The International 2012 teams: Zenith

Yesterday we announced an ongoing article series which documents the teams participating at this year's The International. Having talked about last year's champions, we turn our eyes to the East, specifically, the so-called "Na'Vi of the East", Team Zenith.




Major Achievements:

3rd - The International, Gamescom, Cologne (August 2011) - $150,000
1st - joinDOTA Masters III (March 2012) - 500€
1st - e-Club The Evolution Grand Final, Singapore (May 2012) - 2000 SGD
2nd - Gigabyte Dota 2 Masters (June 2012) - $1250
1st - It's Gosu Monthly Madness Asia (July 2012) - $750

History:

After The International ended last year, the third place finishers, Scythe.SG, went into a short hibernation period. Having no sponsors at that time, the team was soon picked up by German organization MYM after their Danish Dota team left the them. However, nothing went right despite the sponsorship, as the team was never able to field a proper 5-man roster during their official matches as MYM. Things turned out so bad that they were soon given the nickname "Hyhy+4".

Having mostly fielded stand-ins from Singapore, Hyhy took a big leap of faith and brought in four MUFC players into the team after one of their own, kyxy, left the them. Even then, things did not work out, with all the former MUFC players deciding to leave MYM after just two weeks, citing that the organization did not come through with their promises as the reason behind their departure. This left Hyhy with no choice but to continute fielding stand-ins while he continuted to play under the MYM banner.

Right before the joinDOTA Masters III kicked off, it was made known that the team has been dropped by MYM and would be going under the name of Zenith, the legendary name that conjures up images of the dominating force that went undefeated in Singapore for eight months in 2006. Zenith went on to win the joinDOTA Masters III, which served as a huge slap in the face to MYM for having dropped the team just hours before.

This was the first showing of a stable roster since The International ended, which consisted of Hyhy, iceiceice, xfreedom, xy and Chuan. Having been contracted to Invictus Gaming, Chuan acted as the team's stand-in for an extended period of time, with many speculating that he would soon leave iG and join up with Zenith permanently. Alas, it was not to be, as Chuan stayed with iG when his team got an invite to The International.

The announcement of the team's fifth player came as a rather big surprise to some as it was the first time something like it had happened. A European, Loda, joining an Asian team, Zenith. The addition of Loda marked the last roster change of Zenith until The International hits.

Zenith during the MYM days

Roster:
(Clicking on the individual hero icons will take you to that hero's profile in our database!)

Hyhy (Captain)
Benedict Lim Han Yong

Like most South East Asian players, Hyhy has been involved in the Dota scene for as long as one can remember. Besides placing third at The International, one of his most notable achievements is leading the old team Zenith - which consisted of legendary names such as TofuBoi, Musica, Bouncy and DK-Mag3 - to win ESWC 2008. With numerous titles under his belt, hyhy is ready to bring Zenith to another gold once more in this year's The International. Back in the WarCraft III DotA era, he was best known for his Shadow Fiend play, dominanting the scene with said hero in all major games.



Signature heroes:

iceiceice
Daryl Koh

Every team needs a troll, and who better than to fill that role in Zenith than iceiceice? Trolling aside, iceiceice is one of the most talented players in a South East Asia; such is his talent that some have christined him with the name "Chinese kryptonite". Known to be a frequent team hopper, iceiceice never stays in a team that he has no cofidence of winning with. His confidence in his team and teammates allow him to play an extremely agressive form of Dota. Constantly makes his opponents do a double-take when laning against him. Considered a gaming prodigy to some, iceiceice once played competitive League of Legends, StarCraft II and WC3 DotA simultaneously.


Signature heroes:

xfreedom
Nicholas Lim

Having only played in public games since 2006, xFreedom is but the newest and freshest face to grace the Singaporean Dota scene, as well as the competive Dota scene as a whole. He first broke into the scene playing for GG Home Team at The Game Expo, and then with team Immortality at SMM Grand National DotA Tournament. Even though both of those showings did not yield good results, it set the stage for xFreedom's future sucesss. His talents as a support player were soon made known when he played in MYM with Hyhy. Known to be a rather smart support player, xFreedom may be a new face to the scene, but he has sure made waves in his relatively short time in the competitive circuit.


Signature heroes:

xy-
Wai Hong Toh

Another veteran of the Singaporean DotA scene, xy- was previously the carry player for the teams that he has played under. He is known throughout the scene for his Spectre and Storm Spirit play during the WC3 DotA era, constantly being the winning force for his teams, such as Aeon. Now the secondary support player for the team, he has risen up to the occasion when required to, most notably with his Tidehunter play against EHOME and his memorable "I got Ravage!" battle cry. Having played with Hyhy on numerous occasions, he is no stranger to his leadership which he respects and trust completely. With such good teamm cohesion between the team members, they are the team to look out for at this year's The International.

Signature heroes:

Loda
Jonathan Berg

As far as veterans go, Loda has to be the veteran of veterans, having played competitive DotA since ages back. His golden era was arguably during his time with his previous WC3 DotA team, SK Gaming, who he led to various victories, such as multiple DreamHack titles and various other tournament titles. After the disbandment of SK Gaming, Loda decided to give Heroes of Newereth a try and was quite successful there, constantly being a top contender in the scene. He made a return to the scene with Dota 2, forming a Swedish all-star team, eXperience, now known as CLG. After moving to Singapore and joining Zenith, his addition has brought the team to a whole new level. With his ample amount experience and his talent in game, the team will be able to climb new heights this time around.

Signature heroes:

Chances at The International:

Given the nickname "Na'Vi of the East", Zenith are but one of the fan favorites to win the whole thing. Known for their eccentric play, they catch their opponents off guard a lot of times. Another factor that makes them so fearsome is their flexiblity when it comes to drafting; there are little to no heroes that they cannot employ in their drafts. This, however, could work against them, as they sometimes like to experiment with their drafts. Who can forget the "no bans" game when they were up against Orange in Beyond The Summit's World Tour? With a third place finish last year, Hyhy and co will be aiming for nothing but first place this time around.

Any opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the editor's, and do not reflect joinDOTA as a whole.

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