If anyone was asked to list the top teams from Europe in Dota 2 at the beginning of 2022, no one would have the Entity squad on their list. At the start of the season, the team was busy climbing out of the trenches as they had just made it to the second division.
In less than a year, not only did Entity advance to the first division, but they also attended two Majors and finally made their way to The International 2022. Though the team was considered a dark horse throughout their entire journey, the sudden performance boost and the results meant a set of new expectations for the rookie roster heading into TI11. Entity’s captain Fishman recently talked to CyberSports.ru where he discussed their 2022 run and signaled another year together.
It’s relatively easy to spot teams that make it to TI while expecting not to be there. They crumble under pressure and often flame out early in the tournament. This wasn’t the case for Entity, however, as the team was motivated to perform.
“We’ve had a change in expectations for ourselves,” Fishman said. “We came to The International with the goal of winning and securing a high-place finish. This makes losing harder, but a team without expectations can’t be strong.”
Their expectations did indeed keep them alive in TI11, as Entity’s hopes of continuing the tournament depended on a tiebreaker which they eased through. Entity survived a 107-minutes-long series in the main event, but they were knocked out by Liquid in the next round, netting them a ninth-place finish at TI11.
Though Fishman was satisfied with Entity’s year from a realistic point of view, he thought the team still wanted more: “Even if we were to place second in the tournament, we would still want to achieve more.”
While Entity is still yet to have their “after TI” talk, according to Fishman, he said the squad was likely to stick together as they had just renewed their contract with Entity, complete with large buyout clauses.
Published: Oct 28, 2022 07:31 pm