in practice, win lots of events.
U9: Foreign sites have revealed that originally WPC-ACE would restrict teams from partaking in other events. DK’s participation at MLG must’ve come as a result of lots of work, can you confirm?
Mushi: Ehm, I don’t really know about this. After joining DK, I’ve only focused on doing my job as a player.
U9: What are your goals for MLG?
Mushi: My personal goals are to win everything that is winnable, and if it is not winnable, then to learn and grow from competing against other foreign players there.
U9: DK will be the only team from China at MLG, what was it that brought you guys to participate in this event?
Mushi: Because there will be all the other strong Western teams present there.
U9: How has the teamwork and communication been at DK so far? What are things you guys still need to work on?
Mushi: It’s gone decently, but there’s still plenty to improve. Hard to speak about more details.
U9: Who is captain for DK right now? Who does the drafts? If there are disagreements, whose word helps most?
Mushi: BurNIng is captain, we all draft together, and if there are disagreements we discuss it together in order to get on the same page.
U9: Thank you Mushi for doing this interview with UUU9.com. We hope that you can achieve great results with DK. Any words for fans?
Mushi: Thank you UUU9, and thank you to all those who support me for all the motivation that you’ve given me.
Source: http://dota2.uuu9.com/201309/454317.shtml
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This interview was conducted in a mix of English and Chinese, apparently. Replays.Net posted the Chinese version. Short-ish interview in which kyxy talks about TI3, the Aegis incident, what he’ll do with his prize money, etc…
Replays.Net: Hello, kyxy, welcome to this interview with RN.
Titan.kyxy: Hello everyone
RN: Why don’t you start off by sharing with everyone the origins of your nickname!
kyxy: Ky is my name — Kang Yang, and xy was my ID in Dota 1. I combined them together for Dota 2.
RN: How long have you played Dota 2? How did you get into the professional scene?
kyxy: I’ve played for nearly three years. I had gone with MUFC to compete in TI1, but we lost. I got in by playing lots of local events in Malaysia.
RN: We all know that at TI3, Orange achieved an admirable third place finish, yet still ended up disbanding, to the surprise of many. What do you think the main reasons behind this were?
kyxy: Mushi had already decided prior to TI3 that he would be moving to China after the tournament ended. The remaining four of us still remained as a team, and after TI3, Titan invited us to join. Their conditions were superior to those of Orange’s, so we went.
RN: Chinese media have been reporting that Titan’s salaries are twice that of Orange’s, can you confirm?
kyxk: Sorry, this is not something we can disclose.
RN: Your performances at TI3 were outstanding. But that one incident denying the Aegis had everyone wondering “what if”, can you talk a bit about that moment?
kyxy: Ugh, I was moving to get closer to Roshan so I could tank as Windrunner, then I saw that Roshan was almost dead, so I used A-click in order to avoid accidentally taking the Aegis myself, and just like that, the Aegis went byebye. Ever since then, no matter what the situation has been, I no longer use attack move.
RN: This must’ve been a huge hit for you? How did you deal with it?kyxy: A huge hit, I could only think, even though top 3 is a great result already, we could’ve made it to top 2 if there hadn’t been such a mistake.
RN: Did your teammates blame you?
kyxy: My teammates did not blame me. They felt that we win together, and we lose together, so no one blamed me. But I still felt terrible inside, making an error that shouldn’t have happened.
RN: Then let’s talk about some less heavy things. What do you plan on doing with your prize money from TI3?
kyxy: I will give a portion of it to my mom, then keep some to spend myself, and save the rest away. Because I don’t really know how to use all that money, so I’ll just put it in the bank and save it.
RN: Housing is very expensive in China, what about in Malaysia? Any plans to use the money to buy a place?
kyxy: It’s also very expensive in Malaysia. I don’t even know the details but all I know is that housing in Malaysia is quite pricey as well.
RN: How will your roles be allocated with your new team, Titan?
kyxy: We’re still in the building process. I should still be playing the 2 role. Because we have three people who all used to play support, so we might have Ohaiyo take on the 1 position, and then move someone to the 3.
RN: Have you begun official practices?
kyxy: We need to wait until we move into the new team house next month before we can officially begin.
