Recent Changes

I didn't write a statement for the recent roster shuffle because I didn't feel like I was emotionally ready nor could I sum up the change within a few short sentences.

Playing with Steve "Excalibur" Ye was a rather short but life changing experience. I have never played with a player as passionate as Steve, and I've played with Universe and RTZ. Improving was the only thing he cared about; nothing more. Every morning we would be up first talking about or playing DotA and every night we would be last to stay. In a team environment, things get heated and emotional, and play will need to be criticized even if it would make someone feel bad or potentially dislike you. But with Steve he never put his ego in the way nor did he ever show any malice in anything he ever says or does. You could tell that he was always keen on listening and all he ever cared about was becoming a better player.

I've been playing competitively for 5 years now, and as you learn more about the game and it's people, it really does wear you down slowly, without you even noticing it. For me it was eye opening to play with a player who's love for the game and it's competition was truly pure. It really did bring me back. He probably doesn't know this but he probably taught me more than I taught him about the game.

Sadly there was a disconnect in his play style with ours and we all knew that Abed, who was our original first choice for the team would fit it. There was many cases in DotA where getting "better" players wouldn't necessary mean becoming stronger. I was part of the most famous incident where we kicked Misery/W33 for RTZ/Universe.

I know it's in human nature to blame and it's hard to accept that things are beyond your reach. But it really is almost impossible to to figure out the inner workings of a team as a outsider (Reddit, Twitch). Even being part of the team, it's extremely difficult. It's not like we blamed Steve specifically for our losts, that didn't occur. We just felt like Abed would cover up our weaknesses and we could cover his.

I hope that Steve finds a home that can use his strengths and passion for the game. I will personally really miss you.

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