Black in RaidCall EMS One. Photo by EMS One.
Hi, Black^, thank you for taking the time to answer some of our questions. Could you tell us a bit about how your life has changed from before TI3, to TI3 and the period just after it, to joining LGD.Int and going to live in China?
Right before TI3 I tried to practice as much as possible at home, and then had like a one week bootcamp with Mouz, right after TI3 I still tried to practice as much as possible because I wasn’t satisfied with the results. When I joined LGD.int and started living in China I was still expecting to do the same - practice as much as possible. I think the difference is that in China everything is much more serious, there is no trolling around in practice matches, whereas in Europe especially, people don’t take practice all too serious.
Did you seize the opportunity to learn some Chinese? Is it difficult going out with almost everybody not understanding you?
I really want to learn Chinese in the best possible way, right now we are trying to organise a Chinese teacher, and until that happens I'm trying to leech off as much knowledge from restaurants and daily conversations as I can. So far, I have learnt about 10 sentences and like a hundred words with that method. Going out isn't really difficult, if need be body language is always your savior.
What are some of the best memories and worst memories you had in China so far?
The best memory is definitely the fan event we had in Beijing, where we went to a University to watch a grand final and then play versus the winner afterwards. We got to meet a lot of great people and it was really fun to be there. The worst experience was a taxi *accident*. Three of my teammates were sitting in a taxi and as I was trying to get in, the driver suddenly started driving and my foot was caught under the wheel, so I had a big wound and had to go to a hospital every 2 days for like 3 weeks.
Is it serious? How are you feeling now?
It's not a hundred percent healed yet, but it’s getting there. Still hurts when you touch it and when you walk on the foot. The doctor said in about 2-3 more weeks everything should be fine. The biggest problem with this was that I was not allowed to shower properly for like 3 weeks...I was really happy when I was finally allowed to shower again.
?Black sporting Mousesports' jacket at Dreamhack Summer 2013. Photo by Anton Nielsen.
You are well known as having a strong affinity towards Chinese Dota and Chinese culture. Has living in China and practicing with their teams deepened your affection, or has it perhaps becomes demystified in some ways?
Honestly, the more time I spend here the better I think Chinese Dota is. Ace is slowly letting go of their *you are only allowed to play in our tournaments* rule which is making it much easier for teams to play more matches and thus grow much faster. Living in China is really nice and I enjoy every day I spend here.
With whom do you regularly train against and who do you think is the best team in China right now?
We try to play versus every Chinese team as much as possible, as of now iG seems to be the strongest team in the new patch. Before the patch it was definitely DK who were just winning against every team in convincing fashion. I hope they figure out the new patch really soon, cause I am really good friends with all of them. That being said, every team can beat every team pretty much. The skill level is really really close and DK as well as iG are only ahead by a little bit.
LGD.Int has had a rough start to your stay in China. Are you hopeful about turning your fortunes around, and how did the new patch impact that outlook?
Well, hope is the last thing someone should lose when having a rough time. So I definitely believe we can still turn it around if we show enough dedication and will to fight. The new patch made DotA 2 a completely new game, so if we manage to figure the game out faster than others, then we will be able to start making a comeback.
In many occassions we saw your team off to a great start then falling off in the mid-game. Most people would refer to that as throw. What is the reason for this?
The reason for this happening is, we have a thought out early game plan, but when midgame comes we usually lose track of the big picture, resulting in a lot of useless deaths and making a comeback for the opponents possible.
LGD.Int is currently placed seventh in WPC-ACE League at the end of round one. Considering only six teams will qualify for the playoffs, what is the team planning to do in round two to turn this around?
Well, to get to Top 6, we will have to beat the teams we previously beat and then also beat the teams that beat us. Some of the games were really close so I am sure we can get top 6 at least if we just practice hard enough.
Are the plans still in place to exchange xFreedom for a mystery fifth after ACE League? How do you think it will be to bring in another person who hasn’t lived with you in China at that point?
I think it will either be very good or very bad for us, depending on how well the person can adapt to us and China. xFreedom is a great guy and it will be really hard to find a replacement for him.
You are known to be a highly driven person. What causes you to practice so hard to be the best? Has this changed at all since you came to China?
There are several reasons I try to practice really hard. I gave a promise to my parents. They don’t like that I am trying to follow a career in gaming, so with every loss I feel like I am breaking the promise I gave to my parents. It’s my dream to become the best player in this game that ultimately plays in the best team as well. I have always been a competitive person - whether it was in school sports or just casual sports with friends, I always tried my best and DotA 2 is the hardest competition I've ever had so I am really motivated. Living in China further imbued my motivation and I am trying harder than ever to become the best.
Black playing ping pong in Dreamhack Summer Twitch Lounge. Photo by Anton Nielsen.
Has your intensity surprised your new teammates?
