Welcome, Yo. You are one of the strongest and the best known current AoE players, so there is no big introduction needed. But I hope to still find out something new about you and your team.
How old are you?
I am 26 years old.
So we all know that you are some years younger than other current Chinese top players like Paladin, LoveCheng, Tim, geoffrey, CL and StrayDog.
I wonder,
a) is any other of the Chinese 2k+ players apart from vivi also younger (born after 1990)?
Not that I know of.
b) whether that is the only reason your English is much better than of most of them or is good English needed for your work/studies?
I don't need English for my work/studies, i had interest in it when I was young, interest is always the best teacher.
Your AoE career:
a) Since when do you play Age of Empires 2, have you played Age of Empires 1/3?
I have tried them, including the new DE version, they are simply not my type 11.
b) In which clans have you been since then?
I was in Pol, then in SY till now.
c) How would you describe your playstyle and how has it changed since you became an experienced player?
Compared to other same level players, I have bad eco management (especially in early game), and bad micro, but I get better as the game time goes longer when the macro takes bigger part in game. But when I first hit 2300 I wasn't like this at all, I was fast and stupid 11, until I lost 20 games to Tim in a row which got me thinking how I can possibly lose to someone that slow, then I started trying to 'understand' this game not just playing it which eventually leads me who I am now.
d) Which time (year, tournament etc.) do you consider your peak?
I don't think there is one, I think I am still improving, one thing I always tell my viewers: If I meet myself from x years ago, I'll kill him with one hand.
Why did you choose the AoE nickname “Yo“/”Mr. Yo“? You once said it was from some show, but I don’t remember clearly. Also, why are you 火车 (”The Train“) in China?
It's from a TV show named "The Walking Dead", I don't remember the details either, someone said it and I thought it was funny. My nickname was Trainspotting, a movie I like, it's Chinese name is 猜火车, people just don't bother to call my full name or don't understand it, hence the simple version 11.
Do you stream? If yes, what is your stream link?
I do, you can find it here: https://www.douyu.com/mryo
b) How frequently and at which times do you stream?
Every day if nothing goes wrong, starting around 13 GMT.
c) What is special about your stream, why should it be watched?
Well, if you want to watch a pro playing neat and orderly, or you want to improve by listening to some small tips, you are welcome to my stream, you will have to be able to understand Chinese though .
d) I know you have a Twitch channel too, but has it become too difficult to stream there because of the Firewall, or is it because most of your viewers can’t watch it, or what changed since you created that one?
I was in Taiwan for a year, I think I streamed there for a couple of months. Now it's hard to stream here because I would need a good VPN, and I don't feel like streaming in English.
That makes sense, although I think some people would watch your Twitch stream even without you talking English. Not as many as on Douyu TV though.
e) Do you have any information on if some of the Chinese experts can live from playing and streaming AoE? It was told that TheViper or ZeroEmpires could, but we don’t know how good the donations and advertisent pays on Douyu and Panda TV are. Probably it will also be worse than you can earn with a Bachelor’s degree in China. I think most Chinese players who stream can live from it, just how good it can be is the question. Some of them can earn much more than a Bachelor's degree can usually earn, some of them earn less than a dish washer, like me xDDD, anyway, it still depends on how good you are at streaming not at game playing.
Which city do you come from/live in? What do you like/dislike about it and where would you like to move to?
I currently live in Fuzhou, I am from Nanning. I don't like this city, but I don't hate it either, ending up here wasn't my plan. My favourite city is Xiamen, and I would die to move there.
Favourite things:
a) What is your favourite food? Which foods from your home country/region would you recommend? Do you like eating spicy?
My favourite food is Liuzhou river snails rice noodles, and it is from my hometown, and super spicy!
What can you cook well yourself and how often do you do it?
If one day I am sick of breathing I'll cook for myself.
b) What is your favourite colour? (Does not need to be one of the 8 AoE II colours)
Black.
c) What is your favourite animal?
Panda!
d) What/where is your favourite place on Earth?
I have only travelled few countries and not able to travel all over China yet, ask me this when I am 60.
e) What is your favourite song at the moment, of all time (can be top 5)?
