Today, the Philippines Will Go up Against the Best Dota 2 Team in the World
“From Quezon City, Philippines… the one-time The International qualified team, the maker of upsets… the fighting pride of the Philippines… Mineski!”
Imagine Michael Buffer introducing Gigabyte.Mineski (Mineski) before going up against Team Secret (Secret), arguably the best Dota 2 team today: would it give you the chills?
Perhaps, yes. Because first, we love the voice of MB; second, we all have that “sense” of Filipino pride in us and third, we are the “underdogs” coming in tonight’s quarterfinals winners’ bracket match-up. All those three make up a great Cinderella story that we all love.
If we are going to believe the betting stakes – 70-20 odds – for the third time around, then it’s the Europe-based team securing a top six spot as well as P9.5 million later tonight.
But if we are going to believe in what used to believe – Puso! (heart) – then maybe the Filipino team can turn the tides around.
Related: How Mineski secured the upper bracket slot
I don’t see this match-up as another “David and Goliath” tale. It’s 50-50. Mineski have showed how great their heart is in their past matches in this 3-million dollar tournament. An almost 2-1 series snatch from this year’s The International (TI) 5 runner-up, CDEC. Series sweeps against Swedish team Team Alliance and Chinese star EHOME. David and Goliath? Not much.
Both teams hold forth a talented pool. The Filipinos have the prodigy Ryan “raging_potato” Qui who has stunned ever-since the Philippine scene and the international stage. Carlo “Kuku” Palad, the (life) break out kid of the team, is now carving “-god” stature from prominent eSports personalities just few months into the competitive scene. The experience of Ryo “ryOyr” Hasegawa, former player of Rave Dota, in the global stage should add spice and motivation to the team’s fervor and mentality.
On the other hand, Secret being led by Clement “Puppey” Ivanov, considered to be one of the best captains Dota has ever seen, will raise the bar of mind-games and challenge for the Filipinos. Omar “w33ha” Aliwi, arguably one of the successful MMR-to-competitive-scene stories, has shown that his complex mid-game antics is an obstacle to overcome.
But this series will go beyond each roster’s pool of individual talents.
Mineski needs to pull off all the cards in their sleeves to go up against the smooth foot work of Secret as a five-man unit. A nice early rotation from JessieVash may disrupt the tempo of the Europeans. The Filipinos should also utilize teleport scrolls and answer back back-up responses by Secret, knowing the quick defensive plays from support duo of Puppey and Johan “Pieliedie” Astrom.
To do more, the raging_potato should dictate the flow of the game with his aggressiveness and critical decision-makings as the team’s captain. Because if not, then Puppey will take advantage with his pocket strategies that can catch the Filipinos off-guard. Mineski should counter-fire the tower-diving and reckless clashes that Secret can throw at any part of the game.
Mineski should also learn the art of patience (from Zhou!). The pick-off on raging_potato and Kuku in the middle lane during their third game against CDEC proved to be the turning point of that match. The Filipinos should not be complacent at all times. Secret, aiming for their third consecutive gold in two months, knows how to capitalize their opponent’s shortcomings.
Lastly, the variety of hero pool will come into play in this series. Both teams do have a wide-range of heroes to utilize. But given the recent performances of Mineski, it is expected that Secret will outright ban Huskar unless Puppey has thought of something of great counter to it. Mineski should get their hands on their comfortable heroes that would really work for them as a five-man squad. There’s no room for depending on individual talents.
This series would test the Filipinos’ team work, decision-makings, resiliency and most of all: heart.
Related: Mineski and the tradition of upset
“From Quezon City, Philippines… the one-time The International qualified team, the maker of upsets… the fighting pride of the Philippines… Mineski!” (Photo grabbed from Facebook of Janz Reyes)
Postscript: Beyond the Series
But what does it mean for the Filipino gaming community if Mineski win a series or better yet sweep one against Secret? Nothing.
Kidding. But really, what does it mean for us Pinoy Dota 2 supporters if Mineski secure a top six spot and P9.5 million take-home money later at around 6 p.m.?
Chances are: the Twitch chat will go wild, literally wild at 50,000 chats per second. The shout-casters will join the war cry of “PUSO!!” and “BUS YAN!!” While peenoise, err, Filipino Dota 2 fans? Easy bugattis (used to refer for betting pots).
Our Dota 2 professional scene has been through a lot of heartbreaking and tear-jerking moments in the past years: the Cinderella stint of Cavite-based Execration in SLTV X where they fought their hearts out in 47-gruesome-minutes; the glory that Overseas Filipino Gamers Rave Dota gained for themselves and for the all the Pinoys out there. More heartbreaking is: both teams faced Secret. Both losing.
And now? Mineski is writing their next chapter in the history of Dota 2 facing the “titan.”
This series, may it be just a quarterfinals match-up, is more than just about Filipino pride. It goes beyond believing and winning. It goes a lot more than a top six finish and a guaranteed 10-million take-home money. So, what does it really mean if Mineski takes the series later?
Reality.
That dreams do come true even in the thinnest sense of it. The dream of coming back in the international stage came true for Mineski. The dream of raising the Filipino flag in Dota 2 has been done a lot of times. Now, the dream that once dreamed by two Filipino teams, maybe a reality in the making: topple the giant.
And in the words of Pinoy shout-casters Dunoo and Lon: the dream is real.
#LabanMineski #LabanPilipinas #DreamisReal
Watch live video from MineskiTV on www.twitch.tv
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