Zhou discusses Starladder IX, DK and iG

Chinese site 178.com got Zhou for an interview, and talked with him about his transition to casting and his thoughts on the on-going Starladder IX as well as the two Chinese teams present in Ukraine. The original interview in Chinese can be found here. The full interview text is translated into English below.

178: Zhou-god, during your professional career you partook in competitions of all sizes domestically and internationally. This time you're casting SL9, and your former team iG is also involved, how does the transition to casting feel?

Zhou: Personally I feel this is a brand new start. I've just moved to casting so there are lots of things I can improve on, which I will gradually fix. As for Chinese teams going overseas to compete, no matter if it's iG or another Chinese team, I fully support them.

178: Out of the 8 teams present, you obviously have the deepest bonds with iG. The group stage for them went into an extended set of games, and then they were beaten down into the lower bracket by DK 2-0. How do you view iG's current form, where do they desperately need to improve?

Zhou: I feel that right now, iG's players really need to adjust their mentalities and find their own place, then fight up from the lower bracket one step at a time.

178: We've all seen that 430's recent form has been excellent. How do you think iG should best play off 430 in order to see the best results?

Zhou: Currently 430 is pretty much iG's pillar. If 430 does well, then iG wins. If 430 gets crushed then things are very hard for iG. So the system should do its best to have 430 as its focus, let 430 play a solo mid carry type role.

178: After watching the group stages, what thoughts and opinions do you have that could potentially help them against Western teams?

Zhou: I think Chinese teams shouldn't blindly follow and emulate Western teams and trends. They should think of their own ways to counter their opponents' styles, or come up with brand new systems.

178: How would you rate DK, who have been spectacular so far? How big of a chance do you think they have of winning SL9?

Zhou: I think the point I just made, DK has done very well on this. They haven't tried to emulate foreign drafts, instead they've been willing to try all kinds of their own ideas. Such as Meepo, Enigma and such heroes. As for their exact chances of winning SL9, I'm going to decline to make a judgment.

178: Can you analyze for us a bit, which of the foreign teams is the biggest threat? Is it EG?

Zhou: I think right now the biggest threats are two teams, one is NaVi, one is EG (onGamers note: NaVi has since been eliminated by iG). In the online stage leading up to now, EG has had fairly smooth sailing. It could be said that they never needed to try too hard, yet when the real thing came in the offline stage, they haven't been careless at all. Their style is aggressive and steady. As for NaVi' they are three-time TI finalists, so they have a very formidable foundation. If they get focused then they're very strong.

178: The elimination stage matches have all been very exciting to watch. Tonight we will see DK against EG, two undefeated teams thus far, what are your views on this clash?

Zhou: I tend to favor DK, and I look forward to seeing them bring out another new draft or strategy.

178: The Korean team MVP has seemingly shown themselves to not be as easy to pushover as expected, your thoughts on this?

Zhou: MVP's performances this time have been quite decent. At the least, they haven't been far behind in kills or economy and experience in the early-mid game, even though they've been mercilessly stomped in late-game.

178: In your streams we've heard you and longDD joking before that it would be beautiful if you two respectively went to iG and DK as coaches. Are there really such considerations in play? If you received an invite from iG to go coach, would you consider it?

Zhou: If I receive such an invite I would seriously consider it. I feel that if I were a coach at TI4 I would be able to help them, which is why I had this thought.

178: Thank you to the Zhou-zippO-longDD casting team for bringing us commentary on these matches late into the night, any last words?

Zhou: Thank you to our fans for watching our casts. I can only say that, with your support, all our hard work is worth it.

Source: http://dota2.178.com/201404/191906656684.html