[Flame Break] A Personal Take on ESL New York 2014
Well, ESL New York 2014, the second installation of the ESL series that featured Dota 2 saw another Chinese team, Vici Gaming, getting the crown. The Americans Evil Geniuses (EG) finished in second; the second time that they have gotten second place. EG finished with the same placing in the first edition of the competition held at Commerzbank Arena in Frankfurt, Germany.
The good thing about the competition from my perspective is that it had only a time difference of seven hours (it meant that while it was still 10:00 in the morning at Madison Square Garden, it’s just still 5:00 in the afternoon here in Ankara when the first pre-game show started), which meant that I would be able to catch most of the matches just after my classes have finished and before sleep catches up with me. In addition, the fast Internet allowed me to catch all the VODs, so that I have at least a very good idea of what has happened in each match.
To be honest, even though the games were absolutely fantastic from the first match in the quarterfinals between Natus Vincere and Vici Gaming up to the final match between the boys in green and the boys in blue, the tournament had its own share of problems. For instance, the tournament was held during weekday, which meant that a lot of people could not come to Madison Square Garden to watch the event live.
In addition, the tickets were said to be expensive (although I must say that the price was just about right for the cost of the venue), and finally, yes, you’ve guessed it right: DDOS attacks and some other technical problems made sure that there was a lot of pauses — especially on the first day of the tournament. Still, the fact can’t be denied that some of the best Dota 2 that has been played so far since the conclusion of the International was played on these grounds, and many will not forget these moments.
The angle that touched me the most in this tournament was that Black and co. claimed a championship trophy on American soil. I was particularly happy for Black, as he was working a lot in order to improve his game and has dedicated himself to become a better player. This is his first major championship since he went to China quite a long time ago in order to learn Chinese Dota. Right now, it has paid large dividends in terms of his play style and game sense (To compare, Black was one of the top three carries of Europe before he went to China; at the moment, he is China’s most stable and versatile carry, and he always manages to farm insanely no matter what happens in the game).
Black played insanely throughout the tournament all thanks to his teammates who do their part in order to create the much-needed space for him to be able to farm up his items and become a threat throughout the game. Iceiceice played out of his mind (although there were games where he fed; he claims in an interview that “it’s okay to feed”), Super played his games consistently; always remaining relevant as a competent mid player. The duo of FY and Fenrir did all that they can in order to create plays that will allow them to take objectives, win clashes, and create farming space.
Overall, even though it was a bit tiring to watch Dota 2 on Twitch for hours, it was fun watching the games that were being played. It was worth it to see Black finally happy after ages and ages of blood, sweat, and tears. After all, I think that the main story of this tournament is that hard work and dedication pays off in the end!
Subscribe to INQUIRER PLUS to get access to The Philippine Daily Inquirer & other 70+ titles, share up to 5 gadgets, listen to the news, download as early as 4am & share articles on social media. Call 896 6000.
