SB.Recca: 'We aim to reach the Grand Finals next month.'

After briefly falling out of the competitive scene, old Vietnamese powerhouse StarsBoba have returned and performed exceedingly well at the first month of the GEST International DotA Cup sponsored by Gigabyte Technology, clinching first runner's up behind Mineski Powercolor.

Speaking on behalf of the team is SB's Recca, who shares his thoughts on his team's performance after a long hiatus - here is what he has to say.

First of all, congratulations to StarsBoba for achieving first runner's up at GEST IDC. What are your thoughts on your opponents and which team impressed you the most?
-"Thank you. In this tournament, all the teams were strong and well-known in the region however none has impressed me deeply."

The internet connection has severely affected the quality of plays from both representative teams from Vietnam. What are your thoughts about it?
-"We were only able to choose between Singapore and Malaysian servers (for Vietnamese teams) hence lag and delay problems were unavoidable. StarsBoba has experienced this in many online DotA tournaments therefore we can only do our best."

The tournament lasted from 12pm to 10pm (Vietnam time). Did it affect the gameplay of the team members?
-"Yes. It did make us tired. However, waiting for a game for 3-4 hours is acceptable as we all love DotA."

Is there anything else that obstructed the team other than those things mentioned above?
-"Before the game, although we predicted some lag and delay, there was only one internet line in Boba's cyber shop hence this was hard to fix. Otherwise, everything was fine."

What are your thoughts about making v6.73c the official map of the tournament? How do you rate this map version?
-"In my opinion, this helped to add more heroes to the competitive pool as well as brings new strategies to the metagame. In terms of game flow, team fights will occur very frequently and there isn't any major change from the last version."

In the second game against XctN, you picked Axe (see), a "lost" hero in competitive DotA. Could you explain this particular choice?
-"When playing public games, I often use Axe to solo mid. Skill "Battle Hunger" and Axe will create difficulties for your opponent if used wisely. Therefore, we summed up the courage to select this hero in that game."

After the loss against Trust and being forced down to the loser's bracket, SB decided to change tactics to a more push oriented lineup(s). Is the reason because of high ping or is it something you guys planned to do?
-"In that game against Trust in the winner's bracket, high pings gave us difficulties last hitting and playing well. Therefore, the whole team agreed on using a push strategy to adapt to the situation. As a result, it turned out well for us in the game against Neolution in the loser's bracket."

In this tournament, which match were you most satisfied with or regretful about?
-"The most satistying game was against Neolution in the loser's bracket with the pushing strategy as mentioned. Because of that, we regained the fighting spirit and determination.

The most disappointing game would be against Trust in the winner's bracket. I'm confident that without the lag, the lineup which we picked could have won us the game."

What are the roles of each members in the team?
The current roles in the team are as follows:

Archie: solo support, ganker
Batteu: tanker, carry, ganker
Yuna: solo, support, ganker.
David: ganker, tanker, support
Jessica: support, ganker

Lastly, I will fill in for any position that is needed."

What is your target for next month's tournament?
-"Because of expected lag, initially we only aimed for top three but we made it to the Grand Final. This boosted the confidence of the team significantly. We will aim to at least maintain the achievement (reach the Grand Finals next month)."

We have come to the end of this interview, do you have any shoutouts for your fans?
-"A big thanks to everyone who has supported StarsBoba in particular and other Vietnamese teams in general. In the following months, we will do our best to improve our play styles. Your support is a boost in our determination to play. Once again, thank you very much!"