Category Archives: Interviews

TongFu.Hao pre-WCG interview

Original: http://dota2.replays.net/news/page/20121128/1752976.html

Replays.Net: Hello Hao, welcome! Say hi to your fans.

TongFu.Hao: Hello everyone, I am Hao

RN: This is the first time Dota is on the WCG stage (even though it’s technically just exhibitions), is there any pressure in representing China?

Hao: No pressure, we absolutely will not lose, and even if we lose it will be in the finals to LGD.

RN: Then your goal is?

Hao: Top 2!

RN: Apart from LGD which we’re obviously all very familiar with, there are some other teams from different places such as South Korea, Mongolia, and they are teams that we’re all not very familiar with. When you come up against these unfamiliar teams do you and other Chinese teams anticipate having any problems?

Hao: There should be a bit. Because these teams, we completely lack any knowledge of their style and preferred tactics. What heroes they use, what we should ban or pick, all things that we aren’t very clear on, so we can only rely on our own strongest systems.

RN: Currently most big Chinese teams have moved to training mostly for Dota2, so is there difficulty in finding practice partners for Dota1 now? (Dotaland note: TongFu will be representing China at WCG in Dota1) Do you have specific training for Dota1 right now, how is it going?

Hao: Yes, it’s very difficult, because nowadays there’s no one training Dota1 anymore. So the 5 of us can only run 5-man stacks on ladder to get re-acclimated to the feel of Dota1.

RN: You just brought up ladder, so what are your ladder rankings, what’s your win rate like?

Hao: Rankings are not all the same. Anywhere between 2300-2500… win rate… if all 5 of us are together, 90% or so.

RN: While you frantically prepare for WCG, there is also the G-League Dota2 competition, how do you balance your training focus? On the official TongFu blog posts we often see that you guys order delivery for meals, is this level of training causing any sort of exhaustion? And do you have any events or activities at your base to relax a bit?

Hao: Because we’re just about to go play WCG matches, so these couple days we haven’t trained any Dota2. After we get back from WCG, the plan is to only play Dota2, because we still need to prepare for G-League. About the food, it’s okay, we only get delivery when our house maid is on holiday or after she leaves at night, and it’s not too bad. We all laugh and joke around, in the past we used to play cards. Nowadays we don’t play cards anymore, because we’re all hungry for results to prove ourselves, so this recent period all we’ve been doing everyday is training.

RN: LGD’s ddc cannot compete (WCG nationality rules), will this give you more confidence for your matchup?

Hao: Yes, because ddc is an extremely strong player, I feel that LGD without ddc is the same impact as iG without ChuaN. But KingJ should not be overlooked either, but we still have confidence.

RN: How have TongFu’s new roster additions longdd and Veronica come along? Your form and teamwork, have they met your expectations?

Hao: It’s been alright. A lot better than earlier. As for expectations, still a ways off… but when we built this current roster, the goal was always the next International.

RN: Dota2 China servers are close to arriving. For you, are there any functionalities that Steam currently lacks that you’d like to see?

Hao: None; as long as it’s playable it’s good. We all greatly look forward to China servers, because currently playing on Steam means we have really poor connections. The Shanghai server is un-usable, so we can only use the SEA server in Singapore. If China servers come online, then we can use those, and our training will have higher quality to it…

RN: Big thanks to Ms.Hao for the interview with us, and we wish you success at WCG. At the end, we ask you to use one sentence to describe each of your teammates, and yourself.

Hao: Sansheng: A good man! Veronica: This guy has had a little too many IDs recently. Mu: A very intellectually spirited player. longdd: Very high professionalism. Hao: Trying my best. And at the end, thanks to our sponsor “TongFu Porridge” for their constant support, thank you!

SGamer interviews manager of newcomers VG (Vici Gaming)

Dotaland note: Let’s get to know some new faces in the Chinese scene! Vici Gaming recently defeated well-known name Noah’s Ark in the G-League 2012 S2 preliminaries to book a spot in the round of 8 held in Shanghai. Who are they… where are they from… let’s find out!

Original: http://dota2.sgamer.com/news/201211/148175.html

In their debut at the G-League 2012 Season 2 preliminary stages, Dota2 newcomer team VG crushed Noah’s Ark by a score of 2-0, easily advancing to the Round of 8. Afterwards, we managed to get an interview with VG team lead Fengdidi (Dotaland note: his name translated literally is “wind little brother”)

SG: Hello, very glad to have Fengdidi do this interview with us, why don’t you say hi to everyone?

Fengdidi (Fdd): Hi everyone, I am PandaPanPan (Dotaland note: another ID of his from when he was a player)

SG: First of all congratulations to VG for the victory over NA in advancing to the round of 8!

Fdd: Thank you!

SG: As for many of VG’s players, it’s fair to assume that many fans have yet to come to know. Fengdidi can you introduce to us some information about your team?

Fdd: Our team was officially formed on October 21 (of this year), though before today we hadn’t gone live with it. The team currently has training in Hangzhou’s Westlake District.

SG: Can you please introduce us to your players?

Fdd: Apart from former TyLoo player xiao7, everyone else is pretty much new to the scene. For now we have CTY playing carry, the god of war xiao7 as solo, captain Fenrir and fy as supports, Xtt as the 3. (Dotaland note: due to being new players, their English IDs aren’t as established and these may not be authoritative names)

SG: Then we must ask, with all these new players, what led you to choose them in the formation of this new team?

