EG, iG, and more to be involved in G-1 Dota2 League, qualifiers schedule announced

Original: http://dota2.17173.com/news/10112012/180656730.shtml

partial translation

iG and N9 are the 6th and 7th invites to the new G-1 Dota2 League. The remaining 3 spots will be determined from a qualifier between 8 additional teams: For.Love, NA, mD (China), DreamZ, Mineski (Philippines), Flash (Singapore), EG (USA), and SQL (New Zealand).

The qualifiers will begin at 6PM Chinese time on October 13 2012 (3AM Pacific time).

The qualifiers bracket is below, top 3 will go on to compete in the League:

The full competitor list is:

DK, LGD, TongFu, Orange, MUFC, iG, N9 plus 3 teams from the 8 qualifier teams.

LongDD joins TongFu, replacing Kabu

Original: http://dota2.17173.com/news/10112012/145712032.shtml

http://dota2.17173.com/news/10112012/145712032.shtml

partial translation below, main point is that LongDD replaces Kabu in TongFu

After TI2’s rumors of internal problems, TongFu making changes was seen as a bit inevitable. Now that LongDD has joined, perhaps this can help TongFu’s problems not only with uncertainty of player roles, but also with issues between players themselves. We look forward to the new TongFu showing good performances in the future.

On their weibo pages, LongDD’s post about him leaving DK was responded to by Kabu saying “Long god add oil~ Looks like I need to find a new home now!”, so it looks like there are no hard feelings.

Alienware Arena brings $37k prize pool to Chinese Dota 2 in open bracket format, with invites to include LGD and TongFu

Original: http://www.alienwarearena.com/event/dota2-cn-open/news/836/alienware-2012-dota-2/

partial translation

Sign up period: Sept 28 2012 – Oct 13 2012

Competition period: Oct 16 2012 – Oct 27 2012

Format: Online

Total prize pool: $37000 USD

Eligibility: China mainland, 18 years and above

Dota2 competition QQ group: 263425930

Includes an open bracket, invites, and a regional grand finals

According to http://dota2.17173.com/news/10112012/175259027.shtml, the invited teams are LGD, TongFu, AgFox, For.Love, HuangZu (royalty), NA, RS, and WIN.

357 and Dai leave EHOME for DK, KingJ leaves. LanM retiring? EH disbanding?

Update: KingJ has left EHOME officially as well: http://dota2.sgamer.com/news/201210/147370.html

Update 2: Officially confirmed by DK http://dota2.17173.com/news/10112012/181453885.shtml

357 and Dai join DK, LanM retiring?

Original: http://dota2.sgamer.com/news/201210/147369.html

Yesterday we reported that EHOME’s 357 and Dai had joined DK (related link here, translation below). After learning of this, a fan contacted EHOME’s LanM, and said that he couldn’t contact management at EHOME, and then revealed that he may retire:

hi, LanM. Is the news real?

Have I really been slapped in the face like this?

What news

357 and Dai both went to DK? 357 is already wearing DK tags.

Should be, not sure, I can’t contact anyone at EHOME

Then what are you gonna do, isn’t 357 screwing you over?

Might not play professional anymore

The statement of “cannot contact anyone at EHOME” is one that raises eyebrows. is EHOME really on the path to disbanding this time? During TI2 there were rumors of EHOME being sold off. Up till now, the club’s manager 71 and EHOME have yet to make any announcement, so we still need to observe the situation. Regardless, we hope that the big changes in the domestic Dota and Dota2 scene can come to a conclusion as soon as possible, and each player can find a home quickly and return to the battlefield to continue contributing exciting matches for us all!

LongDD and Zippo leave DK, replaced by Dai and 357 of EHOME

Original: http://dota.sgamer.com/201210/news-detail-151731.html

After TI2 and ACE Pro League concluded, the various teams of the Chinese Dota and Dota2 scene entered a period of rest and adjustments. The typical “there must be changes after big tournaments” expectation had everyone wondering what might come to happen and change during the period after last week’s Chinese National Day holidays.

Quite a few well known personalities made predictions and guesses, and there were many rumors and predictions involving formerly dominant team DK. And within this, there were rumors stating that 357 and Dai, who went through a big mess of drama last year to leave their team CLC to join EHOME for The International, are now intent on joining DK. In doing so, they would join forces once again with the so-called “Universe’s Number 1 Carry” BurNing; with Zippo and LongDD, who at one point helped DK to 9 championships in a period of greatness, to leave the team because of recent decline in form and performances.