I don't know whether it surprised them, but they definitely think of this in a much different fashion. They like to go out a lot and spend time doing other things, while I do just enough sports and other stuff to keep everything balanced. This doesn't mean what they are doing is bad, it's simply a different approach to Dota which also works out fine. Everyone is different after all.
Which one of your new teammates was the most like you expected, and who has surprised you the most?
Pajkatt and Misery really really want to win too and try everything in their power to do so. The person who surprised me the most is Freedom, because I did not think he would be able to adapt to living with people from the west that fast.
Who provides the oddball ideas in the team, and who are the calming influences?
Oddball ideas...that would be Freedom. His drafts are super funky sometimes and then they either work out and we win really easily or it goes the other way and we lose really hard. I'd say Brax and myself are the most calm players in this team.
The Chinese playstyle changed quite a bit after TI3. Do you think the Chinese learned their lesson and is trying to be more creative now?
I think the Chinese tried to prepare especially for Alliance with their new playstyle. Because their 5 man early push is what would counter Alliance's style of play, which was splitpushing at around the 15~16 minute mark. I feel like that is not that important anymore, because the new patch is all about fighting and pushing. We will have to see what they come up with next.
?Were you disappointed that the Chinese meta moved away from stronger hard carry focus just as you finally arrived in the country? How has this changed your approach to what you do for the team?
The thing is if you have this super big hard carry in your team it's a risk. If you lose early on and the enemy has a 3 core lineup, it's nearly impossible to come back into the game. On the other hand if you have 5 heroes that can fight early and are still strong lategame then you have pretty much secured a way to fight in all 3 phases of the game, which in my opinion is the best way to approach this game at the moment. Concerning what changes my opinion on what I do for the team: We talk about the strategies we want to play and how we want to play the game and then I adapt accordingly.
How does the Chinese approach to aggression differ from what you’re used to with European teams?
The biggest difference is, that their aggression is really calculated. If they towerdive they know they can fight even when the enemy TPs in. The western aggression is not as controlled, which makes TPing in much easier and more efficient.
We saw you playing mid heroes a couple of times now, is that something temporary or is the team thinking of moving you permanently?
I am usually just playing middle when it fits into our game idea. Just generally the positions 1-3 of a team should always be able to play all 3 positions, just to make sure the enemy can’t predict where you are laning and then setup counters easily. That's why DK has had so much success I think, all 3 of their cores can play either of those 3 positions without any problem.
Do you still follow the Western Dota scene? Does your team get any ideas from there, or do you not think those ideas would fit into the Chinese meta?
I watch a lot of western Dota and we still get a lot of ideas from there, one of the examples would be the Elder Titan maxing the aura first after the spirit rather than the stun.
Are there any differences between Western play and the Chinese meta that stands out for you right now, or are the scenes relatively close to each other after TI3?
I can't say anything about this, as the new patch just kicked in so I personally don't even know what’s good and what’s bad. Generally the West experiments much more than the East though, so we should be able to see some crazy stuff coming up soon.
Do you miss the Western Dota scene? Are the plans still in place to return to Europe some time next year?
I think the team wants to return to Europe after the ACE league which is in the middle of December. Personally I would really like to stay in China though. I don't miss the Western Dota scene too much, because I am still in touch with all my friends from there.
2P recently wrote an article about how you and Iceiceice nearly formed a team. Can you tell us more about it?
Basically, Zenith was invited to the Korean tournament (Nexon Sponsorship League), so he approached me and asked whether I was interested in going with them. Shortly after that, DK approached him and he went with them instead.
What was going through your head when he asked you the question? Were you seriously thinking of it or it did not interest you at all?
Iceiceice is the kind of personality I was looking for, fun to be with but at the same time really dedicated and 100% into the game. I was really excited when he first approached me, but I knew a player of his caliber would sooner or later discover much better opportunities. Huge respect to him.
Are you guys in contact with Speed Gaming at all? How do you feel about another Western team coming to China in the near future? What do you think their greatest assets will be when they arrive, and their greatest difficulties?
We're not in contact with them, but it feels like Dota is really growing, knowing that another team is moving to China. Their great strengths are their discipline as well as their will to try out new things. I think one of their weaknesses is, that they have no experience on LAN, so it's gonna be hard for them in China for the first couple of months.
Are you planning to start streaming some of your pub games from China?
If I get the chance to, definitely! Right now I am just focusing on figuring the new patch out though, when that is done I will try and figure out how to stream from here
Do you have any final words for your fans or any shoutout?
As always, huge shoutout to all of my fans and supporters, without you I wouldn't be where I am right now. Special shoutout to LGD-Gaming, Ruru and our sponsors: Kingston, Razer, Taobao Gaming, Sina Kanyouxi and LGD hot sauce.
Hristo 'Svyatoi13' Nedialkov is an upcoming analyst and interviewer for Gosugamers.net. You can follow him @Svyatoi13 for latest news, updates and other shenanigans.
