COMMENT: SEA-less Bali Major means we need more young blood in SEA, not less
The lack of Southeast Asian teams in a Southeast Asian Dota 2 Major's playoffs is an indication that something is not right, says Aloysius Low.
If the results of the Bali Major Group Stage are anything to go by, it's that the SEA region for competitive Dota 2 is in shambles.
Execration, Blacklist International, and Bleed Esports all failed to make the cut, with the last two losing the tiebreakers to actually make it to the Playoffs. Talon Esports, SEA's brightest spark this DPC season, did not even make the trip.
My first thought is that our SEA teams have been stuck with fielding only older players, which could mean slower reflexes or being stuck in their ways.
But looking at the players of the three SEA teams, it's quite clear that most of these veterans are still relatively young at 21 to 25 years old.
That means that perhaps its not their ages, but something else.
Maybe it's the lack of new blood to the scene in SEA. If you look at other squads, they feature up and coming new talent that both inspire and excite fans. In fact, the only one who can claim having new blood is Bleed Esports, but much of the criticism has been directed at midlaner Teng "Kordan" Tjin Yao's performance.
It's terribly unfair to blame a player who's in his first professional year, especially when it's a team game. Bleed has shown flashes of brilliance, and Kordan has also delivered when it mattered. But could Kordan have played and carried better?
Maybe yes, but he has time to grow into that. After all, not everyone can be a Sumail "SumaiL" Hassan and win The International (TI) in just his first year of pro Dota 2.
I'll give you another example. Ammar "ATF" Al-Assaf burst onto the scene after joining the revamped OG roster.
He was already known as a rising star after qualifying for the Dota Pro Circuit's Division II in Western Europe with his old team Creepwave.
However, his mixed performances with OG meant he was let go and he joined Nigma Galaxy, before being loaned out to Bali Major Group B leader Quest Esports.
It took him two years before he really started to pop off, and if we don't give new SEA players the chance, then we'll end up becoming irrelevant.
After all, we're already at the stage where we have a SEA Major with no SEA teams making it to the Playoffs. Can it get any worse? Probably yes, but maybe if we give our young and upcoming players the space, then we can recover and become a region to be feared.
That's not to say our veterans have no place in Dota. We still need their experience, their skillsets, and their leadership.
But let's not put all our eggs into one basket. Let's try to incubate new chicks instead.
I'm not too optimistic about our region's chances at TI 2023 later in the year, but I'll keep a light of hope burning my heart just in case.
Aloysius Low is an ex-CNET editor with more than 15 years of experience. He's really into cats and is currently reviewing products at canbuyornot.com. Views expressed are his own.
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