His iconic triple-kill with Zeus led to IceFrog naming the hero after him. Ben 'Merlini' Wu is a true old-school player, who has been around ever since DotA started its growth as an e-sport, contributing to its development both technically and game balance.
With Dota 2 on the rise, rumours have spread on his possible return. Jack Chen recently conducted an interview with him, and he spoke about his view on the competitive scene and insights on the game.
What are you doing these days? Do you miss your previous place in the DotA community?
-"Shortly after graduating college, I scrapped my plans for medical school and chose a different profession. I’ve been a prop trader in Chicago for nearly a year and a half now. I don’t have too much spare time, but I still play RTS games and a few RPGs here and there with my friends. Starcraft II is my game of choice at the moment, and I do plan on playing DotA 2 when development finishes."
What do you think are some of the pros and cons of the genre, and how would you evaluate its long term potential in the context of e-sports growth?
-"I don’t know enough about e-sports on a broad spectrum to comment on its growth and potential, but one thing I’ve always found interesting about DotA is the aspect of team play. With 5 members on a team, it is immensely difficult to evaluate each player’s worth/skill on a team because it’s all about how you play together, not individually. Will a player make sacrifices for the good of the team? Will a player think about how the team can win the game? Too many players focus on irrelevant stats, like gold per minute, k/d ratio, etc. Those stats are useless. All that matters is did the opposing team’s frozen throne or world tree die and how much you contributed to make that happen."
I think we’ve all seen the perception of gaming change from being the sole realm of reclusive nerds to becoming entertainment and competition that everyone can access and appreciate. Overall, how do you think gaming has impacted your life?
-"E-sports/gaming certainly still has that negative stigma that normal sports don’t have. It has come a long way since when I first started gaming, but it’s very hard for people to take you seriously when you say that you play games for a living. I brought it up during a couple of my interviews, and it’s very hit or miss. Some people instantly dismiss it as frivolous while others think it’s genuinely interesting and unique. In Korea, professional gamers are probably on an equal level with professional athletes, but it will be quite some time before that is achieved in the States and elsewhere."
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