Cover-Credits:
- Chinese coach, rOtK, has returned to the Dota 2 competitive scene as he joins Elephant's Dota 2 roster as a head coach.
- rOtK was expected to join Elephant in October 2020 but he was pulled out in the last moments due to monetary issues that the organization faced then.
- Elephant will be seen in action from April 13, 2021, when the second season of the 2021 DPC begins.
ROtK, one of the most popular Chinese Dota 2 coaches, has returned to the region’s competitive scene and will be serving as the coach for Elephant’s Dota 2 roster. The organization communicated this through the Chinese social media platform, Weibo, stating that Bai "rOtK" Fan would be the Dota 2 team’s official head coach effectively immediately from March 31, 2021. ROtK’s comeback comes after six months, as he had communicated in October 2020 after the Elephant.4AM controversy that he would be taking a break from Dota 2 for a while to put his thoughts in order. This recruitment also ensues a disappointing result at the China 2021 DPC Season 1: Upper Division as Elephant had failed to qualify for the ongoing ONE Esports Singapore Major.
ALSO READ: EG and IG Get Off to a Hot Start in the Singapore Major While Fnatic and VG Falter
Chinese coach rOtK returns; becomes the head coach for Elephant
The organization mentioned that “after friendly negotiation between the two parties and full internal communication,” rOtK was going to serve as the Dota 2 team’s head coach.
Elephant’s Dota 2 roster and coaches:
- Zhang "Eurus" Chengjun
- Lu "Somnus丶M" Yao
- Zhou "Yang" Haiyang
- Xu "fy" Linsen
- Ru "RedPanda" Zhihao
- Bai "rOtK" Fan (head coach)
- Chen "Xz" Zezhi (Assistant coach)
The Chinese played turned coach was expected to join this team in October 2020 when the team was first announced. However, he was pulled out in the last moments due to monetary issues that Elephant.4AM faced then. He had even broken into tears on a livestream as a result of these issues and had stated that he felt "exhausted" and believed that his "ambition has been drained out.”
RELATED: rOtK Confirms That He Won’t Join 4AM; Breaks Into Tears On Stream
He now joins the team after being away from the scene since October 2020. Previously, he served as Vici Gaming’s coach from 2018 to 2020. During this time, he helped the team win several tournaments that include the DreamLeague Season 11, the EPICENTER Major 2019 and the ONE Esports Dota 2 World Pro Invitational Singapore.
As a player, his most significant accomplishment was the second-place finish at TI4 with Vici Gaming.
Image Via LiquipediaElephant will now be looking to improve its performance under the team's new coach's guidance. They will be seen in action from April 13, 2021, when the second season of the DPC kickstarts.
