Fraternizing with the Enemy

Last night, Jay of Boyztrek's NoMets team sent me a message over YM inviting the Juan Luna boys to go to Boyztrek for some practice games. To cut the story short, the games never happened but I ended up hanging out with the BT boys outside BT while they ate pancit canton (the official late night meal of the BT and JL boys, haha). For more than an hour (I think), I spent time talking about DoTA, local gaming personalities (for lack of better term) and teams, tournaments, and other nonsensical things with Jay, Rioren, Burnz, Topher, Big Boy, and Subang, among others.

Though they know a lot about DoTA and the local gaming scene, they were baffled as to why most gamers from other cafes hate them. To that, I was the only one who had the answer. Haha! Amin-amin na lang yun...

There were also discussions about their trip to Manila to join the WCG Eliminations, and how it has helped them improved their skills. Goes to show how much actual tournament experience really helps a team to improve. From what I can surmise, before their WCG Experience, they were already a very hard team to beat. But after the WCG Experience, they became virtually invincible. Di na mapunet... Their experiences have helped them in terms of decision-making. Experienced gamers always remind me to just play and practice constantly to improve because with experience, one gets a better sense of the game, and sound decision-making thus becomes easy. This is where tournament and match game experiences becomes crucial. The STQ teams (of Sequel Sta Ana) became a strong team not by playing against other teams, but by playing serious match games against each other. This is true for the BT players as well, as they take their games seriously, even when it is not a tournament or a match game.

Another advantage that NoMets Team has over other teams is their undeniable pride as BT players have given them extra reason to be the best. Add to that the determination to prove all their haters that despite their angas, they have the skills to compensate for it.

So did I enjoy "fraternizing with the enemy" (as a friend put it)? Let's just say I don't consider them my enemies anymore.