John: "Opportunity is given to those who give effort"

Just a few days before SMM, we had a chance to talk with John, the team manager of Malaysian DotA group Invasion. Read on to know more about about how they qualified and their plans for the tournament.

Good afternoon. Thank you for making time for this interview. Would you mind introducing yourselves to our readers?

Hi, everyone. I’m John Lim, Manager of Team Invasion.

Invasion is considered as one of the Big 3 of the Malaysian DotA Scene (with Orange and MuFc). Seeing that the other 2 both switched to Dota 2 months before The International and you continued playing for GEST, do you see yourselves as the flag-bearer for Malaysian DotA now?

No, even if Orange and MuFc switched to Dota 2, they are still our big competitors in Malaysia.



Which of the teams do you think will make a strong case on the tournament? As I’ve said earlier, they went full-time with Dota 2 the past several months.

Invasion and Orange for sure :) Currently, Mushi and Xtinct are bootcamping at Philippines for 1 week. Everyone knows that PH [DotA] style is impressive. I think they'll surprise us.

Since I’ve mentioned SMM, let us talk about that. Invasion of course is a local team. How did you qualify for the SGNDT?

We qualified to SGNDT because we won a qualifier at Kepong (Invasion cyber cafe) [SMM Central Qualifier].

And that is one of the several qualifiers that were held. Now, the MYSG area had been the hotspot of the strong Dota 2 teams on SEA as of late. Did this have any affect on the SMM 1 Malaysia Tournament? Or is the Dota and Dota 2 population different altogether?

No, there is no effect for the SMM 1 Malaysia tournament. But it definitely affected SGNDT, because teams like Zenith, Flash, and Duskbin are not joining the DotA tournament.

Is there any reason why you weren’t invited/seeded like Orange and MuFc? Did the organizers overlook you or what?

Team Invasion played bad the last few months. Opportunity is given to those who give effort. :)

I saw Invasion playing on some recent Dota 2 tournaments (MYSG Alienware, Gosucup). Did the team switch already, or do they kind of juggle between the two?

Yes, we actually also switched to Dota 2 after The International 2. But because of some team problem, we missed the chance to improve our performance.

Which teams are you looking forward to face in the tournament?

We look forward on playing against everyone.

If there is a dark horse on the tournament, which team/s do you think it is?

Team G7 - they’re from Myanmar. [Almost] Every month at the GEST DotA tournament, they are placed on the same group with us. We can feel that team G7 is getting stronger.

How do you think the team will fare on the tournament? Any specific goals in mind?

I think my team is ready get in to the final of SMM 1 Malaysia , and Semi-final in SGNDT.

I heard that you will be playing without your team captain though?

Yes, he is preparing for college exam. He isn’t attending SMM 1 Malaysia for sure, and probably SGNDT too.

Awesome. I really appreciate the time that you have spared for this interview. Do you have any greetings and shout-outs to friend and sponsors?

Thanks for Invasion Cyber cafe fully sponsoring our team, and to Andy Soong careful to take care of our team. After Thailand Academy with Mushi, my passion for E-sport is back. Mr. Satean, thanks for giving me the chance :) E-Sport for life

Links
GosuGamers - SMM Coverage