Jimmy "DeMoN" Ho has been a part of the Dota community for more than a decade now, spending almost half of his 24-years on this planet competing against the world's best players. After all his success, Ho may have finally found something he's spent years looking for: stability.
DeMoN, as he's known to most in the scene, has been playing Dota since he was just 13. He was introduced to the game by his older brother, back before Ice Frog partnered with Valve to create the version of Dota we enjoy today. In the time since, he's competed in two of the four International world championship tournaments hosted by Valve and played alongside a total of 12 different professional teams (including his current crew).
Naturally, there have been hardships. An early obsession with Dota led Ho to completely withdraw from daily life, spending less time with his family/friends in an effort to squeeze in a few extra games. At one point, his complete lack of physical fitness led to his weight dipping below the 100-pound mark. Over time, Ho learned how to balance his Dota habits with other aspects of daily life -- like going to the gym or cooking meals-- and believes he's found a daily routine that fits him much better.
Player.One asked whether or not Ho believes the balance has given him the clarity needed to improve upon his Dota skills, and hear a resounding "Yes" almost before the question was asked.
Of course, new obstacles emerged in the wake of Ho's personal growth. Some of them, like a free diving trip organized by Red Bull (his sponsor), were put on the schedule to help Ho continue to better himself. Others, like attempting to gel with members of 11 different Dota 2 squads (12, if you include Champion's of Summer's Rift), have surfaced all on their own.
And then there was a period when Ho's own play declined enough to leave some fans questioning his future. It was during this period that teams began trying to recruit Ho to their squads for other games, like Heroes of Newerth or League of Legends. But even a downswing in Ho's playing abilities couldn't convince him to leave Dota 2 behind.
"There was a timeframe where I had my downs, in Dota, and I had a lot of offers to try other games," Ho told Player.One. "They said, 'You'll get the right coaches. You'll get the right training'... But it wasn't always about the money. I thought about it one time, for a quick 15 minutes. But I declined shortly afterward. I could probably [switch games] short term but I play Dota because I'm passionate about it."
Thankfully, obstructions aren't placing themselves in Ho's path quite so frequently these days. With the recent growth of eSports, particularly the prize money, family and friends are beginning to realize that the people they love aren't just looking for an excuse to play video games for hours on end. Much like "real" sports, you probably shouldn't be planning your life around the assumption that you'll go pro. But it's getting a bit easier to explain the pursuit to loved ones, says Ho.
Ho pointed to the recent rise of Suma1L, the 15-year-old pro player from Evil Geniuses, explaining that the young man's parents were originally quite opposed to the idea of their son pursuing a career as a professional gamer. Then the rising star helped his team capture a $1.2 million championship, pocketing $240,000 (before taxes, manager fees, etc.) for himself, and it didn't take much more to get Suma1L's family on-board with the idea.
That doesn't mean the problems are gone, though. If nothing else, the fact that Dota 2 remains such a global phenomenon can make it difficult when it comes time for competitive play. Regional events look to alleviate some of these issues, theoretically putting competitors on level ground, but the fact that most Dota 2 competitive play still occurs in players' homes can lead to some major headaches. It can also make it hard for teams to get to know one another and build the trust needed to win.
"I've only met Brax. The other three I haven't met," Ho said. "We've all known each other for ... about three and a half months inside the game. But getting to know them outside of the game is going to be huge."
Of course, it would be great it communication was the only issue facing the Dota 2 pro scene. But there are a few more things to consider, like trust between teammates, and even a few factors that remain entirely out of players' control. While player illness/injury doesn't present the same constant threat in eSports as it does in other competitive endeavors, there are still plenty of unforeseen circumstances that can cost a team its shot at greatness.
Ho and his teammates encountered just such a scenario in their last event, the recent i-league Season 3 qualifier, and it was enough to cost the team its shot at more than $300,000. When asked, you can tell that Ho is trying to give the answer that he's "supposed to" but it's also not hard to identify the disappointment in his voice when asked about the incident.