Today it looks like these rumors have hit the mark — forumers have revealed that, in the Dota2 game client, it can be seen that 357’s profile shows he has put on the DK team tag. Even though Dai has yet to add the tag, it can be seen that 357 and BurNing, et al, had grouped up to matchmaking.

At the same time, it can be seen that DK’s team page only shows four players currently, respectively they are Burning, rOtk/xB, Super, and 357, with no LongDD or Zippo.

From this we can see, LongDD and Zippo have left DK, and the announcement that 357 and Dai have joined is only a matter of time.

Sgamer’s interview with Tobi post TI2

Dotaland note: I did not do this translation, this is a repost of English version text direct from Sgamer’s interview with Tobi —  so readers who are interested but can’t navigate Sgamer effectively can check it out now! Their English text isn’t the absolute best, but it saves me a little bit of work, which helps because I got my wisdom teeth out a few days ago and have been recovering. 🙂

Original English interview here: http://dota2.sgamer.com/news/201210/147347_4.html

Original Chinese interview here: http://dota2.sgamer.com/news/201210/147347.html

Q：Hi, Tobi Wan. Thanks for accepting the SGamer-DOTA2’s exclusive interview. First, please say hello to our fans.
Tobi：Greetings to all from Berlin

Q：We planed to make an interview with you in TI2. But on the last day, you had made commentaries for all matches before finals. So we decide to make a text interview with you.You must have seen the “Long live the international”,can you share your TI2 experience with us?
Tobi：My International experience was as always enjoyable. Had a very different feel to last years TI2, was alot more professional, the quality of play was higher and overal it was just a better event. For me I always love LAN events because I get to meet up with all the people I talk so much to online and meeting them in person for the first time.

Q：Although Chinese teams start DOTA2 later than EU, But the first six are all Chinese except Na’Vi, how do you thlnk of it?
Tobi：I have a large respect for the chinese scene and focus that comes from the players in it, it is alot more intense and professional that europe and america and alot of parts of south east asia. If I was expecting China to be that strong, in a way I was and in a way I hoped that europe and the US would perform alot better than they did as my hope at all events and in all casts is for close games that are entertaining to cast.

Q：The great finals between Na’Vi and iG is very impressive,can you comment the great finals and the two teams’ preformance and stratagy for us?
Tobi：I would like to say the strategy did not revolve around Naga and Morphling but it is sad to say that it did as both heroes cause a very passive game style that brings a level of secruity (which is obviously why the strategy was so popular during such a big event) that does really let alot of players skills shine in the heat of combat.
iG for me was always a favourite going into this competition and luckily there were some places the recording my prediction for the Grand Final teams, where I said iG would get into the finals as they are such a dynamic team that can adapt when pushed, and their opponent would be Na’Vi as alot of teams couldn’t adapt to their ‘randomness’, the only question around Na’Vi was if their random style would work and if they would synergise enough as a team to pull off the strat. Which they did against iG and LGD, but the power of iG and their ability to read Na’Vi (also with the help of the safe draft) made it their Grand Final to loose, which they did not obviously.

Q：Puppey picked NA in the last tournment, do yo know the reasons for his choice?
Tobi：We talked to puppey after TI2 about it and his reasoning was to use the ‘Spiked Carapace’  to counter the harrassment of KOTL in the lane.

Q：If you can build a allstar ream, which players(five) would you choose?
Tobi：There are just so many amazing players out there it is impossible for me to assemble a team that I would be happy with as there would be so many people I just could not choose between. Hence I never really have an answer when I am asked this question.

Q：Many EU teams changed the list or rebuilded their team after TI2,such as M5, AL, Darer, Mouz.Which one do you think is more promising？
Tobi：It is difficult to say who is the strongest team atm in EU and well as the US mainly because alot of the top teams as you said have rebuilt so they are having issues finding what works as a squad and the squads which have stayed together are on holidays or just burnt out after the Interntional.
The teams which have got back on their feet fast are Empire and Moscow 5 for Europe, there are only a few teams that are coming close to them atm and that would be the newly designed Quantic and Evil Geniuses. We will see over the next few weeks alot more teams reveal themselves and then all of this will change.

