I posted this on Playdota.com! Go support me thanks!
http://www.playdota.com/forums/294422/past-present-future--ehome/
Anyways.
EHOME is without a doubt China's most historical Dota team. Its history is full of ups and downs, with its highs such as winning WCG in a few years back, SMM in 08 (not sure about the year), ESWC in 2010.
With all these honors, the question is, how does EHOME stay at the top? They don't.
What people unfamiliar with EHOME is that it has been through so much struggles throughout their history. EHOME used to have the best possible team ever. Seriously.
EHOME.2009
EHOME.DC
EHOME.SNOY
EHOME.longdd
EHOME.GK
Some new to the Dota scene might wonder, who are some of these people? Well I can assure you that if you ask the Chinese people, they will know who are these gods.
In fact, several are still active today. Longdd is without a doubt China's double edge blade. When he is great, he is unstoppable. One can recall how he will be able to farm up his DK in seemingly impossible games, and turn the tide completely. There is of course his POTM. I recall games where he will roam and his arrows will terrorize the enemies.
Who can forget GK, the god of beastmaster. Armed with his ever perceptive ganking abilities he will penetrate the defenses of enemies and destroy their defense strategies. Some might argue that it is EHOME.X!!! (a player from a later era) that started the whole Lion frenzy, but it was GK that discovered the potential of Lion. His thoughts are still heard as he occasionally blogs about his thoughts about the Dota scene.
When we talk about Snoy, or affectionately referred to as Sony by the Chinese, one can never forget his Bristleback. He basically single handedly won WCG08 with this hero, and showcased his insane positioning. Another player FearDarkness also had much success with the hero, and it is hard to argue who is better. But the ganking abilities that Snoy provide with his Ogre Magi as well as his great Viper was certainly inspirational.
I am sure many of you are familiar with 2009. He was the captain of the extremely successful lgd.sGty, and he discovered talents such as ZSMJ and YYF. However, it is his previous years in EHOME that made him worshipped by players. Back in those days, 2009 was known for his love for the Hand of Midas when playing SF. I do not know much about him back then, but I am sure his recent successes such as SMM09 and more has made him internationally known.
Lastly, we have DC. If there was a support god, it would be fought between DC, dgc and 820. If there was a talking contest, DC will rape them. His influence as a coach for EHOME in ESWC2010 is undeniable, resulting in players from LOST referring to DC as a 'cheatbook'. I will not discuss the issue here, but the point being made is his deep knowledge of Dota. His supporting plays for the other players has enabled the others to shine. Not forgetting his trademark Weaver, he shows that he can succeed any role in the team. But having him as a support was one main reason to the success of EHOME back then. I would go so far as to say that any of the other players could be replaced, but replacing DC will simply destroy their foundation. (This statement is not intended to insult the other great players, but to highlight DC's influence)
The success of this team was then shattered with several issues. Following the retirement of 2009 due to his studies, EHOME was in jeopardy. Players began to discuss possible replacements, and it was obvious that players 820 and 357 from CANT, another successful Chinese team can fill in the gap. EHOME have been huge admirers of both players. However, with only 5 spots and 6 players, one would have to leave. It was Longdd that left and went to CANT.
From this point onwards, EHOME's faced much setbacks. They no longer had the same 'aura'. EHOME was defeatable, and opponents were able to tear them apart. EHOME was unable to function like it used to, and the retirement of DC and SNOY certainly did not help.
During this period of time, there were many changes to the team roster and the team added two players that were unknown: Dai and Ronaldo. Both players had great success and are extremely famous in another popular Chinese game with some similarities to Dota, 真三. It was predicted that they would be hugely successful in Dota.
However that was not the case. EHOME continued to play horribly, and after a short period of time, EHOME and ronaldo went separate ways. Dai was widely expected to leave, but it was decided to give him a second chance. A famous supporter Dgc from former rivals 7L (disbanded) then completed the roster of EHOME: 820, 357, GK, Dai, Dgc.
EHOME began to find some of their lost momentum, and began to show improvement. Despite this, Dgc left the team. Many commented that despite EHOME improving, Dgc was unable to fit in with the team well enough. It was during this period of time that the last member of the 'golden era' GK decided to retire. Many was saddened by this news as he represents the last link to their former glory. EHOME is set to be an entirely new team from the past.
After some time, EHOME was finally complete with these five players:
EHOME.820 (Carry)
EHOME.357 (Support)
EHOME.Dai (2nd Carry)
EHOME.King_J (Gank/Support)
EHOME.Burning (Gank/Support)
Many will know all of these players because they are the champions of the recent ESWC2010. However, when this team was just formed they were not successful at all. They were faced with criticism by many, even from supporters from EHOME. Dai was deemed to be not showing potential at all just like ronaldo previously did not. King_J was said to be a mediocre player, and Burning criticized as lacking synergy with the team and lacking map awareness.
Furthermore, the success of lgd.sGty by former EHOME player 2009 who has made a comeback further pressured EHOME and many supporters changed sides. During that time, lgd was seemingly invincible, and ESWC qualifiers were coming up.
EHOME decided to take a gamble. Player roles were changed.
820 changed from carry to support.
357 changed from support to semi-carry/gank.
Dai changed from 2nd carry to gank.
King_J changed from gank/support to semi-carry/gank.
Burning changed from gank/support to carry.
The change was deemed to be an outrage. 820 was one of the best carries in China, and yet he is now a supporter? All players with different roles were said to be doomed, much less qualify for ESWC. Several weeks before the qualifiers, EHOME continued to experience inconsistent performances, but not being able to beat lgd.sGty. When they did, it was not convincing to the public.
It was during ESWC qualifiers that we see a resurgent EHOME. People began to see EHOME being able to fight as a team after so long, and there were glimpses of the previous successful era. During the first game in the qualifier against the tough CH (With former EHOME players Longdd and Dgc), EHOME was able to comeback against an owning SF by SF god Pis and the crazy farmed Void by Longdd. I would recommend this replay as it shows how EHOME's players played with synergy whilst at a disadvantage, were able to work as a team to counter the strategies by CH.
Following the win over CH, they faced their biggest enemies, lgd.sGty. lgd was widely tipped to win the qualifiers and represent China in ESWC. However that was not the case. The game was not very memorable for me, but I recall how I began to see EHOME in a new perspective. EHOME was no longer the lost team in the shadow of their past glory.
EHOME won the qualifiers, and went on to the ESWC. Famous players and teams attended, and I can say without a doubt that EHOME was the show. Without losing a single set, EHOME clinched the championship. It was at that moment that people began to realize just how strong Chinese Dota is.
Throughout this whole history, another person that is worth mentioning is EHOME.71, the manager. He has been through thick and thin with EHOME, and is definitely a driving force. His spirit is very much respected.
I talk about this journey not as a means to insult anyone, or to say China/Asia Dota is better, but to show you how despite so many setbacks during their journey, EHOME was able to learn and fight to improve. EHOME is no longer trapped in the past, but living in the present.
That's all for now, I will discuss about other Chinese teams 7L and cD in future posts.
I would like to thank Tiramisu, Pwned, Hope for all the great times we had.
0 comments:
Post a Comment