Gaming
We spoke to talented support player Yazied ‘YapzOr’ Jaradat to find out more about his new team.
The roster shuffle period in Dota 2 is often manic, with many a top team chopping and changing as they seek to find the perfect five. The Kiev Major that takes place in April is the primary focus, as they seek to establish themselves as one of the best at a Valve-run tournament.
Jordanian Yazied ‘YapzOr’ Jaradat enjoyed a degree of success with Escape Gaming, including an appearance at The International 6, but pastures new await for the exuberant support player. In one of the more exciting roster shake-ups, YapzOr is joined by an eclectic mix of household names and a newcomer as he seeks glory on the biggest stage.
He’s joined in team B)ears by ex-Liquid midlaner Adrian ‘FATA-’ Trinks, two of South East Asia’s finest in Adam ‘343’ Shah and Lee ‘Forev’ Sang-don and fellow Jordanian and unknown entity Feras ‘Feero’ Hroob.
On paper, the new roster has an abundance of talent and experience and, should it prove readily transferrable, they could be set for a big 2017. We spoke to Yazied to find out more about his new home.
Congratulations on joining the new team. It’s a really exciting roster on paper. How exactly did the team come about?
Thanks very much. It all started when FATA- approached me after the Boston Major qualifiers and mentioned he had a cool idea for a new team. I’ve been in touch with 343 since after The International 6 and had already talked to FATA-. I was the player who suggested Feero as we’ve been friends for a long time and I see huge potential in him. Adam and Adrian both loved the idea so he jumped on board. We were struggling to find the right offlaner for us until we spoke to Forev and once we spoke to him we got a very good feeling about him. Ultimately, he believes that team chemistry is more important than anything else.
The community seem pretty excited about the new roster. You’ve got a great mixture of experience and new and upcoming talent, which seems to be key in Dota 2 these days. Tell us a bit more about what we can expect from Feero.
What I can tell you about Feero is that he’s an extremely, extremely high-skilled player. He’s amazing mechanically and he is super-motivated which is key. I do firmly believe that with time, there’s a chance that he could become one of the best players on the world stage.
If I’m completely honest, we don’t care at all where each player is from
The new roster sees you bring together some of the best SEA players with some top EU players. It’s sadly not always been an experiment that has worked, so are you confident that your new team can break the mould?
If I’m completely honest, we don’t care at all where each player is from. This team is purely built on good feeling, friendship and synergy. We didn’t have any trials at all, we just had great intuitive long talks with one another to best understand how each of us think. It shows as well; confidence couldn’t be higher. I am of the personal opinion that it’s best to build a team around that kind of structure.
It’s also been announced that you’ll be competing in an already competitive EU field over any other region. Why have the team chosen Europe?
The team unanimously believe that Europe is comfortably the best region to not only prove yourself as a team, but also to improve at the game as (generally speaking) it’s the highest level of Dota 2. We’re also most likely to be based in Germany.
You’ll be playing with a new support partner in 343. Are you excited about the new duo? How do you think it’ll differ from your previous partners?
I think Adam is smarter than I am when it comes to sheer understanding of the game, which is great. We talk a lot about what we think about the game and which support duos we think are the strongest. Luckily, we’re both on the same page in those terms and every time I play with him I think we both learn a lot from each other. To be honest, I’m extremely excited to play with him competitively.
On a personal level, what do you hope to achieve with the new team?
For quite a while now I’ve been trying to get my name out there, for lack of better phrasing. I think with my play on Escape Gaming I have managed to do that now, so the main focus for me is winning. Winning is all that I want to personally do right now.
Does that differ as a team? Have you outlined short and long-term goals?
Of course, as with any team, we’re aiming for success in tournaments both short and long-term. If something was to happen later on, the team will fight on and continue to compete as we’ve built it around such strong foundations.
When a new team like B)ears is established, how long does it take to find the playstyle that suits you? Who chooses the way the team should play?
I actually think in terms of playstyle we’re very close to finding our optimal style. We’ve already talked extensively about the way we want to play the game and the best thing is that we’re all on the same page. It will only be the draft and the draft order that we have to improve on substantially. FATA- will be the captain of the team and we all deeply believe in his capabilities as a captain – so it will mostly be him who points out the direction we will be headed in terms of gameplay.
How are you finding 7.01 compared to the 6.88 patches? Who do you think is strong and what’s your favourite hero to play?
At the moment I’m really liking 7.01. I think it’s very similar in terms of playstyle to other patches but almost amplified by the other changes that Valve have made in 7.00. I would rather not share the heroes that I believe are strongest at the moment, but my favourite hero to play is definitely Rubick.
With qualifiers fast approaching for the Dota 2 Asia Championships and Kiev likely not far away, new rosters will have to learn quickly and adapt to have any chance of competing with the well-established top teams in the scene.
It’s a brutal scene and, as we’ve seen before, if teams don’t hit the ground running it can often be difficult to overcome mediocrity and penetrate the top tiers of competitive Dota 2.
On paper, the B)ears roster has everything it needs to be one of the best; only time will tell as to whether dream becomes reality for Yazied and co.
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