Is Vikin.gg the main discovery of the European Dota 2 scene?
In September 2019, all the news portals were full of headlines because of the return of the veteran of the Dota 2 scene, bOne7, with the new Romanian organization Vikin.gg, and a few lesser-known players accompanied him. But the first team of the Vikinggs wasn't destined to achieve serious success, and immediately after leaving the closed qualifiers for WESG, it was disbanded.
However, the organizers didn't lose hope for the creation of a new European team. One of the founders, who is also the analyst and trainer, Daniel "ImmortalFaith" Moza, found a solution. He signed 3 players that performed the team that knocked their previous roster out of qualifications: Seleri, Aramis, and Shad. Tobi and Tanner completed the new roster, but when Tanner moved to Ninjas in Pyjamas in January 2020, BOOM replaced him.
Team's first results
How did it happen that a young and unknown organization, in which have no a single famous player began to receive direct invitations to major tournaments? Almost immediately from the new roster gathering, Vikin.gg was called the terror of Tier-2 tournaments: the team got 8 champion titles in this category in six months. At the same time, the team showed an incredible performance at the ESL One Los Angeles 2020 - Online: Europe & CIS, taking 3rd place and beating Team Secret in the playoffs!
Team atmosphere
In several interviews, the organizers noted that they didn't expect fast results from the team and understood that they were entering the scene with young and unknown players. They had only one task - to develop further.
And in this development, the team was greatly helped by the coach - ImmortalFaith. As the players note, the Romanian mentor has deep knowledge of the game and the ability to convey the whole essence to the player. Before each match, the coach prepares a 5-10 minute analysis of the opponent and an approximate game plan. He is even called the sixth player on the team.
By the way, the organizer has a well-equipped bootcamp located in Romania, and the guys were even able to get together there once. But the difficult situation with the pandemic didn't allow them to continue to play together.
Mid 2020
In the middle of the year, it became known that there would be no The International in 2020, and all tournaments would be online. Then Vikin.gg began to participate in all tournaments, while the rest took a break.
Perhaps the cancellation of LAN tournaments helped the Vikinggs and made it possible to continue developing at home. Many, as before, underestimated the European team and didn't prepare for their play-style.
Vikin.gg is no longer a Tier-2 team?
In September, right in the midst of the Omega League, where Vikin.gg participated, the team rebrands and completely changes the logo. A minimalistic engraving replaced the image of the Viking. Interestingly, right after that, the team began to receive direct invitations to all the major tournaments remaining this year and completely abandoned the Tier 2 scene.
Of course, the rebranding has nothing with inviting the Vikinggs because they really grew up over the past year. At the Epic League, the Vikinggs had all the chances for the champion title, but OG and Virtus Pro were unstoppable.
It is safe to say that this is one of the most high-profile discoveries for the European Dota 2 scene in a long time. An unknown organization and players, as well as small financial opportunities, coupled with a great desire to succeed and become the best in just a year, turned them into one of the strongest Dota 2 teams at the moment. We hope that the released patch won't stop the team's growth, and the Vikinggs will become even stronger next year!