RN: How many times have you visited China, what left you the deepest impression?
kyxy: The deepest impression still has to be us playing against iG, and I caught five in my ult as Magnus!
RN: 6.79 should be coming soon, what changes are you looking forward to the most?
kyxy: Timbersaw’s ultimate should have its cooldown increased a bit!
RN: Last word for your Chinese fans?
kyxy: Thank you for the interview, and shoutout to our sponsor Titan Gaming. More importantly, thank you to my fans in China, I promise that I will never make that Aegis mistake again ^_^. 😛 haha
Source: http://dota2.replays.net/news/page/20130925/1853827.html
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In this video interview from last week, rOtk talks about the change, how he felt, his view of the issue, and more… Make sure your captions and annotations are on for Youtube.
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In this interview with CuZn, the TongFu manager reflects on recent changes, and talks about the future for the club.
SGamer: Thank you CuZn for this interview with SGamer.com. Now that TongFu’s new roster has been confirmed, are you finally able to breathe a sigh of relief?
TongFu.CuZn: Yes indeed, I can finally breathe easily now, and it feels great to relax.
SG: Following TI3, did you expect to see such huge changes come to your team?
CuZn: I did think of it, because there are always changes following big tournaments!
SG: Were there some ‘transactions’ being discussed already during your time in Seattle, then?
CuZn: During the time I was only focused on the matches, didn’t pay much attention to things outside of that. But I do know that there have been some foreign players expressing desire to come to China to compete, but I feel that communication and cultural differences is a huge issue there.
SG: Recently, TongFu players have become hot commodities. What preparations did the club have in case of a worst-case scenario?
CuZn: A complete restructuring along with a creation of a feeder/secondary team.
SG: What if this team that you’d personally helped build completely fell apart, did you consider giving up your career as an esports club manager as a whole?
CuZn: Yes, there were definitely thoughts regarding that. But as long as there is a player willing to stay, then I will continue my work.
SG: Was Hao’s departure a surprise to you?
CuZn: No, this was within my expectations. Hao’s performances this year have been excellent, and the scene has a relative lack of carry players, so having teams coming to ask about him is to be expected. Plus, it’s possible for any change to happen after an International.
SG: Hao, in a weibo post of his, stated that he would be playing with an added TongFu label on the end of his ID even though he’s joined iG now. Were the tears flowing for you after learning of this gesture?
CuZn: Nah, but I did feel that he’s grown to be more and more professional. He knows what he wants to do nowadays. TongFu is our club’s name as well as our sponsor, and TongFu Porridge has released products specific to each of our players. 🙂
SG: What are you going to do with those bowls of porridge that have Hao and Banana on them?
CuZn: We’ll just sell them through our T-mall store, or give them away in events. Our T-mall is at tongushipin.tmall.com, we welcome everyone. 🙂
SG: In this big reshuffle, what kind of role has the ACE Alliance played?
CuZn: A supervisory role. Just as Efeng says, without the Alliance, there would have been quite a few teams that get poached to the point of dissolution.
SG: How do you rate Zhou and Hao as players?
CuZn: Born in the same year, Zhou’s personality is more stable and steady, suitable for being captain. Hao is more aggressive and impulsive, suited for making big plays. In terms of results, Zhou has more than Hao I think, but Zhou’s form this year has been fairly low. Hao on the other hand, via his own hard work as well as his team’s growth, has been able to improve and even largely escape his old label of ‘feeder Hao’. The two players both have room to improve, so we’ll have to see what happens in this next year!
SG: A team’s captain seems to be very important, who was your team’s captain before? Has Zhou been confirmed as the new captain now?
CuZn: The captain before was actually banana. After banana left, we held a team meeting, and confirmed Zhou as the new captain, and the main drafter for us.
SG: ZSMJ’s transition to the 4 role has been fairly recent, do you feel that he will be able to fulfill the needs of this role?
CuZn: Yes he can, he is a very focused, very hard-working player, and we have a lot of confidence in him successfully playing the 4 role in our team.
SG: Whose idea was it to pick up ZSMJ?
