9Pandas’ Kiyotaka Discusses his Invoker Ability, Compares it to Bzm and Miracle-
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Some of the hardest heroes to execute in Dota 2 are Invoker, Meepo, and Tinker, amongst others, but any player skilled enough to gain their control makes them one of the most exciting to watch. An interview with 9Pandas' midlaner Gleb "kiyotaka" Zyryanov on the "Our Game" YouTube channel discussed his comfort with Invoker and comparisons with some popular players who have shown great execution on it. According to kiyotaka, he is always ready to pick the hero irrespective of the matchup and considers himself one of the best players on Invoker, right up there with OG’s Bozhidar "bzm" Bogdanov and Nigma Galaxy’s Amer "Miracle-" Al-Barkawi.
Kiyotaka says he is one of the best Invoker players in Dota 2
As kiyotaka explained to Ukrainian player Alexander "DkPhobos" Kucheria on YouTube, Invoker is usually banned but he is never afraid to pick it up if the opportunity arises.
“If they give me [Invoker], I try to generally take him. But Invoker is mostly in the ban. I'm ready to play, conditionally, any matchup, any game, I don't care at all. [Question: because Invoker can be built as a super flexible hero?] Yes, because the hero is very strong, especially if you understand exactly how to use it.”
Kiyotaka compared his skills with two other big names, demonstrating his confidence in the hero.
"I'm obviously one of the best players on Invoker. There's some bzm, Miracle- in general on par, so I know how to use that hero [as] one of the best. So trying to use him whenever they give him away.”
[transcriptia via cybersport.ru, translation via DeepL Translate]
Despite bzm's rise to the top of the Invoker ranks in the last couple of years, Miracle- has proven to be a formidable player on the hero for years now having produced some of the most breathtaking plays and moments in the game.
It is common for midlaners to choose heroes based on the meta, yet Invoker has been a hero often chosen on a whim, resulting in truly spectacular performances when executed perfectly. Consequently, Invoker Rampages in Dota 2 are one of the most fascinating things to watch.
9Pandas' kiyotaka will look to showcase his skills on the hero at the playoffs of The International 12 (TI12), as the team starts in the upper bracket. 9Pandas plays against LGD Gaming on 21st Oct 2023.
