Manila Major Team Preview: Evil Geniuses
Manila Major Team Preview: EG
EG are the pride of the American Dota 2 scene, having been considered the best team in the region for a long time. Their Dota 2 roster has been part of the EG eSports organization since 2011 when Dota 2 became a competitive eSports discipline.
The team have had a number of different lineups with varying success over the years, but they rose to international prominence in 2014 when they started winning more tournaments, peaking with their 3rd place finish at the International that year.
The following year was even more successful for them as even in the presence of the all-star Team Secret, EG were awarded their most impressive accolade by becoming The International 2015 champions.
Following victory in Seattle, EG have performed very well in both Majors so far, securing 3rd place finishes in both Frankfurt and Shanghai.
Roster:
Kurtis “Aui_2000” Ling – position 1
Syed Sumail “SumaiL” Hassan – position 2
Kanishka “BuLba” Sosale – position 3
Clinton “Fear” Loomis – position 4
Peter “ppd” Dager (c) – position 5
2016 achievements:
Star Ladder Star Series Season 13 & i-League Season 4 – 2nd
MarsTV Dota 2 League Winter 2015 – 2nd
Captains Draft 3.0 – 1st
The Shanghai Major 2016 – 3rd
Dota Pit League Season 4 – 2nd
WePlay Dota 2 League Season 3 – 3rd
Epicenter – 5-6th
Current form:
May – 33.33% win rate (2 wins, 4 losses)
Top 5 most picked heroes (patch 6.87c)
| Hero | Matches | Win % |
| Lion | 5 | 66.67% |
| Invoker | 5 | 40.00% |
| Beastmaster | 4 | 50.00% |
| Sven | 3 | 66.67% |
| Abaddon | 3 | 66.67% |
Top 5 most banned heroes (patch 6.87c)
| Hero | Matches | Win % |
| Enchantress | 7 | 42.86% |
| Dragon Knight | 4 | 50.00% |
| Alchemist | 3 | 66.67% |
| Doom | 3 | 50.00% |
| Earth Spirit | 3 | 20.00% |
EG are a team still in transition – both in terms of playstyle and mentality.
Arteezy’s second departure in March has left them seriously wounded. The first time this happened EG actually became stronger and went on to win the most coveted Dota 2 prize – The International. However, this time UNiVeRsE has left with him, leaving huge holes in EG’s roster.
EG responded by acquiring back Aui_2000, who was present in the TI 5 winning team. They supplemented this by recruiting one of the players who is most renowned for his knowledge of Dota 2 – BuLba. Aui_2000 has now assumed a Carry role – before he used to play Support for the team.
The new roster managed to achieve a 5-6th place in Epicenter (where they didn’t impress much) after claiming 3rd in WePlay Dota 2 League Season 3, suggesting that the new recruits are bedding in well.
The team’s performance is strongly dependent on SumaiL and he usually gets a hero with whom he can have high impact, if not win the game. At the young age of 17, SumaiL is ranked amongst the top Dota 2 players in the world and apart from his high skill level, he usually provides a strong presence in his lane.
Fear is one EG player who should probably receive more recognition – he has been with EG since the beginning and has played every possible role competitively, doing lots of dirty work when needed. Currently, he is playing Support and his Bounty Hunter is something to watch out for.
In terms of playstyle, EG are one of the teams who are testing the water, with 27 different hero picks in 11 games in the 6.87c patch. They tend to stay in touch with the meta, picking popular heroes such as Lion, Invoker and Beastmaster, but they are also experimenting with less popular choices such as Sven and Abaddon.
Given all that’s happened with EG in the last three months, expectations for their performance in Manila have been lowered. However, they still have a high quality roster and if they find their chemistry during the tournament, they will perform to their usual high standards.
Dafabet will be providing competitive odds on The Manila Major.