CuZn: We made a list of all players who currently are able to play the 4 position, and then this was the result of a collective discussion.
SG: How do you rate this new roster?
CuZn: We’ll still have to see how they gel together. Their current level of play I think can only be given 70 out of 100, but there was some training today, and the results weren’t bad!
SG: Apart from winning TI4, what other goals are there for the next year? For example forming a youth squad to go play the NSL in Korea?
CuZn: Of course there are other goals, such as winning the ACE League, or defending our DSL title. This next year we might have three different squads. As for which team gets sent to play in the NSL in Korea, this needs to be kept a secret for now. After the big reshuffle this year, we’ve realized the increasing importance of having sub/feeder-teams, so we will definitely be creating a youth squad.
SG: How will you guys go about selecting players for the other two squads, then?
CuZn: We’ll have our coaching staff filter the choices. We’ve already got some new players in our sights.
SG: Apart from sydm, who else is part of the coaching team?
CuZn: Kabu, Gx, and one of Zhou’s friends. Of course there’s me too!
SG: Do you feel that coaches are a necessity to Dota 2 teams nowadays?
CuZn: I feel that it’s something you cannot lack, because coachs can arrange schedules, scrims, they can monitor the players and help them grow, thus allowing the players to focus on practice and competing.
SG: What do you think is the greatest challenge currently facing your club’s Dota 2 team?
CuZn: Lack of talent. Whether in terms of management or players, there is an acute lack. Because Dota 2 in China still lacks accessibility, the playerbase is still relatively small, so it’s very hard to find people. Many sponsors aren’t that interested in Dota 2, and so from a club’s point of view it is difficult to find additional investment.
SG: Do you think that things will improve once Dota 2 truly opens up to the masses?
CuZn: More or less, yes it will improve. Lots of loyal Dota fans will be able to play this excellent esports product, and as the playerbase grows, lower level tournaments increase in number, and thus more new competitors and sponsors will appear. I do believe that the future will be better!
SG: As a club, do you guys prefer league-format or cup-format tournaments, and why?
CuZn: It’s definitely the league format. Stable and reliable scheduling as well as publicity, this is good for both the players and the fans, and the regularity of the league format allows the club to plan things more easily.
SG: Okay, go ahead and say something to cap off this interview then!
CuZn: TongFu 3.0 awaits your support!
Source: http://dota2.sgamer.com/news/201309/152606.html
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In this video interview, 820 talks about his thoughts on TI3, what went wrong for Chinese teams, and his hopes for Dota 2 in China…
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As the title says — I’m gonna be backstage at #TI3 with potential to get players for interviews. I’ll be working with a professional host/interviewer. Who do you want to see and what do you want to ask them?
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ZSMJ recently made an appearance on the ZSMJ Tieba on Baidu. He asked for people in Hangzhou to come play basketball with him, and also answered some questions in the thread — some of the answers are really excellent and insightful. And sometimes, even hilarious. Who knew, ZSMJ is a comedian too? Additionally, it was revealed that his salary at VG is 5000 RMB a month and his compensation also includes rent and food (not bad at all). Give this one a read!
Q: About the move to the 4 position
ZSMJ: Because the team has lacked results for this whole time, I’ve been very frustrated. Our individual skills are all not bad, yet we just can’t seem to achieve any results. So I thought that maybe I could switch to the 4 spot, maybe this is the final step before we make that breakthrough in our team’s growth. In Fy’s daily training, I’ve noticed that he has a lot of potential in playing the carry role, so we decided to give it a try, and as such, the team is currently in a new build-up phase. The ultimate result of this experiment I do not know yet, but I can only do my best. One must change, adapt, and strive, in order to not have any regrets later on. I’ve always been very focused on following my dreams, so thank you to those who have supported me and helped me all along my journey.
Q: We heard that, before your comeback, you had preferred the quiet lifestyle of retirement from esports, that being on the computer all day was really bad for your health. So what was it that brought you back to all this again?
