AEON: Results are the main focus

For the past few weeks, AEON have been demonstrating their potential, defeating teams such as MiTH.Trust and DK in an impressive winning streak.

The team was first founded 2009, and has since become a well known name in the South-East Asian competitive scene. Currently, the team consists of Alan 'K-I-N-G' Ter, Su 'MrKio' Wei Han, Wong 'NutZ' Jeng Yih, Kenneth 'K e N' Lee and Garry 'ZanQTreeS' Yang.

XtReM1St, MrKio, K-I-N-G, NutZ, K e N and ZanQTreeS. Photo: GosuGamers

Going on a five game winning streak against top teams is no easy task, however their streak was recently brought to an end during the Dota 2 Evolution Singapore Grand Finals. In an interview with joinDOTA, AEON members talk about the current Singaporean Dota 2 scene, their team condition, motivations and more.

AEON has been playing well lately, going on a 5 game winning streak in all competitions, beating the likes of DK. What has triggered this consistent performance?

K-I-N-G: Actually most of us had stopped playing for a while before we got into Dota 2, but The International has been our main motivation. We have been training nonstop, and winning DK has been a proof of our efforts.
K e N: We have been training scrims with a lot of teams such as DK, EHOME, LGD and MUFC almost everyday.

You mentioned that most of you went inactive for a while. What were the reasons?

XtReM1St: We are active all the time ever since 2009.
K-I-N-G: As DotA was dying off in Singapore, mainly because of the prize pool, many players were losing heart and motivation, but The International has brought a new wave of hype all over the world.
K e N: Not really. We have been active all along, but not able to prove ourselves on an international stage.
K-I-N-G: We were around in Singapore all along, just that we were not actively participating in online tourneys. But this is different now.

Perhaps because of your previous focus on DotA and/or lack of participation in Dota 2 competitions, the community has not been able to see much of your performances. Do you feel this is an disadvantage for your chances to be invited to TI?

XtReM1St: We weren't even focused on DotA at all ever since Jan this year.
K-I-N-G: Yes we feel so, but through our results now we are trying to show that we are capable of winning any top tier teams.


In Singapore, do you feel that the current Dota 2 scene is thriving in terms of talent or rather stagnant?

XtReM1St: In Singapore, unfortunately, I feel that the Dota2 scene is rather stagnant. We always see the same few players and teams being active in the scene. The older era was more competitive though.

We see Zenith consistently participating in online tournaments, and performing well in them. Does this add pressure to you guys getting the invite to TI?

XtReM1St: Yes it does add some pressure for us, but at an optimal level. This pressure will keep us on our toes & to remind ourselves to work hard all the way with the same roster we had ever since January as well as to obtain desirable results especially against big name teams. I believe it will be a close call, if only either of us can be selected.

How would you classify your team's play style as? What heroes do you feel best fit your team's game mentality?

K-I-N-G: We focus a lot on team fights, we are confident when we take the fight to our opponents *smiles*.

Could you elaborate on the strengths of your team fights? For example some teams use team fights as a distraction for the carry.

K-I-N-G: We don't really prefer that style of playing, we believe in team fights nonstop from the start until the end of games.

You are currently playing in Gigabyte Dota Masters. Being in group A, your opponents include teams like EHOME, DK and Absolute Legends. Being a lesser known team seeking to prove yourselves, what type of pressure do you face going up against these top teams?

K-I-N-G: Being lesser known and going up against these teams actually motivates us. The game against aL [Absolute Legends], we felt that we played really bad. But in the end, we don't aim to qualify for the playoffs, we aim to top the group.

What do you feel is the biggest factor that will allow AEON to progress up and get recognition as one of the best in the world?

K-I-N-G: One problem we face, is being unable to scrim with the rest of the world due to maybe timezone or lag issues. I believe this is an obstruction for any team out there.

Onto the game of Dota 2. What do you feel are some key changes that have made the game different (for better or worse) compared to DotA?

K-I-N-G: Dota 2 has an improved user interface compared to DotA definitely, and functions such as the hotkeys are helpful. The spectating functions and player perspectives are just awesome.
In terms of gameplay, China has dominated most of DotA, with their gameplay of farming and guarding in general. But Dota 2 has seen alot of pressuring towers instead and lane control. This has helped boost the speed of the game, making it MUCHHHHHHH more enjoyable to watch. Usually in DotA when I spectate a game I will just end up sleeping haha.


With 3 months left till The International, time is running out for teams to prove themselves. What is AEON's plan to secure an invite?

K-I-N-G: We plan to simply win every single game on hand. I believe results are the main focus here, and since 3 months is a short time. We believe we can show that we are able to compete with those teams that are invited by results. One joke we had was, we need to take down every team that has an invite to prove ourselves. Musica and GoDz, you guys better watch out *smiles*.
K e N: We will do our best and show everyone we got what it takes in the upcoming games. We'll be looking forward to our game with EHOME.

Certain teams play well at LAN, certain teams play better online instead. Which category do you feel AEON is in?

K-I-N-G: LAN DEFINITELY, the atmosphere can make you high and go crazy sometimes.
K e N: ZanQTreeS will unleash Hulk, and do some Hulk smash.
K-I-N-G: Yea ZanQTreeS is our Hulk and he will smash everyone to pieces. You kill him once, and that's it, he just rages.

Unfortunately, AEON did not perform well this recent LAN in the Dota 2 Evolution Singapore Grand Finals, and only achieved fourth place behind winners Zenith and Duskbin. What happened?

XtReM1St: We started strongly in our quarter-finals with a total of 70+ to 10+ kills-death ratio in our 2:0 win. However in our games against Duskbin in the semi-finals, we did not keep our early game advantage & allowed them to catch up till the late game. After which, a bad team-fight during the late-game pretty much settled the game.

What are your goals presently?

K-I-N-G: Absolute Legends and Zenith, these two are our main targets to bring down. We hope to get the attention of The International organizers and get an invite to pit against the world's best teams on the world's biggest stage through our results.

Thanks for doing this interview, do you have any shoutouts?

K-I-N-G: We want to thank our supporters, Kingston Technology & their HyperX products. To Valve as well as those who are willing to bring about the Dota hype again.