Chawy hasn't gotten to play in the World Championships.
And I think that's because of his curse.
Winning and losing is part of the game,
but I think Chawy's story is definitely the saddest.
Actually I'm pretty worried that if
ahq picks Westdoor as the mid laner,
then I won't have a chance to play again.
So who are they going to pick here?
Westdoor said he wants to play Azir.
And the other players say stop fooling around.
You can see AN facepalm and say stop fooling around.
He's really picking it! He picked Azir!
I wish to keep my strengths
and improve my Champion pool.
After the Spring Finals, we realized that two players
in one lane isn't actually that great.
So when next season starts,
we will pick the more suitable player for each lane.
I have to compete for the Mid Lane position.
So to me it's very disappointing.
Chawy's reaction should be...
same as mine. Practice harder.
Hope to compete and earn the position.
Whats up?
Why are you trembling?
Stop trembling.
-I wasn't trembling. -Loosen up.
Why are you all tensed up?
Don't drag the rest of us down.
Oh...
The elevator just hit something.
What... what was that-
Oh...
Are we going?
Well I'm gonna live no matter what.
If you want to live, as soon as it crashes,
you just jump.
I know that.
Are you sure?
If you jump, you'll live.
Does that work?
You just have to jump.
We are pro gamers, easy.
Left, left.
Oh, it's the ROX Tigers.
There are the Tigers.
Hello, Hello...
All: Hello.
At the Spring Finals,
I think we tried really hard, the entire team.
But despite all of that effort,
at the very end,
since we experienced that very disappointing loss,
that part is the most...
difficult.
Today is our first match of Summer Split.
The opponents are Samsung.
It's my first match in a while,
so I'm feeling a bit nervous.
And, honestly, I just want to get it over with quickly.
I think it's going to be fun.
I come from Singapore.
My dad is Singaporean,
and my mom was born in Malaysia.
Come here and get something to eat.
Is it very far?
Do we need to buy tickets to get in?
No need.
I don't think so.
Pretend you're there to play in the competition!
So our family is actually quite loving.
Here, eat more.
And I feel like I am closest with my brother.
Gameboys and such, we didn't have those.
Because we were considered like country people,
So we played some pretty basic stuff,
perhaps like cards.
And actually we were pretty happy
and we felt very fortunate.
We always played outside.
We didn't really play indoor things like computer games.
So our childhood was pretty different from other people's.
So in my school there were quite a few people,
who would pick on weaker or smaller kids.
So at that time I was pretty much small and skinny
and I got picked on a lot.
So I started working out.
Starting when I was 13, I worked out every day.
Every time when I'm back in Singapore,
we will come here.
Sometimes I'll be, like,
"Aww... I'm tired from all the training."
He'll be, like, "Oh, come on man...
let's go down and workout."
It's always good to have someone,
who wants to do the same thing as you.
Our family is considered not very rich,
so we did not have computer growing up.
So we had to sneak out and play at Internet cafes.
So we would tell my mom we went...
to exercise, to run, to ride bicycles.
But we always went out to play at Internet cafes.
When XingLei (Chawy) started playing,
he would say he's going out with brother.
But we knew in our hearts,
he definitely was running to that-
to inside that shopping mall.
To play games.
And then us parents would definitely
walk around and see if he's there.
If he was, we would secretly check up on him.
After a while we said,
as long as you guys don't learn bad things,
or hang out with bad people,
then you can play.
When they came back they looked very satisfied.
They were really happy.
Shoot?
Oh, you don't have it.
I'm dead.
So I think that if we didn't
go to Internet cafes in the past,
I probably wouldn't be playing professionally right now.
Actually, when I first told my parents
I wanted to compete,
I wanted to be a pro gamer,
they were very much against it.
Playing games in Singapore isn't easy.
The majority of parents don't approve of it.
Guess how many there are?
I don't know.
Don't you know?
Huh? Yeah you do!
6 years ago... 7 years ago, this was for Dota.
This one's also 2nd place.
Wow, I keep getting 2nd place.
The first time I wanted to be a pro player,
a pro player with a salary was
when the Singapore Sentinels were founded in Singapore.
Because at that time I just joined...
just started in the Army.
And in Singapore you have to do two years in the Army.
So at the time they were looking for 10 players.
I was considered the best player on our server.
But they didn't put me on the 10-player tryout list.
Because they thought since I just joined the army
I would probably become bad.
Usually, players who serve in the Army become really bad.
National Service lasts for two years
and practice time is very, very little.
So because it was a bit-
I was very sad and a bit angry.
