Ceb Says watson Would Not Make His Top 3 Carry List

In a recent livestream on Twitch, prominent Dota 2 personalities Janne "Gorgc" Stefanovski and Sébastien "Ceb" Debs engaged in a candid conversation about Alimzhan "watson" Islambekov, the carry player for Entity, and his place in the top carry player rankings.

The discussion, which unfolded in anticipation of a high-stakes match between Tundra Esports and Entity at The International 2023 (TI12), shed light on Ceb and Gorgc's opinions regarding watson's performance in both public (pubs) and official games.

Ceb & Gorgc Reflect on watson’s Play Style in Pubs & Pro Games

watson is widely acknowledged as one of the best pub players in the Dota 2 community. Gorgc made no reservations in emphasizing his exceptional abilities.

"watson is usually praised for being probably the best pub player of the past year, of all time, sorry, whatever you want to call it," Gorgc remarked during the stream. He continued to acknowledge watson's prowess by declaring him the "best pub player this year."

However, the conversation became intriguing when it shifted to watson's performance in official games. Gorgc expressed his view that watson, while being a dominant force in the public sphere, appears to adopt a more conservative and defensive approach in official matches. "But he plays differently when he gets into official games," said Gorgc, adding, "Like, he kind of isn't as brave, doesn't take the risks, kind of plays a little bit defensive."

Renowned Dota 2 player and two-time TI champion Ceb also seconded Gorgc’s take on Entity’s carry player. Ceb highlighted that he had not felt Watson's "rank one power" in official games. He acknowledged watson's skill set by stating, "Good carry, strong carry," but refrained from including him in his top three. Ceb remarked, “He wouldn’t be in my top three.” 

However, both Gorgc and Ceb remained open to the possibility of watson's ranking changing, especially in light of the upcoming series.

"Maybe we'll see how it goes this series [Tundra vs Entity]," said Gorgc. To this, Ceb said, ”Maybe it changes."

Following this remark, the series between Tundra Esports and Entity was in favor of Entity. Entity ultimately secured a remarkable 2-0 victory over the defending TI champions in the lower bracket round 1, eliminating Tundra Esports from TI12.

Entity, despite its big momentum could not fight against CIS team Virtus.pro. It soon found itself eliminated from the tournament. With this, the small ray of hope it had after defeating a TI-winning team was gone. 

The International 2023 (TI12) has truly been a rollercoaster of emotions and has been so far with many unpredictable matches.