We were able to catch up with Aster’s position 4 support, Ye "BoBoKa" Zhibiao a day before the upper bracket final against Team Secret.
Team Aster is the only Chinese team present at ESL One Malaysia and given their third-place finish a couple of weeks back, at PGL Arlington, they are one of the strong contenders for the title in Genting.
Nonetheless, the competition is fierce at ESL One Malaysia as well. One of the teams that has a high chance to mess with Team Aster’s plans in Genting is Team Secret, who looks stronger than ever since they welcomed aboard Roman "Resolut1on" Fomynok.
We were able to catch up with Aster’s position 4 support, Ye "BoBoKa" Zhibiao a day before the upper bracket final against Secret and talk to him about how his team feels before the big battle that will secure them a spot in the grand finals. We also touched on the team’s plans for the TI11 bootcamp, his first impressions on the recently released 7.32 patch, and in particular his thoughts on the changes made to his signature hero, Earth Spirit.
The interview was conducted in Mandarin by our Freddy Tan at the Arena of Stars from Genting Highlands
Hi and congrats on the already top 3 secured here at ESL One Malaysia. How do you like Malaysia so far?
Personally, I quite like it here. I am from Canton/Guangdong. It has very similar vibes to Guangdong. But the rest of the team, whether they like it here, I don’t know about that.
When you saw the group stage seeding, did you have any doubt that you will make it to the playoffs and to the upper bracket finals so easily?
We were quite confident. We just practiced and prepared for this event the same way we always do.
Team Secret is one of the only two teams that managed to take a game from you in the groups. Do you feel confident that you will take them down in the finals?
To me, it feels just like another match. Nothing extraordinary. No extra pressure.
I know that the Chinese fans call Aster the tea team or the tea master team (茶队). Could you explain a bit to the western fans this meme and why your home fans call you that?
I learned that it is because if you look at the spelling of Team Aster, and put them together it becomes Tea-mAster. I can’t spell it out now but, yeah, it’s mainly just that. Tea Master.
Who is the most superstitious player on your team?
It should be Siamese.Cat.
As one of the true Earth Spirit masters, what do you think of the talents change in this patch?
It feels that the changes are quite reasonable and normal. It is easier to execute Boulder Smash, you can just kick the closest unit over. To me, Earth Spirit really depends on the situation and that’s the only way we will pick it. Because of his overall power level, he is quite weak.
Is Earth Spirit more suited for mid-lane now because of all the spell amplification talents?
I think it depends on the player himself. For example, someone like Topson, maybe he will play it mid.
Aster is one of the teams that secured its direct invite to TI11, congrats on that too. Have you all started preparing for it?
I feel that since the patch update, everyone from our team has started analyzing and experimenting with heroes.
What are the team morale and confidence levels heading into the most important tournament of the year?
So far we are pleased and in a good mental state.
For how long do you plan to bootcamp before TI11?
When we return to China we have to quarantine. So I guess it should be around mid of September we will begin our bootcamp.
We wish you the best of luck in Singapore and of course here, in the ESL One Malaysia finals. Is there anything that you might want to say to your fans at the end of our interview?
Thank you so much for your support. And let’s work hard together!
