Cover-Credits:
Shopify Rebellion coach Kanishka "BuLba" Sosale is known for frequently selecting Storm Spirit for midlaner Abed "Abed" Yusop. This first gained traction during the grand final of the ONE Esports Singapore Major 2021, where BuLba picked the hero five times in a row before losing 3-2 to Invictus Gaming. A lot of memes have poured in every time BuLba has picked up Storm since then, but he spoke candidly on the 176th episode of We Say Things about how he doesn't care what others think. When people question his choice now, it's just hindsight according to the former Evil Geniuses coach who believes Storm Spirit was a great hero in that patch.
BuLba says it's a matter of hindsight when the community questions his Storm Spirit choices
BuLba appeared as a guest on the We Say Things podcast with Shannon "SUNSfan" Scotten and Troels Lyngholt "syndereN" Nielsen. After they had finished discussing a topic, SUNSfan casually asked BuLba what was up with them picking Storm Spirit.
BuLba laughed as he pointed out that he wasn't forcing Abed to play the hero. Additionally, while he acknowledged that they might over-pick it sometimes, it is also the case that they do not win which causes them to be questioned.
“The team (Invictus Gaming) that won that tournament (Singapore Major) literally picked it. It’s just funny. It’s all hindsight, this is reality. It’s not like I am forcing Abed in the chair, clicking it for him, and have a gun over his head - you better f**king play Storm. Maybe, sometimes we have over picked it or something but it’s all hindsight. Like Neta (33) loses every game he’s playing on Doom, he, at TI, ends up losing with Doom near the end. It’s all hindsight stuff. When you win, you win, it’s winners write history. That’s just what all of us have learned.”
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Additionally, BulBa stated his fondness for Storm and the fact that they picked it during the Singapore Major when the hero was viable in the patch. “I love Storm, the hero’s a fun hero to have and in that patch, it was a really good hero. I don’t think we even picked Storm at TI, right, and bzm played it every game,” he said.
The memes, banters, and toxicity that accompany BuLba's choices of Storm Spirit have been plentiful, but he has never second-guessed his decision, regardless of what would come his way. “Trust me, I don’t care about all those things,” he told SUNSfan.
He went on to say that if his teammates ever point out or there is a distinguished player like Sébastien "Ceb" Debs sitting on the analyst panel and questioning a pick, he would take it into consideration and reevaluate, but since he had developed a thicker skin, he didn't pay attention to what others said.
Following his and his former Evil Geniuses teammates' addition to Shopify Rebellions ahead of the Dota Pro Circuit (DPC) 2023 Winter Tour, BuLba will take a closer look at plans. The team’s first series will come against Thiuth Gaming on 9th Jan 2023.
