This is the latest in a series of articles profiling the 18 teams attending The International 8, which kicks off on Aug. 15.
Once upon a time, there was a mythical team from the Far East who defied all conventions and what was considered to be “normal” at the time. They would pick the most outlandish heroes, and play extremely unorthodox strategies—but the best part was that they were just as good as they were crazy.
Their name will forever be etched in the annals of Dota 2 history, to be spoken only in the highest regard. That name is Wings Gaming. At the height of their power, it seemed like they had the ability to run with literally any strategy and win with it convincingly, never at any point looking like their picks slowed them down.
Unfortunately, Wings’ legacy came to an abrupt end in 2017, thanks to some controversy between them and the Association for Chinese Esports (ACE). Fast forward to today, and we have a Chinese team that could very well be possessed by the spirit of the legendary Wings Gaming: Team Serenity.
Rebirth of the revolutionists
The International 8 and Rogers Arena in Vancouver will play host to the up-and-coming Serenity squad, whose total defiance of the metagame during the Chinese regional qualifiers gave the entire scene flashbacks to the dominance of Wings Gaming in 2016. But that’s pretty much everything there is to know about them. They are being hailed as Wings 2.0—but there’s still a very long road ahead for Team Serenity.
As of now, they are totally unproven on the big stage, due to the fact that they participated in exactly zero events in the Pro Circuit season. They certainly have the potential to be the successor to one of the most popular Chinese teams in history, but their sheer lack of experience will be the biggest hurdle for them come August.
Player to watch
Offlaner Zhao “XinQ” Zixing embodies the almost absurd playstyle that made Wings so difficult to read and play against by piloting heroes seen as weak in the current metagame and using bizarre item builds for each of them.
When he played Queen of Pain against Invictus Gaming, for example, he had a Blink Dagger in hand—though, to his credit, it looked like there was a purpose behind the pickup rather than it being there to simply mess with the opponents’ heads.
Biggest challenge
Although they’ve shown signs of brilliance this early on, the fact remains that Team Serenity have no experience in offline events whatsoever. This roster is a total variable in this tournament, with their lack of LAN knowledge in particular being their worst weakness.
Team grade
We have to give Team Serenity a D+ for their unpredictability on both ends of the spectrum. Their drafts and overall gameplay echo that of Wings Gaming’s legendary randomness, but their status as complete newbies to an event with a large crowd has us doubting how far they’ll go in Vancouver.
