It’s The International or nothing for Captain Kuku and his men
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Over the past couple iterations of The International, TNC Pro Team was always the first Dota 2 squad to book a slot for the grand Dota 2 world championship through the Southeast Asia qualifier. They did it in two consecutive years: the first was in 2016 when they topped the single round-robin stage after going undefeated in a three-way tie, and last year after reigning the first phase of the regional qualifier.
It was a proof of dominance, if not an elaborate way of flaunting their potential as a world-class contender. Afterall, TNC will always be the team that pulled off the greatest upset in the history of competitive Dota 2, as well as the chief champion of the prestigious esports tournament, World Electronic Sports Games. Being the best in their region should be something that everyone, at the very least, expect from them.
But this year saw a different TNC. For the first time since 2016, the team has not only failed to secure the first qualifier slot dedicated for the region, but they also entered this year’s most significant Dota 2 tournament qualifier without any guidance from a foreign Dota 2 veteran. No Captain DeMoN from The International 2016 or Captain 1437 from The International 2017—The International 2018 is all up to Captain Kuku.
GG @FNATIC last chance tomorrow
— Kuku Palad (@kukudota) June 24, 2018
TNC was put under Kuku’s tutelage when the Philippine-based esports organization decided to replace 1437 with Armel for an all-Filipino line-up. The decision to recruit a meteoric midlaner impelled Kuku to assume the role of a position five support and in-game captain for the first time in his successful career with the team. As one of the most seasoned professional Dota 2 player in the Philippines, Kuku as a captain was unprecedented, but promising at the same time.
The debut of TNC’s all-Filipino line-up at The Bucharest Major, the fourth Major tournament of the Dota Pro Circuit, also served as Kuku’s trial by fire as captain. Matched against their SEA rivals in Mineski-Dota for their opening match, Kuku stepped up for the challenge and led TNC past the best-of-one group stages. Although they ended up getting kicked out in the quarterfinals of the playoffs, TNC’s future with Kuku at the helm was proven to be bright.
Throughout the entirety of the Dota Pro Circuit TNC has also acted as one of SEA’s gatekeepers in tournament qualifiers with Fnatic Dota. It was the SEA dichotomy: TNC or Fnatic. TNC has denied Fnatic their last chance to collect Dota Pro Circuit points when they trounced them at the China Dota 2 Supermajor SEA qualifier, the last Major tournament of the Dota Pro Circuit. Unfortunately, Fnatic came back at them with a clean sweep to secure the SEA’s first qualifier slot of The International 2018.
As much as TNC has showed consistency in their performances, there’s no need to sugarcoat that they objectively had the worst Dota season since they were branded as one of the region’s powerhouses. There were 22 Minor and Major tournaments in the entire Dota Pro Circuit, but TNC was only able to attend six of them. Out of those six chances to earn some coveted Dota Pro circuit points, the Phoenix has only risen in MDL Macau, where they finished second, and in Dota 2 Asian Championships 2018, where they ended up in fourth place.
But none of those should matter now for TNC and the Phoenix Army, the Dota 2 squad’s vigorous fan base, because Kuku is just about to lead Raven, Armel, SamH, and Tims in what is supposed to be the most important best-of-three of their entire Dota season. TNC’s do-or-die series at the loser’s finals of The International 2018 SEA qualifier will ultimately affirm:
- The final representatives of SEA at The International 2018
- The redemption of TNC’s lackluster Dota 2 season
- TNC’s first The International appearance with an all-Filipino Dota 2 roster; and most importantly
- Kuku’s potential as an in-game leader and captain
Kuku looks to lead TNC at the most prestigious Dota 2 tournament in Vancouver, Canada this August against the winner between Entity Gaming and TNC Tigers. Realistically speaking, whichever team to come out of the first round of the loser’s bracket is a mismatch against Kuku’s TNC. They’re not supposed to lose a match against a team that a fan won’t likely remember until the next iteration of The International. But if ever TNC ended up losing, no fan will certainly forget it.
