Veterans of The International: Kuroky - 10 years a pro and still humble

Veterans of The International: Kuroky - 10 years a pro and still humble
posted by Malystryx.GDS,
Kuroky has been in the scene since the beginning of time and is one of only three players to compete at every International, but how?



A star was born before Dota 2 was even released
Kuroky is one of only three players to have attended every TI to date, and his remarkable career has seen him keep up with the times in an ever changing scene. KuroKy competed in Dota 1 back in the day, although his career truly exploded after he transitioned to Dota 2.

In Dota 1 back in 2008 he befriended ee Clement 'Puppey' Ivanov who played alongside him as a stand-in for Mousesports, and the duo would later be reunited at Navi, forming the most recognisable TI roster in Dota 2 history outside possibly TI3's Alliance or TI5's EG.

Kuroky played for GosuGamers at TI1 before then taking a break from competitive play for about 8 months. He then reappeared as a sub for Mousesports at TI2 after ComeWithMe was unable to attend, and later joined the team officially until he moved to Navi in February 2013.

The Navi era
The Navi roster of XBOCT, Dendi, Funn1k, Puppey and Kuroky became iconic not just because they finished runners-up at TI3 but also because of their period of dominance afterwards, where in an 8 month stretch Navi won almost every single tournament they participated in, and Kuroky played a huge part in that, and much of his fame in the SEA region in particular stems from his involvement in the "golden Navi". The team's second year together was not as prolific, but Kuroky's ability to wow the crowds in particular with his trademark Rubick made him highlight reel material.

The "Golden Navi" was essentially the first Dota 2 superpower and is the reason the organisation still remains popular today, despite them never reaching the same heights as the glory years when Kuroky and Puppey were in the squad. Kuroky decided to follow his friend Puppey who was forming Team Secret and transitioned into the carry role in the new team, a role he had played in dota 1.

Team Secret: Kuroky ups the ante
The first iteration of Team Secret in the autumn of 2014 was Kuroky, S4, Fly, Puppey and N0tail, names which have now all become historic. At the time neither Fly nor n0tail had won a Major title but S4 was a TI3 winner with Alliance.

Despite N0tail being a carry player in the modern day for OG at that time he was a support player and Team Secret relied on Kuroky to deliver the killing blows. With Kuroky as carry Team Secret took top 4 at ESL One New York, 2nd at Starladder StarSeries Season 9 and 3rd at The Summit 2. However, he proved much more effective as a support player. Kuroky would stay on the team as Puppey dropped the likes of N0tail, Fly and Misery from the roster as he attempted to build the ultimate team.





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