Interview with Jason "sN" Wong

Joining me today is eHug's Captain, Drafter, and Mid/Carry player Jason Wong aka sN. You previously played under the team name Inphinity Stack with your current teammates SNA, Lust, Inphinity, and MJW before you won the eHug sponsorship tournament. Thank you so much for taking the time to talk to me today.

Ya no problem, it's great doing things like this.

To begin, not only are you the captain and drafter for the team, but you're also the youngest member being only 17 years old. As one of the youngest playing competitive DotA in the world, have you faced many problems regarding your age and trying to play DotA 2 competitively? And if so how have you managed to deal with them so far?

Yes, we have come to face many problems because of my age because I am still in high school, it is hard to make time for scrims at a set time during the day(the morning for European scrims). However, the team has come to realization with this and we have been working around the schedule by scheduling our scrims and moving our matches when necessary.(big thanks to our manager naerok).

Speaking of the team could you tell me how you all started playing together? I remember the first time I saw you play was when you stood in for Sneaky Nyx Assassins in the American DotA League season 2 and had two very impressive games on Tiny and Luna. Is that around the same time you decided to try to become a professional player?

I have always wanted to play DotA competitively. I started playing when I was around 10 and I loved the game from the very beginning. However, because school was still such a large factor of my life, I could not ignore my obligations and pursue it. Now that I am a lot older, it is easier to juggle these options. In terms of meeting the team, it was around summertime and that was when eHug stated they were looking for a group of strong individuals to make a team out of. At the time Lust and I wanted to play together and that's when we talked to SNA, MJW and Frankie (editor's note: Frankie is Inphinity) to finish our roster. We won through the tournament and I guess that brings us up to date to today.

Focusing more on your own play I have to say that you are probably one of the most impressive North American players that people don't really seem to talk about. Even in games where you are losing you always seem to be able to find your levels and items. I guess the simple question is how do you manage to be so consistent in your games and what effect does that have in the games you play?

I think a lot of the credit has to go the way of my teammates. They are very good at making space for the main farmer. I also think it has to do with the communication because you have to be sure if you want to commit to something or not. If the team is on different footing, it can lead to disastrous results. In regards to the effects on our games, we just have a lot of trust in each other to do the correct thing in each scenario. It definitely boosts our confidence going into games knowing we have a good opportunity to win.

sN7 Stats (Career Averages) GPM XPM Kills Assists

516 529 6.4 7.6 Stats courtesy of datdota.com

I've also seen that from a drafting stand point you seem to like Disruptor more than most other teams. Would you mind discussing why you pick that hero so often compared to other supports?

I think that hero is definitely under rated as it provides so much to the game. He has a great nuke for zoning, glimpse for pickoffs and disengages as well as a fantastic ultimate which can be combined with the other heroes on the team for a good team fight/pickoffs. The hero is also good around our play style. It also helps that the player playing the hero enjoys it because if a person enjoys themselves playing the hero, it definitely shows in the game play.

So on the other side of that, you rarely play the same hero more than twice, with pretty good success on heroes like Brewmaster, PA, Void, Necrophos, and Slark. Is that a result of drafting to fit an idea you have in mind for how a game should go with a certain team composition or do you try to use your hero choice as a counter to the other team and what they have been drafting?

I typically pick heroes that work out in my mind with the heroes already drafted. But I do draft around how the enemy has decided to go about it and if I must pick an unorthodox hero, so be it. That is the beauty of DotA, so many things are viable that you just have to take the time to realize each heroes specific strengths and weaknesses.

As the captain do you feel there is a lot of added pressure on you while also trying to farm / look out for ganks in the midlane?

I wouldn't truly consider myself as the ingame leader. We all make decisions but I rely on different players at certain game times. So typically the supports would control the early game, midgame revolves around the gankers/play making heroes and then I, typically the more farmed player, would tell the team the best choice of actions, this be through smoke ganks or just splitting up to farm. I am the one to usually tell the team who to focus and when to get out and re-engage in team fights. It definitely adds pressure but in a more exciting way especially when it works out.

About going back to school and playing professionally, how does the growth of Dota 2 and tournaments like DAC coming around influence your thoughts on what you want to do in the near future?

Of course the increases in tournaments are very good for us players as it brings more opportunities to win some money. However, DotA and e-sports in general is still growing so when people hear the news that you will not be pursuing post-secondary, they will be very much against the choice. However, this is a dream job, not everyone can make a living playing video games and to carry out this lifestyle would certainly be a dream come true.

So playing full time is something you would look into but only if you had a very stable footing in the competitive scene?

I think that would be a good presumption, yes.

Lastly, what are your thoughts on how you think you've improved both in terms of skill and in game knowledge while drafting and calling the shots on eHug? What are you currently aiming for as a player?

I think i have improved quite a bit as a player as well as my team. Competitive DotA is definitely miles apart from regular match making. There are so many factors that must be considered and the style of play each game should be conducted with when drafting. It is such a huge deal on how the draft works out is what I've learned the most since i started competitive DotA. In terms of calling the in game shots, you must be confident in your teammates and yourself to make the play and stick by it. I am hoping that our efforts will not be in vain for upcoming tournaments as i believe we have all been trying very hard to succeed.

I wish you guys the best of luck. Are there any streams / Twitter accounts / shout outs you'd like to give of any upcoming matches or tournaments you'll be playing in so people know where they can find you guys to see you playing?

Thanks a lot, you can follow me on twitter @sN7dota. i would like to give a shout out to my sponsor ehug, our manager naerok and my team except for mjw cuz hes a newb. We will be playing the finals for dotaregions this coming week i believe so watch out for that. Other than that, thanks for having me on this interview.

Not a problem, thanks for taking the time to talk to me.

Ya it was definitely a lot of fun.

Ever since Arteezy burst onto the scene with an MLG victory at the age of 17, an influx of young talent has been making waves in the North American Dota 2 scene. With Suma1L showing at D2L that Arteezy wasn't the only high-schooler ready for the big leagues, we decided to reach out to another young player looking to make his mark on the professional scene. We picked his brain about his team, the North American scene, and what it's like to captain a team at an age where a lot of players are still looking to make their break.