Following the dissolution of Nirvana.cn (see), Yang "Seaking" Tao was left without a team and subsequently left out of the picture when ex-EHOME players decided to reform (see).
The former Nirvana carry offers his take on the disbandment.
There were already rumours circulating around regarding Nirvana.cn's imminent disbandment. Did you hear about anything back then?
-"I did, actually, but back then it was because there was an uproar regarding our money, which we were not getting. I spoke to Insence about it and he told me that our boss (Loveen) was just having some issues with cash flow and the team would not be disbanding."
Back at ECL in Beijing, Insence remarked that after the New Year your team would be transitioning to Dota 2, and would even participate in international competitions. Was this true?
-"Nope, switching (or playing) Dota 2 was because we felt like playing the game. Participating in international competitions would be hard given the connections - we simply wouldn't be able to play against other international teams."
Compared to other teams in the scene, your team took a much earlier vacation. Was this simply because of the lack of competitions?
-"Yup, it was. Everyone just wanted to go home and visit their families."
How about your salaries? Were you paid on vacation?
-"We don't receive salaries on vacation, but the thing is, we were already short on one month's pay and were only reimbursed for our travel expenses."
When did you hear that Nirvana.cn was releasing its DotA team?
-"It was more or less around the time the public found out. It went public immediately after they broke the news to us."
Did Nirvana.cn pay its roster any form of severance when they broke off the team?
-"There's no talk of any severance package, but I guess if they had to/would, it would be this Razer equipment."
You've been in Nirvana.cn for a decent amount of time. With you knowledge of Loveen, do you think you'll get your prize money from WDC and salary eventually?
-"I guess I will; Loveen is a rather responsible guy and I think he will eventually pay us. It's all a matter of time!"
Nirvana.cn disbanded its team shortly after getting sponsored by Razer and MSI. What do you think was the reason for disbanding? Was it because there weren't any results to show for it?
-"Yeah, one of the reasons was because we haven't been getting good results for some time already, and the other would be because of money (or lack of). The money we got from sponsors was not really enough."
Then why do you think your team wasn't able to achieve anything substantial?
-"A large part of it is because of our individual play and also because we did not have good chemistry. Our in game decisions were always off-sync which showed when our play became rather uncoordinated. This meant that we always fell behind other teams who had better coordination and chemistry than us."
What do you plan to do during this period of time?
-"Well, since it's the holidays, I guess I'll stay at home and play ladder games with some mates of mine at Platform 11, and occasionally touch LoL and Dota 2. Right now, matchmaking in Dota 2 is too troublesome, as I can only play on South East Asian and China servers. Hence, I play LoL a bit more."
Regarding the comparison between Dota 2 and LoL, which game do you prefer after being exposed to them for about a month now?
-"LoL is a game that heavily focuses on the team as a whole - while in the early game you need to play well yourself, but once it hits mid game it's pretty much all about the team fights and your individual skill do not matter so much anymore.
As for which game I still prefer, it would be Dota 2 - the game completely inherited the good points of DotA while adding in additional interface improvements allowing newer players to transition into Dota 2 much more easily."
So what are your plans down the road? Have any teams contacted you already?
-"I will definitely continue playing. Right now, I just want to spend some time at home and start making plans only after I see how the competitive scene shifts."
Does this mean that no team has approached you yet?
-"Of course, teams have approached me. There was a team from Nanjing and another professional team which contacted me, but I won't go in to the specific details."
From Sunny to TyLoo and then to Nirvana.cn - which team had the most favourable atmosphere to be in?
-"I guess I preferred the atmosphere in Sunny. Everyone wasn't famous back then and there wasn't any pressure at all, really. It was just a few friends and we were rather happy then. Yet, at the same time, we weren't restrained and did whatever we wanted.
When I played in Tyloo and Nirvana.cn, the pressures and stress of being a competitive gamer kicked in."
Having not accomplished much of late, has there been pressure on yourself personally?
-"Oh, the pressure's huge, but I guess I have no choice but to wait and see how things go!"
What are your hopes for 2012?
-"Wait for me to rise up again!"
Thank you for this interview, and we'll be expecting to see you shine in 2012.
-"Thanks, and thanks to all those who have been supporting me." 
Links
SGamer - Original Article
