In the build up to the biggest tournament of this year; SMM Grand Finals, we bring you an interview of EHOME.GK. EHOME are the champions of SMM 08 and will soon be defending their title against teams from all over the world. The interview is brought to you courtesy of XiaoShou from Sgamer.com
XS: Thank you for allowing us to interview you. Why don't you introduce yourself to the audience?
-Hello everyone, I'm EHOME.GK. Its been a while since I visited SGamer. I'm very happy to be interviewed by XS.
XiaoShou: SMM is just around the corner, what are your thoughts about this tournament?
-SMM will be a very happy experience for me. I hope I can enjoy the atmosphere of an international grade tournament.
XiaoShou: You must be busy preparing for SMM, tell us, how is it going so far?
-We've only started training on the 15th of November. Up until now, our results are pretty satisfying.
XiaoShou: You just started on 15th that's not a lot of time, so are you focusing on anything specifically?
-This is a secret. I don't want to divulge any information to the teams playing in SMM, as it is a very crucial part of our training.
XiaoShou: SMM would be using the 6.64 version of Dota. There may not be much difference from 6.63 but there are still some difference there. Are you guys experimenting with new line-ups for this version?
-This is a must. During our few days of training, we have already started perfecting the play style of this new version.
XiaoShou: There are many strong teams playing at this years SMM, who do you think will be your strongest opponent? Are you confident at emerging as champions - once again?
-I'm eying XTC at the moment. They are never playing seriously during trainings but during the actual tournament they can play extremely well. To me getting a championship is no longer a fresh experience however this championship is one with the most prize money on the line. As for confidence, only our preparations can give us confidence. What I can say is; EHOME's training is very professional. That is why we can obtain so many championships at many offline events.
XiaoShou: Who do you wish to go up against in the Final match? The Europeans or Asians?
-I wish to face Kingsurf because during last year's ACG and SMM, we always regarded Kingsurf as a very strong opponent. However they keep disappointing by failing to reach the finals.
XiaoShou: Do you hope to face-off against strong opponents during the early stages of the tournament or the later stages?
-I believe all the teams playing are very strong and we should not underestimate any teams at all. A small mistake during an offline event can cost you the whole game. Thus no matter early or late stages, we will be playing in our best condition.
XiaoShou: At every major offline event, there is a team which effectively uses a particular play style and eventually affects the play style of many other teams. Who do you believe is most likely to come up with the best - new strategy?
-I feel that its the game's version that is affecting us, we are the ones that find out these new playstyle. At least in the new version, there were some curcial changes to Phase boots. At first we couldn't get used to this new playstyle, thus we used a turtling strategy. However, please be aware that EHOME is a team that creates new strategies. We not only accept new ideas, we also make changes to it to create better strategies.
XiaoShou: What can your fans expect of you?
-We hope to show a flawless performance to our fans. Your confidence in EHOME, EHOME will return with a miracle performance.
XiaoShou: At this year's SMM, what are your most looking forward to happening and what are you least looking forward to happening?
-Hmm, I hope to be playing in a warmer weather and have some greener food. It was 38 degrees last year in Malaysia and we only ate McDonalds and KFC for a few days. The chicken in Malaysia and Singapore cannot beat the ones in China. I am least looking forward to facing of against teams from china as they are very prepared against us.
XiaoShou: Your team has recently attended quite a few events, does this effect your preparation for SMM?
-It wont, EHOME is very experienced, we can prefect our training in just ten days. I strongly believe training does not depend on the time you train, rather the body takes a toll when you train too much. During my two years as a professional player, our training schedule are always short but very *something*
XiaoShou: You lost to a few local teams during your training these few days, does it raise any alarm bells?
-Of course, failure helps us get our spirit back. Before we start training, I am always looking forward to failing, this allows us to talk things through faster. We are very grateful for the teams that beat us during the first two days of our training, up to the third day we are already back to our old form. And we are still heading forward.
XiaoShou: Shout outs to end this interview:
-EHOME DotA are born champions. Its because the five of us always sacrifice ourselves during the most crucial moments and win the tournament. Unity is EHOME's spirit. Many thanks to our sponsors, Gigabyte, Intel, Razer, Kappa and E-space Cyber Cafe for providing our training gear and place. At the same time, we hope that more sponsors can provide us with better gear. Thanks.
Links
Sgamer.com - Source