Fdd: In the Dota circle I’ve looked at and considered many players. Over a long period of consideration, in addition to my own personal observations, I ended up going with these five players. After coming together and training for a month, so far I’ve been pretty satisfied/

SG: Can we ask a bit about the players’ living arrangements?

Fdd: All the arrangements are pretty ideal, food and lodging are all quite ideal. Everyone has their own room. And the base is in a very nice environment.

SG: How do you arrange and set up your training? With such massive progress here, can you reveal anything for us?

Fdd: The rules I’ve set for the players is to finish eating by noon, and then begin the day’s training. If there’s no training partner then they play as a 5 man group online, so for now the results have been pretty good over the past month. The players themselves are also pretty dedicated. In addition I also regularly join them so we can play 3v3 to practice laning.

SG: We heard Fengdidi you also used to be a pro player, what has led to you becoming a team manager now?

Fdd: Last year I played with Panda for a year, and went through quite a bit. This year I spent half a year chilling at home, until my current boss contacted me saying that he wanted to form a team, so I began work on making that happen. Why I don’t play professionally anymore is because I’m comparatively noob nowadays, plus I’m old now.

SG: Talk a bit about your match against NA, what are your thoughts on how the players performed?

Fdd: Their performance was within my expectations. The team trained for a month, before that they didn’t even know how Dota2, so this entire month I’ve been with them in training, explaining things to them, so now that they’ve defeated NA, I feel that it’s all expected. Especially since NA recently hasn’t been training Dota2.

SG: Your win over NA was also within my expectations. Want to make a prediction for the match between TongFu and N9?

Fdd: As for predictions, I definitely hope TongFu can win, after all many of their players were teammates of mine in the past, and I really hope to be able to meet them in Shanghai. Plus, we stack every night to play Dota2!

SG: After defeating NA, surely other teams will begin to take notice of you and take you more seriously. What do you think of your chances of advancing to the semifinals?

Fdd: Advancing to the semifinals we’ll have to look at our performance and luck, so the specific chances aren’t something I can comfortably conclude right now!

SG: Okay, thank you Fengdidi for the interview! Let us meet again in Shanghai then. And we wish VG good results in this edition of the G-League.

Chinese commentator Crystal (Laoshu) talks G-1, BurNing, DK’s loss

Original: http://dota2.replays.net/news/page/20121119/1749015.html

Replays.Net: Hello Crystal (Laoshu), welcome to this Replays.Net interview.

Crystal (Laoshu): Hello, thank you to Replays for this interview.

RN: G-1 is over, LGD took the title, talk a bit about your thoughts on this result.

Crystal: To be honest, I’m fairly surprised at this result. The first day they defeated iG, I had already gotten a feeling that this team (LGD) had made a sharp change. Because before the match, I had gone to LGD’s training house, and seen them training the Magnus plus Luna combo versus LGD.int, yet they were losing boxes and boxes of Coca-cola (Dotaland note: in training for LGD and LGD.int, the losers must buy soda for the winners). So I assumed they would get rid of this strategy, yet they brought it to G-1 anyway, and had such great results with it.

RN: This means that in the time between then and now, they managed to take the next step in improving and perfecting the strategy.

Crystal: Yes. In training they lose Coca-cola, but in Fuzhou (the G-1 finals venue location) they win 180000 RMB, so those were worthy losses.

RN: So where do you think DK lost?

Crystal: I feel that they lost at BurNing, his form hasn’t been as good as it was in the past. Previously I rated him as the world’s number one carry, but since TI2 began, reasons for losses in some matches have been connected to BurNing. Up to the matches in the G-1 League, including some matches in the Finals here, BurNing made some very serious mistakes; quite a few times he was out of position when he needed to help a fight, if he had TPed to join in, then the eventual result certainly would have been different. BurNing’s form has some very noticeable signs of decline.

RN: Facing the current situation, what are you thoughts on how you think B-god should work to find his great form of yesteryear?

Crystal: I feel that he should start from the issue of bringing his girlfriend to offline matches, this is something that many teams have already prohibited, all feeling that bringing your girlfriend equals to looking for a loss. So BurNing should start from the basic attitude behind this in making changes, and additionally immediately after the matches ended, BurNing had already gone directly back to the hotel. This is a worrying sign, he should at least spend a bit of time afterwards to communicate with his teammates. Because my opinion and respect for BurNing is very high, I really hope that he can continue to be at the top of the world in what he does. Right now I’m a little disappointed.

RN: Orange defeated iG 2-1, to us this was pretty surprising, talk a bit about your views.

Crystal: Mainly it was Mushi performing very well, his early growth directly dictates his team’s win or loss later on. I feel that they should revolve their strategies around the heroes that Mushi plays well, because once Mushi is fat, Orange has already won 80%.

RN: After all this time commentating for G-1, what has been the most memorable event for you in the whole process?

Crystal: I think that co-commentating with 2009, this truly did allow me to learn a lot of new things. My own experience in offline commentating is not yet plentiful, and compared to 2009 it’s like the difference between ground and sky. So lately I’ve been asking many questions of him, what I want to learn is how to work with others in this field, not only being able to talk by myself.

RN: Then you will certainly bring us more exciting commentary in the future. Can you now talk a bit about G-1 League’s influence on Dota2 domestically, as well as what you think esports as a whole will be like in the future?

Crystal: First off, G-1 was a very successful tournament. Even though the offline portion was that grand, they still certainly did a very dedicated and professional competition here. Because the staff on hand was very little, Pikachu’s (Pikaxiu, Chinese commentator and organizer of this G-1 Dota league) dedication and responsibility was seen by all of us. This was the first Dota2 competition domestically, and the prizepool was large, so it will have a great influence on future domestic competition. I really look forward to the fifth G-1 League.

