Chinese regional qualifiers for The International 2018 is almost over, and to say the least, we all have been in for a treat. We witnessed huge upsets with the fall of established teams at the hands of newcomers. EHOME was one such casualty. The Chinese powerhouse with an illustrious history has faced only struggle for the past few years. A team comprising of extremely talented players such as Tianyu "" Chen, Zhiyang "" Wang alongside two TI6 winners Ruida "" Zhang and Yiping "" Zhang failed to make the cut out of the open qualifiers. Further adding to the firepower, Ning "" Zhang; the legendary captain and TI4 winner was at the helm as a coach. We had the chance to talk to the Director himself about his career as a coach, reasons attributing to EHOME's dismal exit at TI8 open qualifiers, possible roster changes, future plans and much more.I think the main reason is they didn’t play as well as how they practiced before. We were able to win [against] all strong teams. We had good communication and professional skills, however, we didn’t play well in the qualifiers.I have been EHOME’s coach for only half of a month or so. I am not sure why the players didn’t play as a team due to time restraints.We had meetings to discuss about the teams every few days after I came to be the coach. I gave suggestions to them when we were doing ban/picks, as well as in the middle of each game. We also analyzed meaningful replays after practice. It seemed like we didn’t have enough time. We did some progress in training but didn’t perform well in the qualifiers or showcase the same synergy.I think a coach is just a helper. The most significant factor of playing well is how the players perform. For example, LGD did really badly in the first half of this year, however, they did such a great job after changing the players. As a matter of fact, different players could have different “chemical reactions” with each other, but a coach always does the same work.I have to disagree because I don’t think China is lacking good captains. The current lot of Chinese captains have good leadership skills and are capable of being good coaches as well. Yes, at times one team fails to perform but the blame doesn't necessarily goes to the captain.Honestly speaking, I don’t know. It all depends on what they decide [ sic ]. That won't stop us from working hard towards our goal.It’s really difficult to say. There are both advantages and disadvantages to this change, however, one cannot say for sure. We will have to wait and watch.I think the new season is fabulous. It won’t make a big difference to Chinese [teams], but it obviously can give more chances to new teams and help grow the tier 2-3 scene in general.I think it’s good news. The quality of tournaments will increase. The teams won’t have a super big strength difference and the audiences will actually be more excited as I suspect that they were a little bored for the matches last season.So far: LGD, Virtus.Pro and Team Liquid are the top 3 contenders for the crown.No, I've never thought about going pro again. I will continue being a coach and contribute more towards this role.Thank you all the fans for your support. I will focus more on being a coach in the new season!Feature image credits: Liquipedia Die-hard Dota 2 lover at heart. Reading and writing are not just hobbies; they're my life. Family man, ardent esports follower and a boring personality. If you would like to know more about my work, you can follow me at KarY