Q：Well, our community fans have some questions to ask you, some of then are very funny, are you ready to answer?
Tobi：Always ready for the community 🙂

Q：You commentary is full of passion, could you tell us how do you protect your throat?
Tobi：Since I was a young boy I have been singing, on stage and off and through that I learnt a thing or two about how my voice functions and have found ways to express my excitement without destroying my voice. There is of course the times when the excitement is too much and you push yourself too far, but I am happy when that happens because it means I am casting amazing games.

Q：You always make commentary stay up late. Do you drink sports drinks? If so, which one?
Tobi：I used to live on redbull for a while and realised it was actually harder to get through the night if I drank it early so I found the best thing you can drink is NesTea and Powerade and when you start to drop too far then you crack open the redbull.

Q：You always have dark circles, is it your girlfriend’s masterpiece?:D
I am catching up on sleep for the 4yrs I wasn’t paid to cast, and even now I don’t get alot of sleep mainly because my brain is so wired after I cast that it is impossible to just lay down in bed and fall asleep. As for the girlfriend, no I don’t have one and if I did maybe I would have a reason to go to sleep earlier.

12.The music you played before matchs are all very awosome, can you tell us these music’s names?

Alot of people ask me for my playlists and all of my music comes from youtube, I normally just type in ‘dance mix’ or ‘epic music’ and find alot of my stuff. The other pieces of music are just favourite songs from my teenage years like ‘blink182’, ‘Infected Mushroom’ and ‘Regurgitator’ to name just a few. Oh, and there is always space for some Kpop.

13.Who do you like most to make commentary together??

syndereN is always going to be one of my favourite choices but I have enjoyed casting recently with Wagamama and Draskyl. I like casting with anyone that is capable of adding more depth to my broadcast but can also have fun while doing so.

14.Do you like Chinese girls? If you have chance, do you want to make commentaries in China?

I actually got to travel around China last year and really China is next to Singapore for the most beautiful girls in the world is just a shame they don’t live here in Berlin with myself. I would love to travel to china to commentate but I fear my english would be lost on the crowd.

15.How many wins do you have on DOTA2 so far? Which hero are you most good at?

I am on my way to 400 wins in DOTA2, but really I haven’t played that many games as I cast most of the time. I actually have clocked 2100 hours in the game and when I wasn’t casting I was spending most of that time playing my well known ‘Crit natures prophet’.

16.Thanks for your time. Any shoutouts you would like to make before we conclude the interview?

Would like to say hello to everyone who watches my stream in China, for all those people who come up to me at LAN events and say hello, to all the boys who work behind the scenes at http://www.joinDOTA.com and to everyone who loves the game we play.

Dota2 hits the Chinese tournament scene this month with 17173’s G-1 Champions League Season 4!

Original: http://dota2.17173.com/news/10082012/152252415.shtml

The G-1 Professional Champions League is 17173’s esports brand, with Dota being the game contested. The first season of G-1 League was held in June of 2011, with CCM (former iG) taking the win, while DK won consecutively the Season 2 and Season 3 competitions. In October of this year, 17173 will push out Season 4 of the G-1 Champions League, and the game being competed in will be the successor to Dota, created by Valve — Dota2. This will be China’s first Dota2 esports league, and the competition’s total prize pool will reach 330000 RMB (roughly 52400 USD), setting a new record for Chinese Dota competition prize pool.

Prize pool details:

Champions: 180000 RMB

Runners up: 60000 RMB

Third place: 50000 RMB

Fourth place: 40000 RMB

When:

Mid October 2012 to Mid November 2012

Commentary team:

Chinese: 2009, Crystal, Pikaxiu (Pikachu)

Chinese guest commentary: Shen!, Anleier

English: GoDz, LD

Competition format:

Online portion: Top 10 group stage, elimination stage

Offline portion (in Fuzhou): Top 4 semifinals, 3rd/4th match, Grand Finals

League organizers will reveal the participating teams in two groups for a total of ten teams, the first group of teams participating in G-1 Season 4 is:

