Hi! We’re Jimmy “DeMoN” Ho from the US and Wong “ChuaN” Hock Chuan from China. We’re Dota2 professional gamers. Or like we like to say, eSports pros. We’ll be playing against amateur Dota2 players in a tournament style game this weekend called RedBullLAN. Ask us anything about being an eSports pro, what it takes to get here, or anything you might want to know!

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Watch the Live Stream of the event, Saturday at 10am PST on Twitch and Red Bull Youtube.

Catch real time updates from Red Bull eSports and Red Bull Seattle

Comments: 705 • Responses: 32  • Date: 

burnSTATION85 karma

Hey ChuaN, I am an American and you high fived me at TI4 when the rest of your team ignored me. This gesture amazed me and I will remember it for as long as I am a dota fan. I was wondering what your favorite american team to watch is, not including EG? Thanks

invictuschuan160 karma

i only watch EG.

DeMoN_909101 karma

LOL.

Griffin1219748 karma

Demon: Who actually coined the phase "Classic Jimmy? Are there any plans to come back to the scene on a team?

ChuaN: What did you do with your international winnings? Can we hope to see IG back in the finals this year?

DeMoN_90959 karma

Trying to remember what here I was playing....uh...definitely Merlini. There's been plans, hopefully they'll come through in 2015.

seriouschiz41 karma

Jimmy, do you have plans to join a large Dota team again soon? I really love watching you play and just have fun doing it.

Hope you can find a team that really lets your talent shine!

DeMoN_90962 karma

Most definitely. I'm looking to rebuild a team and continue rebuilding myself for 2015. I really appreciate the support though.

SinnermightyBL31 karma

Hey Jimmy,

Any plans for a "stable" NA team from you soon? If so, could you go into detail of the roster, and what tournaments you might be thinking of joining.

Also, what are your thoughts on NA dota currently, and with the instability of it?

Question for Chuan in the same vein, what can be done to improve the SEA scene, and are there any people actively trying to help it grow that should be mentioned?

DeMoN_90973 karma

Yes there are plans on some stability. It's currently in the works so I couldn't leak anything even if I wanted too. NA Dota seems unstable mainly because of poor performances and constant roster changes because of it. I believe Nyx / SNA has potential if they kick Ixmike as I feel he's holding them back.

wooozyf2931 karma

Jimmy are you strong enough to bench ChuaN?

DeMoN_90949 karma

Most likely ;)

celo75328 karma

Who's your favourite dota 2 player? Least favourite? Why?

DeMoN_909124 karma

Favorite: Fear, because he's always been my mentor and father figure who helped me develop into the player I am today. Least: ixmike88, because he sucks...

Adzy24528 karma

Demon: Since you've been in and out of the scene quite a bit, which team have you enjoyed playing with the most?

DeMoN_90962 karma

Most definitely C9. Mainly because of EE.

SylphStarcraft25 karma

On that note, what is it about EE that every player that plays with him ends up respecting him a lot?

DeMoN_90992 karma

It's his dedication, he really pours his heart and soul into Dota which is motivational for his team. I built much more respect playing with him because of it. I also love the way he thinks about the game with his creativity. There's a reason why they're called Clown 9

theturtleguy26 karma

DeMon and ChuaN, what are your favorite ice cream flavors?

DeMoN_90946 karma

Blueberry pie and chocolate chip brownie.

strongbah20 karma

Jimmy - Kelly or Anginana? Chuan - McDonalds or Subway?

DeMoN_90940 karma

LOL Angela because she's the homie

BigBossDK17 karma

To DeMoN

1) As a pro you've pretty much played every role, which role are you most comfortable atm?

2) Without revealing numbers, what kind of support Redbull exactly provide? Beside hats and drinks :P

To ChuaN:

1) Any plans to go back to Malaysia and form a SEA team?

2) In your experience, what's the difference between Chinese fans and Western fans?

DeMoN_90943 karma

  1. I'm most comfortable playing the 3 role, occasional 4 and 2. (Hero dependent on the other 2 roles)

  2. Practically anything I need to be a successful athlete as noted prior to TI4 the Red Bull High Performance camp. I joined the team when it wasn't the best atmosphere and mentioned that to Red Bull. They supplied us with extracurricular such as yoga, paddle boarding, EEG, and team bonding exercises which if we didn't get to experience I don't think our TI4 run wouldn't have been the same. That's just a small example of what they offer :)

Beetin12 karma

What really separates high level MMR players and streamers (say 5.7k+) from professional players. At that point does it come down to mechanical skill, awareness, or something else?

DeMoN_90916 karma

Inexperience to competitive play. Pubs are very different if you don't get expose to an actual professional play where teams are much more coordinated instead of a pub solo mentality.

itzrayz9 karma

Demon / Chuan - what are your man crushes in esport and female crushes in esports? What about outside esports?

DeMoN_90922 karma

Man eSports Crush: Rotterdam Female eSports Crush: no comment Man Crush: David Beckham Female: Jessica Alba

TekniqzDOTA7 karma

DeMoN have you forgiven me yet?

DeMoN_90934 karma

You still owe me $1000 bro

el_muerte177 karma

whY do YoU guYs SprEAd raNdOm CapitalS tHrOuGhOuT YOuR naMes?

