MidOne interview: "I haven’t been playing in a long time, and people kind of forgot about me"
We sat down with Yeik "MidOne" Nai Zheng just as MOUZ was about to enter the competition at PGL Wallachia Season 6.
This marks MidOne’s third appearance at PGL Wallachia, but it’s the first time he comes as an active player with his own team. He makes his competitive play return under the MOUZ banner, after spending nearly two years outside the spotlight. We were curious about what drew him back, what led him to Europe and MOUZ, and how the retirement period changed him as a person and as a player.
Welcome to Bucharest. It’s not your first time here, at PGL Wallachia, right? You've been here before as a stand-in with Tundra, but how does it feel to come to a tournament with your own team?
I don’t know if I have the words to express how good it feels.
You come back to competitive play after spending about two years outside the spotlight. May I ask you what made you come back, and why now, and why with this team?
When I decided to retire, I said I would walk away from Dota, like I’m not going to touch the game anymore. But then Tundra asked me to stand in for them at PGL Wallachia Season 2 last year, and then again earlier this year, at Season 4. Both times we finished third in the tournament, which made me realize that I might actually still be pretty good at this game. So, after Wallachia from earlier this year, I decided to keep playing, and that’s when I would say I fully came back to Dota, started playing seriously, and began grinding.
Joining MOUZ is a fresh chapter for you. What drew you to this roster and this organization in particular?
For a long time now, I knew that if I ever returned to play competitively, I would want to play in Europe instead of any other region because I feel like the European style just suits me better.
To be honest, I was lucky that MOUZ actually chose to play with me. I haven’t been playing in a long time, you know, and people kind of forgot about me. So, when they asked me if I wanted to play on this roster, I immediately said yes.
After leaving Team Secret and spending time inactive, what did you miss most about competing?
It might sound weird, but I missed the pressure a tournament or a game puts on you. I missed those moments where you have to make a decision that you know might change the course of the game; I missed the adrenaline of competing and playing. There is a certain feeling and a certain thrill that you get only by competing, and I missed that.
Every comeback comes with expectations—your own and those of the community. How are you managing that pressure?
My way of dealing with it is to simply stop thinking and just do it. I am just focusing on what’s in front of me, the draft, the heroes, the game, and on the comms. I just keep playing, that’s what I do.
Has your mindset as a player changed since your last stint?
I'm not sure. I would say my personality changed. I think I'm very different from before. The way I act, the way I talk, and the way I behave, I think, have changed a lot. That's something I noticed about myself. I’d like to think I’m more mature now, but when it comes to my perspective on the game, I’m not sure.
I believe that the perspective, or the way you view the game, is highly dependent on the patches. So, I think the most important thing is the personality part. I’m more chill now, more open to talking to people, I care more about the people around me, about the team, and things like that.
At BLAST, I think, they said I’m the oldest player, and I was like, “Oh my god, is that for real? Suddenly, I’m the oldest now? Okay, I guess I am.”
What do you have to say about the current pace of the competitive schedule? The season is extremely packed. How do you deal with all the travel and all the qualifiers you had to play at the start of the season?
I won’t lie, the qualifiers were hard in terms of schedule; that was really a lot. I didn't enjoy the qualifiers at all. It was way too much and no fun. But I’m happy that there are events constantly. I mean, only this month, we have three tournaments, and I’m happy that I get to play constantly.
I’m a guy who hasn't played for a long time, so I don’t feel any burnout. If anything, I would want to play more. But that’s only me, some of my teammates definitely want a break.
Unfortunately, you are starting the group stage at PGL Wallachia Season 6 with two stand-ins. Has that changed anything in terms of what goals or objectives you want to achieve here as a team?
I hope the three of us, the main roster guys, can work on improving our chemistry somehow. I would say that's the most important point.
Well, I wish you the best of luck, and hopefully you can at least repeat the performance from Singapore. Thank you for taking the time to talk to us, and please do not retire anytime soon. Stay. Stay because we enjoy seeing you play. If you have anything to say to your fans to wrap up our interview, please do so.
Shout-out to the fans who have been watching me from the very beginning, and to those who stayed on my stream when I started grinding again to make a comeback. It was a rough time, so thank you for supporting me, and I hope you keep doing it.