Daily newspaper interviews Nirvana.my

RAGE, a special youth section for local newspaper The Star, has published an interview with the country's top DotA team Nirvana.my yesterday.

The interview, which revolves primarily around players Chee Chai 'Ice' Chua and Joel 'Xtinct' Chan, deals with the current e-Sports industry in Malaysia as well as DotA's rise in the country as both a popular game and e-Sport phenomenon.

The interview also addresses the many problems faced by Malaysian pro-gamers in general and the career opportunities that remain wide open abroad.

Besides illustrating the lives of these pro-gamers as normal people who excel in cyberspace, the article aims to 'educate' local readers on the emergence of cyber games as a way of life as well as a means to earn an honest buck.

The feature goes on to explain how Wei Poong 'YamateH' Ng was sorely tempted by offers to play in China but rejected them. Xtinct also chose not to opt for a career overseas because of his job, friends and family.

The interviewees conclude that while DotA is a big deal in Asia and Europe, it is just not getting the right response from the Malaysian government in terms of sponsorship and recognition.

The future, they predict, lies in China where pro-gamers are treated with the utmost respect and admiration from adoring fans.

Here is an excerpt of the lengthy interview:

Nirvana.MY, Malaysia’s premiere DotA team at the moment, were greeted like celebrities at the World DotA Championship (WDC) in Wuhan, China, last month. The tournament was held in a stadium, and the gamers were a bit shocked by the overwhelming reception they received.

“The fans actually paid to watch the competition in the stadium, and there was even a VIP area for us,” said Nirvana.MY player Joel Chan, 22, better known as Xtinct on the gaming scene.

“At local competitions, we might have a few people asking if they can take photos with us, but here they were asking us for autographs! It was crazy,” he said.