Jack Chen · @KBBQDotA
15th Jun 2021 from TwitLonger
Quincy Crew and The Road to TI10
Whenever a team falls short of its expectations, there is always a lot of soul searching. There is almost always anger and regret, doubt and despair, a hollow grief that just dares you to give up. There are sometimes small, secret conversations in dark hotel corners. If the team survives intact, people slowly but surely rebuild confidence and belief, confront the hardest truths that only intense competition can reveal, and rally themselves to try again.
As we regrouped and recovered after a disappointing finish to the Animajor, some of those truths quickly became more important than others. This is the first time our players have earned a direct invite to TI, after a year that threw our entire careers and livelihoods into doubt. Anyone could have quit or walked away a long time ago. Some of us could have made much more as streamers or talent. Some turned down top-tier offers from elite teams. The fire could have gone out and no one could be bitter about that. But we stayed the course. And in came Lelis, who despite having been agonizingly close, had never made TI before.
In these last 15 months, we were never once all together at a LAN or team house. And through most of that, to know that we're at minimum one of the best teams in the entire western hemisphere, and feel that we have at least a puncher's chance against anyone in the world, but that those things are worth almost nothing to anyone outside our small circles of friends, family, and fans, were a tough pill to swallow. But even when we didn't know when there would next be a TI, or which way the world and our little kingdom of Dota might go, everyone stuck it out.
This isn't the first time we've been in the position of an unsponsored team with a ticket to TI. In 2019, there were plenty of suitors looking for us to compete under their name and banner, and we happily took the best offer. Newbee treated us like family, and we couldn't have asked for more.
But this time, we won't be going to TI as someone else. We are once again in discussion with possible partners and sponsors, but the name Quincy Crew will be at TI10 in one way or another. Some things are beyond any price.
Quincy Crew began as just a random unsponsored stack name after TI8, of the variety that gets easily discarded or recycled with each NA qualifier. It was a fun reminder of crazy times at our Quincy street team house in Brooklyn when most of us first came together at VGJ Storm, where most of us won our first LAN, made our first deep runs at DPC events and TI, and got our first tastes of team success (except Reso of course, he'd already been there and done that!).
It was once not much more than a goony placeholder between TI and sponsorship. But then one day both of those things disappeared, and our name was almost all we had left. That, and competitive Dota at its purest and simplest: a team of people who believe in one another, ready to take on the world.
For the moment, the crew are still in Ukraine, where we will soon practice and compete in ESL Summer 2021, an opportunity which we deeply thank WePlay and ESL for making possible. Most of the team will then return home to rest until we gather again for TI bootcamp in July.
As we continue to welcome and evaluate partnerships (DMs and emails still open!) in the coming weeks, we will be expanding our presence on community outlets and expect to have jackets, jerseys, and other merchandise available soon.
To those who have supported us, stayed up to watch our games and shared in our anguish, we may not know who all of you are, but are thankful regardless for each and every one of you. Every encouraging message, every text, every flair or frog, and every tussle with the haters counts. We will repay you in Stockholm.