Cyrus 'Emperor' Alavi will be casting more than half of the DreamHack Summer 2013 matches in Heroes of Newerth. GosuGamers.net could arrange an interview with the competitive insight caster of Honcast beforehand to discuss every single team, roster changes, nerves of players and the format of the event.
Emperor, thanks for taking the time for this little interview right before DreamHack Summer 2013, which will be our main subject. I want to get the view of the competitive insight of Honcast about basically every single team. Starting with the more "unknown" teams, so let's jump right into it with the CIS competitors of iTS. Will NoVa make a difference, even though he is not playing his DreamHack winning support role?
NoVa will definitely have an impact – but I don’t think if it will be one large enough to make a difference. With him comes a wealth of experience and dedication to the game, but I have a feeling like iTS is going into this tourney happy if they take a game off even the mid-tier teams going into the event. I don’t know much about two of their filler players, but I know Bless, Nova, and Love are all very sound. It’s a shame their original qualifying roster could not make it.
Next up is the Chinese team of KungFu Gaming. We know three players of them, but that is basically all the intel we have on them. What do you expect?
Potential, but very little. The team representing China at GSL did not do very well, and while I believe the Chinese region in the future could be a major threat when HoN officially gets launched there, I have a feeling their DH presence won’t be much better. Very nice guys across the board, and some skilled players – but it’ll be tough battle for them to break the more established teams, especially in terms of strategy.
Vietnamese Dream Team was the story of the Swedish Pride tournament, they will debut on the LAN stage - and what a stage it will be. Do you think their nerves will be a problem?
I don’t see much of an issue with their nerves – I think they’ll be more excited to get out there and crush more than anything. I have a lot of respect for the individual skill of their team – I see a lot of potential superstar players and I expect a lot out of them.
Right before the event they had to replace FibEli3 with Xibbe - how will that affect their play?
This is what I’m worried about most. With FibEli3, their chemistry just seemed…perfect. I can’t tell you how it will play out with Xibbe – he’s got talent, but sometimes the right balance of energy just isn’t there. I have my fingers crossed however, as I want to see them perform as dominantly as they did during the Swedish Dreamhack Qualifiers. Trust in the Pewe!
Does their young age is more likely to be a stepping stone or an asset?
Asset I think, as long as their team captain keeps them focused. Look at some of the other dominant young players on the scene with absolutely dominant mechanical skill. As long as they are mature when it comes to their approach to the game, it isn’t a problem.
Thailand is sending their new top team of MiTH.s2y in the field. You have paid quite some attention to this team after the GSL in their G-League performances. Where do you see them ending up?
MiTH.s2y did great at GSL, but still fell short when facing the Western competition. However, many of the players from sG and TDM actually said that they thought s2y to have a lot of potential. After watching many Thai HoN matches, I have to agree – they just have to make sure they keep their draft in order. Some of the others teams I’ve watched them face off against in Thailand aren’t always running the most sound lineups in my opinion, so as long as they’ve done their research I have high expectations. After reading their DHS Preview, it sounds like they’ve mostly resigned to the fact that they believe sG will win the event, and that they are eager to face them to try to prove their worth and even take a game off of the Miami Powerhouse. A fine attitude, and one that may net them a Top 4 spot – but I still think they believe they have a bit more growing up to do before taking first place on the international stage. I have faith in them, however.
The next SEA representative is iMp from Singapore and Malaysia. They have been around for a long time, but have significantly changed their roster - how will that team perform in your opinion?
I didn’t think it was a big deal – until I realized that Signify will not be playing with them. The hybrid Impunity + ORGE roster obviously worked out for them in the qualifiers, so I wasn’t concerned – but Signify having to step out due to other obligations makes me sad. I consider him a friend and we had the pleasure of playing together back in DYA where he performed beyond expectation.
Signify will not travel, EndKindler will play the suicide role for the first time in his competitive career. How big of a deal is that actually?
Suicide is a role that takes a lot of mental discipline and acuity to perform at a top level. I would say that most top players are capable of adapting to fulfill the suicide role, but I’ve seen weird things happen when people are thrust into the offlane position last second. I don’t know enough about EndKindler to make a fair assessment here.
