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General13 years agoGosu "GosuGamers" Gamers

BulBa interviewed after American GosuCup qualifier

We sat down with the main man behind the US DotA-collective ez Style one day after their qualification for the ROCCAT GosuCup #4 groupstage, in order to get and update on the American DotA scene and how Dota 2 will possibly change it.

BulBa, congratulations for passing the qualifier recently; how did you find the competition in the tournament; too easy, moderate, or quite tough?
Going into the tournament I thought it would be a walk in the park since i did not know much about the SA scene besides the few popular teams like PaiN, but some opponents, such as MoaG, gave us good games. Other than that, I knew we had all the games won based on picks and play, so the competition was at a moderate level.

I knew we had all the games won based on picks and play, but some opponents, such as MoaG, gave us good games
The team you registered for the tournament with is quite fresh in this current composition. How did you get together and how long do you intend to stay together?
We got together because we have been friends for quite a long time. PowerNet and I saw the GosuCup tournament advertised on the site and decided to group a team together. 1437 and inphinity are our friends, so we asked them to play. Universe was also a member of OK.Nirvana and joined in as well. We intend to stay together for this tournament but in regards to the future, we are not sure yet. Dota 2 will offer possibilities so we are awaiting that, but most likely, we will have a team with a roster around these players in the future.

Sounds promising, however besides occasional tournaments like GosuCup, MYM Defending/Nations, or also DotaLicious that partly include American teams, the events and the clan scene alongside seem to have regressed in your continent as months passed. Throughout those times, where and how did you spend your DotA time? How is DotA life for an American player nowadays?
I went on vacation in the summer for around two to three months so I was out of the DotA scene for quite a bit during that time and before that it was spent mostly playing the occasional American In-House leagues with friends. DotA doesn't have much at all for the average American player besides the few DotAcash tournaments here and there. The future, however, looks promising with Dota 2. I can't wait to see it in all the huge LAN events and such.
Most of the Americans simply spend their time waiting for Dota 2, while the few that have the beta play it regularly. As for me, Powernet, Inphinity and the others, we have all been playing Dota 2 because the game is amazing and I am in love with it.

The NA scene has to be BIG for a game to grow as an e-Sport like Starcraft 2 is
Do you feel that the American scene has gotten more active again already, seeing more players getting back to play DotA, after Dota 2 had been presented to the public this summer?
Well the American scene of DotA is still kinda “meh” at the moment, but many of the top Heroes of Newerth players that used to play DotA are all interested in Dota 2, and it's fun seeing some familiar faces from the North American scene come back to the game like Korok and PAINTITGOLD. I can't wait for more competition in the scene and when the beta gets going and involves more people and maybe even Beta tournaments, the NA scene will be stronger and more popular than ever.

Dota 2 couldn't have come at a better time. Valve did an excellent job with the tournament, hyping up the game and promising more GamesCom tournaments; it should give a lot of people motivation to play competitively again. Like many players have said before, The NA scene has to be BIG for a game to grow as an e-Sport like Starcraft 2 is. I hope to see Dota 2 in MLG, NASL and other tournaments in the future since the strongest sponsors are usually all NA based.

Why do you think European DotA managed to maintain a strong community, that keeps playing the game and gathers sponsors for tournaments, while the American scene and its people had to suffer and seemed to have gotten strongly attracted by other e-Sport titles, such as the mentioned Starcraft 2 or HoN?
Hmm, I can only hypothesize on this question, but its probably because Americans prefer shiny newer things than playing the same game. Such as the Call of Duty brand, releasing a new game every 6 months and grabbing in billions of dollars with the same game over and over. American people are easier to market to as well, and games like HoN and League of Legends took advantage of that. The DotA players from the US mostly switched to HoN because it was a fresh game and there was more money involved and less competition.

The NA scene in DotA before the big HoN jump was also not that prominent, with the exception of only a few teams, so moving into the other game promised better prizes, less competition compared to the huge teams in Europe that DotA has, and a new interface and model.

I really prefer playing with friends and players that I know
Starcraft 2 on the other hand is a game that takes a remarkable amount of skill and practice and the key that Starcraft 2 had in gaining such popularity was Teamliquid.net. The site has everything any fan or player needs and it helped making the scene huge with live report threads, news feeds and all media in one giant forum/site. Also sponsors just loved going to Starcraft 2 since it was a new game and watching is really fun if you know what is going on. A true feature of a spectator e-Sport.

Do you play Starcraft 2 yourself?
I used to play, but I really prefer watching Starcraft 2. The game takes a new level of dedication to be good so you can't just go in and say "Ok, I'm going to be this good in this amount of time." The amount of practice that players do, like SeleCT, Idra and other prominent players, in order to keep up with the Koreans has to be huge. I used to be a huge Brood War fan as well so I love watching RTS games, but playing on the other hand takes too much time.

Switching the topic, only a few American players like Fear, DeMoN, or Merlini became very well known in large parts of the world; arguably due to the fact that they spent time in top European teams and competed with them in the big tournaments. Did or do you aspire to make such a move as well; could you imagine yourself in a European top team?
I never did aspire to make a move because I really prefer playing with friends and players that I know. I know a few Europeans and have a few friends as well in Europe, but I will always prefer being on a team with a majority of American players, mostly due to communication problems and friendships.

European top teams have developed a synergy level that can only be attained with a lot of practice and dedication
When Dota 2 is released, could you imagine yourself as a fully professional gamer, should the opportunity open up for you?
The thought of that happening would be awesome, however, right now I wish to finish my undergraduate degree first and go to Pharmacy school. Then look into the possibilities and still have a backup plan in case I do go for that route.


You probably watch a lot of DotA from Europe and observe performances of a few teams. When you compare the level of synergy between the teams you have been in, and the best European teams, how far, do you feel, are you away - if at all?
The best European teams have all been together for a long time. They have developed a synergy level that can only be attained with a lot of practice and dedication. Getting on that level requires a certain level of teamwork and individual skill. I think we can attain that level of individual skill, but the teamwork and the leadership/picking abilities all need work for us, to have any chance against the top teams such as M5 and Na'Vi.

You have been part of the line-up that won MYM Nations 3 for the United States. How do you value this victory within the context of the tournament landscape?
The tournament was really fun, especially since it was set up well and representing the US and winning it for the country was awesome. Also winning the tournament when most of the other countries doubted us and labeled us as an underdog was cool. But I hope we proved that Americans still have a chance in the DotA scene and can make a splash.

You will surely represent the United States as well in the upcoming group stage. Have you heard of the teams that qualified alongside you before (Waffle Fort, Area51 and LOST.AR)?
I think I have seen Waffle Fort in some American In House leagues but have no idea about any of the other two teams.

Then best of luck in the tournament, we are at the end for now. Do you have any last words or shoutouts?
Hopefully we will do well in the group stage and I can't wait for Dota 2 to be released and be as big as it should be! Shoutout to nadota.com, my team, soson, binary, jinge, JNP ichigo, Ra'Vi, MoP and DeMoN.

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GosuGamers - Watch ez Style's play versus moaG in the GosuCup #4 qualifiers

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