esports
As the countdown begins for the journey to Seattle, we take a look at how Malaysians would fare in TI7.
Historically, South East Asian teams have been known for some amazing runs and startling performances in The International. From TI3’s Orange E-Sports 4th place finish, to MVP.Phoenix’s surprising upsets in TI5, and Fnatic’s 4th place finish in TI6, there is no doubt that SEA teams, despite being the middle child of the various regions, can pack a punch and leave many teams gasping for air, trying to keep up with the fast-paced game that is what we loudly and proudly call South East Asian Dota.
Despite that, Malaysian teams have had a rocky year so far, with no team standing out as the region’s next favourite, and no direct invite to the main event. Let’s take a look at the possible teams that will represent our country in Seattle.
Fnatic
Many were disappointed (or relieved) when Yee Fung ‘Mushi’ Chai left Fnatic in February, saying that the rebuilding of the team is going to be tough, but by the looks of the current roster of the Swedish-sponsored Malaysia-based team, many fans have rallied back to the black and yellow. The multi-national team consists of WarriorsGaming.Unity’s Jay Son ‘ahjit’ Lai, Seon-Yeop ‘QO’ Kim, Chong Xin ‘Ohaiyo’ Khoo, Yongmin ‘Febby’ Kim and Djardel ‘DJ’ Mampusti.
On paper, the roster has gathered the best minds (and hands) of the region, with all of the players having international experience, and each masters of their own role. However, this new roster is fresh, and a direct invite is almost out of the question unless they win multiple LAN tournaments back-to-back in the upcoming few weeks. However, getting a qualifier invite is highly possible, and we expect them to be able to make things interesting there. If they ever make it to Seattle, however, their playstyle and the Korean factor of insane comebacks might be their ticket to the top.
Mineski
Where Mushi goes, things will begin to get interesting. He’s brought up many teams to championship calibre under his iron-fisted command, and the new Mineski squad looks interesting even without him. The first CIS player to ever play in a South East Asian team, Andrew ‘Mag’ Chipenko of Team Empire fame, joins forces with fellow comrade Egor ‘.Ark’ Zhabotinskii (who has been playing in Tier 3 teams prior to this), Filipino veterans Michael ‘nb’ Ross, Ryo ‘ryOyr’ Hasegawa and Mushi himself, makes a formidable team for the region.
Like Fnatic, Mineski’s roster was announced late into the transfer window - Ark and ryOyr joining less than 3 days prior to the roster lock, a nearly full overhaul of the team. Also like Fnatic, the team is untested in international waters, so a direct invite will not happen unless something amazing happens. However, Mushi has built a solid team on paper to contest in the SEA qualifiers, and when push comes to shove, we’ll see how Mineski performs against the best of the region as well. Contrary to Fnatic, Mineski’s roster has relatively green players, and even if they ever make it to Seattle, the writer feels that they will not make it far.
WarriorsGaming.Unity
Losing their mid player ahjit to Fnatic, and captain Soon Chuan ‘ahfu’ Tue to LGD.FY was a blow, but the team seeks to rebuild themselves with some young blood. Returning to the main lineup is Ee Wooi ‘Wenn’ Neng (who was a substitute for the main team), with WG.Young’s Kee Chyuan ‘Chyuan’ Ng, and the ever faithful Boon Seng ‘NaNa’ Kam, Jian Wei ‘xNova’ Yap and Soon Khong ‘Kang’ Chua.
WG.Unity has always been the underdog of many tournaments, and consistently surprises those who pit their bets against them by playing and excelling as a team, and they ought to do it with the new roster as well. WG.Unity’s performance recently was not too shabby either, and an invite to the qualifiers is almost certain. They’ve made it to major events through determination, skill and some luck, and if anything, you can never count WG.Unity out.
Geek Fam
The team that is currently on fire on social media, Geek Fam, has been living through the year - not achieving anything major as of yet, but is known to cause an upset every now and then, and is not a team to be taken lightly. Alaan 'SexyBamboe' Faraj, Roger ‘Rodgeee’ Tan and Byron ‘syeonix’ Young fly the Malaysian flag high, while John ‘Teehee’ Abanto and Taesung ‘Velo’ Kim complete the squad.
Geek Fam has been on a slump for the past few weeks, but getting an invite to the regional qualifiers is still possible. However, they’re going to have to put in some work from now until the qualifier reveal if they want to secure a spot in the regional qualifiers, or they will have to face the dreaded open qualifiers. However, the potential is strong in Geek Fam, and they’ve always had the best 6th player - their fans on social media to back them up.
Needless to say, Malaysians have more than enough teams to support during The International period, and it will be up to them to bring back the glory of the country while in Seattle. The road will not be easy as many teams in the region have stepped up their game, but if anything, Malaysians have always been the best in surprising the crowd.
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