RN: Have you ever thought about making a comeback to play Dota2? For example there’s currently the rumored ZSMJ team, which still hasn’t confirmed its roster.

Crystal: I have thought about it before, because I played professionally for all those years and yet never won a title, so there have always been regrets about that in my heart. There was that WCG where beforehand I had said to 71 that I would retire afterwards, but 71 said a bunch of moving things to change my mind, so I did. Even though at The International 1 in Germany, we didn’t win the championship, but the bountiful prize for second place was something that made me quite happy already. I feel that my life began at EHOME, so my love for EHOME all these years has not been wrong.

RN: Then we hope that if there’s a chance in the future, that you once again step on the battlefield.

Crystal: In the past while still playing I never thought about this clearly, but now I’ve thought about it. In terms of age I’m still pretty young, even though my face doesn’t show it, but in truth I’m emotionally spent. Began playing Dota at 16, went pro at 17, and it’s enough for me. Dreams don’t always have to be completed by oneself, watching others fulfill theirs is also a kind of satisfaction.

RN: Please say a word to the fans and readers out there to bring this interview to a close.

Crystal: Thank you to the friends at G-1, to fans supporting us, and fans of Replays.Net. Having you all makes me feel very grateful.

 

xiao8 interview with Sgamer: “Our recent losses came from fluctuations in the team … iG has no weakness”

Original: http://dota.sgamer.com/201211/news-detail-154953.html

SGamer: Thank you for this interview. Earlier there were reports saying you guys had moved your team headquarters from Tianjin to Hangzhou because you had switched sponsors?

xiao8: We haven’t changed sponsors, it’s just that internet in Southern China is a bit better. And also because we were forming our Int team, so having everyone together would make things easier to manage.

SG: LGD has always been seen as a favorite to win in any competition, yet you have lost in the finals of consecutive competitions recently, will there be any roster changes as a result?

xiao8: I don’t think so, lately the main reason behind our losses has been the fact that we’ve been making changes to positions within the team. After the ACE League, DD said he wanted to try playing the 3 position, but then after a bit of that he went back to his support role. Competition schedules have been very dense recently, and so we haven’t had much time to get used to the changes back and forth, and thus we haven’t found our team rhythm and as a result have been losing more.

SG: Were the original changes made to accommodate just whomever brought it up? Or were the changes a result of everyone feeling that they wanted some adjustments?

xiao8: It stemmed from individual requests for a position change and we all discussed it together. After all, if someone doesn’t want to play a certain position, they certainly aren’t going to be able to play it well.

SG: Because of the competitions you are now in, you guys probably don’t play much original DotA anymore, right? In your free time do you still go back to DotA and group up with friends to play some?

xiao8: Once in a while I’ll still go play solo or with a few friends on ladder.

SG: Regarding your newest teammates, how do you usually communicate with them?

xiao8: English!

SG: How come it seems like there’s quite a bit of pride in your tone of voice here… which of you has the best English?

xiao8: Right now, Yao’s English is best, although the club is already looking for tutors to help us with our English, so I think in the future the one with the best English skills will definitely be me!

SG: How do your two teams normally train?

xiao8: Pretty much whenever everyone’s here, we just train. And we just yell at each other, except sometimes no one knows what is being yelled. We usually play the “Cola Cup”, which is one Best of 3, whoever loses goes and buys two cases of Coca-cola …

SG: So your side wins pretty much 100% of the time, right?

xiao8: No, they’re quite good, in training we lose some and we win some.

SG: After TI2, IceFrog pushed through a large amount of changes in updates, do you feel that the updates in the last month have affected the pace of the game?

xiao8: I feel that right now, the fast tempo of games is just temporary, because an appropriate way to play this update version hasn’t been found yet.

SG: What are your thoughts on potential changes to the ban/pick phase?

xiao8: Don’t think it’ll really affect much, in the end everything depends on a team’s overall ability.

SG: Training with LGD.int, have you been inspired in any way? It seems like current Chinese team strategies have all stagnated somewhat.

xiao8: A bit, but right now more of the focus in training has been on getting them acclimated to Chinese teams’ playing styles.

SG: What do you think are the strengths and weaknesses of Chinese teams versus European/American teams?

xiao8: Strengths are we are more professional and more focused; weaknesses I’m not sure, maybe the fact that they have better mentalities, I feel that they perhaps find more enjoyment out of the game.

SG: What is your assessment of DK now that they’ve made their roster changes?

xiao8: Their lineup has grown a lot stronger, so it’s a stronger DK

SG: Why do you say so? Because a lot of people have been questioning 357 and Dai’s skill.

xiao8: Dai and 357 are excellent 4 and 5 position players, from technique and mechanics to teamwork and experience, they’re top tier.

SG: Currently iG is undoubtedly China’s strongest team, and also probably your biggest adversary, have you guys figured out any weaknesses of theirs?

xiao8: No. They don’t have any significant weaknesses, so you can only rely on the ban/pick phase or excellent in-game performance to beat them.

SG: Are you all currently making the adjustments to pick up your form for the upcoming G-League and G-1 League?

xiao8: We’re still adjusting right now, and whether our form is good can only be known after we actually play…

SG: Due to the original DotA still getting updates, the majority of players in China still stick to it. Yet most competitions have shifted to Dota2, and as a result in China we see an awkward situation where DotA has lots of players but no competitions, and Dota2 has lots of competitions but no players. Will this kind of a situation affect Dota2’s overall growth?

xiao8: Whether it’ll affect anything I’m not sure myself, but I feel that once Dota2 is open domestically, the players will gradually come.

