When was the last time an Indian Dota 2 team made a splash in the scene?
The last I remember was when Beyond Infinity (BI) made it to the finals of the TI6 SEA Open Qualifiers only to lose to TnC, who eventually went to Seattle and gave us one of the biggest upsets in Dota 2 history when they beat OG 2-0 to eliminate the Green Dream.
Before that, BI made through the open qualifiers for ESL One Manila. In the regional qualifiers, they beat Wu Jie 2-0 before succumbing 2-0 to Fnatic. Nevertheless, it was a valiant effort and the Indian Dota 2 community couldn’t have been more excited.
A year has gone by and a lot has changed in the Indian Dota 2 scene. The two top teams in India, Beyond Infinity and Invisible Wings amalgamated towards the end of 2016 to form Entity Esports in a bid to form the strongest Indian team that would propel the country into the global scene. But even that wasn't sufficient. The team underwent a lot of changes and the changes have been coming until very recently, when Entity Esports decided it was time to reel in the big fish from outside the nation.
Retaining two Indian players from their old squad (Position one player Blizzard and position two player Swifty), the new roster looks something like this:
Balaji 'Blizzard' Ramnarayan
Jeet 'Swifty' Kundra
Avelino 'Ab1ng' Parungao
Carlo 'BDz' Manolo
Job Real 'Jobeezy' Ramos
The new Entity Esports line-up
That’s right. It’s the same Ab1ng who had some great performances for Clutch Gamers in their march to victory in the ProDota Southeast Asia Cup and their strong showing the Kiev Major SEA Qualifiers. Jobeezy is the former captain of Arcanys Gaming and will be captaining Entity as well. The Indian team has also taken aboard an Indonesian coach (living in the United States) with a view to take it to the next stage. With founder and CEO Neeerav Rukhana’s backing along with manager Sid Joshi, who has been in the Indian Esports scene for a while, looking after the team, a recipe for success is brewing in Mumbai where the Entity gaming house is based. This is what Sid had to say about all the changes taking place:
“After our performance started lagging a bit in the last few months we figured it was time to go to the next level and get hire some support staff for the team. After going through various websites, we found Entruv and decided to bring him over from America. After the coach was finalized, we figured it only made sense to give a better line-up in his hands than our previous one. And Filipinos are notorious for their raw skill and dedication. That's why we decided to bring in a rookie and two established players. Our goals ahead are very simple. The International.”
Being someone who has followed the Indian scene for a while, I can say this was a much needed change. Not only will it bolster the country’s chances of making a mark on SEA Dota, it will also motivate others to up their game to challenge the Entity Esports. How well it turns out, only time will tell!