DeMoN_90963 karma

i waS a YOunG BoY and thIs seEmeD likE the CoOl thiNg to Do at the TiMe

vectorix1086 karma

Hey Demon, just wanted to say thanks for being so nice to fans and taking a picture with me at the SXSW Lan back in March. My question is, do you have any funny/weird fan encounters you wanna share?

DeMoN_90915 karma

Anytime my dude! My most awkward fan encounters was with MYM going to Wuhan, China for WDC 2010. When I was walking towards the toilet to go pee I had a small group that wanted some autographs and pictures so they followed me and 2 guys was right behind me as I was peeing. After finishing up and washing up I of course gave them what they wanted. :)

ismellliketuna6 karma

Have you guys ever played naked ?

DeMoN_90947 karma

Yes.

anbknaga5 karma

To both of you, who is your favourite dota 2 EU player? PLs reply.. ty

DeMoN_90923 karma

I admire Qojqva but my favorite has to be Puppey at the moment.

HavocDaFuzzy5 karma

Hi Chuan was it hard to get into the dota professional scene and how did you do it?

oh and jimmy which game did u regret throwing ? :D

DeMoN_90940 karma

DreamHack Winter 2012 Grand Finals with EG playing Nature's Prophet as we were one game away from winning the championship. #BibleThump

matrix3254 karma

Hi Chuan Hi Jimmy ??

DeMoN_90912 karma

hey matrix

KommandantVideo4 karma

How did you start playing Dota 2? Not professionally, but for fun? And when during that time did you decide you wanted to take it to the next level and go pro?

DeMoN_90917 karma

My brother introduced me to the game Warcraft 3 Reign of Chaos when I was about 13 years old. Eventually he discovered DotA in the customs games and from there it started become an addiction.

As small leagues developed like DXD and I heard about the competitive or "pro scene" I continuously heard names like VP / MYM specifically Merlini and Vigoss. I instantly became a huge fan of the teams and these players but followed Merlini much more because he was American. I idolized him in hopes to play with / against him someday eventually making that dream a reality.

GollumLovesCoke4 karma

DeMoN: Why did you change your name to "Pegasus" at TI?
ChuaN: What is the one play you are particularly proud of?
All the best, hope you guys do well at TI5!!

DeMoN_90932 karma

I changed my name purely because of Liquid being a horse and my personal sponsorship with Red Bull. That horse got wings bro :D

FireFlyz3513 karma

@Jimmy what's it like being sponsored by redbull? The trips you got to take look awesome

DeMoN_90918 karma

Definitely an opportunity of a lifetime. The experiences I get to endure are amazing and life changing

Kahvisieni3 karma

Jimmy, can I marry u?

DeMoN_90916 karma

A/S/L ? Potentially may be down :)

bigboyn3 karma

Demon do you still skip games to go to gym?

DeMoN_9099 karma

I would never intentionally skip games for the gym. That one time was all miscommunication

IsaiahPeralta3 karma

Favorite workout Jimmy?

DeMoN_90912 karma

Just about everything aside from back. I have a hate/love relationship with legs.

Turbo2x3 karma

DeMoN - any plans to rejoin a team or create your own in the future? With RedBull backing you it seems like you would have a pretty good sponsor to get off the ground and there is plenty of talent in the NA scene.

ChuaN - do you think that your team has under-performed lately? What would you attribute that to, and do you have any plans to fix it?

Thanks to both of you for doing this AMA, I'm a big fan.

DeMoN_9094 karma

I appreciate the support! I'm staying focused to get back to the scene in 2015.

ice_tee1233 karma

DeMoN, do you think with #Hardwork and #Dedication anyone can reach pro levels of play?

I'm currently at 4.4k mmr. I had climbed to 5.1k in April and then dropped all the way to 3.6k after getting out of the ICU. I'm now 37-8 on my climb up. I'm getting old, 24, and I'm worried I'll never git gud. ;_;

DeMoN_9097 karma

Being a pro isn't for everyone despite how hard you may aspire for it. Lots of the current pros I would say got lucky, others was discipline, others would be natural talent. Sometimes it's a mix of it all and sometimes it's all about who you know once you get your skill at a certain level. Hard work and dedication is a big attribute so continue focusing on that. best of luck

ChiD122 karma

Demon whats up with you, playing on any teams or any plans to? You always make games so much more interesting.

DeMoN_9095 karma

It's in the works of rebuilding one for 2015.

CorneliusFudgePacker2 karma

ChuaN- have you ever encountered problems like TI4 DK where teams wouldn't practice with them due to some non-chinese players?

Demon- are we gonna see you return to the pro scene anytime soon?

DeMoN_9094 karma

Hopefully soon bro, I need to be back out there. I really miss competing

BanterNotBanter1 karma

Sup Jimmy, Hi chuan, How can i improve my play in order to gain MMR? I'm stuck at 3.5k and i can't really see why i can't move, i often play carry and win but then when i play support, i lose. it's not that i don't like support, just for some reason no matter what i do as support, i seem to lose

DeMoN_9092 karma

Why not continue doing something that works which seems like is the carry role? Otherwise watch from player perspective of successful pros such as PPD / Zai and learn from them. In pubs I would say watching a player like Zai will be much more successful as a hard support role is generally much more difficult to raise MMR.