At the moment, eSports is rapidly gaining momentum. Among the many games for which championships are held, Dota 2 has a special place. This is not strange, because the prize fund of the World Championship, which is attended by the strongest teams, has long been collecting more than $ 10 million. On the territory of the post-Soviet space there are several teams that are not only able to compete with the most formidable rivals, but even take first place. Among them is the Team Empire (Dota 2) team, the composition of which has repeatedly changed.
What did the team look like at the very beginning?
For a long time, the Empire squad in Dota 2 played in another arena, figuring out with rivals? who is the best in the world of Heroes of Newerth. However, in 2011, the team changed the e-sports discipline. The debut of the guys can not be called successful, because due to constant personnel shifts, the guys did not have the opportunity to concentrate on training, to get used to the style of play of each of the team members.
So, by 2012, Empire with Dota 2 left only one experienced player - Roman Sadotenkov (Scandal). It is under him that the selection of the rest of the team begins, which includes:
- Vladislav Morozyuk (BlowYourBrain).
- Ayrat Gayziev (Silent).
- Gleb Lipatnikov (Funn1k).
- Arthur Kostenko (Goblak).
In this roster, Team Empire for Dota 2 begins to demonstrate coherence and a consistently good game. But despite the enormous efforts of the guys, it did not work to take the prize.
New shocks
Trying to change the situation, the organizers continue to search for talented players who are able to pull the team to a higher level. 2013 was a very difficult year for the team, in which new faces began to appear again. So, in Empire in Dota 2 there is such a brilliant strategist as Gustav Magnusson, better known under the pseudonym S4. For this talented guy, this was his debut in the professional e-sports arena. But playing for the team from the post-Soviet space was not very convenient for him, and soon Gustav left the team.
After the loss of S4, which was a serious blow to the "Empire", the team leaves Funn1k. The guy who literally kept the whole game of the team goes to NA'VI, who offered him a better deal.
New Imperials
Despite the fact that the atmosphere inside the team left much to be desired, the managers still managed not only to keep the team, but also to bring it back to a major tournament. The updated Empire Dota 2 roster was as follows:
- Roman Fominyuk (Resolut1on).
- Andrey Bondarenko (AlwaysWannaFly).
- Andrey Chipenko (Mag).
- Ivan Skorohod (Vanskor).
- Ayrat Gayziev (Silent).
Initially, no one believed that these guys were able to become serious rivals for teams that demonstrated a high level of play over several years. However, they managed not only to win several major tournaments, beating their closest competitors Na'Vi and Virtus.Pro, but also to get a direct ticket to the Dota 2 World Cup.
The international 2014
Arriving at T14, the guys began to play in a completely different way. They chose those characters that had not been used before. For example, on T14, Razor became very fashionable, which advanced on the center line, and other players on the flanks had to adapt to it. However, overconfidence led the guys to lose one game after another. As a result, they did not have just one point to get to the next stage of the championship.
Unable to withstand the pressure of the team, Vanskor leaves Empire in Dota 2. Almost immediately it became known that he moved to Na'Vi. Unable to withstand the oppressive atmosphere, Mag leaves the team. But despite significant losses, the organizers found a way out of this situation and were able to prevent the complete disintegration of the team, which fans of the online game managed to fall in love with.
The international 2015
Having picked up new players, the Imperials were able to win several tournaments again and get a ticket to T15. The updated composition looked like this:
- Ayrat Gayziev (Silent).
- Roman Fominyuk (Resolut1on).
- Andrey Bondarenko (AlwaysWannaFly).
- Ilya Korobkin (AlohaDance).
- Maxim Kim (Yoky-).
At the World Cup, the guys were supported by a huge army of fans. But despite the good game, the team again failed to break into the next round. This leads to the fact that players again begin to leave the composition. Silent is forced to take long-term leave, as he was experiencing certain health problems. However, after the rest, he did not return to the team, but ended up in Virtus.Pro.
After long negotiations, the Impertsev camp included: Alexander Dashkevich (Khvost), Alexander Churochkin (NoFear) and Gleb Lipatnikov (Funn1k). They managed to demonstrate an excellent game and win DreamHack Moscow. However, a year later the team fell apart again.
Current composition
After a series of successes and bad luck, the organizers again assembled a worthy team, which showed itself well at The Kiev Major. At the moment, the team is as follows:
- Rostislav Lozovoy (Fn).
- Andrey Kodyuk (Ghostik).
- Vladimir Kuzmenko (Chappie).
- Rinat Abdullin (KingR).
- Yaroslav Naydenov (Miroshka).
But will this composition become permanent? The question remains open.