ZSMJ: I think it was my dreams, I wasn’t satisfied. I thirst for a championship title to prove myself. And I do really like Dota and Dota 2, there’s a very deep emotional attachment. As for computer-related activities and how they relate to my health, I say that because whenever I play professionally, my health and physical state tend to deteriorate. I’ve had surgery before, because of the drain that it has had on my body. That’s also why I’m so skinny. During my retirement, I had manage to gain a few kilograms, and my acne cleared up. But now I’m right back to around 50 kg, and have acne all over my face.
Q: There’s been widespread flaming of CTY for all sorts of problems, what do you think? What is your opinion of CTY?
ZSMJ: CTY is an extremely talented and skillful individual player. But because of a lack of experience, so currently his play isn’t reliable enough, and he lacks some understanding of how to play the mid and late game scenarios. I believe that with time, he will improve on all these things. Everyone has their weaknesses, so going on and on about one new player’s weaknesses really isn’t doing any favors for the Chinese scene in terms of finding new talent. We should all look for their strengths, and help them develop. I myself am a player with relatively stronger execution, relatively weak leadership, so the team isn’t directed by me. Thus, people end up flaming CTY since the focus in that falls on him. Perhaps if I had a stronger pesronality to take on that role instead, it could be better for everyone, so I will also work hard on that.
Q: Outside of training, what kinds of things do you do for fun?
ZSMJ: Lately due to the lack of achievements, I’ve been feeling the pressure of needing to achieve some results, so apart from training everyday, it’s just sleep. I feel like I’ve met a bottleneck myself, so I’ve really been frustrated~~ I don’t know how to solve it. In the past, while playing professionally, I would go work out, go to the movies, and also play basketball. Are there any groups playing basketball near the Xihu District in Hangzhou? Call me~
Q: As a fan of yours since I started playing Dota, I’ve always liked you. Now that you’re switching to the 4 role, I’m all sorts of emotional, but also hope that you can achieve success with this. Will there be a chance for you to return to the carry role in the future? What circumstances would have to be met for this to happen?
ZSMJ: My switch to the 4 is not because I personally want to play the 4 role, but because it’s something to try to help the team’s needs. If there isn’t any success from this attempt, then I will go back to playing carry. I’m just looking for a way to break through. Whatever ends up suiting our needs is what we’ll do!
Q: Do you have a girlfriend? If you’re looking, then would you prefer one that plays Dota? What other things would you look for in a girl?
ZSMJ: No girlfriend. I don’t like girls that play Dota. I don’t want a public bus (everyone gets a ride), and they must have great figure! Large chest! Can cook and clean, house worthy, loyal and doesn’t mind that I’m poor. Due to the fact that these girls do not exist on this planet, I’ve thus gone on the path of homosexuality. I have many boy friends. I like chubby ones, ones with lots of meat on their bones. If you meet these requirements, I only say this: Please contact me.
Q: Your item hotkeys
ZSMJ: ` – 2 – F2 – TAB – Q – F3
Q: What is your ideal lifestlye? Your fans are often categorized as hardcore fans, or braindead fans, etc. What do you think about this? What kind of porn do you like? I’ll PM you some of whatever it is.
ZSMJ: My ideal life is to have a home, have a car, have a woman, and have a kid. The home doesn’t need to be large, the child as long as it is mine, is fine, and as long as the car moves, we’re good. The woman doesn’t need to be beautiful, as long as she’s good to me, then that’s great.
As for fans, I feel it’s pretty nice. I love my fans, no matter what kind you are. I’ve always believed that true support comes in the form of its steadfastness. For me, I haven’t won much in the past year or two, yet regardless of my own poor performances or change of teams, my fans have always supported me. I grew up in the village with my grandma, never received much in the way of a formal education. My parents didn’t pay much attention to me. So the kinds of emotions and relationships that I have from my fans are things that I truly appreciate, it’s just like family, and I really love it. Each and every thanks I say to you all, I fully mean it. I just wanna say, even though I may not be the greatest Dota star, but I am someone worthy of all your support. I believe that I will one day stand up top with title in hand.
As for porn, I haven’t watched any in ages. I’m old… Plus, it’s a waste of tissue — I’m poor, can’t afford that stuff.
Q: What is your relation with 2009 like? Always been curious; is it a tale of two brothers fighting alongside each other, or a Shakespearean story of brotherly love?
