Since the beginning of this year, the Chinese scene has found itself confronting the volatility and private motivations of professional e-sports companies - that is to say, the ruthless poaching of players which have arguably caused the plateau of many fallen champions (such as EHOME and Nirvana.cn). Yet, the silver lining in all this mess remains how it has also highlighted the successful struggle for achievement of stable teams like LGD.
A few days ago, the aforementioned report incited rumors of an influx of professional players into TY, among them Fnty and Mofi from WE, as well as PIS and Burning from DK. However, WE manager King expressed on his MicroBlog that it was all a misunderstanding caused by a lapse in communication. But where does this leave us for PIS and Burning?
Thankfully, SGamer has secured an interview that will hopefully clear up this confusion. Representing TY and WE in this interview will be managers Nekomata and 2009 respectively.
Nekomata
Are you able to give us a brief overview of what really happened behind the poaching of players from WE?
Nekomata: "It all began when WE and TY contacted the players Fnty and Mofi at roughly the same time. Given that I personally knew these two players for a while now, I shared a better relationship with them compared to WE. Furthermore, Fnty and Mofi were the first two players that crossed my mind when the thought of forming a team surfaced.
Misunderstanding only arose during negotiation proceedings between the three parties involved and this was because we did not communicate well with each other. Well, I found out on the 20th that Fnty and Mofi had accepted the invitation to join WE. I am sure of this because it was coincidentally my birthday; hence all this public confusion startled me in a way. Had I spoken to King or 2009 earlier, I suppose I would not have found myself in the awkward predicament I am in today."
2009: "Nekomata is an old friend of mine. I just found out from him over the phone that TY's goals for branching out with a new team is not to poach already established players from other teams; rather, they hope to bridge a connection between "club and player" as well as to collaborate in a joint effort to make their first foray into the vast landscape that is Chinese competitive DotA.
Oh, and might I just add that this was actually the goal that both clubs (WE and TY) envisioned for their team. This confusion, as mentioned, was essentially a miscommunication."
Given what was just said, what exactly are the objectives of the club? Would it be set towards developing hidden talent, or rather to play the 'friendship card' and invite established players into the team?
Nekomata: "Our original plan was to recruit an established player to guide the other four. I must admit that the thought of poaching players from other clubs has indeed crossed my mind; initially we thought we gave Burning an offer he couldn't refuse, and furthermore in addition to that transfer fees to his club, DK.
However, I suppose Burning valued his time in DK and wanted to get back up on his feet first (given the ditch DK is in right now). He is fighting on to close the year on a good note I guess, and I must say, he's a very determined player. After our offer to Burning was rejected, we did not really have any other plans then.
The deal with PIS was of a similar nature; his departure from DK was because he voluntarily chose to retire from the team and not due to him accepting our offer."
You remarked on your MicroBlog that CCM's loss to WE was intentional. Did you consider the consequences your statement would have?
Nekomata: "Well firstly, whatever I say on air, and this includes my commentaries, are basically ad-libbed. After I caught the VoDs of the WE vs CCM match - mind you, this was also after the thought was reinforced by Fnty and Mofi who spoke to me about it - I realized that as a commentator myself, my intuitive leanings was towards the belief that CCM was basically throwing the match away.
Once again, my suspicions could have been a product of too many detective novels, but after looking at the brackets for CPL top eight, I realized that the winner of the CCM vs WE match would be facing EHOME next. This brought me on to consider the close scheduling of WCG and CPL as well as the match-up at both DMT and StarsWar 6 where CCM fell to EHOME. Hence, that was how I arrived at my conclusion. It was only after speaking and listening to Xiao8's explanation that made me realized how ridiculous my allegations were and so I took my posts down."
It was revealed that TY's motivation behind dropping the offer to PIS was due to their trust in you as their manager. What are your criteria for choosing players to recruit?
Nekomata: "The two points you brought up have nothing in common. It was not an 'either-or' situation when TY was considering PIS and me. I actually had a plan for a team that was built around PIS, but he ultimately made the decision to retire. We are still in the midst of recruiting new players; 2009 himself has offered me a couple of suggestions.
The main criteria I employ are: 1) a high skill level, 2) being able to follow instructions willingly, 3) a genuine passion for the game, 4) a positive attitude and lastly 5) the ability to assert your individuality on whatever role/hero you take in the game."
Please summarize the process of your entering TY as well as your considerations for returning as a manager this time.
Nekomata: "Their invitation left me a little surprised in the beginning, and back then I was merely an observer to the news regarding PIS's apparent transfer to TY. It did not occur to me that I myself would be dragged into the "scuffle", but under the condition that it would not affect my operations as a commentator, I took up the job."
Is TY starting to form its own DotA 2 team?
Nekomata: "There are no plans at the moment, but my personal opinion would be yes, the minute DotA 2 hits the stores."
When will the final roster of TY appear in the competitive scene?
Nekomata: "Well, there are two dates planned right now. The first is the end of July, and the other would be waiting till August."
2009
Fnty and Mofi have been seen playing for WE in a number of competitions already. Why have they not been formally inducted into the team?
2009: "I hope that everyone can glean something from the performance of the new players after watching them in action, and that this will form your first impression of the players. At the end of the day, competitive e-sports is not a parade exhibition.[sic]"
What are your thoughts about TY's ambition to form their own team?
2009: "E-sports in China is a harsh and unregulated reality, hence it fills me with joy when I see new investors willing to enter the scene and pump in resources. This requires courage and determination and I hope all of us are able to work together to improve the scene."
With the poaching of XiaoLuo and Guai from WE, have there been any special measures put in place to combat this situation from repeating itself?
2009: "There is none at the moment. Our club has always revolved around the principle that we should respect the interests of its players and strive to meet their needs wherever possible. Of course, realistically speaking, we also cannot expect to make investments that do not benefit the club."
Please explain briefly what you feel about the CPL group match between CCM and WE.
2009: "Currently, there is still a skill level gap that separates us from top teams such as CCM. In the first game, CCM practically outplayed us with the execution of their strategy and left us with no chance at all. However, in the second match, they took a risk with a Bloodseeker pick to counter our Storm Spirit and Nerubian Weaver (replay) - I guess it was an attempt at introducing a new strategy into the metagame.
It did not work out for them because the presence of Dark Seer and BKB added flexibility and a dynamic dimension to the battlefield. I should also mention that we had all five players playing beyond their usual capacity in that game."
Given that WE has already qualified for the offline finals of CPL, are you satisfied with the current roster and performance of WE?
2009: "The team is meeting at our new training headquarters in two days. The consensual mindset now is to give it their best shot, and I am sure in two weeks time, the amount of practice they have put in will give them enough justification to believe wholly in themselves."
Until any official announcement by the clubs involved have been made, a myriad of possibilities are still foreseeable. This interview represents the statement of two parties and may not be the complete account. Yet, the observation that is now ominously transparent has presented itself: given the structural turbulence of the Chinese competitive scene, what leaves us of the teams by the time the year-end LANs arrive?
Links
SGamer - Original Article