1. Fake plastic trees - Radiohead
2. 不要告别 - 超载
3. Blue skies - The Sorry Kisses
4. 上帝保佑 - 窦唯
5. Chasing Cars - Snow Patrol
f) What is your favourite movie of all time (can be top 5)? Who is your favourite actor?
1. Trainspotting
2. Cloud Atlas
3. Shutter Island
4. Fight Club
5. Coherence
Favourite actor: Brad Pitt.
g) Do you have a favourite sports team? (football, basketball etc.)
No, I think I stopped watching any sports for a decade now.
h) What are your favourite traits on a woman?
Alive.
i) When do you think you will marry and how many children would you like to have?
After I'm 30 I think, I only want 1 child for now, maybe it'll change in the future.
What time do you usually go to sleep? What do you like doing before sleeping?
There is not a usual sleeping time for me. Playing with my phone like 90 % of Chinese people.
Which countries and/or provinces have you visited?
The only time i actually went abroad was back in 2015 when i went to the Maldives with Paladin. About domestic trips, I have been to quite a lot of provinces: Zhejiang, Fujian, Guangxi, Yunnan, Gansu, Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou... etc.
a) Which place had the most beautiful women?
Xiamen.
b) And where would you like to go to? Why?
Xiamen, it's beautiful and there aren't that many people living in it [around 4 million according to the 2017 census], slow pace of life, good environment, love it.
I have not been to Xiamen yet, but I have seen job offers in my field of studies from there. Would you also recommend it for a family with small children and/or foreigners?
Yes, I recommend to live there, it's a lazy city and I like it.
What are your hobbies beside AoE?
Pingpong, singing, other games like LOL.
Who would you like to meet once, who you have not met? One AoE player and one other person.
From AoE, I would like to meet Nicov because we are good friends. I also wanna meet myself from the future to tell me about lottery numbers.
Do you have an AoE idol?
No.
What is your favourite civilisation, map and unit?
Mongols, Arabia, Mangudai.
Which unit makes the best/worst sound.
Best sound: monk picking up a relic. Worst sound: monk conversion.
If Arabia did not exist, which map do you think everyone would be playing like people play Arabia?
NOMAD.
Who is your favourite and least favourite 1v1 opponent?
My favourite 1v1 opponent is Viper, least favourite opponent is MbL because he steals.
Who is your favourite team mate?
a) For just playing
Lyx.
b) Also outside of the game
Vivi.
c) Would you live in a room with him/her for a) 1 month, b) 1 year?
I would live with vivi and I actually did.
16. In the new expansions, what is your favourite new civilisation and unit?
Berbers, i like this new UU from Khmer, dont't remember what it is exactly called.
17. ECL: The tournament just started. Predict the top 8.
1. Secret
2. SY
3. AM
4. Suomi
5. Frantic
6. LoS
7. VNA
8. RC
Which 6 players from your country do you think will form the A team, if there will be a Nations Cup next summer? It will probably be on WK, which maps would you like to be included apart from Arabia, Nomad, Islands?
Me+Lyx+Paladin+Yinghua+Geoffrey+Vivi, just my guess. I would like all new maps...
Would you haved joined TyRanT if you were invited before Team Secret was formed or were you even once invited and declined?
I didn't get invited and even if I did I won't join, I love SY.
Which 4 players would you like to see forming a team? (can included inactive players)
Chris+DauT+Tim+Alive, old school party.
If you followed it: Which 6 / 8 players would you invite for Nili’s Apartment Cup 2? (Player 7 and 8 need to be excluded if 6 is the limit. Player 1-6 don’t need to be ranked)
Me, Viper, Liereyy, Nicov, TaToH, MbL, DauT, slam.
What kind of tournament would you like to participate in during the next months/year? 1V1, 2v2? Which map or map combinations?
I would like a 2v2 Arabia tournament with good prize.
Make a ranking of
a) the current top 10 players worldwide.
1. TheViper
2. Liereyy
3. Me
4. Nicov
5. TaToH
6. MbL
7. Vivi
8. DauT
9. Slam
10. TheMax
I think many people agree about those top 4, but TheMax is an interesting choice. We all know him as a very strong TG players, but he did not have any 1v1 success yet and that's why few would place him in a top 10.
b) the current top 10 Chinese players.