"We had an unfortunate thing that happened, " Ho acknowledged. "Brax had Internet issues. It wasn't a DDOS, which is a big problem in the Dota scene right now. But we played the last match 4v5...About 25-minutes into the game, we were destroying Tinker. After that, Brax disconnected for about 15 minutes. "
It was all downhill from there.
Within minutes, it became clear that the first game between Tinker and Summer's Rift would not end how many expected it to. And when Brax was unable to get his connectivity issues under control, the remaining members of Summer's Rift were forced to play with an alternate instead. Once the first game was over, that is.
"We tried waiting but there's a rule that the other team can unpause after 10 minutes," Ho explained. "We asked to reschedule the game but [i-league rules] wouldn't allow us. So we played with another player and ended up 0-2."
The win was frustrating, in part, because Champions of Summer's Rift had some real momentum going when the problems first began to surface. They had more kills than Tinker, a team they managed to beat 2-1 in the joinDota Masters, and Ho seems confident that his team was at least on the way to a 1-0 start in the series when Brax's connection issues began. it was a hard loss to swallow but not enough to change Ho's outlook on the team.
"We're pretty confident," Ho acknowledged. "The team we're most intimidated by is Tinker. In practice games, it goes 50-50. So it's a toss-up on who's going to play better that day."
Perhaps most exciting, at least for Ho, is the fact his days as the "mercenary" of the pro Dota scene might finally be coming to an end. Sure, being considered one of the top players in the world can be rewarding. But, those who compete for the world's biggest prizes tend to be pretty competitive and no one is more-aware than Ho of how close he's come to capturing Dota 2's top prize.
DeMoN may have been a part of some of the biggest teams in the Dota 2 pro scene but he's well aware that the constant shuffling makes it difficult to a report with his teammates. While stability isn't the only thing Ho considers these days, it's certainly become an important part of the 24-year-old professional's determining equation. And he says he may have finally found what he's looking for.
"In terms of stability, yes. The only thing is that we have three inexperienced players," Ho told Player.One. "They're individually talented...I'm just worried about, when it comes down to exposure and playing in front of an audience, whether or not the pressure will affect them."
That inexperience is also going to make it an uphill battle for Champions of Summer's Rift to fight their way into The International. The team is still new enough that an official invite from Valve seems unlikely but that doesn't mean Ho and the rest of Champions of Summer's Rift are planning to wait until The International 6 for its next shot at the title. Instead, the team is hoping to gain entry to this year's Dota 2 championship tournament via the regional qualifiers that precede each event.
To do so, Champions of Summer's Rift will need to play some of the best Dota of their lives, working their way through qualifying/wildcard brackets on a long, slow trek towards the Main Event. There's no guarantee that they'll be successful, given just how many teams enter the tournament each year, but Ho seems convinced that his new squad is capable of playing Dota 2 on the highest level.
"I think the probability is high. It's going to involve luck," Ho said. "We're guaranteed not to be invited. But, like I said, it's going to involve a lot of luck. Depend on how Valve decides to place the groups and teams in the qualification stage. Excluding EG, we're top two in America, alongside Tinker."
For now, Ho remains focused on this week's matches in the Red Bull Battle Grounds. Champions of Summer's Rift will face-off against Not Today!, a Peruvian super-team Ho and company. defeated 2-0 during i-league Season 3 qualifiers. Should Champions of Summer's Rift manage to pick up another win, they'll take on the winners of a match pitting Tinker against ROOT.
The final two teams will then compete to decide which squad will represent North America in the Red Bull Battle Grounds Playoffs on May 5-6. To watch this week's event, stop by the Red Bull eSports Twitch page anytime between 5:00pm and midnight (or later) on Tuesday, April 28. To keep tabs on Jimmy, follow him on Twitter, Twitch and/or Facebook.
Be sure to check back with Player.One and follow Scott on Twitter for more Dota 2 coverage.