SG: In the end, anything you’d like to say to bring a close to this interview?

xiao8: Thank you to our sponsors LaoGanDie Hot Sauce, Taobao, Razer, and to all the fans supporting us, thank you.

Sgamer interview with LGD’s new Misery and Pajkatt

Original: http://dota2.sgamer.com/news/201211/147714_6.html

Dotaland note: From the link above, the interview was done in English so the original English interview is available directly on Sgamer. 🙂 In case you’re too lazy for that, the interview is reposted below as well, but note that this is not translated by me, it is the original from Sgamer.

 

Q:Hello MiSeRy and Pajkatt ,Thanks for accepting DOTA2.SGamer.CoM’s interview. First of all, say something to your fans?
Misery:Ni hao to all my chinese fans! Im very happy for your support!
Pajkatt:Hello fans, we appreciate your support very much!

Q:How many times have you been China? Are you accustomed to the life and environment here?
Misery:This is my 4th time in China and I love it every time. I am already used to the culture, food, people etc and Im always having a great time here.
Pajkatt:This is my second time in China, last time we were here for one and a half month and now we have been in Hangzhou for 2 weeks, so I feel quite accustomed to most things.

Q:LGD clan base just moved to Hangzhou,there’s an old Chinese saying,” In heaven there is paradise/ On earth, Suzhou and Hangzhou”. How do you feel here?
Misery:haha, ofcourse there is a chinese saying *smiles* I havent seen that much of hangzhou, only the area around the LGD base, but I know there is some amazing nature here, and Im looking forward to exploring hangzhou more in the future. I can say that the air here is way better than in beijing and other cities, so thats very cool!
Pajkatt:I really like Hangzhou, it’s a very nice city and our base is also very good. On top of that we have an awesome teamleader (Nicholas) and the other LGD team is very friendly.

Q:Can you tell curious players when LGD think of forming an international team? And how do you get in touch with them?
Misery:After TI2, pajkatt and I wanted to take dota 2 to the next level, and the only way to do that is to play in China because the skill level and seriousness is much higher here. So we basically wrote some of our contacts in china, and ended up talking to LGD.Rurutia and in the end  it made everything possible.
Pajkatt:I started speaking to LGD after TI2 because I was intrested in playing DotA in China, because I feel that the scene is much stronger and more professional here.

Q:Several members of LGD.int are very well-known solo, carry position players, what will the role distribution look like in the team? Will someone have to make a transition to play support?
Misery:I know we had a lot of people critisizing the team because of the roles of the players in the team, but PJ and I spent a lot of time thinking about the roster, and we are confident in our players capabilities to play their roles to its fullest potential! PJ will take the role as 1, G will play 2, Brax playing 3, I – MiSeRy will play 4 and 1437 is gonna take hard support as 5. Personally I wanted to transition to support role, as I did last year for EG, its a role im comfortable with and also a role that is very hard to play.
Pajkatt:With chinese terms, the roles of our team will be me on 1, God on 2, Brax on 3, Misery on 4 and 1437 on 5. This means Misery will switch from 2 to 4, but he is a very talented player and he is already doing a very good job at it.

Q:Team manager RURU said you would stay in Chinese for a long time for training when your team formed. Is it your desire? Or it has been considered when the team was formed?
Misery:Yea, the plan has from the beginning been to move to china and play from here, the team was formed after, it was a bit difficult to find the right players, because its a big commitment to move to china for a year or more, but it worked out in the end!
Pajkatt:It is my/our desire to stay here for a long time and make sure we dont waste this great opportunity and staying together with one team for a long time will help your teamplay a lot.

Q:Do you think staying in China would contirbute to your improvement of skills and competitive atmosphere of all? After all both of you got trained and took part in competition before when you are in EG, but didn’t get good results.
Misery:playing as a european team in china is always hard in the beginning, but with a lot of practise and talented players, you will reach the chinese level eventually. Last year we only stayed 1,5 months and didnt practise as much as we wanted, also we had some problems with the team, Playmate had to go home cause of visa issues. This time we will have a lot of time to practise and perfect the teamplay, strategies and positioning.
Pajkatt:I think staying in China will most certainly make us a stronger team, last time me and Misery were here, we may not have gotten good results, but we both developed a lot as players.

Q:Some insiders say LGD forming international team is to join hand with LGD.int and imprve strenth and chance of winning million dollar in TI3, is that ture?
Misery:I dont know anything about that, Its definitely not for TI3 alone. First of all theres almost a year to the next International, and we dont know much about the tournament at all. Second, I believe we will be good training partners with LGD.cn, and with time we should be the best DotA2 club in china! My focus is now, and always the next tournament, ofcourse TI3 is huge, but in my eyes every tournament is important!
Pajkatt:Having two teams living under the same roof and who can also practice with eachother all the time is very beneficial for both teams, you can try out strategies that no other teams will know about and practice is almost always available.

Q:Team LGD.cn successfully entered grand finals,however, they lost their champions as they defeated by Na’Vi and iG, which is their biggest regret in 2012. What do you think of LGD’s faith?
Misery:I think the top 3 of TI2 was very close, it could have been anyone of those 3 that could win the tournament. LGD.cn is a very talented team and they should just stick together and keep playing, they will win in the future.
Pajkatt:Going into TI2 I felt that LGD was the strongest team, as we had practiced against them online and never won…I was surprised that they didn’t win and I think they were unfortunate, but both iG and Na’Vi played very well during the final day of TI2.
I think LGD.int and LGD.cn will help each other and hopefully become two very strong teams!