G-1 Season 3 Champions, TI2 4th place: DK

G-1 Season 3 3rd place, TI2 3rd place: LGD

TI2 top 8: TongFu

TI2 top 8: Orange

ESWC Southeast Asia Champions: MUFC

[fluff] If you were a girl, which Dota hero would you choose for yourself, and why

Original: http://tieba.baidu.com/p/1898191661

More fluff! Sometimes Chinese forums have some ridiculous threads, and sometimes these threads actually get some activity. Here we have a thread where some players talk about which Dota hero they’d marry and spend their lives with if they were a girl…

  • 百 个JJ度: Rules are, once a hero has been mentioned, that hero is no longer a choice. I’ll go first: Omniknight, does this need a reason? Royal bloodline, ability to protect in all ways, when it’s that time of the month and I bleed, he can give me the warmth of healing. Ever since I married him, I haven’t needed to worry about painful menstruation~
  • _藏剑: You seem very enthusiastic, but are you a girl?
  • 太荣月: Sven.
    • 百 个JJ度: Can you elaborate on your reasoning
      • 太荣月: Strong.
        • 百 个JJ度: Why do you choose Sven?
          • 太荣月: Strong and mysterious masked man. >_>
  • Shunruoxi: Naix, he can get inside my body
  • 魔兽菜鸟学星际: Naga Siren, she sings for me ❤
    • 百 个JJ度: So you’re saying there’ll be lesbian action?
  • 法里奥叔叔: As a woman I would like Meepo, one woman with five men makes for real satisfaction
    • 百 个JJ度: To be accurate, it is a story of one woman and five upright animal-headed creatures
  • 芳魂艳骨知何处: Immediately go lesbian with Mirana
  • 月亮的影子Eric: Tiny! Think of the reasons yourself!

[fluff] Chinese players argue about Dota vs LoL, too

Original: http://tieba.baidu.com/p/1887224159?pn=1

Just some quick translations of a random thread where Chinese players discuss amongst each other the relative merits of a few games in the same genre as Dota. Insults, arguments, general internet drudgery, and some insight ahead! It’s ugly, it’s fluff, so don’t get too invested.

Update: The original Chinese thread has been deleted, after reaching hilarious levels of mudslinging and not-so-politically-correct insults.

Continue reading →

Interview with LGD.xiao8 post TI2

Original: http://dota.replays.net/page/20120929/1731493.html

Short interview with xiao8, gives a bit of insight into LGD, etc.

Interviewer: Hello xiao8, thank you for doing this interview. LGD has a lot of fans, go ahead and say hi to everyone.

xiao8: Hello everyone, I am LGD team’s xiao8.

Interviewer: Lately you haven’t had much in terms of competition, is LGD as a whole on break? What have you been busy with?

xiao8: Yes, after ACE everyone’s been on break, probably all spending time with friends, girlfriends, and family.

Interviewer: TI2 has just ended recently, and after going undefeated in the group stages, LGD ended up losing to iG, and then shortly after that lost to iG again in the ACE finals. For LGD, this must have been quite sad, what kind of analysis or reflection did LGD do as a team afterwards?

xiao8: We failed to maintain our own form, so our execution ended up being worse than the other team.

Interviewer: What gave you the biggest impression in TI2, did you meet IceFrog, and was he as tall and handsome as legend has it?

xiao8: I did meet him, he is indeed pretty good looking

Interviewer: This time at TI2, matches were very clustered together in the loser’s bracket, resulting in many teams needing to play a lot of games each day, is this something you feel needs to change?

xiao8: The organizers must have their reasons for this arrangement, and I don’t feel changes are needed, though it certainly challenges the players.

Interviewer: Do you have any hopes for the next International, or anything to say to your opponents for next time?

xiao8: Do my best to play well, so there is no reason to feel regret.

Interviewer: According to rumor, G-league will be picking up Dota2 officially very soon, and it looks like there will be more and more Dota2 competitions coming up. Will you guys be focusing more on Dota2? Talk a bit about differences between Dota 1 and Dota 2.

xiao8: We’ll look at which version has more competitions here in China, and we’ll focus training on that. As for Dota2, it’s relatively easier to new players to learn. For professional players, it feels like it’s a game with faster pace.

