Cover-Credits:
It was a brutal five-game grand final between Evil Geniuses and TSM (Team Solo Mid) in the North American (NA) Dota Pro Circuit (DPC) 2021-22 Regional Finals. However, in traditional fashion, Evil Geniuses was unable to best its opponents in the grand final, resulting in a second place finish. As a result of this 3-2 grand final defeat a month ago, Evil Geniuses' carry player Artour "Arteezy" Babaev has changed his training approach. In an interview with ESL Dota, Arteezy said that he does not want to lose a grand final in such a manner again, and as such is waking up earlier than usual now to prepare for the new practice schedule he will be following. Arteezy said, in addition to following a healthier regime, he will also be putting more responsibility upon himself.
Arteezy mentions taking on extra responsibility for Evil Geniuses
Arteezy stated in an interview, before Evil Geniuses' second series of the NA DPC 2021-22 Tour 2: Division 1 against Wildcard Gaming, that he aims to be much more dedicated in order to finish first this time. He stated that his increased sense of responsibility came from the Regional Finals defeat, noting that he will now work out and play European pubs before he prepares for scrims as part of his new training regime.
“For this second season, I am putting my foot down, you know. We are gonna get first. I think after I lost that grand final to Undying [TSM], I realized there’s no way I want to lose like this again. That’s why I actually woke up early today because I am starting my new practice schedule. Go for a run, do a workout and then play Euro pubs all the way until scrims. I am putting way more responsibility on myself to actually play better.”
Over the past few years, Evil Geniuses has earned the reputation of being a team that cannot win the grand finals. Apart from finishing second in the Regional Finals last month, the team has also been second at the last three Majors - the WePlay AniMajor 2021, the Singapore Major 2021, and the DreamLeague S13 in 2020. Arteezy joined Evil Geniuses in 2016, but despite the team consistently being ranked among the best in the world, he has yet to win any Majors with the team.
Arteezy says Evil Geniuses played at only 20% of their potential in the first season
While Evil Geniuses is historically a very consistent team, it got off to one of the slowest starts of any tournament in recent years in Tour 1 but picked up speed as the event progressed. At the end of the season, the team had placed third in the league and second at the regional finals.
During the first season, Arteezy noted that they performed at only 20% of their full potential due to numerous issues, but still they came close to winning the Regional Finals. Because of this, Arteezy is not too concerned about the team's performance going forward.
“I think the first season was plagued with a lot of issues for us externally. So it was very hard to get together and actually function as a unit. The first season, who cares! Second Major, there’s actually a Major too this time. So, there are a lot more factors that weren’t introduced, at least in my head, in the first season, but I feel we performed 20% and we almost won. So I am not too worried.”
Evil Geniuses has had a successful start to Tour 2, winning against both The Cut and Wildcard Gaming. It will look to continue this winning streak when it faces off against simply TOOBASED on 26th March.
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