Korok: 'Strategy and teamplay make the difference'

Artwork by: Teamliquid.net

Steven 'Korok' Ashworth is part of the newly acquired Dota 2 squad of TeamLiquid. In an interview with us, he talks about his team, his thoughts on pro-gaming and the current meta game.

Korok, first up, congratulations on picking up a new sponsor. Can you tell us about how things went down?

Bumblebee from Team Liquid approached me after the Quantic Dota 2 team disbanded. He asked if I would be interested in forming a team with some of the compLexity members and BuLba. After trying out a few scrims and seeing how things meshed, I realized that there was a lot of potential in this team and we started talking more and more about possible support from TL.

Does it feel special to be the first Dota 2 team for TL, or is it just like any other sponsor?

Absolutely. I have played under many teams in the past and I have never received such an overwhelming welcome. The management is extremely knowledgable about the pro scene as well as what it takes to be the best.

Let’s go back in time a bit. You were playing in Quantic Gaming. There was a phase when things seemed to work out. What happened though? There was no official statement as to why you disbanded.

Quantic Gaming was a very accommodating sponsor. We had planned to work things out with them with the latest roster. Two of our members, 1437 and Brax, left for LGD.int and it severely crippled us as we had just reformed and searched the North American scene for pickups. After realizing that it would be impossible to find players who would fill the shoes of 1437 and Brax, we decided to call it quits for now and split off into our own paths.

Was it ever an idea to start a new team with PAINT?

The team was only me, PAINT, and Universe at that point. If we had made a new team, we would have kept Universe. We weren't able to find a roster that would have made us happy.

Let's say TL hadn't contacted you: Would it have been important for you to play with an all North-American team, or could you have seen yourself accommodating to the European timezone to play with a European team, like EternalEnvy does?

I had a couple European teams ask me what my plans were after Quantic, but I saw this opportunity as too good to pass up so I mentally made a commitment to making this work. I wouldn't mind playing with a European team. Even though there is a large timezone difference, the world of western competitive Dota revolves around the European timezone regardless of where you're located.

Is your whole team committed to Dota 2 full-time or do you have jobs or college to attend to?

I believe everyone is attending classes for the time being. We're trying to create our class schedules around our practice schedule with early morning and evening classes.

Would you however like to commit full-time to Dota 2 if the money allowed it?

I've been thinking about that a lot recently. As of right now, my plan is to continue as a student. Even though I think there is a limited time window for attempting to play full-time, I don't think it's reliable enough at the moment. The money is almost there for full time players. For example, the people at LGD.int are taken care quite nicely by their sponsor from what I heard.

Speaking of which: They just took out their Chinese teammates in The GEST: Challenge. Is such a fast progression to be expected from teamhousing?

I think the best western players are equal in skill to the best Chinese players. It's just a matter of strategy and teamplay, which is best developed in a LAN environment. Chinese Dota is much further ahead in this aspect. From what I heard about LGD.int, they trade games with LGD.cn in practice games so I'm not surprised that they were able to pull off a win.

Coming back to you: Do you remain as the hardcarry in your team or will there be some changes, as TC plays carry as well?

In our scrims we switch it up based on who is the best at the heroes we need. I try to leave it in the hands of FLUFF to decide who should do what.

Seeing as the so called 'meta-game' evolves and judging from the current trends: Will we ever see another Storm Spirit from you?

I see Storm Spirit as an extremely situational pick. If teams draft a vulnerable lineup against us, we will abuse it with whatever we can.

On a more serious note then: What do you think about Sven and Magnus, both heroes that people like to call overpowered and would like to see nerfed/changed?

I agree with Sven and Magnus needing tweaks. Sven can be countered but it's a lot harder dealing with him than most of the melee carries due to cleave hitting a massive aoe. Magnataur is just out there in terms of versatility. His skill set is one of the most practical in the game, and I expect he'll be changed in the next balance patch.

Which is supposed to be coming out before Christmas. Is there anything else you'd like to see changed?

Morphling needs to be partially reverted to his old state. I think the nerfs were too extreme. I wish batrider was more of a counter pick than a jack of all trades hero. I'd also like to see buffs to heroes that are rarely seen in competitive play.

New Year’s is close. Looking back on the year, how would you rate your progress as a player?

I wasn't known in the Dota 2 scene. In fact, the majority of people who knew my name knew me as the HoN player and had no idea I played DotA 1. I can safely say I am a much better player than I was in the beginning of this year.

Thank you for the interview, any shoutouts? And where can people follow you?

Shoutouts to the Team Liquid family, Razer, Twitch.tv, and ShinyThings. I also want to shoutout to my former teammate PAINTITGOLD and the guys at GMU eSports. You can follow me on twitter @LiquidKorok.