ZSMJ: Without 2009, there wouldn’t have been FTD, and wouldn’t have been today’s LGD. I really respect 9-god, and appreciate him. He’s a business genius. At the time of our departures, it wasn’t anything about anyone abandoning the other, more that he just had made the decision to leave LGD. Now it looks like he made the right decision, because nowadays 2009 is doing quite well.
When I first started playing professionally, I didn’t understand anything, I was just a raw kid on the scene. 2009 was a 20-something college student, for him to bring us all along and up through the scene all in the name of chasing our dreams, it couldn’t have been easy for him.
So he will always be my captain, my most respected captain.
Sources: http://tieba.baidu.com/p/2474570985 — http://dota.shandian.biz/1006.html
SGamer: Hello LongDD, thank you for the interview. As a top 10 ranked player in the previous season, you’ve gone even further this season to place first. How do you feel?
LongDD: I’ve actually had a top 4 in the past. Anyway, it’s great. I’ve been participating in CDEC since a few years ago, but never got first, because in the past I didn’t have the time to play much CDEC, but now I’ve finally done it.
SG: Compared to last season, this season’s top 10 sees far fewer professional players, and the overall amount of games has decreased as well, why do you think that is?
LongDD: They’ve all gone to play at events, of course, so that’s why there aren’t as many professional players.
SG: The lack of professional players should mean that there is room for newcomers to prove themselvess. Have you paid attention to any particularly talented players here?
LongDD: I think that xiaohong guy plays decently. Others I really haven’t paid much attention to.
SG:What are the main differences you see between pub games, competitive games, and in-house games?
LongDD: Pub games see different item choices that you wouldn’t see in CDEC, plus there is no points-based ranking system.
SG: TongFu won the DSL title — what do you think about their rise to power?
LongDD: I like the atmosphere they have at TongFu, lots of passion in their game. I can only say that TI3 is right in front of them, and if they want to achieve success then they must continue working hard.
SG: iG of late has been mired in a crisis, why do you think that is, and how do you think they should go about resolving it? Can [their new coach] 121 help them get back to their invincible old selves?
LongDD: iG’s main difference is that they’ve lost their confidence. So then they don’t even know what their strongest points are anymore.
SG: With iG’s fall and TongFu’s rise, what are your views on the current scene amongst Chinese teams? Which team is the strongest right now?
LongDD: Currently I think LGD has the best chance, they’ve been the most stable in recent times.
SG: TI3 is a mere few weeks away. Compared to last year, which team do you think has changed the most since TI2?
LongDD: Surely it is iG. Their current form is so worrisome, but I hope they can get out from it soon.
SG: Compared to last year, it would seem that this year, Western teams will come much better prepared. Alliance and NaVi both came to China and played excellently, what are your views on these two teams? Can they dominate TI3 and defeat the Chinese teams?
LongDD: I can only say, that there’s a chance of it. But I still favor the Chinese teams.
SG: How should the Chinese teams go about defeating these top tier Western teams? What should they do to counter the flexibility that these Western teams show in drafting?
LongDD: Learn, they must learn and analyze their strategies. Chinese teams should be good at that, learning.
SG: Even though you’re no longer playing professionally, you still stream frequently via YY, and have spent a lot of time playing in CDEC and pub games. What exactly do you think has brought so many viewers to your streams of these games?
LongDD: I think because I’m fairly interesting… and there’s still some professionalism about me, yeah!
SG: You’re a very experienced veteran pro player, and you’ve also shown that you can take on the role of a coach. Simultaneously, you also seem to be a very popular streamer. So given the choice, would you lean towards being involved in the pro scene, or as a streamer?
LongDD: If there’s a chance, I’d rather continue playing professionally. This is also the reason I continue to play every day.
SG: You’ve played with both DK and TongFu, and also put in some good performances in a short stint with LGD. Is it safe to say that you still possess the drive needed to be a competitive player? Which team would you favor joining, why?
LongDD: If I had the chance, I would still want to go back to the traditional Big 3 teams, and go for another championship.
SG: Thank you for your time. Anything to say to fans?
LongDD: I hope you all will give me your support.
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