After reaching the grand final in the ECL, PcGames.com.cn catches up with iceiceice on stage at the event to talk about his opinions on WPC, DK's strongest player and his goals for 2014
Why are you the only one here at the grand finals?
They (rest of DK) played till late yesterday, so I think they’re all sleeping. And I already had my meal, plus I wanted to watch the matches.
Predictions on Tongfu vs Titan?
I reckon it’s either Tongfu 2:0 or Titan 2:1. Tongfu is obviously the favoured team but I think Titan might be able to pull off pocket strats.
Are you fine with strict rules on footwear?
I didn’t even know about that rule lol. The floor looks dirty anyway so I didn’t want to take them off anyway.
Are you accustomed to the food in China?
Food is fine here, I just don’t like the exotic foodstuffs like animal organs i.e. duck tongue. MMY loves stuff like chicken feet though.
How’s practice been recently?
Practice has been… Well it was good when I first came here, there were a lot of teams, fresh off TI3, reorganized teams and new startups. Everyone was very focused and keen to play. Nowadays most teams have disbanded or planning to reorganize. Many teams are looking to make adjustments, as you are aware of.
Nope. Never heard of that.
You don’t know? Well I’m not gonna say anything else, find out for yourselves. But this does seem to diminish the sense of victory as many teams are planning to reorganize anyway. If we lose well, we lose, just move on.
What is your opinion about WPC?
I think the competition is too long, it’s been like 3months. I think the prize pool should be higher, has it’s only about 165,000 USD, which is not much compared to TI3, though it’s still really great for a comparatively smaller tournament.I think the competition is too long.
Who is the strongest player in DK?
I don’t think there is the term “strongest” in the team. In a team, everyone is strong. For example, I don’t think I’m strong, as without the team, I cannot perform my best. Another example would be the old NaVi’s LightofHeaven (affectionately called ‘Lightbro’ in mandarin). His performance in NaVi was superb, but once you remove the team, he cannot perform at the same level in other teams.
Did you know MMY immediately started watching the replays after WPC grand finals?
I don’t think he was actually studying the replays, he’s more likely admiring himself and his plays. In fact, I think a lot of people watch casts and replays right after a match. If you lose, it shows you why you lost, and if you won, well, you get to watch yourself perform.
What are your hopes for 2014?
I hope everyone can keep on working hard, win TI4…. I’m just really lazy and don’t want to practice, but we have to practice. If we could win TI4 without practicing, that would be wicked.
Do you think your hero pool is too limited?
It’s fine I guess. I mainly use four types, str, int, agi and…. control. I don’t know the rest. (not sure if srs)
Any new heroes that you play for role #3?
Of course, like recently I played juggernaut, and we picked it against Tongfu cause it seemed like a good matchup. I also think Ancient Apparition might be a fun hero, even drow. But my team doesn’t pick them for me.
What do you feel about your nickname as “little cousin”?
It actually originated from a game I played ages ago, can’t remember if it was competitive. I fed really hard in game 1, and just made up an excuse on the spot that my younger cousin was playing in my stead. Then I started owning in game 2, and people have been calling me “younger cousin” or “older cousin” ever since…
Will DK let you do the no-ban draft again?
I don’t think so, since Mushi is doing the BP nowadays. Also, at that time we had nothing to lose, so we could do balls-out at Zenith, and we had the advantage of a larger hero pool. Besides, we wanted more time to eat our takeouts, so we just left the bans.
Introduce the new leader?
Our new manager is Cheng Peng, 71 is not our manager, and I not sure what happened to FarSeer. I saw him crying while walking out this morning... just kidding. Cheng Peng isn't here though, he’s still in Shanghai.
Any well wishes to the fans?
I guess… a happy Lunar New Year to everyone, I’m born in the Year of the Horse so it’s my zodiac year as well, may everyone be prosperous!
Special thanks to 'trollogist' for providing us a translated copy of the interview