1. Me
2. Vivi
3. Tim
4. Lyx
5. Yinghua
6. CL
7. Paladin
8. Geoffrey
9. xiaofan
10. Whoop
What's the reason StrayDog is not inlcuded? I personally would put him somewhere at 7-10.
He's good but only in one map and one strategy, Arabia - 21-22 p up - 4 vils fwd, and he's not that good in team games.
Past Nations Cups and your team SY:
a) Before the Nations Cup 2017, did you expect your team not being as good as in the previous 2 Nations Cups or did you still think you were strong enough to reach the finals?
I didnt expect it, Yinghua had to quit the tournament in the middle of it due to his personal reasons, which weakened us a lot.
b) Do you think another NC final in China would be a good idea or are the possibilities with different new sponsors making it more likely to be in Europe or even somewhere else?
Personally I would like it to happen somewhere else since I want to travel 11.
c) Your current team in ECL actually looks quite strong, but if it does not peform well, what do you think will be the changes to SY for upcoming tournaments? Some new players like vivi or jibatong did not work well, adding a foreigner like dogao did not work well and Paladin and LoveCheng are getting older and might be past their peak.
I dont think anything would change, yes they are getting older but I still believe in their skills.
You think players in SY will not change much, and you predict SY behind Secret in the ECL. So is 2nd place now always your goal for 4v4 tournaments or do you think could SY will be able to compete in the future?
1st place is always our goal, but we have to face the truth that we aren't as strong as we once were, I think we will end up 2nd but we will all fight for the champion.
d) I know that you have the „SY boss“ as a sponsor and also all of your players have some income from streaming, but is there actually a chance for your team or a Chinese team in general to be picked up by a real e-sports organisation like TyRanT (Secret) was?
No, I don't think there will be an e-sport team that is going to take us, since most of us don't speak English, and AOE is just an old game. I was quite suprised that Secret still was interested in having an AOE team.
I hope you know something about this: What happened to these Chinese players:
1. Abu: He was playing hundreds of games almost daily from May 2017 until April 2018, even reached 2150+ on the 1v1 ladder on Voobly China again. What lead to this, why did he never go back to Voobly International and why did he stop again?
Abu just wanted some fun games with players he is familiar with, I don't know the exact reason why he stopped again but I guess it's because of work.
2. Jibatong: He was quite strong last year, maybe not good enough for SY A, but now he just disappeared.
He went to sell insurances.
3. Miss_Xue: He was originally in SY for ECL, although not playing much and on a lower level during the last year. Why was he on the team? And will he still ever come back on a higher level?
He planned to play, but then got sick. Miss_Xue is getting even older than Paladin, I don't think he will come back to play on a high level again.
4. Win_wu_kong (fangxiaoqi): He was also 2k2+ 1-2 years ago, was in SY for 1 tournament, but now he is playing at ~2k level on Voobly China. Does he just not want to play competitively?
No idea about him, but my guess is he just wants some fun games too.
5., 6. James and Jax: The were very strong team game players in one Nations Cup, but what happened afterwards, did they just retire from AoE?
Yes, they are both retired, for James, because of work, not sure about Jax.
7. _CBJ_lang: Also disappeared after being in good 2k2+ shape, or is he playing under a different name?
He is wanted by the law and running for his life as I have heard.
8. goodboy: How did his AoE/gaming career develop? He once came back to SY to play some team games, everyone was euphoric, but then he disappeared again.
Goodboy decided to quit long time ago, he tried to play a tournament when we asked him, but failed because work is taking most of his time.
If you visit AoEZone and Voobly, is there something you like especially or would like to have improved? Does it help in any way that you can view some of AoEZone in Chinese (the forum names, dates, help etc.)?
Now AOEZone and Voobly are working perfectly for me, and if someone can make a completely Chinese verison of this forum, it would help us a lot with no doubt.
What is the funniest moment in your life you experienced because of AoE?
When Abu deleted his TC in a tournament which his team was winning vs. us.
If you were not in a relationship, and could date anyone, who would it be?
Mica, because she's BEAUTIFUL.
What would you like to do to make the world better?
Stop singing in the morning.
Who do you want me to interview and what question would you like me to ask her/him?
Do Nicov and ask who he hates the most in aM.
