Hoon talks to Esports.gg about the new BTK lineup, the competition in NA, and more.
North America’s qualifier into the Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (MLBB) M4 World Championship is here. The North America Challenger Tournament’s (NACT) qualifiers are currently underway leading to the LAN finals in Las Vegas.
Ahead of the tournament, some roster changes have been implemented. Most notably is that the BTK lineup, which placed third in the M3 World Championship last year, has changed two of its players. ZIA and Victor have left the team to give way to M1 NA star Basic and Hoon.
Hoon is one of the most popular personalities in Mobile Legends. He has over 500,000 subscribers on YouTube and is immensely mechanically skilled in the game. Ahead of the NACT, Esports.gg sat down with the player to chat about the new lineup, expectations from the tournament, and the Mobile Legends scene in NA.
Hoon is really confident in the new roster ahead of the Mobile Legends NACT
You are a new addition to the team’s roster. Can you talk me a bit through the roster change and the new additions? How has the synergy been setting in?
Hoon: "Interesting question, because I personally like people in Gosu; I think of them more as a friend, and it's more of a family experience to me in Gosu.
But for the competitive side, I like the environment right now. We might look toxic to each other, but it's for the greater good and for the win. Honestly, I enjoy being here, but I want to win. We're definitely not close friends, but we are getting there."
While you are the obvious favorites to win the MLBB NACT, are there any teams you are particularly looking out for?
Hoon: "We're looking out for Akerman, because two of the members were formerly from BTK 2.0. I think their performance is the best so far, inside the team. That includes Legaci, and of course, Gosu, my former team."
How confident are you going into the MLBB NACT?
Hoon: "I'm already packing my stuff (to go to Indonesia in Mobile Legends M4)!"
BTK’s performance brought NA the confidence but the region still has to adapt to the meta
How has the competition in NA evolved after BTK’s dominant performance in the M3 World Championship?
Hoon: "I think it just brought more confidence into the region. Because we've always believed that our region was the weakest, as we didn't perform as well as the other Asian regions. But BTK proved everyone otherwise, so the stuff that we are doing in this region is pretty good!"
Let's talk about the M4 World Championship, if you manage to win the NACT, you will be going to the global stage. After the performance last year, fans have a lot of expectations from the team. How do you think NA fares to other global teams this year?
Hoon: "Besides the boost in confidence, BTK's dominant performance does not necessarily mean that NA is strong. They might be just better and are just dominating the whole region. I don't think it's fair to say that NA is doing better, but BTK did better. I think we're getting more used to the meta.
We're not like, we're open to the new meta compared to before, like how people in Asia do. We also now always try it out to see how to improve alongside the meta. So yes, NA is becoming more open-minded with the meta."
Mobile Legends esports is slowly growing in NA
Lastly, I wanted to ask about the state of MLBB esports in NA right now. Despite the third-place finish at M3, BTK didn’t get picked up by any of the major organizations. Why do you think traditional esports organizations in the West are adamant about investing in a game like MLBB – given its huge viewership numbers?
Hoon: "I think there are various reasons. Partially because the views are coming from mainly Asia. There are not many organic NA viewers for sponsors to come in. The other reason might be, the other bigger organizations work with other competitor games, and maybe they don't want to be the first pioneer to make moves in NA, and be sure of the revenue to make in the region."
As a player and a fan of MLBB esports, what do you think can Moonton do better to grow the game in the region?
Hoon: "Compared to before, I don't actually have many complaints. The only suggestion I can make for now is MDL (Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Development League), but it'll be a big concern around cost and more tournaments. I would also like to see more players who can live off from playing MLBB as a career."
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