TI7 Aegis of the Immortal

Kuroky | Thoughts about career after TI7

Life after TI7 | Kuroky

How does a person that has reached the goal of his life feel himself? How to set up to fight the team that was a step away from throwing away from the tournament? For the site – theplayerstribune.com Kuro Salehi Takasomi tell about the way Team Liquid on TI7 and about his feelings after the victory.

It’s hard to describe what The International is, to a person who is not interested in e-sports.

The easiest way to compare TI with the Super Bowl, but there is only one match. The International is an endless Super Bowl. The struggle does not stop for a second, every action you take is watched by thousands of spectators in a crowded arena and millions around the globe on their screens.

Kuroky is the captain of Team Liquid, since 2015. He helped to recruit players into the squad, many of them at that time were relatively little known. Now everything is different.

Ivan Borislavov (MinD_ContRoL) Ivanov is a world-class off-line player. Lasse (MATUMBAMAN) Urpalainen is an amazing carry, charging us with his enthusiasm and gay pals. In 2016, we signed Amera (Miracle-) Al-Barkavi, a 20-year-old Jordanian who was the first in Dota 2 to take 9.000 points of solo-rating, and in the same year, Maroon (GH) Merhei joined Team Liquid – a great support, who added depth of our draft.

TI7 | Bad day for Team Liquid

Before the tournament, the captain felt very confident. They finished the performance in groups with the score 13-3 and went to the playoffs as favorites. They knew that if they just played our Dota, nobody would stop us. We just needed to do what we can.

Kuroky was almost 100% sure that this is their year.

And then Liquid lost in the first match of the grid.

Yes, they lost two maps to Invictus Gaming. But Liquid were not so bad, but eventually ended up in the bottom grid. Now, to win, they had to win 6 series in a row. I do not underestimate the merits IG – they are a great team, they played without fear, whereas Team Liquid was too conservative. They managed to surprise all with an unusual strategy that everybody respect.

Rehabilitation of the Liquids

The International is the main goal of every player in DotA. Subconsciously, Kuroky is thinking about The International constantly, and this obsession can knock anyone off when you finally get to this tournament. In the morning, before the match, he looked at his team and realized: something is wrong. They were not uninhibited, as usual. In none of the previous tournaments, he never feels such a fear of a mistake.

At the first glance on GH, Kuroky can see that he is nervous, it was his first The International. Team Liquid was not ready for a struggle and paid for this.

And this is normal. Teams on TI regularly break down under pressure, it’s even a kind of tradition. But captain’s task was to free the players from their own thoughts. During the interview, Kuroky always stayed calm, people know this Kuroky. But after that defeat, he knew that he needed to show his other side, one that others rarely see, add rigidity to wrest us from this prostration.

Captain arranged a long conversation with players. And by “conversation” I rather mean “speech”. It is unnatural for him to raise voice; from the outside, it usually seems like he forcing himself, but when Kuroky screams – his team immediately listens. “Wow, Kuro yells, something will happen.”

If Kuroky learned something from a long career in Dota, so this is the fact that there is nothing more important than good teamwork. Of course, players should be talented, disciplined, but if you got on The International, then it’s not even discussed. Everyone at this tournament knows what he is doing. When you fight with 17 of the best teams in the world for a prize fund of $ 24 million, you do not need additional motivation. And since everyone there is incredibly strong, the level of the game, in itself – does not play such a big role. The winners of the losers are not distinguished by the ability to behave in the hands, but the ability to co-exist with their teammates.

TI7 Liquids

Leadership, interaction, teamwork – that’s what determines the champion. Do your teammates trust each other? Will they not attack each other after an insulting defeat? Can you organize a team when someone makes a mistake in a gang or dies out of position? Can you keep the mood when the opponent comes forward, or drown in the negative? Of course, these phrases sound like cliches, but everyone who played at this level knows that this is the case. You can have the highest MMR in the world, but if you can not play with the team as a whole – you obviously lost.

So, when the guys did not find their place after the defeat from IG, Kuroky told them – “all your problems in your head, do not doubt your skill.” You can not let The International intimidate you. Yes, in fact, this tournament is very frightening, but thinking about the arena, what is at stake is tantamount to suicide. In fact, you need to deceive yourself, make you believe that this is just another tournament. “Do not think about winning! Just try to perform well. ” Because if you do it, everything else will fall into place.

Preparations for the TI7 Finals

Kuroky is an ordinary person, and also prone to fears and doubts. He visited seven The International, took second place in 2013, was in the top 8 in 2014, 2015 and 2016. Aegis became the goal of his life, and as a leader, he was able to look at things from the other side and understand the feelings young teammates who were not completely ready for this race.

“Guys, listen, I lost this tournament 6 times. And I’m not afraid to lose in the seventh, so do not be afraid either. We played a lot of tournaments together, and this one is just one of them. “

When you’re afraid to fly out, you’ll fall right in the dirt – which happened to the Team Liquid against IG. But on the other hand, one thing I can say for sure: when Team Liquid is playing for fun, they are the strongest team in Dota 2 in the world.

Kuroky captain

The next day we had a game against Team Secret, against them they always played well. In the first game, however, Liquids were simply destroyed. Everyone played badly, everything turned out disgusting. They should be charged with energy to play easily and freely, as they usually do. In the end, Liquids did not have a choice. If they did not play as usual, they would go home.

They win two maps in a row and got a ticket to the next stage of the tournament. From now on, they have kept a balance in every aspect of the game. Team Liquid defeated Team Empire, Virtus.pro, and then successively beat LGD and LGD.ForeverYoung. So they ended up in the grand finale with Newbee.

TI7 Aegis of the Immortal

In the end, they defeated them, with a score of 3-0, which happened for the first time in the history of TI. The best way was to reach the final, where they deserved to be. When we went to the game, I noticed how my guys are driving the crowd. After the first game, leaving the booth, MATUMBAMAN ran his hands across his throat in front of the camera.

“I know it’s hard to believe – there’s still a whole season ahead and a lot of other Dota 2 tournaments – but all my thoughts about The International. I tried to convince myself to live for today, I understand that such an obsession is not good, but in my case, everything went too far.

I am reassured by the knowledge that I am not alone in my thoughts. I am happy to play in the most hardworking, most magnanimous team in the world. Team Liquid is a truly unique team, they responded to each victory or defeat with diligence, discipline and mutual assistance. It’s an honor for me to be their captain, and we are ready for everything that awaits us ahead. The victory on The International was incredible. I knew that it would be so. But these guys made this victory really special.”