With support from ESL One Malaysia 2022, eGG Network had the chance to sit down with one of our Malaysian pride and joy, Leon “Arthur” Lee who is one of the sitting coaches of the Swedish Dota 2 team Alliance for an interview.

Hey Arthur, nice to be with you again since the previous interview on Hitz FM. How are you and your team doing so far?

Heyyo, thanks for having me again! We’re good, we’ve just set up our new roster with 3 new additions who are Dukalis, Limitless and our new coach Alagon. We started working together a few days before August and are now preparing ESL One Malaysia 2022 in full force. Motivation level is very high in the team now especially with the energy that our young blood brings in. We’re spending a lot of time together to get everyone on the same page as fast as possible. 

We would like to talk more about you instead of your team today. (We’ll still ask a little bit about your team). When did you decide that you want a career in Esports and why?

Sure! The idea of entering the esports industry started when I was in my 2nd year of University. I studied abroad at Ningbo, China in that year and was very amazed by how happening and fun the esports scene was during that time. It was the year where livestreaming was blooming rapidly and from there I learned much more about the competitive scene which eventually sparked my interest. I’ve always been an athlete growing up playing basketball competitively, and I saw the same amount of passion in esports which drove me into it. Ever since that year, I’ve made a decision of entering esports after graduation and I didn’t mind any role as long as I’m in. 

Were you planning to go for Esports as a player with coaching as a fallback plan, or were you going for coaching from the start?

Being a professional player was never really the goal, as I’ve come to peace that I’m simply not mechanically good enough to be one. (sad) However I knew that there are plenty of other roles in the professional setting where you can still contribute and compete indirectly. For example, being a manager, coach, analyst etc. I’ve also been working as a caster before joining Alliance, which is another way of being involved closely in the competitive scene. 

How do you work with Loda in terms of coaching? How do you split your tasks with him?

Loda’s main role in the team is character development and helping players improve their communication. Simply put, Loda takes care of the big picture and direction of our team. As for me, I was working closely with Loda and our captain on drafting and strategizing. I’m also helping out players closely to improve their crafts of the game by going through details and providing additional information from research. I’m also keeping track of our progresses and improvements and being an active reminder to the team of what we’ve learned throughout our practices which I find very important. 

Will you attempt to go pro if a top-tier team approaches you to compete as a player?

I’m very self aware of what’s the best way for me to contribute and help in a team, and that’s not by being a player. My strengths are in recognizing patterns and finding logics behind teams and I believe being a coach is the best way for me to add values for a team. 

Asking a little bit of Dota-related questions here. We’ve seen Dawnbreaker rising up a lot as a hero, despite not getting picked in the previous patch. What made her strong? How do you utilize her in a team?

In my opinion, there are 3 main reasons why she is so popular right now. Strong laning, incredible flexibility in roles and her global presence. Different teams have different ways of utilizing her. In Europe, people love her flexibility and are always willing to play her as a support. In China, most of the team will lock her in the core role, which I personally like more. I think her ability to take over the game is incredibly high and reliant now to not be played as a core. 

You mentioned Bristleback being really good in your previous interview on Hitz FM. How do you build a team around this hero?

You can often see Bristleback as the raid boss in the game. You want to have heroes that can stack neutral camps for him and fight around him with teamfight or sustainability. This is why we often see Bristleback with Warlock, Winter Wyvern or any similar heroes like them. You want to create a draft with a lot of synergies around the hero to enable him to take over the game. 

Give us your top 4 teams for ESL One Malaysia 2022.

It’s a tough choice, we’ve got a lot of good teams here in this event. I’d probably say BOOM Esports, Nigma Galaxy, Team Aster and OG. However, I do believe every single team has the potential to take over the teams I’ve mentioned above. It’s gonna be a bloodbath for sure, the fans are in for a treat 🙂 

What’s your favourite hero? I am taking a guess from my knowledge here – Rubick? Tell us about your favourite hero and why?

Haha, good guess, you’re right. I love long range spell casters, where I just stay behind and quietly make good plays. Hoodwink, Lion and Shadow Shaman are also similar heroes that I really enjoy playing!

Let’s close the interview with a fun question. If you were to form a team with you included, who will be the other 4 Malaysian players be and what will be their roles? This is assuming you can take your picks on anyone.

This is fun! As a long time fan of the game I’ve always thought about this question in my head like many do. Like I said, I truly enjoy the coaching role now so I’ll give you a full lineup. By the way, this question is getting harder every year because of how many new talents are rising in Malaysia. From Carry to position 5 in order : Ghost, NothingToSay, JT, Ahfu & xNova, with Mushi being the head coach and me as the assistant coach/analyst! And of course the legendary Eric Khor as our manager! 

eGG Network would like to thank Arthur for his interview with us, and we wish team Alliance the best of luck in ESL One Malaysia 2022! 

ESL One Malaysia 2022 is happening at the city of entertainment, Resorts World Genting on the 26th - 28th August. Mark your calendars and catch the action live on eGG Network, Astro GO and Sooka!