A Look at Western Visayas’ Premier Dota Guild: The No Dota Phobia Story
For any follower of Western Visayan or Ilonggo Dota 2, the name No Dota Phobia (NDPH) is something one might have heard of. For the uninitiated, NDPH is the group that’s been organizing some of the region’s largest tournaments, both online and offline.
Since they began, they’ve grown from a group of friends to a multi-region spanning guild. As an organizing team, their events have achieved success in terms of attendance. Their latest online tournament, Summer Clash II, was participated by 28 teams from different parts of the country last May 21.
The Battle Begins
Ellie (Left) and Dredz (Right).
Paulyn “Ellie” Valdez, a nurse and Aldrin “Dredz” Maseral, an engineer, were a couple who enjoyed playing Dota 2 in their free time. Initially just a duo stack, they constantly encountered the same set of people in their pub games.
“At first, we were like mortal enemies who threw trash talk at each other back and forth,” Ellie recalls. After playing a multitude of matches with them on both the same and opposing side however, they realized something: all of them were from the same region.
While they hadn’t met personally (at the time), the bond they formed in-game was enough for them to try to establish a guild, which we now know today as No Dota Phobia. “The fact that we were doing everything online made everything spontaneous especially in attracting members from different areas,” she said.
“We anticipated challenges early on when we started,” she adds. In response, they put in place a set of rules to keep their members’ real and in-game lives from conflicting. Gaming nights during school seasons were a no go. But when one of their own did something exceptional in the real world like graduate, they celebrated.
Eventually, the guild grew so much that they established multiple chapters along the region and even outside of it. This includes two chapters in Iloilo, one in Cagayan de Oro and the list goes on.
On Organizing Events and the Local Scene
One of the guild’s big breaks however, was when they started organizing events in late-2014. With their first being a solo mid tournament, the frequency of events grew and with it, challenges.
“There were a lot of difficulties that we came to experience along the way,” she stated. Dealing with a multitude of personalities were among the dynamics they faced, to name a few. “There are ranters, toxic and impatient players, who all have to be controlled during an event.”
The solution? Making the players a part of the resolution process.
“Teams who are part of the problem are also encouraged to solve it whenever needed. That will make them feel that they should be a part of the solution, not part of the problem.”
Another problem lied with the Ilonggo Dota 2 scene as a whole, or the lack of it. “When you speak about Ilonggo Dota 2 scene, I actually really find it somehow underrated,” she quips. Despite a number of players in the 5000-6000 MMR range, Ilonggos lack presence like they do in the League of Legends scene where hometown heroes Acclaim Empire X do well.
“I can see the lack of opportunity for them to be known outside of the local scene,” she adds. “Some (computer) shop owners have their own team with good players although they are not that exposed to other bigger scenes.”
When asked as to what may improve the local scene, she said: “We definitely need sponsors to make more tournaments happen. More tournaments, more exposure and experience for our region as a whole.”
Going Live
No Dota Phobia and Acclaim owner Francis Chu (Top Row, Third from Right).
For a region with lacklustre internet like Iloilo, getting the word out is hard. Streaming is an unviable option and most tournaments face problems with bad infrastructure.
On May 21, 2016, NDPH did what was thought of as impossible and lived to tell the tale. Thanks to the help of Acclaim, a local internet cafe chain, they were able to livestream the entirety of Summer Clash II, the second installment of one of their annual tournament series.
“It was a very humbling mission to be the first streamed Ilonggo event,” she said. “We didn’t do it just for ourselves, but for Ilonggo Dota 2. Our objective was to showcase the competitive side of Ilonggos as Dota 2 players.”
While they’ve raised the bar for the region, NDPH isn’t done just yet. They’ll organize more tournaments, events and gatherings in order to spread the love of the game that is Dota 2.
Closing our interview, Ellie said: “We will do our best to continue with what we have started as a guild with all your support. All Dota 2 players here in Iloilo can only wish for more tournaments to come. We are always ready to continue and tell Philippines and the world the next chapter of our story.”
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