EHOME players speak about the team progress and the goal for MDL Chengdu Major

By October 12, 2019
EHOME are one of the three Chinese teams qualified for the first Major of the new competitive season, MDL Chengdu. They start the long road to TI10 with a revamped roster and are aiming for a strong performance in Chengdu to boost their chances of qualifying for the 10th edition of TI.
In the previous season, EHOME missed the first two tournaments in the DPC season, and despite a top six at the second Major, their performance only spiraled downwards as the team went through a series of unfortunate events. Zhang “Faith_bian” Ruida injured himself and had to be benched for the most part of the season, roster shuffles happened when least expected and all ended with the team losing the qualifiers for the final Major and their spot at TI9. For the new season, they brought in Cheng “vtFαded” Jia Hao, a Malaysian carry who made his break out with Chaos Esports at TI9. Despite finishing bottom two at his first International, vtFαded has impressed with his performance at Power of MYSG+AU prior to joining Chaos, and he isn’t a stranger of the Chinese scene either. He played on Chinese soil before, with Sun Gaming and for the FTD organization. So, his transition to EHOME should go smoothly.
After qualifying for MDL Chengdu Major, EHOME conducted an interview with all team members, who spoke about where are they now in terms of chemistry, strategies and what needs to be done for the squad to improve as a whole. The interview was published in Chinese on , and courtesy of Yuhui Zhu we are able to share with you the English translation.
Which aspects should the team focus on improving?
vtFaded: I feel all of my teammates are playing pretty good, while I need to improve more by watching replays, etc.
897: Individual skills, like laning,
Faith_bian: Communication, overall understanding of the game, decision-making and individual understanding of heroes.
Xinq: Team synergy and individual skills
y: In-game communication as well as developing more strategies.
What’s your goal for Chengdu Major?
vtFaded: Of course, we want to achieve a good result. I was at TI9, but the result wasn’t that satisfying. So, I hope we can get a good placement at this Major that will allow us to qualify for TI10.
897: We will try to get top 3.
Faith_bian: The bottom line is not to get eliminated in the first round, but our goal is the championship title.
Xinq: Our goal is the 1st place, of course. But we know how well we can perform. So, top 8 or top 10 might be the actual outcome.
y: Not getting eliminated in the first round and try our best to reach the top 6.
How would you comment on the new additions to the team: vtFaded and 897?
Faith_bian: Faded is passionate and enthusiastic, 897 is like the opposite. He doesn’t talk much and is pretty shy. But skill-wise both of them are talented and have their unique playstyle and hero pool. I feel they are players with big potential and what they need is time to practice and synergize with the team. It’s a new environment for them which I believe will make them more motivated.
Xinq: Passionate, like during games they will shout: go go go.
Y: 897 is a player with great potential. He’s a shy and a lovely person in real life. vtFaded is pretty outgoing and he brings positive energy to the team atmosphere.
How does the bonding period go?
Faith_bian: For now, we are mainly practicing and polishing the strategies that we are already good at. With the recent update, we now can queue as 5 to play ranked matches. It will really help build our team synergy.
Xinq: Not so well, we still need time to practice and get better coordination, for example, the order of spell casting when we are going for a kill.
y: Our coordination in both early stage and mid-game still needs to be improved.
To new players, in which aspects do you think you can help the team.
897: Decision-making in the late stage and teamfights.
vtFaded: Good atmosphere. I’m the funny guy and probably because I’m a foreigner, I can bring something fresh to the team, something that can make the games more entertaining.
Playstyle-wise, is there anything you need to change after joining EHOME?
vtFaded: At the beginning, I wasn’t used to how EHOME is playing. Back in Chaos we usually played 4 protect 1, while playing carry in EHOME requires me to be more of a team player. As such, it will take me some time to adjust. But I want to be capable of playing both styles. So, I definitely need to work harder to improve and self-reflect.
897: I need to stop being so toxic and become a team player instead.