Legendary Dota 2 coach 71 returns to China with Keen Gaming

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Tang “71” Wenyi is one of very few coaches in the Dota 2 professional scene that has never played competitively prior to picking up the clipboard, but his reputation and resume speak volumes for how good he is at his job. 

His legacy of helping teams win is part of why Keen Gaming went out and signed him following the departure of the team’s former coach, Zhang “LaNm” Zhicheng. 

“71’s coaching career is extremely legendary, and he is known for his rigorous and sharp words,” Keen Gaming said in the announcement. “With rich coaching experience, he has led many teams to achieve many brilliant glories. We believe that the addition of 71 can help this KG team further improve.”

The coach that once had the title of “Seven Lords” was a big part of EHOME’s success at the first every International, where the team built around Zou “820” Yitian and Yao “357” Yi challenged Natus Vincere in the grand finals. And after taking a break from coaching Dota following that season’s second-place finish, he returned and been a part of several other top finishes at TI events. 

He last coached for Mineski but parted ways with the team before TI9 after only being with the team for two months during 2019. Signing with Keen means he will be making his first return to Chinese Dota since leaving EHOME in 2016. 

He is taking over a roster that had high hopes for the 2019-20 Dota Pro Circuit but has failed to qualify for any tournament since the end of TI9. Song “dark”‘ Runxi and his team are going to be under some serious pressure for the next set of qualifiers, and the organization is hoping that 71 can whip them into shape.