IceIceIce: SEA

IceIceIce shared his opinions on the Great Western Reshuffle in an interview by SLTV during the DAC in Shanghai, as well as commenting on why he does not think SEA teams should receive direct invites for TI5. The Singaporean also hints at the possibility of a move to the West post TI5, as well as imminent changes coming in the Chinese scene. (Image - Team Secret)

Secret were the team to benefit most from the Reshuffle according to IceIceice

IceIceIce considering a move abroad post-Ti5
When asked if he takes care of team-mate Black in the video interview (below) conducted by Ineska, the Singaporean stated he's old enough to take care of himself. "I did try to take care of him at the start, but i mean he's a big kid, so he'll be fine, he should learn to take care of himself. Humans are good at adapting." Last week Black^ was rumoured to be leaving the team by Chinese website SGamer, to which the German responded on Twitter saying "I read about the VG wanting to kick me thing, rest assured I'll try to play so good they wont be able to kick me even if they wanted to haha!"

However, what about IceIceice, would he ever consider a move to the West himself and was he ever propositioned? "I wouldnt say that I've been offered. I was really considering to go maybe American or Europe to play. I actually asked Navi before I went DK but apparently DK responded and Navi didn't. I would hope to next year, maybe after TI5 but it really depends on how my life is going to be. I'm ready to play anywhere but I'm not the only one in my own life, I have a girlfriend."

iceIceIce on the great Western reshuffle
The Vici Gaming player also gave his thoughts on the Great Western Reshuffle. "I think it strengthened Secret because Arteezy and Zai are really strong players. For C9, I really like Aui2000 so I have no idea why they kicked him. I think they really meshed well together but maybe they had some long-term internal issues, so its understandable they want to change their members so I'm not sure if they are stronger or weaker now."

Navi however, IceiceIce believes were the team affected the most by the Western Reshuffle. "I think the one team that was most affected was when Puppey left Navi. Without Puppey that team is like a totally different team."

So do the Asian teams have an advantage at the moment? "Right now I definitely think the Asian teams have a slight advantage, but it's really messy in the Asian scene right now as well, every team is pretty much going to change their members one way or another after this tournament."

IceIceIce also touched on the possible impact of pending player transfers affecting performance: "This tournament is held at a pretty bad time. You're going to do your best in the tournament but in a way you might unconsciously not be trying your best because you know you're going to get kicked after this tournament."

IceIceIce on no SEA invites for TI5 and Chinese predictions

Video conducted by @IneskaUA for SLTV

SEA teams "not up to standard yet"
Interestingly when asked to put himself in IceFrog's shoes and to make his invite list for TI5, IceIceIce did not include any SEA teams, despite he himself coming from the region. "I wouldnt invite any SEA teams, I would make them play a qualifer. 16 teams, maybe top2 or top4 qualify. (...) I would never invite them honestly right now because they are not up to standard yet." IceIceIce then added: "It would be fair if they held a 16 team LAN final somewhere which they could all fly to, because I would really like to some Australian team taking part as well, like Can't Say Wips."

For the Chinese invites IceIceIce did not make any bold predictions, expecting four Chinese invites. "Chinese teams are pretty obvious. I guess iG is one, Vici because I'm good and Fy is good, and Super is good and Fenrir is good, everyone is good." The Singaporean then quickly remembered he forgot one player linked with a move elsewhere, "Black, Black is good." His last remaining predictions were LGD and Newbee, with two more teams picked for the qualifiers.

IceIceIce was interviewed at the Dota 2 Asian Championships which entered the groupstage phase earlier today, with Vici Gaming 2-1 so far after a 1-0 defeat to Team EG. You can follow the tournament here. SLTV also conducted an interview with Secret's Zai and a brief tête-à-tête with Navi's XBOCT during the Wild Card stage.

This article was written by

Lawrence Phillips, joinDOTA's Editor-in-Chief.Malystryx has been in eSports since 2004 working as eSports Editor for Razer and was Editor-in-Chief of SK Gaming in its glory days. He misses the days of Warcraft3 but makes do with the world of DOTA 2, although he recently got mesmerised by Hearthstone. Location: Bristol, UKFollow him on @MalystryxGDS.