So I made myself really strong.
So I told myself in competition I have to destroy them.
That is, I must join this team.
And then, at that time I found four players,
and then in a tournament
we beat Singapore Sentinels.
And then they finally were willing to seek me out.
We realized that Chawy had a great potential
even though he was still in National Service.
Hi, everyone, my name is XingLei.
People know me for Chawy.
Yeah and I play the AD Carry for Singapore Sentinels.
I woke up every day at about 6:00am,
took the bus to the Army grounds.
After work I would rush over to the Singapore Sentinels.
And regardless of if it was team practice
or preparations for a match,
we would practice until 10:00pm.
So when I got home it would be about 11:00pm,
but once I got home I felt like I hadn't practiced enough.
So I would practice until 2:00, 3:00am.
And then go to bed for three hours or so
and then wake up again.
And I did that pretty much for two years.
I would tell myself over and over
however much I can sacrifice, I'll sacrifice
to keep persevering.
Because I thought,
I really wanted to be the world's best player.
and do our region proud.
When I was in the military,
I was photographed, that is, as the poster boy,
And I thought it was pretty funny.
So every day when we ran at Parade Square,
running, or just walking, we'd see my face.
All big and hanging there.
Back in the days when Chawy was in Singapore Sentinels,
it was a team that was very exciting and innovative.
We were like two tiers above all the other teams
and basically no one could come near us.
Chawy was pretty much our star player
because he was playing very well.
He actually carried Singapore Sentinels in a number of games.
A lot of videos were made showing his muscles.
I think in his time with Singapore Sentinels,
I think it is clear that
his teammates weren't at his level.
If you really want to go, like, greater heights,
you really have to get out of Singapore.
I joined TPA in 2014 because
at that time on Singapore Sentinels,
we didn't get any good results.
We were very sad to see him go because
it was definitely a big blow to our chances,
but it was definitely the right step for Chawy
and Singapore in general.
At that time, they were preparing to go to All-Stars
and also preparing for Worlds,
and they told me they would let me start.
When I first heard the news, I was very happy.
And I discussed with my family for a long time.
I couldn't bear to part with my family.
But my parents, especially my mom, kept saying,
"Go, go, not everyone gets this kind of opportunity."
We all supported him going.
Because this is his dream.
This opportunity isn't one everyone gets.
I think that leaving your home
and going to do something you really want to do
and even chasing your dreams
is a very mighty thing to do.
Leaving my family, just...
is quite difficult
because I can't see my family every day.
So I came to Taiwan.
And then in the end they didn't let me play.
Because there was another Mid Laner.
I think Chawy was fairly close to Worlds at the time,
but Chawy's individual skill and his team
didn't ever pair well.
I came to Taiwan to chase my dreams.
And to chase my dreams,
the most important thing is, of course, to play onstage.
At that time, I kept watching them play from the sidelines.
I didn't get any opportunities to play onstage.
So I felt like I wasted a year.
At the time, I felt very disappointed
because I felt a bit like I was tricked into coming to Taiwan.
In 2015, the coach and manager promised me that
they'll definitely let me play onstage,
they'll let me start.
So I grasped the opportunity.
Actually, there were a lot of weeks when I got MVP.
Then I got suspended,
and TPA had to bring in a sub to play.
Because back in 2013... there was a time
on Singapore Sentinels that I didn't want to play any more.
because I wanted to study, study at a private school.
It's very expensive and the tuition is really high.
And I didn't want to keep burdening my parents.
So I thought, hey, I can play someone's account
and make some money.
It's alright because
I'm not playing professionally any more anyway.
At that time I could play a few matches
and make about a hundred dollars.
So I went to play for my friend.
But after I played for him,
he didn't pay me back for a year or so.
But after that TPA came to find me,
and I went to TPA.
So at that time we looked like we really
had a good chance to go to Worlds.
Initially, we could have played in the Semi Finals,
but, in the end,
the past years of elo boosting were discovered.
And then I got suspended from competition for half a year.
So I missed that chance.
If you're a pro player, you must have
the most fundamental professional ethics.
Your responsibility is to compete
and not to elo boost and earn money.
At the time I felt very sorry
towards all my TPA teammates.
I was their captain
and also considered their big brother.
So everyone sort of depended on me.
I felt really sorry to my family
because they always kept supporting me.
He said things have gone bad.
I felt that he was really down.
In our opinion, we don't think that it was wrong.
Because when he did it,
he wasn't even signed with a team.
I've failed a lot of times.
And then when I was about to succeed,
this kind of thing happens.
So it was a very, very big blow to me.
