Will Dendi return to DPC?
Author: Hawk Live LLC
Last updated:
The winter season of Dota Pro Circuit 2021/2022 has not ended yet, but some results are already known. Unfortunately, Danil «Dendi» Ishutin with his Dota 2 team B8 were eliminated from the DPC league.
On the way to the abyss
Despite a good start and getting into the DPC league, B8 had a lot of problems. Almost all of these problems were with rosters, which changed more often than in other teams.
As a result, in the first season of the DPC in 2021, the team dropped from the second division and must had to play in open qualification. However, thanks to a clever decision, the two teams merged, as a result of which Dendi again got into the DPC without playing the qualifiers.
On the second try, the team was able to keep their place in DPC league. But for such a circumvention of qualifications, karma struck back.
On October 24, the organization moved watson, Limitless and [T]SA to inactive. In fact, this means that they are leaving the team and a new roster will be announced soon.
But, completely unexpected for everyone, Dendi was kicked from the roster. The organization explained that this situation was due to a disagreement with the owner of the DPC slot. Yes, the person who registered the slot for XactJlepbI team earlier this year. It was with them that the merger took place.
Valve decided to personally intervene in the situation and returned the slot to the first The International champion. And soon B8 announced a new roster.
But nothing worked. B8 have lost one match after another and so far they have lost 17 matches in a row. During its existence, Dendi's team lost a maximum of 18 matches in a row.
The fate of the B8 is sealed. The team has a score of 0-6 and has already dropped out of the DPC. On January 16, will be tha match B8 vs Fantastic Five, which have a score of 1-5 and are on the verge of elimination. For Danil «Dendi» Ishutin, this may not only be the last match at Dota Pro Circuit 2021/2022, but also a repeat of the lose streak record.
This is the end?
It's impossible to say for sure that it's all over for the B8. However, it is worth recognizing the fact that it will be very difficult to return to the DPC through open qualifiers.
The fact is that after the victory of Team Spirit at The International 2021, the competition in CIS region has become much tougher. Many young and talented players believed in themselves and began to try to get into the DPC. Some of them were invited to the teams, and some assembled squads and played in open qualifiers.
Analyst of Team Spirit, Vitaly «Sword_Art» Petkin, looked at the game of B8 in the Division II and said about the fate of the Dendi team:
With all due respect to Dendy, with such a game, his team will not be able to go through open qualifiers for the next season. Moreover, she could not have passed the previous ones, the story with the slot helped. This story should be a good example to change the rules about slot owners, but no one cares.
As Sword_Art pointed out, B8 was very lucky that Valve returned their DPC slot before the start of the season. However, there is nothing to return now.
And it is unlikely that any of the teams will be ready to give up or sell their place in the DPC league, despite the fact that this is possible thanks to the updated rules by Valve.
Participation of B8 in another region is unlikely due to roster restrictions and the inability to organize a bootcamp in another country due to restrictions related to the spread of COVID-19.
It would be a good option for the team to participate in tournaments, however, due to a problem with the DPC season schedule, tournament organizers are unable to properly hold their tournaments.
Something needs to change
Swap the role
«Dendi, change the role» - saing critics and some B8 fans for a long time. Despite a good game on mid lane, Danil tries to take on too much and, of course, can't cope with it.
Just imagine that the player needs to be as focused as possible on lane, last hitting and fighting the enemy mid player, and at the same time be the team captain and coordinate the actions in the game. But the role of the captain implies something more and requires a lot of attention.
Many noted that former Dendi's teammates now play in Division I and even take first places, while Danil with the new roster loses again and eliminates DPC.
Probably during the break from DPC matches, Danil will try the new role, like a support or offlaner. Or try to find a person who will be the captain and will allow him to focus on the game.
Analyst and commentator
As many Reddit users noted before TI10, there are quite a lot of former and current professional players on the list of Russian-speaking talents.
And it's wonderful! After all, the audience is pleased to listen to those who really understand the game.
In addition, Danil Ishutin is a favorite of the public and gives people a lot of fun. Therefore, it is not surprising that the Russian-speaking community was happy to see him on the list of talents and want to see him as a commentator and analyst more often.
If Dendi decides to stop playing on the competitive scene, then the role of a host, analyst or commentator will suit him perfectly.
