Bulba competing in Dreamhack Summer 2013. Photo by Anton Nielsen.
Bulba - thanks for doing this interview leading up to MLG Columbus. Let's start off by briefly talking about the event itself. MLG has taken the compendium style approach to prize pool - partly community funded. The prize pool is over $115,000 dollars. Does the community funding and increased prize pool change the way you and the Team look at the event?
The increase in prize pool was definitely a cool feature for MLG but we view the tournament the same. The prestige of the tourney is close to The International level and it would be great to win a LAN tourney that features great international teams such as NaVi, Alliance, and DK and others.
After The International Team Liquid went through roster changes (like most teams) with the introduction of Wayto and qojqva. It seems that results have been pretty good so far with the new roster. Are you happy with your results this far? How has having these new teammates changed the way you practice and prepare for events like MLG Columbus (especially with a European on your roster now)?
Yes, I am definitely happy with our results. However our true test will be at MLG and Dreamhack. With the new roster, our preparation has been a lot more efficient. We know what areas of the game to focus on and how to improve on it. Everyone is on the same page regarding improvement and motivation. Having qojqva on the team does not make a difference because he can stay up and the time for matches and practice games end around 6 pm EST. If anything, Americans have to accommodate for the European time schedule to play competitive dota and it’s always been like that
With 6.79 having now been out for several weeks, what are the biggest changes that have been made to accommodate for the new meta game? Were there any teams in particular that came out ahead as a result of the patch? Any teams that have had their strategies hampered? There's an opinion I've heard a few times now that this patch has more evenly OP heroes, which means you no longer have any advantage from getting 2nd and 3rd picks. Instead, the fact that 1st pick is allowed to respond all the way through the tail end of the draft is considered extremely strong by a lot of people.
The biggest change is by far the offlane and your creeps meeting a lot closer to their tower. This along with neutral experience being shared changed how the safe-lane dynamic worked. Now you see a lot more movement from supports because zoning the offlaner is very very difficult. I have yet to really see any team come out ahead due to the patch. I think it actually made everyone worse and made the competitive scene more volatile. If you look at China, any team can beat any team. In the West, Na’VI and Alliance are still at the head of the pack but I’d like to think Speed, Fnatic, empire and us can challenge them. Alliance seems the strongest and most stable at the moment though.
I’m not really sure about the draft discussion. I feel First pick has its positives but radiant side is very strong also. Right now most teams give first pick to Dire because Roshan advantage is not as strong as the advantages that radiant gets in all 3 of its lanes. However First pick is also very strong because of how the draft works so both have its positives. Again its all about preference.
Bulba playing at InJoy LAN cafe in Shanghai, China. Photo by Eric Khor.
6.79 also brought about a small nerf for your beloved Elder Titan, however you've still personally used the hero to great effect. Do you think heroes are balanced right now? If not who would you change and why?
The hero is still very strong. However, the hero is all about preference. You can see from games that Na’Vi and Alliance don’t really value him highly in drafts when they play versus each other but vs some other teams they ban it or take it. The nerf however did take him down a level because of the damage nerf early on. I still like the hero though!
The second question is quite difficult. Heroes are not balanced. Some are a lot stronger than other heroes but thats what makes dota such a fun game to watch and play. Venomancer is probably one of the strongest heroes at the moment and i think the poison sting damage on wards made him god-tier. Visage is still also very strong and lich is strong if you are not ready for it.
Concerning your practice and match schedule - what does a day normally look like for you when competing in matches? How do you balance your school schedule with playing dota professionally?
I wake up everyday around 8 AM. Get ready to go to class and come back around 12 or 12:30 (noon.) We usually have matches within an hour or two so if we have time we play a practice game or so. After the matches, we usually talk about the games or talk about some other team-related stuff. Sometimes we also watch replays of ourselves or other teams.
Lately, every team has been using matches as practice because there are so many. Several tournaments all with huge prize pools have made the competitive dota scene quite hot and active. Tuesdays and Thursdays I have night class so those days are probably the worst. I am extremely tired after those. The other days , I usually do homework or play 1 or 2 in house league games. If I’m not in the mood to play, I usually watch VoDs or Replays of matches such as the Chinese leagues. Lately though I’ve been working on papers and exams everyday so barely have any time. I think the primary thing is managing time and not overdoing any one task. I like to take breaks from dota in the evenings to clear my mind and focus on school or watch TV shows or movies. It’s definitely been a stressful time but DotA tournaments are my primary focus because I am confident I can manage my time and do well in class.
There is a large percentage of NA teams (or at least partly NA teams) attending Columbus. What do you think of MLGs contribution to the American scene thus far, as well as moving forward into next year?
MLG’s FullSail tournament was a joy to watch. The stream quality was amazing and it was cool to see amateur NA teams fight it out in a professional environment. The only thing I questioned about MLG was their decision to disqualify team Take Five because that team would have been entertaining to watch however I understand they wanted to enforce their rules. Regardless though the hype they have built up for Columbus has been quite sick and I can’t wait to go. I’ve expressed my appreciation to Adam Apicella because he’s done a great job with Dota 2 and representing MLG. As for the next year, It’s hard for me to say still. I'm going to comment only on Columbus at the moment.
Romantic time between Bulba and Yao. Photo by TL.flamewheel.
Moving back towards Columbus - do you have any clear favorites for the tournament? How about teams that you think could go deep that might be considered more of a dark horse?
Clear favorites are probably Alliance I think. Na’Vi also but I think Alliance is only slightly better than them at the moment. Sets between those two teams are always so damn close. I’d like to think we have a good shot also and have confidence going into the event. As for Dark horse, not really sure. I think every team has the potential to take games off each other. Sigma can take games off teams and be a dark horse.
Has Team Liquid been preparing in any special way for Columbus? Some teams have had reduced scrim schedules due to exams. How are you practicing for the event?
I don’t think anyone scrims or practices much lately. There just have been so many matches. We are just observing games and playing our own games. Not much else or anything surprising.
Bulba - thanks for the interview. Any closing comments or shoutouts you'd like to make?
Shoutout to my team and its sponsors, Razer, twitch, shinythings, Barracuda and Need For Seat. Follow me @Liquidbulba.
