Team Ehome Preview: ESL One Manila
EHOME have always been a well-organised team from a country where the popularity of eSports is quite high. However, this hasn’t always translated into strong play or an impressive trophy cabinet.
After a long period of not being considered a top team, EHOME were hailed as resurrected just before the Shanghai Major, only to crumble to ashes again in the biggest Dota 2 event of the year so far, finishing 9th-12th.
Dota 2 is very dynamic and despite the team having won three consecutive tournaments before this, they underwhelmed in the Major. Whether the reason was Chinese New Year shortening their practice time, eLeVeN’s toothache during the group stage or simple complacency, EHOME failed to deliver when they were expected to do so. Inevitably, some rotation followed, with iceiceice and Fenrir joining the squad, while Cty and KaKa were released from service.
Current roster:
Zhang “LaNm” Zhicheng (c) – position 1
Wang “old chicken” Zhiyong – position 2
Ren “eLeVeN” Yangwei – position 3
Daryl Koh Pei “iceiceice” Xiang – position 4/5
Lu “Fenrir” Chao – position 4/5
Recent achievements
MarsTV Dota 2 League Winter 2015 – 1st
Shanghai Dota 2 Open – 1st
Dota 2 Radiant & Dire Cup 2015 – 1st
Win rate
April – 71% (5 wins, 2 losses)
Overall (patch 6.86) – 61.8% (34 wins, 21 losses)
Top 5 most popular heroes (patch 6.86)
|
Hero |
Pick % |
Times Picked |
| Earth Spirit | 41.8 | 23 |
| Invoker | 40.0 | 22 |
| Batrider | 34.5 | 19 |
| Enchantress | 32.7 | 18 |
| Faceless Void | 29.1 | 16 |
Top 5 most hated heroes (patch 6.86)
| Hero | Pick % |
Times Banned |
| Earth Spirit | 56.4 | 31 |
| Chen | 49.1 | 27 |
| Lone Druid | 43.6 | 24 |
| Faceless Void | 40.0 | 22 |
| Invoker | 38.2 | 21 |
The team have made some interesting rotations recently, with long-time Support LaNm going to play as a Carry. Having played every single role professionally in Dota, this shouldn’t be an issue for him.
Another surprise is iceiceice, who is a more than capable Offlaner but was recently announced in the position 4 Support role (LaNm’s old role).
LaNm is still the team’s drafter and captain, and therefore still the man steering the wheel. A veteran in the game, he is known for executing various drafts and preferring to experiment on occasion rather than sticking with what he knows. Another hallmark of his drafting is playing to the weaknesses of the enemy draft by counterpicking. He also likes to reveal the team’s Carry late in the draft so as to prevent counterpicking himself.
The new additions, iceiceice and Fenrir, are yet to be seen in action. Fenrir is considered to be one of the best Supports in the Chinese scene in position 5. Prior to going to EHOME, he featured in the Vici roster since their nascence in 2012, playing in the final of TI4 with them.
Meanwhile, iceiceice possesses great game reading ability, excellent momentary decision making and is an expert in creating opportunities. He has experience training with new coach “71”, while he was also part of Team DK so his adaptation to EHOME shouldn’t take long.
Their Shanghai Major roster was known for being able to execute an aggressive ganking style and despite the arrival of two new players, the core of the team, as well as the coach and manager Tang “71” Wenyi, are still there. Consequently, it is likely that the team will keep their usual playstyle.
The newcomers should give EHOME a significant skill boost, but a lack of skill was certainly not the reason why the team failed to perform on the big stage in Shanghai. It will be interesting to see whether the issues with motivation and attitude have been resolved, but if so, the team have every chance of being a top tier outfit in Manila.
Dafabet will be providing competitive odds on ESL One Manila.
