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TNC talk Faceless and the road to TI7
The International 7 is nearly upon us and the competition is as fierce as ever. One team that harbour high hopes of making it to Seattle are TNC; we spoke to the squad ahead of Galaxy Battles.
We’re now officially on the home straight. There’s just under two months until Valve’s flagship Dota 2 tournament, The International, returns for its seventh iteration. The prize money currently sits just shy of $15,000,000 but could well eclipse the record breaking $20,770,438 it reached last year. For some teams, late roster movements have left them facing the daunting prospect of a journey through even the Open Qualifiers. For many, there’s very few shots left now at ensuring your name on Valve’s mystery invite list. Whilst the likes of Liquid, EG and OG seem almost assured of an invite to the Seattle tournament, things aren’t quite as rosy for talented roster TNC. Yet there’s definitely reason to be optimistic.
Marc ‘Raven’ Polo Fausto, Carlo ‘Kuku’ Palad, Samson Solomon Enojosa ‘Sam_H’ Hidalgo and Timothy ‘Tims’ Randrup are the four extremely talented Filipinos that have been with TNC since 2016. They performed brilliantly in the Kiev Major group stage, beating EG, Thunderbirds and Digital Chaos and only dropping a series to eventual runner-up Virtus.pro. Sadly, when it came to the crunch on the main stage, SEA rivals Faceless edged them out by two games to one leaving TNC out of the tournament due to the unforgiving tournament format.
Cue changes, and in almost a mirror to last year when the TNC picked up Jimmy ‘DeMoN’ Ho as their North American captain ahead of The International – the team instead opted for Theeban ‘1437’ Siva, a man who competed in each of Valve’s first four TI tournaments.
We caught up with the squad ahead of their trip to Galaxy Battles to find out exactly what they’re hoping for as we head full steam for The International 7.
You guys looked really strong at the Kiev Major until you faced Faceless, a team that you struggled with in 2017. Were they the one team you didn't want to face? Do you think you would have progressed further should the tournament have been double elimination or if you faced a different team in the first round?
Tims: Maybe. If we faced another team we could potentially have achieved a higher place I think.
Kuku: Probably. We really didn’t want to face Faceless so early. Maybe we had a big chance of winning the whole Major if we faced a different team in the first round.
Sam_H: For me, everything that happened in the Kiev Majors at the group stage and playoffs is because of what we as a team do. In the group stage we did really well because we played our game. In the playoffs Faceless knew how we played but we also knew how they played. Unfortunately at that time, in that match, they were the better team. It doesn't matter who we faced in the main event. We should be prepared to face anyone if we want to win the Majors.
Raven: We really didn’t want to play against Faceless in the first round as they’re most familiar with the way that we played. I don’t really blame the format of the event though. If we can’t beat Faceless then we don’t deserve it.
You famously defeated OG at TI 6 and have shown glimpses of being a phenomenal team. Back then it was Jimmy 'Demon' Ho who captained you and now you've gone for another NA leader in Theeban '1437' Siva – why did you move to grab Theeban as your captain?
Raven: After Kiev we were thinking that we really need a captain. We chose Jimmy back then, but we thought we needed a better captain. We needed player that could really call and command in game and we think 1437 is the guy for that.
Kuku: Recently our team has been good, but we really do lack commands at times. I just can’t captain while playing mid lane.
Sam_H: It was everybody's decision. We've been in a similar situation before and now we all have confidence in Theeban's leadership.
You put in a strong showing at Starladder considering you had barely played together. What are your hopes going forward? What do you think you need to do to guarantee a TI invite?
Tims: We don’t expect to get invited in TI. If we get an invite then amazing but if not we need to go to a qualifier and win it.
I don’t really think about a direct invite for The International. It’s much better if you qualify for the tournament – it feels like you really deserve it.
Raven: For me, as long as we do our best then that’s OK with me. I don’t really think about a direct invite for The International. It’s much better if you qualify for the tournament – it feels like you really deserve it.
Kuku: First, we want to be a consistent team by winning tournaments and if we win this coming Galaxy Battles then I would say we have a good chance of getting an invite to TI.
Sam_H: We are now focusing on Galaxy Battles this coming June. We are really not expecting a direct invite to TI7 so that we won't get disappointed if we don’t receive one. If we do, of course we will be thankful. We will just do our best in our next events.
1437: Going forward I think there is no need to get ahead of ourselves as to what we want to accomplish together. I think taking your time and moving one step at a time is important and whatever comes of it is where we shall be. As for what to do to guarantee an invite to the International – win the SEA qualifier! If we win LAN or not doesn't really guarantee an invite. The only real sure way is to perform in the qualifier and that will be the focus when the time comes.
You've continued working with Kips after your run in Kiev. How does the relationship work between the team and the coach?
Tims: I feel like we’re doing really well with Kips, she helps us out a lot. She shares her knowledge about the game.
Raven: Working with Kips is great because she’s smart and teaches what we really didn’t see in Dota. Our Dota is getting easy because of Kips and 1437.
Sam_H: She’s really a huge help to us – especially when it comes to preparing for our upcoming opponents.
With 7.0.6 looking likely to be the last major gameplay patch before TI, how do you feel it works for you guys? Do you feel it suits your play style?
Tims: I don’t know if it's suiting our play style for now, I still think we need to learn a lot in this new patch.
Raven: I think this patch is very good for us because of how we play. I don’t really want to give anything away, but I feel like it suits our play style well.
Kuku: It felt so good when the new patch removed the respawn timer!
Sam_H: We were able to figure out a little of the new update, but I believe we still have a lot of work to do to get a hold of the new patch.
1437: I think there is a chance there will be another main gameplay patch post qualifiers for The International. As for the patch suiting us, I think it’s more important to try and meet the patch halfway; your own play style and adapting to the patch.
It seems everyone at TNC gets on very well and spends a lot of time together. How important is team synergy for a squad looking to compete at the highest level?
Tims: It is so important to have team synergy because you need to be as five, thinking on the same page.
Raven: It’s really important for the team to bond and have a good relationship. We need to trust each other – that’s how our Dota will become easier.
Kuku: We're not just team-mates, we're basically brothers and it's great because you trust each other so much.
Sam_H: Trust and communication is really important for us that's why we keep open communication. We take some time to get to know each other too.
1437: Team synergy is extremely important but it’s very much different for every team and player. For us what we do works and everyone can feel comfortable.
Realistically, what are your hopes and goals for this summer? TI Qualification? A higher placing?
Tims: If not invited, qualify for The International and win the tournament.
Raven: Of course I want to be the champion, but all I can do is give my best for this TI and see how far we can get.
Kuku: For us, we first want to qualify for TI. If we do get to TI, I’m just going to do my best and trust in my team-mates as we look to place as highly as possible.
Sam_H: We are taking it one event at a time, so our focus is on Galaxy Battles.
1437: Hopes and goals for this summer are to try and get in the best shape possible for the International and have no regrets whatsoever.
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