Interviewer: Before, as a Three Kingdoms (a Dota-clone based on Chinese Three Kingdoms lore) player you had already achieved fame, then what was it that brought you to Dota and ultimately become a professional Dota player?

xiao8: Because originally there were some top Three Kingdoms players that switched to Dota, and got some good results, so I also wanted to give it a try and see if I could do it.

Interviewer: Since joining LGD, Sylar has made big strides forward, and now is ranked amongst the top three big carries alongside Zhou and Burning. What do you think are his relative strengths and weaknesses compared to the other two?

xiao8: In terms of strengths, he’s younger, and has very good mechanics. In terms of weakness, he needs to continue working on mentality.

Interviewer: After ZSMJ retired, how was it that you came across Sylar and ultimately invited him to join LGD?

xiao8: Back when ZSMJ retired, we were just about to recruit as well. Sylar also was interested in joining, so we eventually came to an agreement.

Interviewer: In LGD, who ladders the most on 11 (Dota1 matchmaking service)? Who has the most ladder points? What does LGD do for fun in their spare time?

xiao8: I can’t recall… everyone’s about the same… I have over 2300 points. Because of training, I often need to quit halfway through a ladder match… the points loss is hard. As for stuff in spare time, there’s KTV, gym, basketball, etc, a bit of everything…

Interviewer: What is your favorite hero in Dota, why?

xiao8: Sniper… he looks simple, but to play him well is quite hard.

Interviewer: From Three Kingdoms to Dota, xiao8 can be considered an old player, have you ever considered retirement?

xiao8: Not yet, at least until after next year’s International.

Interviewer: Has playing professionally brought added pressure from friends and family, do you get much time every year with family?

xiao8: There’s not much time with family, but they’re all very supportive of me, and will even watch some of my matches… though they don’t know what’s going on..

Interviewer: Who do you think is most good looking in LGD, who is the best solo player?

xiao8: This is really hard to say, we each have our own style… there’s all kinds (I’m the kind that tries to act cool). As for best solo, it’s whomever is playing solo more at the time, I think.

Interviewer: Apparently Captain 8 you already have a girlfriend, what kind of girl do you prefer?

xiao8: Yes, and I like girls a little chubbier!!!

Interviewer: Thank you to xiao8 for the interview. We hope LGD will continue posting good results. Do you have any words for your fans?

xiao8: Thank you for all the continued support for LGD, thank you to our sponsors LGD, Taobao, and Razer. We will work even harder to repay all of you.

Replays.net interviews MIK, PLU commentator

Original: http://dota2.replays.net/news/page/20120926/1730999.html

Chinese caster, vod maker, MIK answers some questions. She talks a bit about Dendi, a life of Dota, Dota2 vs Dota1, and more.

Replays.net (RN): Hello MIK, very glad that you could do this interview with us. Why don’t you introduce yourself a bit, surely you have many fans who want to get to know more about you.

MIK: Hello everyone, I am that lively and cheery Mik, I am also just a normal Dota player, and in the future I will certainly see everyone plenty, so I hope that you all can support me.

RN: Cheerful gals are just what everyone likes! Okay, let’s talk about your Dota and Dota2 experiences. A girl this cute must have lots to talk about in Dota experiences. (Dota, Dota2 happenings, interesting bits, etc)

MIK: I feel that, to me, Dota is very important. I remember there once was a saying, “Lonely women wear stockings, lonely men play Dota”… well what am I if I both wear stockings and play Dota?! Haha, playing Dota has let me meet a lot of friends, such as Xiaojian (caster, vod maker), such as Dendi. I’m sure many people have similar experiences, playing full pre-made games with friends having a lot of fun. In the past playing on VS, I didn’t really care about levels, didn’t really level up to get into higher ranked rooms. Instead we made countless smurf accounts to continuously beat on newbs (speaking of this, suddenly I realize how evil I was). So all along, there have been too many precious memories, and this is why I am so dedicated to Dota.

RN: “Let’s be lifelong friends, and play a life of Dota!” – this is MIK’s motto. The girl who says this phrase, by my view, must be someone who has made a lot of friends through Dota, and must have considerable love for the game. So how about MIK you give your own understanding of this phrase for us?