Add one more comment or question for me or someone else.
I love my fans if there are any.
Thanks a lot for this interview and interesting information.
How old are you?
I am 26 years old.
So we all know that you are some years younger than other current Chinese top players like Paladin, LoveCheng, Tim, geoffrey, CL and StrayDog.
I wonder,
a) is any other of the Chinese 2k+ players apart from vivi also younger (born after 1990)?
Not that I know of.
b) whether that is the only reason your English is much better than of most of them or is good English needed for your work/studies?
I don't need English for my work/studies, i had interest in it when I was young, interest is always the best teacher.
Your AoE career:
a) Since when do you play Age of Empires 2, have you played Age of Empires 1/3?
I have tried them, including the new DE version, they are simply not my type 11.
b) In which clans have you been since then?
I was in Pol, then in SY till now.
c) How would you describe your playstyle and how has it changed since you became an experienced player?
Compared to other same level players, I have bad eco management (especially in early game), and bad micro, but I get better as the game time goes longer when the macro takes bigger part in game. But when I first hit 2300 I wasn't like this at all, I was fast and stupid 11, until I lost 20 games to Tim in a row which got me thinking how I can possibly lose to someone that slow, then I started trying to 'understand' this game not just playing it which eventually leads me who I am now.
d) Which time (year, tournament etc.) do you consider your peak?
I don't think there is one, I think I am still improving, one thing I always tell my viewers: If I meet myself from x years ago, I'll kill him with one hand.
Why did you choose the AoE nickname “Yo“/”Mr. Yo“? You once said it was from some show, but I don’t remember clearly. Also, why are you 火车 (”The Train“) in China?
It's from a TV show named "The Walking Dead", I don't remember the details either, someone said it and I thought it was funny. My nickname was Trainspotting, a movie I like, it's Chinese name is 猜火车, people just don't bother to call my full name or don't understand it, hence the simple version 11.
Do you stream? If yes, what is your stream link?
I do, you can find it here: https://www.douyu.com/mryo
b) How frequently and at which times do you stream?
Every day if nothing goes wrong, starting around 13 GMT.
c) What is special about your stream, why should it be watched?
Well, if you want to watch a pro playing neat and orderly, or you want to improve by listening to some small tips, you are welcome to my stream, you will have to be able to understand Chinese though .
d) I know you have a Twitch channel too, but has it become too difficult to stream there because of the Firewall, or is it because most of your viewers can’t watch it, or what changed since you created that one?
I was in Taiwan for a year, I think I streamed there for a couple of months. Now it's hard to stream here because I would need a good VPN, and I don't feel like streaming in English.
That makes sense, although I think some people would watch your Twitch stream even without you talking English. Not as many as on Douyu TV though.
e) Do you have any information on if some of the Chinese experts can live from playing and streaming AoE? It was told that TheViper or ZeroEmpires could, but we don’t know how good the donations and advertisent pays on Douyu and Panda TV are. Probably it will also be worse than you can earn with a Bachelor’s degree in China. I think most Chinese players who stream can live from it, just how good it can be is the question. Some of them can earn much more than a Bachelor's degree can usually earn, some of them earn less than a dish washer, like me xDDD, anyway, it still depends on how good you are at streaming not at game playing.
Which city do you come from/live in? What do you like/dislike about it and where would you like to move to?
I currently live in Fuzhou, I am from Nanning. I don't like this city, but I don't hate it either, ending up here wasn't my plan. My favourite city is Xiamen, and I would die to move there.
Favourite things:
a) What is your favourite food? Which foods from your home country/region would you recommend? Do you like eating spicy?
My favourite food is Liuzhou river snails rice noodles, and it is from my hometown, and super spicy!
What can you cook well yourself and how often do you do it?
If one day I am sick of breathing I'll cook for myself.
b) What is your favourite colour? (Does not need to be one of the 8 AoE II colours)
Black.
c) What is your favourite animal?
Panda!
d) What/where is your favourite place on Earth?
I have only travelled few countries and not able to travel all over China yet, ask me this when I am 60.
e) What is your favourite song at the moment, of all time (can be top 5)?
1. Fake plastic trees - Radiohead
2. 不要告别 - 超载
4. 上帝保佑 - 窦唯
f) What is your favourite movie of all time (can be top 5)? Who is your favourite actor?
