Even before I entered the world of competitive DotA in Davao City, I already know the name Ding Lao. He, according to many people is the number one DotA player in the city. I finally met the guy a few weeks back when my former team played against NoMets in the first round of Champions Eliminations of the Davao Cyber Expo 2007: Davao Cyber Games Tournament. The guy striked me as being quiet. That is until the games actually began.

When NoMets started playing, the guy turned into a monster… he was loud, proud, and demanding. No doubt about it, Nelson Jeffrey “Ding” Lao commanded NoMets all the way to victory. This loud and proud guy earned the ire of many gamers along their way to the championship. Together with the rest of NoMets, he was branded as an arrogant braggart who solicited the hatred of the teams and players they defeated. Undeniably, I was one of those who had this impression.

Fast forward to today, a month after the tournament ended. Ding Lao maintains the loud and proud image but not to me. My view and opinion of the guy has changed, though not by a lot. Yes, he has no pretensions. He knows he is a great player, and he does not have any qualms telling people about it. For some, Ding might be a tad too much too handle. And he is. I must admit he was quite a hard subject to interview as he is prone to giving short answers that ooze with self-confidence. Despite this, there are things that can be learned from this guy.

Ding Lao is a 5th year BS Electronics and Communications Engineering major at the Ateneo de Davao University. He used to be known as just the younger brother of George “Zoe” Lao, another prominent Davao City gamer. Now, he is more well-known than his older brother. Ding gained prominence by being the leader of Team NoMets based in BoyzTrek Cafe Jacinto. NoMets as personified by Ding, has an aggressive playing style that Ding describes as being like “spartans” with do or die attitudes. Ding’s favorite DotA hero is, in fact, Mogul Khan the Axe because according to Ding, Mogul represents the Spartan way of fighting.

Ding was introduced to DotA by his gamer friends when it was still in its 5.84c version. He continued to play the game because he gets a lot of fun while playing. Now, he continues to play for the fun and excitement it brings and for his and his team’s pride. When asked how he developed his skills and strategies in playing DotA, Ding simply answers that he merely uses his logic. He does not spend much time practicing, watching replays, or reading guides, but when he plays, he uses every ounce of logic he can manage to use. He, however, contends that his team’s experience playing against better teams in Manila during the WCG Eliminations taught him a lot of new strategies and playing styles. This is apparent in the way his team and their new teams have dominated in the last few tournaments here in Davao City.

There is no doubt about it, NoMets and the newer teams Chill and CORPOration of BoyzTrek are the best teams in Davao City. The strength of NoMets and its former players can be attributed to Ding’s wisdom on how he chose his teammates. According to Ding, “I look at players differently than others do.” He asserts that he chooses players based on how well they can do the job assigned to them. He gets the best possible farmer, hitter, support member, etc from the pool of players, and he helps them be the actual best in that role. He then trains them to work well with each other, and be a good team player. He believes that his and his team’s biggest edge over other teams is their ability to intimidate and their self-confidence. He thinks that NoMets won it all in the DCE 2007: DCG because they had a name to protect and a reputation to uphold. Moreover, they wanted to prove all their haters and critics that they had the skills to match their overconfidence. These, he believes, were their primary reasons for being the champions.

And because Ding believes he have seen and played it all, he is now “retiring” from the competitive DotA scene in Davao City. He believes that as a former member of Legendary QT (with his brother Zoe) and as the leader of NoMets, there is nothing left for him to prove to the Davao gamers. Moreover, as a 21-year old at the brink of graduating from college, Ding believes it is time for his lifestyle to change. He does not believe that there is a real future for pro gaming here in the Philippines, much less in Davao City. He will, however, get out of his retirement if and when, a new and better challenge comes knocking, and if and when pro gaming becomes a serious and stable career path.

Despite this, Ding believes that DotA is a game like no other. He attributes the game’s popularity to the excitement that the game brings, and its unpredictability. Each game, he says, is unique. More than that, Ding believes that the best thing about DotA is how it promotes teamwork. He thinks that playing the game has improved him by giving him the chance to deal and handle different kinds of people. On the other hand, Ding believes that the worst thing about DotA is how it can take over one’s life. As already mentioned, he believes there is no real future for pro gaming here in the Philippines and he does not think it is healthy for gamers to treat the game as more than just a game. He advices DotA players and teams to play for fun and just enjoy the game and learn from it. Furthermore, he shares that the worst mistake that a noob player, or any player can make, is believe and act like he is better than he actually is. For Ding, the best weapon in any game, is knowing one’s self and one’s opponents.

Ding never picks a battle he can never win. And although his motto is “no retreat, no surrender,” he is now resting from the game and letting his former teammates and their new teams have their time to shine. That is only if no better challenge comes along.

This entry was posted on Thursday, August 9th, 2007 at 1:26 am and is filed under DotA Allstars, Players, Strategies, Teams. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.