Now to the "Big Three" as they would be called if this was an NBA roster. compLexity Gaming, sG.eu and obviously the GSL and HoN Tour Champs of Stay Green. Let's start with coL, can they break through at this event?
I’ve gotta say man – Moon’s victory speech touched me. I’ve been watching a lot of their scrims lately and they are in top form. I feel like they have the hunger to make big things happen this Dreamhack – quite different from the complacent spot they were sitting at last Dreamhack Winter. Also, I think the addition of Tralf is working out very well for their team.
All those boys have a bunch of LAN experience by now, maybe except Riser_. How important is experience in LAN settings actually?
It’s a bit important, but honestly, Riser – even without much experience – played great at the Hon Tour Grand Finals. Some people are just naturally pumped by the LAN environment.
sG.eu has had some success in scrims, but after the Runic Shift tournament they vanished from the center stage of HoN competition due to their automatic invite into the DreamHack event. Rusty or rested?
They’ve been scrimming and keeping active in HoN still, which is all that matters.
They picked up Haxxeren after the HoN Tour Finals and let go of noobG. What kind of change does that actually bring to the team?
Better chemistry. It sounded like things began to get a bit strained with noobG on the team, and I know Haxxeren has a very similar personality to a lot of the sG.eu guys, and they had a blast hanging out together on LAN. While noobG is a phenomenal player, it was a buff to their team since chemistry can be everything.
Do they have the capabilities of challenging their "bigger" brother of the original Stay Green?
Yes – the sG.int team are still the clear favorites in that matchup though. They project the vibe of a more well trained military unit, where sG.eu comes off to me as more of a group of highly skilled(and goofy) mercenaries. ;)
The clear favorite for the event though is obviously Stay Green, who are striving for the Triple Crown. Can they be stopped?
Yes, though I wouldn’t be surprised if they dominate again. They had a lot of tricks they unveiled near the end of the Hon Tour Season 1 and at the Grand Finals. I’m curious to see what they, as well as other teams, have planned for this Dreamhack.
You saw them dominate the GSL and the HoN Tour Finals, what makes them so incredibly strong?
Perfect team fight execution, excellent analysis of windows/opportunities, in a game, well timed pushes, and well rounded drafts. A gameplay style that favors safe execution and tight play while minimizing risks – games are more frequently lost on mistakes than won by big plays.
Wrapping up the team discussion and going to the tournament for a minute. A new format will be tested at the event, that will give everyone a pass through the Group Stage and into the Championship Bracket. What do you think about the format overall?
I love the diversity of every team having to face off against one another. It leaves room for some upsets, since they will be frequently facing a different style of team and potential strategies that can only work in the “one shot” environment of a Bo1. Still, it shows a lot of consistency and lets us see all of the matchups and leaves no room for excuses like bracket placement.
What can the viewers expect from the DreamHack coverage on Honcast?
Bigger and better VTZ beats, a half court suite, Vin Diesel, Berserker, Luigi, Where’s Waldo, and more.
Any final shoutouts?
Shoutout to Solgryn, Battletoads, Beef, Brized, Tarano, Ensoe, Parakletos, Tralfamadore, sLiCKz, AngryTestie, Kaicho, Fittske, Haxxeren, the Rage Brigade, Flensmeister, shamsz, MiniMaggot, BBC, NJoi, FJ, Draskyl, ZRock, Fibunko, NinjaPanda, Bulleman, Anghkor, Pingwing, Pew, Pewe, Visions, Jeppins, Heimer, Purify, MoonMeander, BlackSnow, Mischa, Nancy, MissTea, Dan, Mangy, BreakyCPK, Panman, Milkfat, Crowslaw, Blaze, Inklin, Emperor’s Legion, all friends and family of www.twitch.tv/domainofpain, and last but not least – to you, Fantasy.
And, as always – to the community. I wouldn’t be here if not for you guys! Thanks for making a dream come true.
Thanks a lot man.
