XtincT: 'We figured that Ice is the best choice'

NAME: Joel Zhan Leong 'XtincT' Chan
COUNTRY: Malaysia
OCCUPATION: Pro player. Captain of Titan
 

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Congratulations on the new sponsor XtincT. Tell us, how did the opportunity come about?

Thanks! The opportunity was raised by Chenizace, then the manager of MUFC. He told us about this new sponsor that is interested in sponsoring us. Chenizace even met him before TI3 and he approached us right after we came back from Seattle.
 

Speaking of TI3, let’s talk about your thoughts on The International 3. How did the Malaysians reacted to the results? Any cool stuff happened at the airport maybe?

The Malaysians were very surprised but they are extremely proud of us. The Sports Ministry even tweeted about our accomplishment and eventually, we got to meet the Minister in person. It was such an honour. Some of our friends and fans also came to the airport to pick us up, to celebrate our achievement together. I felt like a celebrity for a second there!
 

Are you satisfied about finishing third in the tournament? What were the initial expectations going into TI3?

Of course I am satisfied with the result. Initially, I only expected us to finish top 6 but I had confident that we can go deeper in the tournament after we took down DK. We were all really playing at the top of our game.

 

Top 6? I think you are underestimating yourself there! What was the funniest reaction when your team started beating more and more teams?

There was this one reaction that I find quite funny. When we woke up on the final day, Ohaiyo asked us to hit him hard in the face. Obviously I asked him why because it was an odd request. He replied, “AM I DREAMING? WHY AM I IN THE FINAL DAY OF TI3?”. We just told him that yeah it is a dream and he can continue dreaming forever. *laughs*
 

In any case, let's get back on topic. The addition of Ice is a little bit of a surprise to many. Tell me what do you see in him that the team eventually added him as the fifth member?

Yeah we discussed among ourselves for a long time and finally figured that Ice is the best choice because we have great synergy and teamwork with him.
 

Who else did the team considered for the fifth spot? There were a lot of rumours about ChuaN and Yamateh.

We did consider both the candidates but as it turns out, Ice is the most harmonious between the three and that’s why we picked him.
 

I’m sure a lot of people are concerned whether your team will perform as well as the team before Mushi left. How are practice and scrims going?

Scrims are going well so far but we need to scrim with big teams like iG, DK, TongFu, VG, Rstars and LGD to really know our weaknesses. We haven’t had a scrim against them yet but we will try to perform our best.
 

The latency (ping) to the Perfect World server isn’t exactly great for Malaysians though. Do you think your team can play to your best with such a ping in those scrims against the Chinese teams?

It’s always tough to play in the Perfect World server. We usually can’t perform our best but we will have to find a compromise for ourselves and our opponents.

Left to right: Mushi, Ky.Xy, XtincT, Net, Ohaiyo at G-1 League 2013.

You guys mentioned at TI3 that you guys ended up scrimming with Zenith over and over because there are no more teams in SEA. Now that Zenith is gone, who else do you have left to train with from SEA

So far, we only had scrims against Mineski. There aren’t many teams left in South East Asia. Teams like Mineski, MiTH-Trust, First Departure, and Impervious have potential but it will take them a lot of effort to build up consistency.
 

Do you think the SEA scene is rather dead right now? Being a long time player in the scene, what sort of things do you think the SEA scene is lacking in which led to this?

There are several causes really. I think the SEA scene lacks sponsors that are willing to send teams to compete in international tournaments. There also aren’t many SEA tournaments with huge prize pools and therefore, there is no money being pumped into the scene. Players here have high individual skills but lack experience and a good mindset.
 

The new Titan team is rather stable but it is still familiar faces in the Dota 2 scene. Do you constantly scout for new players in public games? Who are some of the under 18 players that are great in SEA?

We thought of getting some new players from the SEA scene but the big problem is actually the commitment. New players usually have work or studies that they have to attend to and have problems committing a lot of time to Dota. We are still constantly looking for players with huge talents though. Meracle and Kecik Imba are some of the great young players in SEA.

 

Look at how far we got off-topic! Going back to your team, the previous Orange team participated in many Chinese tournaments leading up to The International 3. Now that ACE League has started and will run for three months, what sort of tournaments (in the meantime) will you guys be joining to make sure the team stay in the best shape?

We will continue participating tournaments in China and if possible, the European and American tournaments. If there is a big tournament that is worth going, we will surely attempt to participate in it. That is the only way to make our team stronger and stable again.

Wow European and American tournaments? Personally, which tournament do you wish to participate in?

Man.. A lot. MLG Columbus, Dreamhack Winter, EMS One, The Asia, Dota 2 Super League. Too many to mention really. I want to compete in all of them.

It's very expensive to send you guys to Europe and back to Asia. Will Titan be alright? *laughs*

It shouldn’t be a problem. *laughs*

I heard from some people in the scene that your team will have a new gaming house as well. Is it located anywhere near your previous gaming house in Kuala Lumpur?

Our gaming house will not be in Kuala Lumpur anymore. We will be heading down to Johor Bahru, which is 3-4 hours drive away from Kuala Lumpur. We should be going there around October, early October earliest.

Well then. That's pretty much the end of the interview. Let's do some quickfire questions shall we?

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1. Orange
Mushi
 

2. Ohaiyo
Furion
 

3. Malaysia
Nice food
 

4. GabeN
WELCOME TO THE INTERNATIONAL!
 

5. Iceiceice
Troll
 

6. Chuan
Money chin
 

7. BurningYourSoul
DK.BURNING
 

8. Xtinct
Visage
 

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Thanks for the interview Xtinct. Any last shoutouts to all your fans and sponsors? Perhaps to Mushi?

A very big shoutout to the fans that continuously supporting us when we had ups and downs especially those who stayed up late during our TI3 games. I am really touched when i saw the pic where many people are still sitting down in BRJ(mamak) watching our matches till early morning. I would also like to thank you Frank Ng principal of Orange Esports for supporting us in the past.

Thank you to Titan and we are glad that we can be a part of the great project. We will continue to be on top of our game. All the best to Mushi in China with team DK. We wish him all the best and fullfill his dream one day. I will end this with his quote, "When I fail, I go back and train. Try and try and try again"

 

 

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