Mineski.Jay: A team must be stable and united

In an exclusive interview with GosuGamers, Mineski Jay talks about the struggles in his team and the lack of tournaments in SEA division, he also talks about the situation of gamers in the Philippines and the upcoming The International Dota 2 Championships 2014.

Hey Jay, how are you guys doing in Malaysia? How’s boot camp?

We have a schedule here so we have a specific time to wake up; we eat then date some teams to train during the afternoon and then, discussions. We'll do the same thing afterwards: training with other teams then discussions again. So far, we’re still trying to figure out how to get along.

How is the training there compared to the Philippines?

The training here is very different compared to the Philippines because we have no training schedule there due to internet connections.

Who are you guys scrimming with?

We’re currently scrimming with Titan, Invasion and Arrow gaming. So far, it's equal.

How's the team work so far during training?

We're still trying to figure out the best roles for each other.

So what positions are likely to change?

Probably one support will play carry to try things out until we figure out what's missing or lacking in the current roster or line-up. We're still working on it.

Any thoughts about your team's constant changes in line-ups especially with Julz and Joven no longer included in the current roster?

It's maybe because the Philippines has a bad environment for gaming. I'll just say that a team must be stable and united first before they can become a good team. And I do think that our country kind of lack decent players.

Your team just got eliminated from the ACG SEA invitational, what do you think are the team's lapses and how do you guys plan to avoid it in the future?

We may have lacked preparations especially during the past matches, we're really unprepared. I also think that it has something to do with the roster changes. We need to sort it out first to play better.

Anyway, what is Mushi like as a coach and what were the insights he shared with you guys?

Well, I can't say much but he shared us about the hardships in his team and how they managed to cope with it. He shared those with us and the rest is a secret, haha.

SEA lack tournaments compared to other regions, how is your team affected by it?

Yeah, SEA does lack tournaments compared to EU and China and we're deeply affected by it. Due to the lack of tournaments, some of the players don't have the means to train harder so they tend to slack off. They don't have that much reason to train, after all. And gamers here in the Philippines has a different mindset from the other countries.

How is it different?

There are players who would want to be a professional gamer for as long as they can, like a long term dedication for the sport. While there are others who just play for fame and salary. But like our management always say: win in a huge tourney, you wouldn't need salary.

What are your expectations with the upcoming TI and what do you think about Mineski competing in it?

I think that it will be good but I don't think that our team would get an invite at all. I'm not expecting it to happen yet, maybe in the future. But we'll still try to compete in it—if not a direct invite, maybe in the qualifiers. We'll do our best.

Although, right now I just want to focus on the Philippines. Our country really lack good players, there aren't much that are good enough for the competitive scene.

How do you see Mineski and SEA DotA in the future?

I don't know, really. Haha. We'll just go where the road takes us. We'll just go with the flow and see what happens. All of it will still depend on the tournaments if there would be a lot of them that we can compete in. and also how often those tournament are, plus the amount of cash prize. We'll see what the future leads us.

So what have you guys liked about Malaysia so far?

Their ISP is great, there isn't much lag here so it's good. It's a nice country. The view is okay and the food is fine too--pretty normal, although we eat a lot of chicken. Eating too much chicken is kinda tiring, though. Hahaha.

We thank you for accepting the interview, we appreciate it. Last question: any shoutouts?

Shoutout to my family and my girlfriend, Shaira Mae Adriano. I also like to say hi to the fans who support us and to the Mineski Family. Thank you.







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