Q:What is the difference between them and iG or Na’Vi?
Misery:Mainly their playstyles, LGD is probably the more passive team of those 3, where as IG recently has been showing a lot of agression within the new patch. NaVi is just NaVi, and they will always be a unique team with a unique playstyle.
Pajkatt:The way I see it, the difference between LGD and iG or Na’Vi is that their playstyle can be easier to read, but harder to deal with. In TI2 up until final day, everyone knew how LGD drafted but no one managed to stop them anyway.

Q:Now you are training with LGD together. Do you think it would contribute to you strategy communicating and all strenghs improvement?
Misery:Definitely. We just started practising seriously yesterday, as 1437 recently arrived in china. I can see that we are improving from every game.
Pajkatt:Yes ,I belive it will.

Q:Chinese teams are still strong in TI2, and five team all entered final eight, even 3 team entered final four. Some foreign players say  Chinese professional would “destroy” DOTA2 as they did on DotA. Do you agree with it?
Misery:Yea I kind of agree with it, I dont think theres any potential left in europe besides NaVi, a few good players, but no teams that can play up with the chinese. European DotA now, is too much about streaming random public games and boosting your own personal fanbase, instead of practising with your team and generally focusing on the team.
Pajkatt:I think it’s not about chinese, european, american or SEA, it’s about the professionalism that exists in the chinese dota scene. Hopefully we will be able to prove that a team consisting of players of differenet nationalities combined with the dicsipline of chinese teams can compete with the best.

Q:Are you still playing DotA? What is the biggest difference between DotA and DOTA2 do you think?
Misery:I have only played a few dota 1 games the last year, the main difference is that dota 2 is much much easier to play, all the new features and hotkeys etc in dota 2 as well as the engine itself, makes the game very easy to play for new players. Ofcourse this doesn’t matter too much on the highest level, since its the same for everyone, but from my point of view this is the biggest difference. Some heroes are much stronger in dota 2 than in DotA 1, and the drafting is more interesting in dota 2, it feels like you can use almost any hero in DotA 2, where as in dota 1, you will get punished much harder if you try to pick outside the box.
Pajkatt:I played a couple of DotA games since I got to china, but we will not participate in any DotA tournaments so now there is no reason for me to play DotA. I think the biggest difference is how the game looks and feels, it takes some time to get used to switching to DotA or DotA 2 if you played one of them and decided to switch.

Q:As DotA map version continual updating, Chinese still remains a large numbers of DotA players, but most competitions has change to DOTA2. So the DotA has many players but no ompetitions, and DOTA2 has many competitions and no players. If this embarrassing situation would effect the tntegral development of DOTA?
Misery:I think with time everyone will start playing DotA 2, I heard the problem is the lack of beta keys in china and the fact that dota 2 is running on steam. Now it might be a problem, but in half a year or something, it should be fine. Im sure Valve is aware of the problem and they are working 24/7 to make everything better.
Pajkatt:I think within one year close to everyone will be playing DotA 2 rather than DotA, it’s more viewer friendly and after playing it now for more than a year I feel that it’s a better game than DotA.

Q:You took part in SMM for EG last year, but encountered very bad thing. This year’s competition is still DotA, and do you plan to participate it?
Misery:yea, I dont think we will participate SMM, not because of what happened last year, but mainly because it is DotA 1, and our main purpose in china is to focus on DotA 2. Initially it was the plan to go to SMM, but I doubt we will go.
Pajkatt:We wont participate in this years SMM.

Q:Previously Team DK has clearly indicated that they would transit to DOTA2 after WCG and no more participate DotA competition. What do you think of their decision?
Misery:I think its a good decision, both for them and the dota 2 scene in china in general. DotA 2 is the future, and everyone should know.
Pajkatt:I think it’s a wise decision, there will be more and more DotA 2 tournaments and less and less DotA tournaments.

Q:The WCG grand finals will be held in China this year. Both DotA and DOTA2 are WCG Competitions. Although DOTA2 hasn’t open beta, but  it has favoured by many large-scale events, do you know the reason behind? Do you plan to participate WCG?
Misery:I would love to participate in WCG china, I dont know much about it really, but I hope we can play it.
Pajkatt:DotA 2 is easier to watch than DotA thus favoured by large-scale events. Unfortunately we won’t parcitpate in WCG.

Q:In lastest version, many unpopular heroes got enhancement and became more violent. Do you think it is good for game developing more exciting and eyes catching?
Misery:Yea , I think most of the changes are really good and it will definitely mix up the hero pool a bit, which is always interesting. I think a lot of the fans are happy about seeing some new heroes come into play from time to time, and the updates help this to come true.
Pajkatt:I think the latest versions buffs and nerfs were necessary and interesting, I expect many new heroes to be played the upcoming months.

Q:Thanks for your time. Anything to shoutout?
Misery:My pleasure! shoutout to our sponsors, LGD, Razer and Taobao, shoutout to all our fans and supportes and shoutout to LGD rurutia for making LGD.Int possible as well as our awesome manager LGD-Nicholas!!
Pajkatt:Shoutout to our sponsors, LGD, Taobao, Razer,to our fans, teamleader Nicholas and to my family and friends in Sweden.

