Jack
y “EternalEnVy” Mao and Beastcoast had a chance to shut people up at the MDL Disneyland Paris Major, but they couldn’t do it.
The rebranded and retooled Team Team made their debut at the major and flopped mightily. The team came in last place without winning a single series.
The elimination came on the first day of the playoffs with a loss to CompLexity Gaming. Playing in an elimination match in the lower bracket, Beastcoast quickly found themselves working from behind as new mid laner Eric “Ryoya” Dong was bullied by Linus “Limmp” Blomdin. That deficit started a snowballing effect that resulted in CompLexity taking over the mid game and building a significant gold lead.
Beastcoast had a time bomb in EternalEnVy’s Medusa, but the team wasn’t able to stall long enough for him to go off. Consecutive ganks on Ryoya allowed CompLexity to take high ground and when Beastcoast couldn’t repel them, it led to a rough 42-minute loss.
This is a tough blow for Beastcoast and one that no doubt delights their many detractors.
The team went from being a middling North American squad to one of Dota 2’s most hated teams at ESL One Mumbai. After qualifying for the major, the team volunteered for a substitution slot at the event in India. When they were eliminated early, it led to the quick releases of Nico “Gunnar” Lopez and Jason “Newsham” Newsham.
The move was heavily panned by fans, pundits, and players alike as both an overreaction and viciously cutthroat. This was reinforced further when the two players discussed how their families had bought tickets to Paris to watch them play at the major, and were unable to recoup their costs for flights and hotels. Former CompLexity Gaming captain and current desk analyst Kyle “Swindlemelonzz” Freedman was particularly harsh in his criticism of the move, labeling EternalEnVy a “villain” for his willingness to kick the players without notice.
Team Team announced its new lineup and new sponsor a few days before the major, and a strong performance would have gone a long way towards shutting down criticism. There was a hint of potential shown in the group stage when Beastcoast took a single win over tournament favorite Virtus.pro. But that win was followed by a series loss to the Russians, then followed by a crushing defeat at the hands of Keen Gaming.
Capping those struggles with a loss to an unproven CompLexity Gaming would have been rough on its own. But adding in the fact that it largely stemmed from the struggles of one of their new additions makes it an even uglier result.
With the MDL Disneyland Paris Major now over for Beastcoast, the next step is unclear. The North American region is still shaky enough that the team could find chances to compete in notable tournaments. But with EternalEnVy’s willingness to either cut players or leave a team at the first hint of difficulty, the team could disband entirely before the event even ends.
Though Beastcoast’s future is unknown, CompLexity’s is. The team will take on PSG.LGD in a best-of-three series in the second round of the lower bracket.