MIK: I’m sure this phrase reflects the hearts of many Dota players as well. Dota brings to us not only fun and excitement, or the joy of playing with a full pre-made team of friends; moreso, as a team game, it brings a type of emotion, no matter win or lose many people will have their own little teams that they go through everything with, and this is a process that is irreplaceable. So when I found that more and more players are leaving Dota, it was quite a bitter feeling. This phrase, then, is also a call to all players past and present, hopefully we all stand together with MIK, and continue our Dota beliefs.

RN: Yeah, we definitely will continue on. This is our generation’s great mission! I think, then, that MIK’s choice to do casting and vods for Dota2, Dota1’s official successor, reflects your desire for Dota to reach more people. Talk a bit about your thoughts on Dota2, what are some differences from Dota1?

MIK: Dota2 is still closed to the public here in China. So my work in doing vods is targeted towards exposing more players to Dota2, and of course the hope is that more people see it and as a result gain more interest in Dota2. At the same time, I also hope to gain some recognition and support from everyone, and this way I can create even more value.

RN: Indeed as MIK says, Dota2 is not very widespread right now, yet players have unmistakeable fervor for this legendary status sequel, and Seattle’s International has pushed this even higher. We’d like to know, how does MIK rate Dota2, and what are your thoughts on its future?

MIK: The International in Seattle, whenever it’s brought up I’m sure people will think immediately to the million-dollar prize. This time with five Chinese teams making the trip across the Pacific Ocean, it was a very heart-lifting sight to see. From the group stages to the loser and winner brackets, it let us fans thoroughly enjoy ourselves. This time in Seattle has also promoted Dota2 very well, I truly believe that Dota2 will create a huge market for itself in China. Dota2’s graphics and attention to detail are touching, and IceFrog’s has put a lot of dedication into it and has improved the game over and over for players. As a Dota player I’ve personally undergone the transition to Dota2, so my hope is that everyone also continues to patiently wait for Dota2 to go open, it will absolutely not let you all down. Today, we can only hope that all of us stay put and wait, those of you that have left we hope you sometimes come back home to visit. Here, this is real esports!

RN: Now you’re doing first person vods for Dota2, and as your contribution to Dota2 promotion, we’re sure that many players will come back home because of you! Tell us your favorite team, and your favorite player.

MIK: There isn’t a single favorite, because in my eyes, all players are really the same. Including professional players. I do have a liking for PCT (former EHOME) because he will always play with me, and not avoid me because I’m bad, and often gives me helpful tips, so I’m very thankful to him. Apart from that, NaVi’s Dendi and LightofHeaven, they’re both very friendly and warm, and in the future if there’s a chance I’d like to collaborate with them in putting out some vods.

RN: Wow! These are all big players! I’m envious and jealous! Surely with the help of these players, your vods will continue improving. We look forward to the collaboration!

MIK: Yeah, to have everyone’s recognition and support is my biggest motivation

RN: For sure! You will not lack for motivation! I remember your last Windrunner vod, MIK you said that this is your favorite hero, can you say why you like her so much?

MIK: Haha. When I first played Dota, my friends would all have me play heroes that wouldn’t die easily, such as Windrunner’s Windrun, Morphling’s Wave, Anti-mage’s Blink, and over time, I took a liking to Windrunner, and slowly gained my own understanding of her. When I first came to Dota2, to make the transition easier with a familiar model, I picked Windrunner and played her endlessly. -.- And then afterwards, playing other heroes became much easier, so Windrunner is truly my goddess.

RN: So that’s how it is. I really like Windrunner as well, when there’s time you must let me tag along and learn from you. Haha~~~ oh right, then does MIK have a boyfriend? I believe many male fans of yours will want to know the answer to this question, because you are their goddess. And also, can you reveal your ideal boyfriend… I thank you on behalf of all our fans!

MIK: This, yes. People that know me, all know that Dota is my boyfriend. Haha, so I feel that in the future if I really actually want to find a match for myself, they have to support my playing Dota, and play Dota with me. Otherwise, there’s no way, haha

RN: Alrighty! All you hungry fans, MIK’s requirements can’t be more suitable for you all! Add oil, I will wait for your wedding candy! At the last, MIK can you please say a few words to end our interview today?

MIK: Ok. “Let’s be lifelong friends, and play a life of Dota!” My heart is Dota. Add oil!

RN: Thank you to MIK for doing this interview. We wish MIK more beauty, more skill in Dota2, even better vods, and more and more fans. Everyone give your support to MIK…