Paladins Global Series (PGS) Southeast Asia has entered its second phase and we have seen quite a few good players coming up through this community tournament and one of those is Chuong from Viet Nam.
Almost unheard of in the past but this Damage dealer from Ho Chi Minh city, Viet Nam will take down your Front-liners with little trouble if you don’t pay him enough attention.
Chuong and his team; Playmaker, won the second week of PGS phase 2 and looking into the finals this month, we ask him how he is preparing for it.
Here’s our interview with “Michael Jackson” wanna be himself:
Gaming Questions:
What’s your name and where you’re from?
My name is Vuong Van Chuong, from Ho Chi Minh city, Viet Nam.”
What’s your IGN and what’s the story behind it?
My IGN is Chuong. There is no story behind it really, I actually wanted to use ’Smile’ as my IGN but it’s taken already so I use my real name instead.
Which role is most comfortable to you? |
I prefer Damage role but I’m not bad with Flank role either. So either Damage or Flank for me.
Who’s your favorite champion?
Before, Cassie was my favorite but now it’s Drogoz.
What’s the name of your team?
My team is Playmaker. I honestly don’t know the story behind the name of the team, my two friends; Yuna and TheMyth, they just invited me to join.
What do you think of PGS Phase 1 overall?
For Playmaker, Phase 1 was tough and we had tactical problems as well as the changing of our members kind of threw us off, but I think going into the Finals in Phase 2 we have better hope for our team.
Congrats to you and your team for winning Phase 2 week 2. How do you feel?
I’m satisfied with it, as our non-stop training has paid off but week 2, there weren’t that many strong teams joining in my opinion so going into the Finals this month I know it’s going to be twice harder than when we won Week 2.
What do you think about Phase 1 winner Kong.ID? Do you think your team has what it takes to defeat them and win this Phase 2?
Kong.ID is a very strong team as well as the second place, Pavallione, but I don’t want to say they are the strongest in SEA. We are currently finding the right tactics to defeat them, we’re starting to watch how teams from EU and NA play and get a little bit of tips and tricks here and there and apply those to how we play as a team, especially with Velgor and Accapella just recently joined this team, we need to get the balance of the team right and understanding each other but we are looking forward to the final round! We can’t wait for it because it’s going to be good.”
In your opinion which player from Kong.ID will give Playmaker the biggest problem?
I would say all of them but we need to take care of iShawShanks (smiles), he always goes to flank the back line since the mkta now is to have 2 tanks where one captures the point and the other goes flanking.
How big would you say the chance of your team winning Phase 2?
All I can say is that we are trying our best to be the champions.
What do you think of Vietnamese Paladins Community right now?
The Paladins community in Vietnam is still a small community but I see the changes happening, because before everyone was playing for themselves, nobody was thinking about recruiting good players to join tournaments, everyone was selfish, they were so individualistic but now more Vietnamese are playing as a team player and looking at each other and learn to build their competitive teams instead of one player play for himself.
Playmaker is one of the best teams coming from Vietnam, as one of the players in this team, what suggestions can you give to the other Vietnamese teams?
First thing is to use voice-chat to communicate with your teammates during a match. Second thing I can suggest is to work on your individual skills to handle tough situation and to help cover for your teammates, to have their backs not just to save your own champion, I think many Vietnamese teams lack this. If more players change the way they play to suit the survival of the team more than to protect themselves in tough matches, their teams’ progress will be much better.
Another strong team from Vietnam is Renacido, tell us what do you think about them.
I think they are a good team, they made it into the Finals of Week 2 as well, and they have potential to even beat our team so that’s why we’re practicing every day, finding new strategies and improve our skills to make sure we give them a good fight every time.
Tell us what do you like about Paladins?
I love Paladins because it has both MOBA and FPS features, each role has different tasks/playstyle, and also because it is more about team work than anything else. You can be the strongest player but if your team do not support you, you can’t win and to be the best player you can’t get it using a lot of money, you really need to practice well, regardless of how much money you spend so that is nice and also because you can customize your own loadout. Also what’s nice about Paladins is that Hi-Rez organized many competitions and I think that’s one reason Paladins will become bigger in the future.
What do you think about the PGS-SEA?
The management of this tournament is very nice, we have competitions every week, that helps Paladins become more well-known and exciting.
PGS is a Community Tournament, but do you think we might get pro players out of PGS?
I hope so, but our skills are still low compared to players from other regions, but yeah why not, we have potential.
Who is your favorite player or someone in Paladins that you look up to?
