Get to know a little more about Whitemon, who could be retiring from professional Dota 2 to pursue a singing career (not really). Read our exclusive interview from BetBoom Dacha!
The BetBoom Dacha (BB Dacha) Group Stage is over for Tundra Esports, and Matthew "Whitemon" Filemon can rest easy as his team is already in the play-offs. After playing the PGL Wallachia S2 event with three stand-ins, Tundra players are finally in shape to play at its full potential. And results are there to back them up.
Thanks to FISSURE, we had the chance to sit down with Whitemon and ask him about his career, the process of playing with an incomplete roster, and the teams he's looking forward to play against in Belgrade. However, it's not all about work. Whitemon is an entertaining guy, and a very loved player in the Southeast Asia (SEA) community. Thus, it was nice to get to know this other side of him that many may be missing behind the pro matches.
Tundra Whitemon full interview at BB Dacha Belgrade 2024
This is the first time we're seeing the new Tundra, but you've been part of previous versions. So, what's the deal? What's the biggest change with this new team?
"We haven’t had enough days to practice. We’re still kinda new to each other. We’re just talking, getting to know each other, trying to talk about gameplay, heroes. I think we’ll have to play and do our best first."
I’m jumping straight to this one. You have quite a few videos singing. Why?
[Intense laugher] "At first, every time I played SEA rank, I queued with some pinoys. One of them told me, 'Try this one song, it’s really good.' I listened to it and I kinda liked it. So I kept listening to pinoy songs after that, and then, suddenly, Kuku told me, 'Whitemon, you need to sing this one. You’re gonna be really popular!' I was like, 'Okay, I’m gonna try to listen to it.' After that, I thought, 'Okay, this one is easy [to learn].' I sang it, but I didn’t know the meaning of this song. So, after I uploaded it to my YouTube [channel], he told me that the lyrics are dirty. [Laughs] So I kinda got trapped!"
I never would have known!
"Yeah, it was so fun to see the reactions. The comments said, 'Oh, you have good potential!' But I don’t think so."
Are you going to sing something else soon? Do you want to spoil it?
"I think for now, I’m retired from singing. I cannot do that anymore." [Laughs]
Fair enough! You said this happens on stream. I want to know your opinion on streaming and being a pro player. How do you find balance?
"I think, if you like streaming casually, it’s fine. During breaks, or when you don’t have tournaments, or practice. I only stream when I go back to Indonesia because it’s [the] holidays for me. I'm enjoying my free time, so it’s kind of chill. I usually stream only then. But I think, being a pro player, you shouldn’t stream every day."
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So, 10 years from now, if you retire from competitive Dota 2, would you become a streamer?
[Laughs] "Maybe. We’ll see!"
You look like a guy with a sense of humor. So, who else on the team would you label as funny?
"Moonmeander is a funny guy. But I don’t know if I can share our funny moments here. [Laughs] We like to talk sh*t about some… heroes. Yeah, and some, ah… you know!"
Okay, okay, don’t share anymore! Changing topics: After playing in three regions, what’s the highlight about each one of them for you?
"I mean, for sure I enjoy playing in Europe a lot. In SEA, they play kinda slow and often play for team fights. They wait for their items and play for late-game timings. In NA, they play more for the objectives. But if you mess up their timings, they don’t know what to do anymore. That’s why EU is the best for me."
So, my last question is: Last time you played with Tundra, you got third place. But this was with stand-ins. Now that you have the full roster, is there any team in particular that you want to get revenge against? Doesn’t have to be a team playing this BetBoom Dacha.
"Not a specific one. I would like to play against some good teams, like Gaimin Gladiators, Team Liquid, BetBoom Team. We haven’t played with them or scrimmed with them."
Can I ask, out of curiosity, why not HEROIC?
"I mean, yeah, we lost like three times against them. But I don’t feel I need a revenge against them. I mean, they’re playing well, but I still aim for higher tier teams."
Tundra Esports and Whitemon were already in the playoffs for the BB Dacha Belgrade 2024 before playing their last Group Stage match. However, their journey is just starting, as the Playoffs start on Oct. 23. Make sure to follow the full coverage of this tournament in our Dota 2 section!
