We caught up for a cup of tea with the captain of the champion team from GCDL Season 11 last year, the man who requires no introduction for the years of success that he has celebrated as well as the vast experience and knowledge he possesses – Viren Dias or better known in the community as “Hawkie”, the captain of team “ Thé Kadé”
1. Are there new comers that are showing potential or do they have a long way to go?
Hawkie
Not sure if you can call Muntha (ToaDBosS) a “new comer”, but he’s like 19, has the right attitude and is definitely showing a lot of potential.
2. How were the preparations coming into this years GCDL?
Hawkie
To be honest, we haven’t prepared – it’s an online tournament with no prize money or any real reward. We’re just playing it for fun. But we have been solo queuing quite a bit and playing the occasional scrim.
3. Who do you think will be your biggest threat this year?
Hawkie
Our age old nemesis – Death Sentence. Looks like the old gang is back with Heshan “Sathan” Sanjaya rejoining them!
4. What clans have shown potential from your sector last year?
Hawkie
I honestly have no idea about clans. But if you’re talking about teams, there’s Victorious Secret and of course, Infinity Gaming.
5.Are there any new member who have joined your team since last year?
Hawkie
Well we have Munthasir “ToaDBosS” Shiraz joining us, as well as Awadh “Wado” Mansoor. Awadh did play SLT eSports championship with us last year though. We might have some more new faces in a few months.
6. Which hero do you think is currently the strongest in the meta since the patch change?
Hawkie
I think it’s a toss up between Lycan and Naga. It’s really hard to say though – hero picks have been really diverse in the last few years.
7. What was your favourite moment of last year?
Hawkie
Losing to Infinity Gaming at the Asus ROG Masters qualifier 
.
8.What can we expect from you guys this year?
Hawkie
Hopefully more wins. But I suppose time will tell.
9. What advice would you give the newer teams and players coming into this tournament as last years champions?
Hawkie
Don’t give walkovers, practice hard with the right mindset, and focus on your own mistakes instead of your teammates’.
10.What should Sri Lanka do to go international?
Hawkie
Many things. As players, quite a few Sri Lankans have the wrong mindset – they are more concerned about being a star rather than doing what’s necessary to help the team win. On top of that many of us tend to be lazy and try to take a shortcut to success rather than putting in the legwork and grinding our way to the top.
As a community, we need more money in the scene. It doesn’t matter what you do, if you can earn money whilst doing it, it becomes legitimate. As it stands, for anyone above 18, they are constantly told that DotA is a waste of time, and that can be very demotivating for players. If players could make a decent living playing DotA, then they can actually devote time and effort to practicing without risking a grim future.
11. Do you have any dreams of going to the international arena and is there anything that’s stopping you from doing so?
Hawkie
I think any player that has committed a substantial amount of time to the game has had dreams of going to the international arena, and I am no exception. However, I faced the same problems any Sri Lankan would – bad internet connections, frequent power outages, education, responsibilities, culture and parents.
But all of those can be overcome. The biggest problem we face is lack of money in the scene. Playing DotA at a high level is incredibly stressful. You absolutely cannot work a day job and play DotA competitively at the same time. The only way around that is to get some sort of sponsorship, which is essentially impossible in Sri Lanka. It’s amazing how local companies are willing to throw money at literally anything, but you ask for a measly 20k salary to play DotA competitively and suddenly that’s too much money.
12. What are your comments on Sri Lanka’s performance at ACER?
Hawkie
Well, we were informed of the tournament only three weeks in advance, and even then the dates weren’t confirmed, so a lot of our players from our main team had to drop out. We didn’t even have a qualifier for the tournament – the “qualifier” winner picture shown at the event’s intro video was of Thé Kadé winning the Acer Predator tournament that took place in April 2016, which was nearly two years ago. And not a single person in that picture was at the event.
Considering all that, our abysmal performance was predestined. The players that went just considered it a free holiday and didn’t really put much effort into it.
13. Where is Sri Lanka placed in terms of skill in South Asia?
Hawkie
If I’m being brutally honest – very low. Two to three years ago, we were one of the best teams in the region, but not anymore.
So there you have it an interview with none other than Viren “Hawkie” Dias. To enlighten you about his as well as his team’s great accomplishments:
Sri Lanka Cyber Games 2012 Winners
Sri Lanka Cyber Games 2013 Winners
Armageddon DOTA 2 Grand Slam Asia Qualifiers 2013 Winners
Gameladders Dota 2 League 2013 Winners
Gamer.LK Clans DOTA League 2013 Winners
GSM:Cataclysm eSports 2014 Winners
Gamer.LK Clans DOTA League 2014 Winners
GamerFest 2015 Winners
SLT e-Sports Championship 2015 Winners
Sri Lanka Cyber Games 2015 Winners
Gamer.LK Clans DOTA League 2016 Winners
RLG DOTA 2 Championship 2016 Winners
Conquer New Worlds DOTA 2 Championship 2016 Winners
Kings of LAN 2016 WInners
SLT e-Sports Championship 2016 Winners
Sri Lanka Cyber Games 2016 Winners
Gamer.LK Clans DOTA League 2017 Winners
SLT e-Sports Championship 2017 Winners
As impressive as their resumé appears to be will there emerge a team that would be able to dethrone them this year?
Let us know in the thread below!