posted by Olucaron,
ppd aims to conquer Europe
Peter 'ppd' Dager has a long history in Dota 2, known for his tactical nous and outspoken nature. He’s also one of the few professional players to have lifted the Aegis, thanks to his win in 2015 with Evil Geniuses — an organisation for which he also served as CEO.
Now, with an all-new roster under the Swedish org Ninjas in Pyjamas, the American has switched regions with the aim of beating the best Europe has to offer. It won’t be an easy ask, given the strength of teams such as Team Liquid and Team Secret, but he has assembled a roster which he hopes can help him achieve his goal.
EU Fighter - @Peterpandam is ready for the game! 😎
— NiP 🇸🇪 @ #ESLOne🇩🇪 / #EPICENTER🇷🇺 (@NiPGaming) October 23, 2018
A few hours left and we will be playing vs. Team Aster 🇨🇳
📺 https://t.co/ZB1sZjFNY5#GONINJAS #DOTA2 #ESLOne pic.twitter.com/zDnvdvc24c
Joining from Team Secret are Danish carry Marcus 'Ace' Hoelgaard and German Adrian 'Fata' Trinks, with Israeli player Neta '33' Shapira a former team-mate of ppd at OpTic Gaming. Rounding off the roster is Macedonian support Martin 'Saksa' Sazdov, a TI runner-up having been part of Digital Chaos*’ magnificent 2016 run.
The new line-up hit the ground running in qualifying for The Kuala Lumpur Major, finishing second to Team Secret. Along the way they destroyed Team Liquid inside 15 minutes, and have kept up their form by winning the GG.Bet Invitational Season 1. They have started solidly in Hamburg, and will be looking to push on.
Former VGJ.Storm looking Forward
With new rules regarding multiple ownership coming into effect for 2018-19, VGJ.Storm suddenly found themselves without an organisation to represent. The North Americans decided to go it alone, and Forward Gaming was born.
Four of the five members of the old roster stuck together — Avery 'SVG' Silverman remained captain, Roman 'Resolut1on' Fominok and Yawar 'YawaR' Hassan as carries and Arif 'MSS' Anwar as support. JingJun 'Sneyking' Wu left to join compLexity Gaming, with Saahil 'Universe' Arora brought in from Fnatic to replace him.
Our match against @NiPGaming starts today at 5pm CEST / 11am EST
— Forward Gaming @ESLOne (@goFORWARDgg) October 24, 2018
Don't miss it!#PushForward #ESLOne pic.twitter.com/rGYJBLRvFE
Like Ninjas in Pyjamas, Forward finished second in qualifying for The Kuala Lumpur Major, falling only to North American powerhouses Evil Geniuses. With less matches under their belts since — the qualifier is the only event they have participated in so far — it remains to be seen whether they can challenge the best NA has to offer.
High hopes rest on the shoulders of Resolut1on to carry, having shown some impressive form towards the end of last season. Can he lead his side to glory in Hamburg, while challenging the elite of North America? So far, his side — who are missing YaWar — have not convinced.
Who do you think will win — Forward or NiP?
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