I like Drogoz and I know Bugzy is the best Drogoz player and he is a streamer, so I used to watch his stream a lot to see how he played Drogoz. However recently I prefer Direct Damage more and I found out Idropbodies’ style really fit me so now I watch his stream instead. The way he communicates is fun and makes me feel excited whenever he is live streaming.”
Personal Questions:
Are you single? Married?
It’s difficult to say, I have complicated relationship with a lot of girls. (Laughs).
What’s your type of girl?
I don’t have one, every girl has her own mystery, I mean everyone is different and I want to find out each one.
What do you think about girl gamers?
They’re alright. It depends on their thinking, some just play for fun but some play competitively like Shiles or LadyRina, they play to make more friends and have more contacts with other players and to learn more. That is kind of like what I’m trying to do, to keep improving myself.
How do you balance your job/life and gaming?
I play game in my free time so it does not affect my job but there are times where the tournament schedules conflict with my routine but I can easily handle it.
How many hours in a day/week do you spend gaming?
Normally I play around 4-5 hours after 9 pm every night because that’s my practice time with Playmaker.
Your family and friends, do they see you as a gamer and what do they think about you being a pro gamer
Well, to be a pro player has been my dream since I was in third grade. My family complained a lot because in Vietnam you cannot live just being a professional gamer. However, now I have a job, more stable and I know how to earn money from gaming for example when I join PGS so I hear less complaints now from my family and friends (Smiles).
What is your dream as a gamer?
My dream is to travel abroad joining tournaments and discover new places.
So your dream is to be the representative of SEA in HRX?
Yes. Haha
If you were a Champion in Paladins, who would you be?
Drogoz, because I like his title “The Greedy” it reflects a part of my nature. I’m greedy to learn new things (smiles) and also because his ultimate is amazing, with ‘One Punch’ and whoever it is landed on will die, I think that is really cool.”
Out of all the skins in Paladins, which one is your favorite? Why?
I don’t care much about skins. However, I will choose Reave of Meave skin because I’m a fan of EDM music.
What’s your fav movie?
I like action movies like Transformer and The Avengers. However now I’m interested in emotional/romantic movies, I can learn how to behave or how to deal with others through those type of movies.
What’s your fav food?
All Asian food but especially Vietnamese food, and one of my favorite right now from Vietnam is crab cakes because for a long time I haven’t had the chance to eat any food from Northern part of Vietnam, and also because crab cake has mam tom (shrimp paste, and rice cake), they are my favorites.
What do you do in your free time?
Normally I spend my free time playing video games, otherwise practicing guitar or reading a book.
What is your favorite type of music?
I usually listen to EDM and acoustic music, but I gotta say my idol is Michael Jackson. He was a legend, the way he danced was so good, sometimes I would try to copy it.(Smiles)
Do you have a ritual before any match?
I don’t know if this count as ritual but I always have water bottle with me before playing. I can’t not have it with me, just feels wrong without it but I think it is more for health reasons, I want to keep myself hydrated, it’s healthy since I would be sitting in front of my computer for hours.
Tell us the first thing that comes to your mind when you think about your teammates’ names.
1. Oberon : Annoying guy
2. TheMyth: Father Playing Game
3. Velgor: Lagger
4. Yuna: Aggressive Guy
Who is the girl in your profile picture on Discord?
She is my girlfriend. Sort off. Like I said it’s complicated. Haha.
Do you have any tips for Paladins players out there who are new and thinking about joining PGS?
Warming up! Please! Before you start playing an important game/match, spend 10 or 15 minutes in casual parties, I don’t know why they don’t do this and many new players don’t think this matters but for me, it’s really important. Just like when you go to the gym what you do first is warming up, it’s the same for gaming, do some warm up matches before jumping into the real game. If you do not warm up enough, you might get unintended injuries or your gaming sense won’t be there, sometimes I practice for an hour to help my feelings and my aim to the max before I join tournament.
Anything you want to say to Vietnamese Paladins players?
If you try hard, you should find a person who you can “trust”. Playing together will be more fun, as well as improving your teamwork skills. Learn how to play the champion from the Pro players around the world. But don’t forget to warm up, it’s really important. Search Paladins news and tips to choose champ which is strong for the meta then build loadouts. I believe it will help you win the game.
Don’t forget to tune in on Sept 23, 2017, as Chuong’s team (Playmaker) competes in the Monthly Finals of the Paladins Global Series, wherein the Top 2 teams of that event will face off in ESGS Manila, Philippines for the right to represent SEA region at the HRX 2018.