The interview was conducted by Andreea 'divushka' Esanu at the Olympic Sports Center in Changzhou, China at the end of the first day of the playoffs. Unfortunately the footage suffered some irreparable damage so we are going to share with you the transcript of the interview.
Hey, Kpii, I’m quite surprised to find you here, so the first question is: how come you’re in Changzhou at WESG?
My girlfriend is a caster for the Dota 2 Chinese broadcast so I just came to be with her. So, I’m just an observer, watching the games and I also like to watch CS:GO and Hearthstone, and as I don’t usually have much time to follow other games tournaments, I’m recovering now. So, yeah I’m here to watch as much games as possible.
Considering that you actually started your career in the Oceanic scene, with the Australian team Can’t Say Wips, and back then there were no such tournaments like WESG, what are your impression on how an event of this size and with such a generous prize pool can impact a young team?
I think it’s good for the lower tier teams, or for the teams that are now just at the beginning of their career because it’s giving them a chance to actually competing for something. For this tournament specifically, I would say the competition is not that high, but there are people that like to see these country based teams. And the prize pool is pretty high and that’s really good for the lower tiers.
every once in a while it’s good to have a way to showcase the countries coming together.
Do you think the Olympic format of WESG with National teams competing is fitting eSports or Dota2?
Personally, I think no, it doesn’t because right now in Dota 2 most of the teams are formed with players from different countries. But, at the same time, I believe every once in a while it’s good to have a way to showcase the countries coming together. Also it’s is very good that lower tier teams are having the opportunity to compete, so yeah I’d say once in a while is good to have a tournament in this format.
After the first day of the playoffs do you think there’s a clear favorite to win the whole thing?
There’s eight teams left after today so let’s see. Cloud 9 it’s obviously a strong contender, Alliance the same, but personally I think TNC will win this.
I would like to talk with you a bit about DAC Chinese qualifiers and about one team more specifically, about the exciting roster of Neewbee Boss. But, before anything else, do you think they have a chance of grabbing one of the two spots?
Well by the time this interview will be published I believe the results will be already out and they are already not doing really well. I think they are pretty much out already, I’m not 100% sure though, so I don’t know what to say.
[editor’s noote] At the time we did this interview, Newbee Boss were indeed on a negative performance track with two lost series and one draw.
Fair enough. The one thing I wanted to ask you about Newbee Boss it’s related to the fact that they are the first team to play in a high competitive environment with a gender mixed lineup. So, what are your thoughts on this topic, and should we expect more organizations to follow the example and really start to develop mixed teams in the near future?
I think mixed teams are perfectly fine, but we must pay attention with this, we as teams. We shouldn’t start like a trend or something and just go with ‘I want a female player to my team’ just for the sake of it. But if the female player can match the other’s skill level and commitment, then yes, it’s totally fine to have a gender mixed team. If there are like 8k MMR girls, like legit MMR I think they could and should definitely be considered for any team.
when considering a gender mixed team it all comes down to skill level
Axx, the girl from Newbee Boss is one of the top MMR players in China right now, correct?
Yes, she is 7.7K or something like that, I can’t remember exactly now, but she is really high now. Again, when considering a gender mixed team it all comes down to skill level, that’s should be all. Nothing depends on the gender really.
To clarify once and for all the rumors and speculation after the roster was announced: Axx is not the team co-owner or manager, right?
No, she is not. She is just a top MMR player from China, that’s all.
Well, the last game of today just finished by the sound of it, so I’ll let you rejoin the others, thanks a lot for taking the time to talk to us, it’s been a pleasure. Any shootouts?
Shoutout to all our Newbee fans, thank you for supporting us, I promise we will try to get a first place sometime soon.
