Efeng: 'I don't think it's necessary to switch to Dota 2'

For months, PanDa has been a strong contender in the Chinese competitive scene, taking games off powerhouses such as iG and DK. In a short interview, Efeng relates his story to G-1 before his team's subsequent victory over TongFu yesterday.

PanDa has successfully advanced into the Winner's Bracket semifinals of G-1 and will face the winner of DK vs For.Love.

Give us a short introduction of yourself.
-"Hi everybody, I'm PanDa.Efeng and I currently manage the DotA division of PanDarea-Gaming."

Your team will play your first match at G-1 tonight. Tell us more about your team's roster and how these few days have went for your team.
-"Our five players currently are Hao, Mu, yAobAi, Nada and 830. Our contract with Sansheng expired, so we're in the midst of discussions with iG about transferring him over.

As for recent trainings, we have been experimenting with some new strategies."

Which teams do you normally train with? Have you played with DK yet (because you have a chance of meeting them in the next round)?
-"We've been playing WE and LGD alot recently - DK are old rivals by now, so all we can do is wait and anticipate our clash with the Galacticos!"

Your opponents TongFu claimed an easy victory prior to entering the Quarter Finals with innovative picks like Axe and Warlock. Are you confident to beating them?
-"I believe we have what it takes, and we'll sweep them away."

What is your team's understanding of the new map version (6.73c) used in this tournament? Will we see something out of the blue tomorrow, or will you guys play conservatively?
-"This will depend on how things play out tomorrow. Indeed, we have a few strategies lined up, but we will only employ them when the situation calls for it. As for whether you'll get to see us use them tomorrow, it'll depend on what my team mates and I decide to go with."

As I recall, PanDa managed to secure a third place at the previous G-1 tournament. What are your goals this time and what do you feel about the tournament so far?
-"Our goal has always been the championship. This season is actually going pretty well - I hope to see it develop into a grand offline event in the future."

At one point, your team lost Nada and Wind - looking back, do you feel that it was to your advantage? I'm sure everyone is/was aware of the effort you have put into developing the team, but did you gather any regrets along the way?
-"It was my decision to drop the two of them. PanDa's performance has been on a steady incline so I suppose I'm quite satisfied with how things turned out.

I've always felt like each player had a concrete and unique role in our team's own strategy, and that both complements each other. Hence, I'll be looking to get to a final five roster, but of course such things can be decided before a tournament.

However, I'm only their manager and not their coach, so I will offer them suggestions. The rest I will leave to their coach and captain to decide."

What do you see in the future for PanDa? When do you think our country's teams will switch over to Dota 2? Does your team frequently play Dota 2 and are they interested in participating in international Dota 2 competitions?
-"If there are competitions, we'll be sure to participate, but I do not think it's necessary for us to switch to Dota 2. DotA and Dota 2 have their differences and although Dota 2 takes it name from DotA, they are just like LoL and HoN - online multiplayer games.

About whether we'll be switching, I guess it will depend on how DotA develops and not Dota 2. But if Dota 2 turns out into an extremely big title in the future, we will consider forming a new Dota 2 team, but that does not necessarily mean our DotA players will be the ones making the switch - in my eyes, the two games are not exactly interchangeable."

Thank you and good luck with the tournament.
-"Thank you!"

Roster:
Efeng (Manager)
Hao
Mu
yAobAi
Nada
830