Cover-Credits:
AFK Gaming
Vincent “AlaCrity” Hiew Teck Yoong, a young Dota 2 player from Malaysia, was hailed as one of the rising stars of the local scene after he showed off his talents with Mineski-X in 2017. It didn't go as well as most would have hoped following this point and success was finite.
As time passed, AlaCrity worked hard, improved himself, persevered, and gained a greater understanding of Dota 2 to finally break through with Reality Rift by qualifying for the DreamLeague Season 13: The Leipzig Major in 2020. The happiness of qualifying was short-lived as the event resulted in a 13th-16th place finish.
DreamLeague Season 13 was something to cherish, but AlaCrity was yet to win a significant tournament in Dota 2 in almost four years after he went pro. Though it took another year, it finally came with Galaxy Racer in 2021. Galaxy Racer won the BTS Pro Series S7: Southeast Asia (SEA) after beating the best teams in the region. It may not have been the biggest competition in Dota 2 esports, but it featured Fnatic and T1, SEA's The International 10 (TI10) representatives, and other teams that had displayed great gameplay over the last six months.
In Galaxy Racer, AlaCrity joined forces with some of the brightest and most talented players in SEA - players like him who were hailed as emerging stars but never really rose to prominence that many had expected.
The Malaysian midlaner has had a churning professional career where he faced challenges, conquered them, and now finally finds himself in a rejuvenated and promising Galaxy Racer roster.
AlaCrity's first strides in Dota 2
Like many emerging sports athletes, AlaCrity was influenced by two of Malaysia's greatest Dota 2 players - Chai "Mushi" Yee Fung and Ng "YamateH" Wei Poong.
“When I started playing Dota, I saw people like Yamateh and Mushi playing games and earning money. I wanted to achieve the same thing so I just went for it,” said AlaCrity.
In contrast to expectations, his family was fairly accepting of him attempting to build a career in Dota 2 esports. It wasn't all rosy, however. He was good but in order to become the best, he had to continue to improve his conceptualization of the game while gaining experience.
“How I dealt with it (challenges of the game) was every time someone told me I was wrong or scolded me, I tried to keep that in my head when I practiced the next time.”