On Facebook I posted about this incident.
I'm sorry for disappointing everyone
supporting me out there
all this time.
I'm even more sorry for letting my team down,
including my managers, coach, translator.
I never expected this to happen,
And I'm the same or even more
disappointed than anyone else.
It's not like it was the Finals.
Let's go.
The start of Summer wasn't that great for me.
During the Samsung match, it was extremely...
my plays were extremely bad.
First of all, I...
wasn't in a very good mood.
And when I'm like that, I usually go home.
But it's weird because every time I see my parents,
tears just come out.
My goal is still to make this year
the year of the ROX Tigers.
After I came to Taiwan,
I often came here to pray because
I felt that my luck was bad after I came to Taiwan,
things didn't go as I expected.
But usually when I pray,
I'm not only praying for myself,
it's also for my family.
This season Westdoor will play first
because I took a few weeks off.
Because too many things happened and then
I had to keep leaving the country
to take care of some things.
After my grandma passed away,
the first thing I did was to go back to Singapore
to be with my family.
To see my grandma.
To go to her wake, funeral.
But the main reason I went back is
I hope my dad is fine.
Seeing my dad cry,
actually, my brother, my sister and I, we were...
We didn't know what to do.
My dad is a very strong man.
In order to support our family...
and he also had to support my grandmother.
He takes very good care of all of us.
We basically went to see my grandma
every week since I was young.
She was proud of me.
Entering the Summer Split,
the biggest challenge I faced was
definitely my rank on the Korean server.
Because they said the starter
will be chosen based on
our rankings on the Korean server.
It made everyone work harder to climb the ranks,
practice even harder
just to get the starter positions.
On the first floor here these are our goals.
So every month we'll write our goals.
Mine is to get into Korean Challenger.
And then Westdoor wants to get first on the KR server.
This dream is relatively bigger.
I think the solo queue score
on the Korean server is a reference.
It definitely has some influence,
but isn't all there is to it.
As long as you have the confidence
to challenge the current starter,
then you can go ahead and challenge them.
I've been telling myself
I want to wake up earlier than Westdoor,
go to sleep later than him,
practice more than him.
I have to play better than him.
I have to work hard.
I have to be much stronger than Westdoor.
So, in the end, choosing to have only
one player as the starter,
there's actually nothing to feel sad about.
Because whether Westdoor starts or I start
it will be more effective.
Because I feel that the team's results
are more important.
AHQ!
TEAM!
I joined ahq because I hoped to get to Worlds,
and get good results.
My hope for the World Championship?
It means too much to me.
Winning the championship would be
a good pay back to myself.
I've been working so hard after all.
If I still don't get the championship,
I will be very disappointed.
If ahq makes it to Worlds this year,
and if I don't make it into the starting lineup,
I would still keep on working hard.
I may watch their team practices
and help them with whatever they need.
Or if Westdoor could improve anywhere,
I will help him out.
If I don't go onstage,
of course, I'll be disappointed.
That kind of determination is...
is just incredible.
And that is why he has the respect
of every single one in Singapore.
Chawy is...
someone who really, really deserves
admiration from people.
There are very few players
who have the same perseverance and attitude.
He's not afraid of hard work.
It's his passion. He's not afraid of hard work.
However tired he is, he still puts in the effort.
So like if I'm competing internationally,
my sister might take a photo of
my parents watching me compete to show me.
And then I'll be really touched,
and I'll want to play even better, to show them,
to let my parents be proud.
In the beginning, we didn't understand.
"What are you guys playing?"
Slowly we learned a little,
but still don't really understand.
When he was playing in Singapore,
we also went to watch.
but we didn't understand it. - Didn't understand it.
We just saw other people going, "AHH!"
What just happened?
In the past, I've gone out of the country to compete.
So the competition was
perhaps around 4:00, 5:00AM here
and my parents would wake up to see the match.
A-Lei (Chawy) is here.
This is a double kill.
Double kill, A-Lei gets a double kill.
They won!
This is a super pretty victory for ahq.
It's very touching because in the beginning,
that is, in the past when I gave up,
when I didn't want to play any more,
it was my parents who told me to keep playing.
If he can go to Worlds,
we will definitely be happy for him.
If he can just make it this time. Man...
This is what he wishes for the most.
That moment would be very happy.
Really, a happy moment.
Because this is what he dreams of.
We also hope he can go.
If we want to give Chawy a meaning,
we can say it means,
"Never Give Up."
I've fallen many times.
But I've never given up.
I've always gotten back up.
I believe there will be a beautiful ending.