Mineski-Dota Is Finally Back
For the first time in nine months, the words ‘champion’ and ‘Mineski’ are finally in the same sentence.
It’s actually not too long ago when Mineski was hailed as the champion, if we’re going to talk about championship per se. Last January, the Meracle-empowered Mineski-Dota swept the newly-formed Clutch Gamers to secure the ProDota Cup Southeast Asia #4 championship.
However, if we’re going to talk about an international championship, their PGL Open Bucharest achievement may be their first ever.
A Ghost From The Past
Mineski-Dota has been an active competitor since the dawn of the Warcraft III Defense of the Ancients custom map. They were infamously known as the kings of Mineski Pro Gaming League, a nationwide tournament which features Philippines’ best Dota teams.
As the competition transitioned its focus to Dota 2, Mineski-Dota also took the honor of being one of the few Southeast Asian teams to represent the region at the very first The International Dota 2 tournament back in 2011.
Of course, what came after those feats were unfortunate failures. Mineski-Dota tried experimenting with multiple roster combinations until they found this one with Mushi, Nana, iceiceice, Jabz, and Ninjaboogie.
Comeback Is Real
Over the course of their existence, Mineski-Dota has compiled a long list of achievements. However, among those feats, nothing trumps their latest success at Bucharest.
The SEA powerhouse defeated two The International champions, Natus Vincere and Evil Geniuses, en route to the championship. They also survived the onslaught of a promising stack composed of Korea’s best Dota 2 players to stomp The International 2017 fourth placer, LGD Gaming, in the grand finals.
From a viewer’s perspective, this is arguably Mineski-Dota‘s best finish since their conception. With players being greater now, in terms of skills and numbers, compared as to how it was before, Mineski‘s capability of dominating the current Dota 2 scene is clearly a notable achievement.
Their PGL Open Bucharest championship also evidently marks not only the end of Mineski-Dota‘s title drought but also their experimentation phase. Gone are the days when ‘Mineski-Dota‘ is a name synonymous to heartbreaks.
Negating the game-changing factor which can be brought by the Dueling Fates update, Mineski-Dota has a promising road ahead. They are exhibiting a unique kind of consistency which can possibly take them back to the grand stage of The International.
Until the end of the ESL One Hamburg 2017, the first Major tournament of the 2017-2018 Dota season, Mineski-Dota holds the first place in the leaderboard with 720 Dota Pro Circuit points. Next to them is The International 2017 grand champions, Team Liquid, with 450 Dota Pro Circuit points.