People.com.cn interview: commentator DC talks Chinese eSports

Original: http://dota2.sgamer.com/news/201210/147620.html (technically the real original is from people.com.cn, but I can’t find that one, and didn’t look hard for it either)

Dotaland note: insightful look into Dota2’s place in competitive esports, the Chinese market, player development, and more, from one of Chinese Dota’s most experienced and well-rounded contributors… interviewed by a mainstream website’s gaming section.

DC, personal name Dong Chan, is a legendary Chinese Dota figure. Formerly played on EHOME, winning countless Chinese and international competitions, nicknamed Teacher DC. After retiring became a commentator, and is now a top Chinese commentator.

Q: As a veteran of Dota competition, how do you view the changes coming from Dota2?

DC: In terms of game quality, Dota2 has escaped from the limitations of the old game engine, and thus quickly achieved an overall improvement; IceFrog and his development team need no additional praise, and their future innovations on a new and limitless platform will be something we all look forward to. The transition from DotA to Dota2 has been a series of practical changes that lead to improvements, allowing Dota to be more stable, and more lively and open for creativity, it’s great!

Q: Dota2’s Chinese agent Perfect World has estimated that Dota2 will hit the market in 2013, will this affect the game’s domestic market share?

DC: The issue of Dota2’s official date of going open, has already become a major weakness. In the past two years, large amounts of Dota-type games have arisen, and in many ways have limited Dota1’s territory, even to the point of affecting Dota2’s growth. How to solve and conquer this issue will be the core of Dota2’s growth strategy. Even though Dota2 is an unparalled game of high acclaim and fame, when it does finally hit the Chinese market, perhaps it would be best to focus on its inherent production quality and superior user experience.

Q: Dota-type games, such as League of Legends, what are their current status in China? Are you able to make a prediction in regards to this segment of the market?

DC: League of Legends can be said to have chosen the right time to lay out all their cards. Its development was quick, its momentum is fierce, all to the point of having no equal. It was because of League of Legends’ momentum and growth that ultimatley pushed Dota2 to make its belated appearance, so the pressure is immense here. There’s no question about it, LoL on the Tencent platform will be a juggernaut on the scene for a considerable period of time yet. In the competitive scene it also has been very effective, and taking the lead Dota1 set, it has become a world-leading competitive title.

Q: When competiting in international competition, what exactly is the competitive level of Chinese players?

DC: In terms of Dota 1 and 2, Chinese players have attained a dominant level of performance in the world. Looking at competitions over the years, at the highest level, it’s common to see Chinese teams take consecutive championships, and sometimes even take all three top spots. In the recent International 2 in September, not only did Chinese team iG defeat Ukrainian juggernaut NaVi to take first place, all five Chinese teams made it into the top 8, and 3 out of 4 of the top 4 spots were taken by Chinese teams, once again recording a legendary feat. At this competition, players from all over the world gave high praise for Chinese players’ skill level, noting the excellent training environment and competitive atmosphere available to them.

Afterwards, many well-known international players expressed desire to come to China to train and develop, and top Chinese team LGD has already created an international team, currently training in Hangzhou. This Chinese-created international team, how well they perform exactly, will be a point to look forward to seeing.

Q: What are the prospects for professional players in China now?

DC: After many years of development and growth on the scene, current players in China now enjoy very decent compensation and benefits. From champions iG who just moved to Shanghai, to LGD who just moved to Hangzhou, as well as the kings of kings DK, situated in Yunnan… the players have access to excellent training facilities and conditions, and countless fans envy and follow them. And their incomes are continuously rising, with dense calendars of competitions and high prize pools, added to their good salaries, all allow them to completely focus on training and competition with no other worries. The most representative example here is team iG, who, after taking the 1m dollar prize, are now being called the million-dollar team by the media.

In summary, the players who are currently stepping into their career peaks right now, have conditions that are worthy of envy.

Q: What is the greatest barrier to the growth of a professional gamer?

DC: Lack of enough time and background support. For the entire player development scene, it is still very much a grassroots situation currently. There’s virtually no strict or organized system for developing and bringing up new players, so new infusions of talent into the scene is still in a confusing and random status. In the majority of examples, the rise of a new player relies mainly on that players natural talent and ability to work hard, plus an exceptional amount of luck, to be able to ultimately display a little bit of their brilliance.

The difficulties at this level perhaps require an organized, unified, and intentional administrative push to resolve and eventually create a positive and sustainable model for the scene, thus breaking our current awkward situation of the professional scene being a virtual ‘building in the sky’ type of isolation.

Q: After the national government made efforts to encourage professional work in culture and creative arts, were there any changes in this situation? Why or why not?

DC: For now, there haven’t been much noticeable changes. The entire industry, for now, is still relying on its own internal momentum, as well as pushes made by industry insiders for their own purposes. On this topic, there remains a considerable amount of conservatism; how we can accurately and fairly portray the difference between addiction to games and playing games professionally, how we can provide balanced news reports and publicity, and how we can engage in dialogue rather than plug our ears and embark on single-sided narratives, these will all be things that will have effects. If we want to build a concrete foundation for the entire industry, then we still need firm and strong leadership and support.

17173 interview with iG.Faith: “LGD was better in the past, G-1 offline matches will be even more intense, Dendi is very funny”

Original: http://dota2.17173.com/news/10262012/113800655.shtml

Dotaland note: 17173, organizers of the G-1 League currently ongoing, has this interview with iG.Faith. Good insight into iG and perspectives of things from a top tier pro.

In the G-1 League group stages, team iG has shown an enormous display of skill and ability in consecutive wins over MUFC and LGD. On this, we interviewed iG.Faith, and learned more about iG’s latest developments.

