The road to Bucharest — Elephant

We continue getting to know the teams of The International 10 and today, it is time to learn about the region, from which 5 teams will play at TI. China, ladies and gentlemen.

The club of the superstars opens the series of materials about the teams from the Celestial. This is Elephant and this is their road to Bucharest.

Elephant’s portfolio

To know Elephant better, it is better to take a look at the most memorable aspects of the team initially. Elephant have not that many things to talk about due to the young age, according to the Dota standards, but there are things to consider.

• The date of the club’s foundation: October 1, 2020;
• The roster for The International 10: Eurus, Somnus`M, Yang, fy, Super, rOtK (coach);
• The region: China
• How the team made it to The International 10: the closed qualifiers in China
• The main achievements: the victory at China Dota2 Pro Cup Season 2, OGA Dota PIT Season 4: China, the 2nd place at OGA Dota PIT Season 5: China, the 4th place at i-League 2021 Season 2.

As we have dealt with the formal part of the review. It is time to move to the detailed introduction of «the elephants».

The first appearance

The appearance of the superstar team was talked about for the first time in October 2020. After a row of failures at The International 2018 and The International 2019, the top Chinese Dota players in the face of Somnus`M and fy left PSG.LGD and Yang parted ways with Vici Gaming.

The new power was created in China on October 1, 2020. The debut roster included «Sylar», «Somnus`M», «Yang», «fy», «RedPanda».

The idea of making the all-stars club is not new in the Dota world. There were examples in Europe with Team Secret and this practice was used a long time ago in China: if you look at DK and Big God it becomes clear that the star institute is developed better than anywhere in the world.

The team’s status should be highlighted by the organization. The players like «Somnus`M» and «fy» had serious appetites, so the club 4 Angry men had to become their new home, which was famous in China for its PUBG squad.

4 Angry Men were good with it but they refused the idea of entering the Dota market, as a result. The requests of the esportsmen could be too high or they just did not see the perspectives of the idea. And if we consider the nearest future, it becomes clear that 4AM was right.

The arrival of Eurus and the first problems

There were rumors during the club’s foundation that the third important Chinese player had to play in Elephant. It was all about «Eurus» who had been better known as «Paparazi».

At the moment of the club’s creation, «Eurus» was inactive, having a contract with Vici Gaming. «The tigers» obviously did not want to reinforce the potential competitor but the sides made a deal after all.

«Eurus» joined Elephant in November 2020. The roster was completed and it meant that the establishment of the team began.

And it did not go so smoothly.

Elephant, to be honest, failed the first two tournaments, which appeared to be CDA-FDC Professional Championship Season 1-2. The top 2 in the first season of CDA-FDC could be called a good result, considering the competition between the teams in the region, it was difficult to find justification for the top 6 in the second season.

«The elephants» rehabilitated pretty quickly. The team achieved victory at China Dota2 Pro Cup Season 2 and OGA Dota PIT Season 4: China in November-December 2020

However, the tournaments had no impact because the elephants were waiting for the DPC season ahead.

The DPC season 2021 and advancement to The International 10

The team of the Elephant level made it to the upper bracket of China without problems. They began during the regular season.

The mediocre game in the upper league by Elephant did not allow them to hold the place higher than the top 5. As a result, «the elephants» missed the first important tournament of the year.

The next and last chance to synergize was the second DPC season, which did not differ from the first one. Elephant finished fifth again and missed the second Major of the season, having signed themselves to the pretty controversial event called the closed qualifiers to The International 10.

Making it through the closed Chinese qualifiers due to 4 teams advancing to The International directly was not the easiest objective. Changes were necessary and they happened.

«RedPanda» was the first and probably the only player to leave. The young player was unlikely to compete with «Somnus`M», «fy», and «Eurus» in terms of authority, so he left the team in March 2020.

His slot was taken by another veteran of the Chinese Dota scene – «Super». Besides, the honored coach of the region «rOtK» had joined the team before that.

The star roster entered the closed qualifiers to The International 10 with full force. As we know, Elephant prevailed in that qualification but we can’t say that it was easy for them.

They lost to EHOME in the final of the upper bracket, after which they managed to proceed to the grand final of the qualifiers through the lower bracket and win the rematch against EHOME there. Elephant will go to The International where they will try to prove themselves after the very weak season compared to the countrymen.

«The elephants» had played three more commercial tournaments in China before going to Bucharest. The second place at OGA Dota PIT Season 5: China was the best result and, besides, the team reached the top 4 at i-League 2021 Season 2.

We make a pause in the history of Elephant here. We will watch the team full of superstars and extremely experienced players in the environment, which will allow them to show their maximum. We will see Elephant in Bucharest on October 7.

See you on EGamersWorld.