1. Trainspotting
2. Cloud Atlas
3. Shutter Island
4. Fight Club
5. Coherence
Favourite actor: Brad Pitt.
g) Do you have a favourite sports team? (football, basketball etc.)
No, I think I stopped watching any sports for a decade now.
h) What are your favourite traits on a woman?
Alive.
i) When do you think you will marry and how many children would you like to have?
After I'm 30 I think, I only want 1 child for now, maybe it'll change in the future.
What time do you usually go to sleep? What do you like doing before sleeping?
There is not a usual sleeping time for me. Playing with my phone like 90 % of Chinese people.
Which countries and/or provinces have you visited?
The only time i actually went abroad was back in 2015 when i went to the Maldives with Paladin. About domestic trips, I have been to quite a lot of provinces: Zhejiang, Fujian, Guangxi, Yunnan, Gansu, Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou... etc.
a) Which place had the most beautiful women?
Xiamen.
b) And where would you like to go to? Why?
Xiamen, it's beautiful and there aren't that many people living in it [around 4 million according to the 2017 census], slow pace of life, good environment, love it.
I have not been to Xiamen yet, but I have seen job offers in my field of studies from there. Would you also recommend it for a family with small children and/or foreigners?
Yes, I recommend to live there, it's a lazy city and I like it.
What are your hobbies beside AoE?
Pingpong, singing, other games like LOL.
Who would you like to meet once, who you have not met? One AoE player and one other person.
From AoE, I would like to meet Nicov because we are good friends. I also wanna meet myself from the future to tell me about lottery numbers.
Do you have an AoE idol?
No.
What is your favourite civilisation, map and unit?
Mongols, Arabia, Mangudai.
Which unit makes the best/worst sound.
Best sound: monk picking up a relic. Worst sound: monk conversion.
If Arabia did not exist, which map do you think everyone would be playing like people play Arabia?
NOMAD.
Who is your favourite and least favourite 1v1 opponent?
My favourite 1v1 opponent is Viper, least favourite opponent is MbL because he steals.
Who is your favourite team mate?
a) For just playing
Lyx.
b) Also outside of the game
Vivi.
c) Would you live in a room with him/her for a) 1 month, b) 1 year?
I would live with vivi and I actually did.
16. In the new expansions, what is your favourite new civilisation and unit?
Berbers, i like this new UU from Khmer, dont't remember what it is exactly called.
17. ECL: The tournament just started. Predict the top 8.
1. Secret
2. SY
3. AM
4. Suomi
5. Frantic
6. LoS
7. VNA
8. RC
Which 6 players from your country do you think will form the A team, if there will be a Nations Cup next summer? It will probably be on WK, which maps would you like to be included apart from Arabia, Nomad, Islands?
Me+Lyx+Paladin+Yinghua+Geoffrey+Vivi, just my guess. I would like all new maps...
Would you haved joined TyRanT if you were invited before Team Secret was formed or were you even once invited and declined?
I didn't get invited and even if I did I won't join, I love SY.
Which 4 players would you like to see forming a team? (can included inactive players)
Chris+DauT+Tim+Alive, old school party.
If you followed it: Which 6 / 8 players would you invite for Nili’s Apartment Cup 2? (Player 7 and 8 need to be excluded if 6 is the limit. Player 1-6 don’t need to be ranked)
Me, Viper, Liereyy, Nicov, TaToH, MbL, DauT, slam.
What kind of tournament would you like to participate in during the next months/year? 1V1, 2v2? Which map or map combinations?
I would like a 2v2 Arabia tournament with good prize.
Make a ranking of
a) the current top 10 players worldwide.
1. TheViper
2. Liereyy
3. Me
4. Nicov
5. TaToH
6. MbL
7. Vivi
8. DauT
9. Slam
10. TheMax
I think many people agree about those top 4, but TheMax is an interesting choice. We all know him as a very strong TG players, but he did not have any 1v1 success yet and that's why few would place him in a top 10.
b) the current top 10 Chinese players.
1. Me
2. Vivi
3. Tim
4. Lyx
5. Yinghua
6. CL
7. Paladin
8. Geoffrey
9. xiaofan
10. Whoop
What's the reason StrayDog is not inlcuded? I personally would put him somewhere at 7-10.