G-1: Hello Faith, thank you for doing this interview with G-1 Champions League. In yesterday’s key match against LGD, your team was able to take the win 2-0, which surprised some people. Can you comment on the match a bit?

iG.Faith: Both games revolved around a high pressure in-your-face team ganking strategy led by Bounty Hunter and Night Stalker. Yet in both games, the opponent lacked any kind of crowd control team fight ability, so they ended up losing fights over and over as they tried to defend their towers.

G-1: This match received extreme amounts of attention, so with iG being able to take the win so easily, what were your first reactions, and does this give you more confidence for your upcoming matches?

iG.Faith: Both games revolved around teamfighting so to pull it off successfully left us feeling very satisfied. Of course we will gain confidence from this, but we also will not underestimate any opponent.

G-1: Can you tell us why iG is so strong right now? Has the TI2 title really triggered a chemical reaction within the team? If you had lost in the Finals against NaVi, would your current mentality, confidence, and form be any different?

iG.Faith: I think we’re close-knit as a team, trust each other, and we are quite all-around. The TI2 title gives us motivation, as well as pressure to perform. If we had truly lost back then, we would still need to rely on our own ability to adjust ourselves and the team as a whole, because in the end we still believe that we are a talented team.

G-1: Can you evaluate the current LGD? It seems like xiao8’s position is shifting towards a support role. In your match with them yesterday, what do you think was different about them compared to in Seattle?

iG.Faith: I felt they weren’t as good as they used to be, perhaps because they’re changing roles. In comparison, it’s still LGD of the past that’s a bit stronger, in Seattle every match with them left us feeling drained.

G-1: Talk a bit about your thoughts on the new DK and TongFu rosters, or how do you view 357, Dai, longDD, Veronica (new TongFu member)?

iG.Faith: DK should need less time to learn to play with each other, after all 357 and Dai are veterans and will have a comparatively easier time blending into a new team. As for Veronica and longDD, what they’ll need to do first is find and confirm their role with their new team.

G-1: You guys will soon be participating in the WCG Dota competition, and afterwards there is the SMM Dota competition, so you continue to be busy on two fronts. What are your thoughts on future ACE and G-league competitions then?

iG.Faith: If we compete in Dota1 then we will practice Dota1, if we compete in Dota2 then we will practice in Dota2. I think in the future Dota2 will become the mainstream.

G-1: Apparently iG’s team headquarters has moved to Shanghai, can you reveal the specific reasoning for this? Compared to Beijing, how is the new environment, what is your favorite aspect, or what do you miss from Beijing?

iG.Faith: The main thing is that Shanghai’s internet service is better, so we decided to move to Shanghai. In terms of environment it’s also quite a bit better than Beijing. It’s still got to be the improved internet in Shanghai that satisfies me most though, this way we can practice better, and perform better in online competitions.

G-1: LGD has built an international team. If iG were to really create an iG.int, which international players would you recommend to your manager?

iG.Faith: This is something I’ve never thought about, we players are only responsible for playing Dota well, win championships; other issues are up to the club’s management to handle. Although in Seattle I gained a strong impression of Dendi, he is very lively and funny.

G-1: Apart from this iteration of the G-1 League maintaining its easygoing, fun, style, the actual competition has made big breakthroughs in terms of participants, format, and prize money. Which of these has given you the biggest impression?

iG.Faith: This time G-1 will have an offline portion, so in comparison to the past the matches will be even more intense.

G-1: There was an interesting sidenote from yesterday’s match with LGD, you guys failed to join the room 10 minutes early and as a result lost 20 seconds from your ban/pick timer, what is your opinion on this relatively strict ruling? If you have any other suggestions for the G-1 League, we will strive to improve.

iG.Faith: Don’t really have anything, I feel it’s all pretty good. At the time YYF was watching replays to analyze, and ended up forgetting the time for a while, the resulting punishment I feel isn’t inappropriate.

G-1: Thank you Faith for doing this interview with us, is there anything else you’d like to say to everyone?

iG.Faith: Thank you to the club for the nurturing you’ve given us, thank you to everyone for your support, in the future we will continue to do our best to bring exciting matches for all.

BurNing mini interview: “Didn’t expect to beat iG at WCG China, will retire after TI3”

Original: http://dota.sgamer.com/201210/news-detail-153339.html

Dotaland note: Short little interview with BurNing

In the recent WCG China area finals, DK faced iG and DK were able to achieve a good start in their opener, taking the win against iG! After the match, Sgamer’s reporters interviewed DK’s captain and carry player BurNing. BurNing revealed that he didn’t expect to beat iG, and that he would retire after TI3. Let’s check out the details~

SGamer (SG): Thank you to DK.BurNing for accepting our interview. DK just underwent roster changes, and went on to get a win over iG here at WCG China. Can you describe the process of this last match?

BurNing: We haven’t practiced Dota much recently, plus we have new members and lack understanding, so we thought it’d be very difficult to win, we never thought we could beat iG here.

SG: What were the considerations that led to Dai and 357 being recruited to DK?

BurNing: This was something we had considered immediately after TI2. We had a lot of people to choose from, and the reason we ultimately went with Dai and 357 was because teamwork and closeness is important to our team atmosphere, and these two players contribute to that.

SG: Playing both DotA and Dota2, are there any difficulties, and are there any differences for you all as professionals?

BurNing: The two games do have some differences. For example the way bottles interact with runes, in DotA you have to specifically use the bottle, in Dota2 you simply right click the rune. Dota2’s hotkey system is different as well, you can directly alter and customize them. For example 357 uses the QWER system, and during practice once, 357’s Tidehunter wanted to eat a tree, but the hotkey was on V, and he ended up using his ult… very awkward.

