Jacky “EternalEnVy” Mao’s Flying Penguins team has quietly disbanded, but he’s already back with a new lineup.
According to Russian broadcast outlet Dota 2 Maincast, EternalEnVy has rebuilt the Flying Penguins with talent from around the world. The news was broken on Twitter.
For the most part, EternalEnVy’s new squad is unrecognizable from the team that competed in the StarLadder Minor, with only mid player Eric “Ryoya” Dong joining EternalEnVy in composing the new roster. In terms of past accomplishments, the team is a straight upgrade that brings together a lineup of veteran talent who have competed on some of Dota 2’s biggest stages.
Returning to North America is David “MoonMeander” Tan. The two-time major winner joins as the team’s offlaner after two years as a journeyman. Though his talents have helped teams like OG and Digital Chaos hoist trophies in the past, he has struggled to find a steady roster since 2017. He most recently played with Tigers in Southeast Asia.
Making his debut in North America and reuniting with EternalEnVy is Pittner “bOne7” Armand. The pair have a history that began in 2013 on Kaipi, the team which would eventually become the inaugural Cloud9 Dota 2 roster. As with MoonMeander, he joins following brief stints with a number of short-lived teams and is looking for a return to the top of the Dota 2 scene.
The most surprising addition is longtime Virtus.pro support player Ilya “Lil” Ilyuk. After several months as a free agent, the Russian moved to the United States in February in hopes of starting a team in the wide open North America region. He debuted last week at the BTS Spring Cup alongside several Canadian veterans on a team simply named “Raw,” and could now be poised for a successful run.
From a pure talent perspective, there is a lot to like about this new team. Lil, Moonmeander, and EternalEnVy all have major victories to their names and four of the five players have made multiple appearances at The International. With the North American region looking shaky past an elite Evil Geniuses and perhaps J.Storm, the team could qualify for upcoming majors and should have little trouble making appearances at minors.
Look for the squad to debut in the qualifiers to the MDL Disneyland Paris Major in the coming days.
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