Cover-Credits:
Before Team SMG’s match against Fnatic in the Southeast Asia Dota Pro Circuit (SEA DPC), Dota 2 caster Alvaro "AvoPlus" Sanchez Velasco met up with offlaner Yeik "MidOne" Nai Zheng at a restaurant to talk about the latter’s competitive career amongst other things.
During the interview, he talked about how he got into Dota 2 as well as the struggles that he had to face at the start of his career. Additionally, he also talked about his future plans with Team SMG as its captain.
MidOne reveals how he got into Dota 2
During a pre-match interview with AvoPlus at a restaurant, Team SMG’s captain MidOne started off by talking about how he got addicted to Dota in the first place. Like many other older generations of players, he revealed that Warcraft 3’s release during his youthful days along with the first iteration of Dota was a big factor towards his love for the game.
“At first I was very young, like 9 years old but Warcraft 3 was introduced at the time [along with DOTA] and the game was really popular during its generation. I saw my brother playing the game and I soon joined him in playing the game and it was fun. I don’t remember why, but the game was fun to play at the time.”
He then went on to talk about his competitive career. While he said that he struggled at first as he had a hard time convincing his parents that esports is a viable career path, he noted that he managed to convince them after joining his first professional esports organization with Fnatic in 2016.
“They were not supportive of me at first, they didn't understand esports at the time like with Asian families, they’re always hard on you. Like, they would want you to go to university, get good grades, graduate and then become an engineer or something but when I look back, that path is actually a lie. But when I got my first paycheck with Fnatic, they were convinced about my choice, like they’re simple parents. You get money, you get an okay life and they’re cool with it.”
He then ended the interview by talking about his future plans with Team SMG as he looks to guide the new roster into being a competitive team.
“Now things kind of changed though, for me. Things right now are like, I want to create something else. I want to create a team that is very amazing in Dota, like the best team in the game at the moment. I’m not playing for fun as much as I used to. I think being a professional player for a long time, at some point you will suffer and it all comes down to what you want to achieve. But what’s important for me now is like guiding other people to be the best version of themselves. That’s what I want to achieve with SMG for now.”
Team SMG are currently fifth in the SEA DPC standings following its 2-1 victory over Fnatic, with many believing that the team might avoid relegation at the end of the first tour.