He's good but only in one map and one strategy, Arabia - 21-22 p up - 4 vils fwd, and he's not that good in team games.
Past Nations Cups and your team SY:
a) Before the Nations Cup 2017, did you expect your team not being as good as in the previous 2 Nations Cups or did you still think you were strong enough to reach the finals?
I didnt expect it, Yinghua had to quit the tournament in the middle of it due to his personal reasons, which weakened us a lot.
b) Do you think another NC final in China would be a good idea or are the possibilities with different new sponsors making it more likely to be in Europe or even somewhere else?
Personally I would like it to happen somewhere else since I want to travel 11.
c) Your current team in ECL actually looks quite strong, but if it does not peform well, what do you think will be the changes to SY for upcoming tournaments? Some new players like vivi or jibatong did not work well, adding a foreigner like dogao did not work well and Paladin and LoveCheng are getting older and might be past their peak.
I dont think anything would change, yes they are getting older but I still believe in their skills.
You think players in SY will not change much, and you predict SY behind Secret in the ECL. So is 2nd place now always your goal for 4v4 tournaments or do you think could SY will be able to compete in the future?
1st place is always our goal, but we have to face the truth that we aren't as strong as we once were, I think we will end up 2nd but we will all fight for the champion.
d) I know that you have the „SY boss“ as a sponsor and also all of your players have some income from streaming, but is there actually a chance for your team or a Chinese team in general to be picked up by a real e-sports organisation like TyRanT (Secret) was?
No, I don't think there will be an e-sport team that is going to take us, since most of us don't speak English, and AOE is just an old game. I was quite suprised that Secret still was interested in having an AOE team.
I hope you know something about this: What happened to these Chinese players:
1. Abu: He was playing hundreds of games almost daily from May 2017 until April 2018, even reached 2150+ on the 1v1 ladder on Voobly China again. What lead to this, why did he never go back to Voobly International and why did he stop again?
Abu just wanted some fun games with players he is familiar with, I don't know the exact reason why he stopped again but I guess it's because of work.
2. Jibatong: He was quite strong last year, maybe not good enough for SY A, but now he just disappeared.
He went to sell insurances.
3. Miss_Xue: He was originally in SY for ECL, although not playing much and on a lower level during the last year. Why was he on the team? And will he still ever come back on a higher level?
He planned to play, but then got sick. Miss_Xue is getting even older than Paladin, I don't think he will come back to play on a high level again.
4. Win_wu_kong (fangxiaoqi): He was also 2k2+ 1-2 years ago, was in SY for 1 tournament, but now he is playing at ~2k level on Voobly China. Does he just not want to play competitively?
No idea about him, but my guess is he just wants some fun games too.
5., 6. James and Jax: The were very strong team game players in one Nations Cup, but what happened afterwards, did they just retire from AoE?
Yes, they are both retired, for James, because of work, not sure about Jax.
7. _CBJ_lang: Also disappeared after being in good 2k2+ shape, or is he playing under a different name?
He is wanted by the law and running for his life as I have heard.
8. goodboy: How did his AoE/gaming career develop? He once came back to SY to play some team games, everyone was euphoric, but then he disappeared again.
Goodboy decided to quit long time ago, he tried to play a tournament when we asked him, but failed because work is taking most of his time.
If you visit AoEZone and Voobly, is there something you like especially or would like to have improved? Does it help in any way that you can view some of AoEZone in Chinese (the forum names, dates, help etc.)?
Now AOEZone and Voobly are working perfectly for me, and if someone can make a completely Chinese verison of this forum, it would help us a lot with no doubt.
What is the funniest moment in your life you experienced because of AoE?
When Abu deleted his TC in a tournament which his team was winning vs. us.
If you were not in a relationship, and could date anyone, who would it be?
Mica, because she's BEAUTIFUL.
What would you like to do to make the world better?
Stop singing in the morning.
Who do you want me to interview and what question would you like me to ask her/him?
Do Nicov and ask who he hates the most in aM.
Add one more comment or question for me or someone else.
I love my fans if there are any.
Thanks a lot for this interview and interesting information.
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