Sneyking on ESL Birmingham win "You can’t get comfortable… everyone in the world is out to get you"
ESL Birmingham has come and gone in a flash. The final Major stop on the inaugural Pro Tour has carried on the legacy left in online DreamLeagues and Kuala Lumpur, as the campaign edges towards the first of the two pinnacle two events of this Dota 2 season: the Esports World Cup.
After running through a gauntlet of a lower bracket run, it has been Team Falcons who came out on top in Birmingham, beating familiar foes in BetBoom Team, with a thrashing 3-0 sweep in the Grand Finals.
Yet satisfaction is only a short-term feeling for a real champion, and Team Falcons captain Wu "Sneyking" Jingjun has already inserted that winning mentality into his brain, targetting even more silverware in the future.
Sneyking on having BetBoom's number, fighting inner demons, and becoming champions
Click to enlargeTeam Falcon's emphatic win came with a brutal map three display. Having had to come from behind in both games one and two, the final game three was an all-out demolition job, leaving some of the players to have somewhat muted celebrations, knowing for a long time that they had already won.
"In a respectful way, the game is not over until the GG is called when the enemy has surrendered," Sneyking told GGRecon in an interview after setting the trophy down.
"But in my mind, the game was pretty much over when I realized I was behind the enemy tier two at the top lane playing one versus two against a hard carry and their mid laner and they cannot do anything to me at that point. I've understood the position of the game and it was pretty much over."
This particular win is the second time Team Falcons have done over BetBoom Team in a Grand Final, having beaten them with another 3-0 clean sweep at DreamLeague Season 22 just last month.
Already, that opens up the question of whether there is a mental block, or are Falcons just that superior.
Well, Sneyking puts it down to knowledge and understanding of their playstyle, almost 'anti-stratting', which makes up much of the skill gap in Dota 2 outside of general mechanics.
"I think the reason why we understand BetBoom quite well is we actually scrim them quite a bit," he continued.
"So we have good knowledge of their players, and their players are very well-studied by us. We understand their strengths, both individually and as a team, so we are able to leverage that to our benefit and craft strategies and gameplay that will counter their style."
Click to enlargeTeam Falcons also had the crutch of having zero preparation time for ESL Birmingham, as Visa issues were only ironed out at the last second to ensure the full squad could compete, making this feat even more extraordinary.
Despite the hindrances, Sneyking pinpointed the team's attitude toward each other as the reason that they became champions.
"We had a lot of internal struggles and arguments in this past week because we came in very underprepared. We were experiencing a lot of negative emotions that we had to overcome and face outward. Instead of fighting inward, we needed to make sure we united together and faced the trouble that's in front of us.
"We ended up doing that very well today and I think that's a big reason why it felt like it was easy."
Sneyking already wants to avoid complacency for the Esports World Cup
Click to enlargeOf course, ESL One Birmingham isn't the be-all and end-all, and while this is an elite Major, there is also the overwhelming and impending nature of the upcoming Esports World Cup, of which Falcons have now solidified their qualification.
And how do winners stay winners? Avoiding complacency straight from the moment that the trophy is hoisted.
Sneyking has epitomised that winning mentality, as he's already making sure that the crippling plague that is complacency doesn't creep in.
"How confident are we moving forward? Not confident at all," Sneyking told us when quizzed about the upcoming EWC. "Because each tournament, each patch, it changes. You cannot be thinking you're going to win something going into a tournament just because you've done well previously.
"Each of these independent events is standalone. You have to think about how you're going to improve, how you're going to be better constantly.
"Because everyone in the world is out to get you when you win a championship. You cannot be complacent and you cannot be comfortable. People will surpass you the moment you get too comfortable."
There's now only a handful of heats before the Esports World Cup arrives, and Team Falcons playing on home soil will aim to take this ESL Birmingham momentum to arrive all-talons-blazing.