SG: This… what kind of situation was this?

BurNing: 357 hasn’t played DotA in two years, his ladder score isn’t even 1500!

SG: Does B god have any wishes for this WCG?

BurNing: For every competition our wish is to win, and this one is no different!

SG: At TI2, DK’s results weren’t great, do you have any plans and hopes for TI3? What are your plans for after TI3?

BurNing: TI3 is definitely something where we will give our all for success. As for myself, no matter what results I achieve, I will be retiring.

SG: You’ve been named one of the three best carries in the world, what do you think are the attributes that other carries can compare with you?

BurNing: I like Zhou and Sylar the most, although Sylar still lacks some experience right now, and Zhou trains relatively less so isn’t in the greatest form.

SG: Thank you to B god for the interview, we wish you all the best in your future competitions!

BurNing: Thank you!

Sgamer interviews 820: “Not going back to EHOME… yet”

Dotaland note: 820 sounds noncommittal, but reveals that there are talks going on between him and EHOME about returning in some capacity… this, his thoughts on TI2 and more, below.

Original: http://dota.sgamer.com/201210/news-detail-153214.html

Sgamer (SG): Thank you to 820 for doing this interview with Sgamer. A while back you said in one of your videos that you might return to EHOME, approximately when was it that you got in touch with EHOME?

820: Someone mentioned it to me in passing, I said I’d consider it, but right now the whole thing is still missing some key elements.

SG: Even the news of EHOME moving headquarters to Shanghai isn’t accurate?

820: Like I said, everything hasn’t come together yet.

SG: Returning to EHOME is still in your consideration?

820: When did I say I was going back to EHOME? It really was just something I thought about…

SG: Not long ago, 357 and Dai both transferred to DK, so what kind of a situation is EHOME in right now?

820: Basically disbanded? Right now LanM is the only person left.

SG: As for whether you will take up the managerial/coach position at EHOME, is this news accurate?

820: We’ll have to see what developments and negotiations occur, there won’t be anything in the short term.

SG: What kind of feelings do you have for EHOME?

820: Of course I really love EHOME, after all they are the team that I went through much trials and tribulations with. All the details within are hard to describe now, so I will just wish EHOME luck!

SG: What do you think were the reasons for EHOME’s weak performance at TI2?

820: Unclear positioning and roles within the team, and individual skill was slightly lacking compared to other teams.

SG: There were once rumors saying that you would make a comeback to play in TI3, have you ever had these thoughts?

820: Where did these rumors come from. Yes, but they were just random thoughts.

SG: Dota2’s professional scene is pretty much all the same old faces, have you found any new players with good potential?

820: It’s hard, unless current players are willing to train and help new players, there is basically no chance for them. Unless a completely new team appears and takes the scene by storm!

SG: EHOME has pretty much fallen apart, how do you view the ACE Alliance versus EHOME situation now?

820: I feel that, the circle of people involved isn’t very large in the first place, so it would be best if we never had any divides such as this, no one has it easy.

SG: Previously you created a Dota2 first person vod, but didn’t get many views. Will you give up on creating content for Dota2 in the future because of this?

820: No, I will continue, but just not as much.

SG: Perhaps a lot of people do not necessarily view Dota2’s future positively, what are your views on this after your experience at TI2?

820: Dota2 is a game with very high production quality. But the only problem is that it’s too hard for new players to get in, and right now there is no open beta, so it’s not reaching the masses. TI2’s impression to me was that this game has really great spectator value.

SG: To end the interview, any last words?

820: Thank you to SGamer for the interview, and I hope SG continues to get better.

G-1 Dota2 League prelims update, stream link

Original: http://dota2.17173.com/news/10142012/111234634.shtml

DreamZ knocks out For.Love

DreamZ is an old school powerhouse from the Philippines, and with ForLove meeting such a strong opponent in the first round, sadly Love’s warriors were unable to sink this Filipino battleship, ultimately losing 2-0. In the first match, ForLove picked strong pub heroes Chaos Knight and Ancient Apparition, but were unable to control the match. After going into the second match, they immediately made adjustments, with their combo of Keeper of the Light plus Phantom Lancer winning a lot for them early on. However, because of their opponent Shadow Fiend’s outstanding performance in mid game teamfights, grabbing many kills, ForLove were unable to halt Shadow Fiend’s momentum and lost the initiative for DreamZ. In the end, Shadow Fiend with filled out item slots led the push onto high ground to take towers. ForLove, in the face of great adversity, tried their best to hold out and pulled the match all the way to 50 minutes before they finally typed out gg, thus departing from the G-1 stage. This young team has endless potential in the future, there will be more and more Dota2 competitions domestically, so we hope to continue to see their lively selves in the future. Add oil, ForLove!

EG defeats Mineski

As a strong team in TI2, this time EG’s performance has not caused any surprises. With their experience in online competitions, their 200-300 pings to the server never became a big issue, and they comfortably defeated their opponents 2-0.

Upcoming matches…

Two Chinese teams in mD and NA will be going up against New Zealand’s SQL and Singapore’s Flash.

Dotaland note: streams are at 6pm Chinese time each night — http://www.fengyunzhibo.com/tv/17173zhibo.htm — http://www.fengyunzhibo.com/tv/beat_kid.htm — http://www.fengyunzhibo.com/tv/8923_1348919582720.htm — http://tl.twitch.tv/beyondthesummit