Key topics in the lengthy chat mark details about WDC's date and concept, as well as the currently difficult situation of Nirvana.
First of all thanks Loveen for taking time off to do this interview. WDC 2011's teaser video has been released; does this mean that the tournament is about to happen?
-"Hello, its been a while XiaoShuo. I'd like to thank WoDotA for making this first teaser for WDC2011. I hope it can bring back some memories of last year's WDC paving the way for it's return. "
We know that this year's WDC will have an all-girls tournament. What lead you to this decision and will this be more of a show or an actual competition?
-"The female event will be a separate tournament and I wouldn't really say that its just of showmatch-charakter. I hope to be able to achieve something through this and also invite PMS.Asterisk to come and play. As for local teams, it'll be decided after we see how the registration goes. If there is a need, I will host offline qualifiers. This will be considered a trial run I suppose, I understand that there are a lot of females players that wish to have a chance to train hard and prove to themselves that they can do it. The all-girls event will be a whole new thing for WDC and I hope we can get a lot of teams to play. It'll be even better if we could improve the level of DotA as well as WDC's influence in the scene with it."
Then in regards to WDC, what will 2011's event have, that differs from the 2010 one?
-"The biggest change will be the trophy, that we will give out - I'm hoping to surpass SMM's massive hammer! It'll be like a challenge trophy whereby the winning team will get to keep it for a year. Besides that, participating international teams this year will be better and present in a higher number, making it a truly global DotA tournament. As for the prize pool, this year will have a total of $50,000, from which the champion will take $20,000. As for the rest, I hope everyone can come to the event and see for himself. The goal for this year is to make sure everything goes smoothly."
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WDC trophy: It will be a custom made Frostmourne ... I want to see the winning team lift it up just like Arthas after conquering the world ”-"It will be a custom made Frostmourne. I find that to be Undead's most powerful weapon and want to see the winning team lift it up just like Arthas after conquering the world (Need to check WC3 lore)."
Most tournaments will have a fixed date, like WCG, SMM and ADC. Why did WDC decide to start earlier as opposed to having it in November like last year?
-"June will be the start of WDC's qualifiers as well as other preparation work. The finals will be held in October, though not too early in the month. I took the fans urge to watch WDC into account, so I scheduled it at a time, where students don't have as much to do, because its early in the semester."
At the end of WDC2010, a lot of fans said, that you did some useless stuff during the event. Do you think the event was a success all in all?
-"I'd say to about 50%, a successful tournament has to have a good marketing, sustainability, fairness and so on. One person's hard work is never enough, as a lot of people need to come together to actually make it happen. Only when WDC gets to its third or fourth edition, we will know wether its a success or not. Heck I'd like it to reach 10 editions!"
Besides DotA, have you contemplating of adding other games? SC2 or LoL for instance.
-"We'll probably add a few DotA clones to the mix, as something new and to add variety."
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Nirvana: Selling off the Starcraft 2 team was a really hard decision for me ”-" WDC started off with DotA and as long as we make DotA a success, we will be able to develop a similar tournament for the other games. I think that as a multiple gaming tourrnament, WCG has already done so well, that there is no need to compete with them. I hope to be able to organize different tournaments of higher caliber in the future.
Early this year, there were talks of holding an event similar to the MYM Prime Nations, but it never materialized. What happened?
-" To hold a tournament involving different countries, I'll need to apply to different departments in the government way too early. Departments include, transport department, safety and so on. Thats why I'll consider having such an event overseas. *laughs*"
Nirvana.cn was the winner of last year's WDC, but now that PIS and Zhou have left the team, they are no longer considered top three. Not long ago, XB joined for a while and then decided to leave. HAO has also expressed an urge to stop his proffessional gaming career. The whole team is in a state of distress, how are you expecting to fix it?
-"To be honest, whenever a player leaves its a real pity. Like I have said before 'A winner may not win all because he is not strong enough' (no accurate translation at this part, Editors note). Whenever there is any change in the team, it means that there are things in Nirvana that have yet to become perfect. Players only leave under these circumstances. Trying to keep a team together based on friendship is never enough; you need a good organization. A team of success or failure does not mean anything. The only thing that matters is the continued success of the organization and I hope I can make Nirvana into a long lasting one. Just like the name Nirvana, i believe we can once again return back to the top. "
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eSports is full of hardships and challenges, I hope that everyone in the business does not lose faith and keeps believing that we will someday be able to turn it into something glorious ”-"Selling off the SC2 team was a really hard decision for me. Wether its a matter of strength or future development, they always excel. CCM definitely offered something really solid, that will improve SC2's development. Sometimes dropping a team takes a lot of courage; all I can say is that Nirvana will be back."
You recently signed a CS team. Will this engagement be of the same capacity as your support of City Hunter back then, where you just helped intermediately, or are you thinking of expanding into CS for longer?
-"This CS team is very impressive. They have already qualified for WCG China's final. I picked them up in a short amount of time with the intention to lessen the impact of losing the SC2 team. I hope they can do well in the final and gain some fame for Nirvana."
You said before that Nirvana will be back. Does this mean that there are plans to continue with an SC2 team? If so, then would that be?
-"We are currently looking for good players and I'm sure if there is any news, everyone will be the first to know."
When Insence left Nirvana.CN, there seemed to be a lot of things he was unsatisfied about, though not long ago, he returned to Nirvana.CN as a leader. What made you think of "loaning" from Tyloo?
-"When he left, it was the decision of the whole team and it was done with the intention to change the team into one that can beat EHOME. I can only support what the team decides, even though it might have not been fair to Insence. Hiring him back is an acknowldegement of his management skills and I belive he can help reforming the team into a better one. As for the loan, its a consensus between the two teams.
Not long ago, you got the sponsorship of MSI. What other sponsors are there?
-"Currently we are sponsored by MSI and Razer. I'm very grateful to them for standing by our side even now, since we are going through some tough times. I hope we can continue to work together.
We will be looking forward to the return of Nirvana. Lets end this with a final shoutout then.
-"eSports is full of hardships and challenges, I hope that everyone in the business does not lose faith and keeps believing that we will someday be able to turn it into something glorious.I dont mind playing SF solo for the rest of my life, the only thing I'm afraid of is that I am the one losing all the time."
This interview was conducted by dota.sgamer.com and translated by GosuGamers. Check out the original version in Chinese below:
