Before the event started, while dozens of stagehands and production folk were setting up the stage, I knew I wanted a chance to talk to Guo "gemini" Jiayi about his experience leading Zero during the tournament. Gemini is the dedicated support player as well as the teams ban and pick expert. He has been playing with ZeroPanda for 6 months now, leading the team the entire time.
There was a real sense of Chinese pride running through the venue, and the crowd at GCWC was simply rabid for Zero and SPT. This added extra pressure, and considerably raised the stakes for Zero. With the help of James, the helpful community manager from Blizzard China who acted as my translator, I was able to conduct an interview:
What is the hardest part of leading a team through international competition?
The most difficult part is trying to make a comeback when you are at a disadavantage. It is probably the single most difficult part of any large tournament, as the added pressure makes making a mistake harder. It is important to be able to find the turning points and act upon them with no hesitation.
When you need to make a comeback, what do you tell to your team?
I tell everyone to stay calm and to not panic. It is important to remind your team that our heroes are stronger. You must keep faith in your draft and maintain confidence in your strategy. I try to keep my team from making additional mistakes.
What are ZeroPanda's strengths when it comes to the bans and picks phase?
We have a very deep hero pool and different strategies for each battleground. We have the flexibility to pick different heroes to counter whatever strategies our opponents can throw at us. A lot of our confidence comes from the ban and pick phase.
What is your favorite play style? What type of drafts do you prefer?
We prefer to play on small maps more than anything. Once we secure a small map, we like to pick a lot of controlling heroes with utility; preferably warriors with lots of HP and CC. This type of composition always bodes well. For bigger maps, we prefer a more standard meta with lots of mobile heroes and globals so we can snowball early.
Who do you think is the strongest player on the team?
I am the carry. I am the captain! laughs.
In that case, what's the biggest difference between an amazing support and a bad one?
For support heroes, there are two things: Movement and positioning is vital. This is all you need to worry about for the majority of the game. Your main goal and job is to not be killed-- a team fight is much harder to lose when your support hero doesn't take any damage.
After that, it's Cleanse. The proper and perfect use of Cleanse is the biggest strength you can bring as a support player. It's a combination of prediction and reaction-- a support player must learn both.
The play style we used to have was very conservative. We think we need to change that. We need to be more aggressive.
Who do you think is the strongest support hero?
Tassadar without a doubt. The cooldown for his Plasma Shield is so short that you can spam it very often. It negates so much damage and enables heroes like Valla to get the most out of her damage potential.
Which team do you respect or fear the most?
We respect all teams equally, but we fear MVP Black the most. In training, we can not win over MVP black, but we can actually beat Ballistix sometimes!
Why is MVP Black so feared?
Laughs
Their perception for each map is their biggest strength. We think we share the same ideas for powerful tactics per battleground and what is dominating the meta. For MVP black, it’s very difficult for us to get an edge over them with drafting. We usually rely on this to win our games, but MVP Black is impossible to surprise.
When playing other teams, our tactics work. But MVP Black knows every one of our tactics and moves.
How does it feel to play in your home court?
It feels really cool! Before, during BlizzCon, everyone cheered for Western teams. Now it was our time to be the favorites!
Laughs
What do you think your team needs to do to improve?
The play style we used to have was very conservative. We think we need to change that. We need to be more aggressive. For the first half of this year, eStar was really aggressive and they made 2nd place in the Spring Championships. We need to learn from that play style and study how eStar made the adjustment.
What do you think about NA and EU teams? How can they improve?
We actually think when it comes to basic team strength like drafts and mechanical skills, Europe and North American teams are on the same level as us. However, against Korean teams, they must play more aggressively.
When I watch their games, they just play too conservative. Korean teams will always try to bully you the entire game-- you have to stand up and be aggressive back.
We feel a lot of empathy for NA and EU teams. We think that we are all in the same situation trying to match Korean teams' aggression.
Which bans and picks are strongest right now?
Tassadar, E.T.C, and Zeratul. Individually, it's these three heroes.
Valla and Auriel as a combo is very powerful. Add in Tassasdar and the trio becomes invincible. These three heroes can take on five.
What is ZeroPanda's legacy and what would you like to be known for as a captain of the team?
We want to win BlizzCon Championship by defeating a Korean team. It has to be a Korean team. Just BlizzCon is not enough.
Then, we want a Zero mount in Heroes of the Storm mount store more than anything. That would be the absolute dream.
Thank you for your time! Anything to say to your fans?
We thank you so much for the support. We love our fans! Also, Heroes of the Storm makes me happy and there is only Heroes of the storm in my heart!*
*This last phrase is currently the most popular Chinese Heroes meme on the internet. The cardboard cutout above usually has the face of the original drawing, but at GCWC you could insert your own head into the meme!
The caption translates to this in English:
“I have only Heroes of the Storm in my heart and Heroes of the Storm makes me happy.”
The origin of this meme comes from the Chinese Heroes community's efforts to grow the game by showing their unwavering support for it.
Follow us on Twitter @GosuGamersHotS for more competitive Heroes of the Storm news and coverage from around the world.
