Dota 2: Offlaners At The International 12 And Their Signature Heroes #3
| Tags: Dota 2
| Author Zlosterr
These are the remaining offlaners at The International 12 that we’ll have the chance to see next month in Seattle.
If you like offlaners, you’ve probably already read part 2 of our series regarding the offlaners at The International 12. Since the best Dota 2 teams will be at this tournament, it’s no surprise that all players here are on another level. The offlane is often one of the most underrated positions and does not get enough credit, but people who know what they’re doing always appreciate the best offlaners.
Since the qualifiers for The International 12 are over, the Dota 2 community knows the names of all teams that will be a part of the tournament. So, let’s learn more details about the remaining squads and see who will be the offlaner that will help them achieve their ultimate goal – win TI12.
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David “Moo” Hull – nouns
After an epic battle in the North American Dota 2 TI12 qualifiers, nouns won them, and it will be one of the NA teams that will take part in this competition. Sadly, the squad wasn’t able to get a direct invitation because of the lack of DPC points, but it eventually made it.
Speaking of nouns, the team has a few popular names, such as their offlaner Moo. A lot of people think this is one of the most interesting offlaners at The International 12 because he’s been a professional player for almost 10 years now. People following Dota 2 over the years probably remember that he played for the likes of Digital Chaos. In fact, this was when Moo’s team reached the final of TI 6.
Aside from DC, Moo played for J.Storm, compLexity Gaming, business associates, and more. In addition to being a popular offlaner, Moo can also play support. He’s well-known for playing some heroes a lot better than others:
Gustavo “fcr” Ribeiro – Keyd Stars
There’s no arguing that Keyd Stars is not the first name you think of when talking about The International 12. In fact, this team barely made it into the finals because it had to go through the qualifiers. Surprisingly, the squad succeeded, and one of he reasons for its success was their offlaner fcr.
This person is going to be one of the more interesting offlaners at The International 12 because of his previous experience. He used to be a carry before, but nowadays, he’s a popular offlaner who can play with many heroes.
We’ve only seen a couple of games of fcr, so we do not know much about all the heroes he’s good with. However, there are a couple of options that are more interesting:
Mario “LittleBoy” Valdivia – Thunder Awaken
If you are a fan of the South American Dota 2 scene, you definitely like Thunder Awaken. Even though the arrival of Evil Geniuses has had a bad effect on TA because they lost all of their top players, the team managed to rebuild its roster. It was unable to secure enough DPC points for a TI invite, but after winning the SA qualifiers, we will get the chance to see them in action.
One of the interesting offlaners at The International 12 is called LittleBoy and he’s currently playing for Thunder Awaken. Also known as ILICH-, the player was a part of a few other South American teams before joining the reformed Thunder Awaken. Over the course of his career, LittleBoy has played with a couple of heroes, but most people will associate him with one of these 3:
Kim “Gabbi” Santos – Entity
Although Entity’s roster looked really good before the beginning of the new DPC season, the squad wasn’t able to do much. After failing to qualify directly for The International 12, the roster had to participate in the qualifiers. Thankfully, one of the best offlaners at The International 12 and his team earned their spot in Seattle.
Speaking of offlaners, Gabbi is probably not the first name that comes to mind when talking about this position. Sure, the player is really good, but most of you associate him with being carry.
Gabbi was Fnatic’s carry for one year, but he also played for the likes of T1, Talon Esports, TNC, Execration, and tons of other SEA teams. However, after Fnatic’s decision to stop its Dota 2 operations for now, the player moved to Western Europe, where he had to change his position to offlane.
A lot of people were skeptical about this transition, but Gabbi has proven he can play pretty much any hero. The list consists of options like:
Tobias “Tobi” Buchner – Quest Esports
The next name on the list of the top offlaners at The International 12 is Tobi, who’s currently a part of Quest Esports. The latter shocked the world af ew months ago, but they didn’t have enough time to get enough DPC points. Thankfully, the team focused and won the Western European Dota 2 TI 12 qualifiers to secure one of the slots.
Before becoming a part of QE, Tobi was the offlaner for Entity for almost 2 years. He was fairly good at his position, but the player decided it was time to change something. Consequently, he became a part of the new team.
Tobi has been a key part of the WEU Dota 2 scene for years, so we’ve seen him playing with a wide range of heroes. Even though he adapts to every meta, there are certain heroes he’s more comfortable with, such as those below. What’s very interesting is that he is among the few professionals that keep picking Pangolier for the offlane.
Evgeniy “Noticed” Ignatenko – Virtus.Pro
Virtus.Pro has always been one of the biggest names in the Eastern European Dota 2 scene. Sadly, the drastic roster changes from the last couple of years do not allow the team to reach its former glory, so it wasn’t able to qualify directly for TI 12.
Thankfully, one of the interesting offlaners at The International 12 and his crew won the Eastern European qualifiers. Noticed was a key part of the team and had a major role in its success, so he quickly became the fan-favorite.
Noticed is one interesting name at this event because he’s just 21 years old. Nevertheless, being a professional player for more than 4 years, Noticed played for several big teams, including Winstrike Teak and BetBoom Team. With that said, he joined VP in late 2022 and helped the team reach the best results possible.
Noticed can play pretty much all heroes out there. However, he is mostly interested in:
Yang “Chalice” Shenyi – Azure Ray
The Chinese Dota 2 region wasn’t that interesting in 2023 because the best teams here weren’t on the same level as the rest. However, just a few months prior to The International 12, a new team emerged called Azure Ray. If you take a look at it, you will see it consists of some of China’s biggest names, such as Chalice.
Chalice is one of the offlaners at The International 12 with the most experience. Over his career (which started in 2016), he has won a total of $2M. Chalice was a part of PSG.LGD between 2017 and 2020, but he also played for EHOME and Royal Never Give Up. Needless to say, this is a player that can play with any hero, regardless of the meta.
Besides being an offlaner, Chalice used to be the team’s carry many years ago. Today, most people who watch his games can often see him on the following:
Natthaphon “Masaros” Ouanphakdee – Team SMG
The last offlaner at The International 12 we need to talk about is Masaros from Team SMG. The latter is one of the interesting teams in SEA that’s been around for some time now, but the squad is finally making its debut on the big stage. Thanks to Masaros, his team will play alongside the best at The International 12.
What’s interesting about Masaros is that he’s been a professional since 2016. Although some of you may not know much information about him, he was a part of Fnatic for around 1 year. Besides that, he also played for Bleed Esports, Motivate. Trust Gaming, and more.
He became a part of Team SMG in May this year, but his experience allowed the squad to achieve more impressive results. Masa` can play with a lot of heroes, but most people will always associate him with these: