TI13 Team Falcons profile: Fulfilling the Fate’s Edict

Heading into The International 2024, Team Falcons are the biggest threat for the title and all eyes are set on them.

It’s very rare that a dream team lives up to expectations, but Team Falcons did it in a spectacular fashion this year. The team was formed in the aftermath of last year’s TI, when Saudi Arabian organisation Falcons Esports wanted to make their entrance into the Dota 2 scene with the best team possible to represent the MENA region.

It all started with Ammar "ATF" Al-Assaf, who was given a free hand to build his dream team. The first players he brought in were the TI11 champions Oliver "skiter" Lepko and Jingjun "Sneyking" Wu.

But although Falcons were clearly looking hot right from the get-go, their first tournament came with just a top 6 placement at ESL One Kuala Lumpur in December 2023. The missing puzzle piece was a coach to define the team’s fundamentals and help them reach their true potential.

For that, Falcons were able to bring Kurtis "Aui_2000" Ling back from retirement and reunite him with his former Tundra players.

Team Falcons roster

Oliver “Skiter” Lepko
Stanislav “Malr1ne” Potorak
Ammar “ATF” Assaf
Andreas “Cr1t-” Nielsen
Jing “Sneyking” Wu
coach: Kurtis “Aui_2000” Ling

_{photo credits: Luc Bouchon | ESL}

With Aui_2000 settled in, Falcons became unstoppable in 2024. Their worst placement during the entire competitive season was a top 3, and they are heading into TI13 with five championship titles under their belt. What makes this feat even more impressive is that they won all five grand finals with clean 3-0 sweeps.

Falcons benefit from having true hero specialists, and throughout the season they were able to execute their game plan perfectly. Some may say that they were also lucky to have some of ATF’s absolute best heroes surviving each patch without considerable nerfs.

What sets Falcons apart from the rest

When most of their competitors worked on stabilising their laning stage and figuring out what the best solutions for the offlane are throughout this season, ATF was rock solid for Falcons on his staples Mars, Timbersaw and Razor. His most played hero this year (as well) is Mars, with 46 games and a 72% win rate.

The support duo was able to play one of their favourite heroes throughout the entire year. Cr1t has Hoodwink picked 58 times with a 65% win rate on it, while Sneyking played his Crystal Maiden in 49 games and boasts a 75% win rate with it.

Team Falcons’ most successful hero pairings before TI13

To understand why Falcons figured things out so fast, we should go a couple of years back and look at Tundra’s spotless run at The International 2022. That year, Tundra set a record on the TI stage by claiming the Aegis of Champions in the most dominant possible way. Their strategies and execution were perfect to the point of almost being boring.

What Aui built two years ago with Senyking and Skitter at Tundra is still viable today despite the countless nerfs brought to the aura stacking strategy, and Team Falcons have truly mastered item timings and the means of map controlling.

What will set Falcons apart

Historically, no team entering The International as absolute favourites to win it all has ever met expectations. Falcons can change that, but they also need to make sure they hold an ace up their sleeves.

They absolutely want to avoid what happened to Gaimin Gladiators last year, or to some extent even what happened to Tundra in the year after TI11. A couple of weeks before The International 2024, Falcons have already started to play different heroes on all the roles. Even ATF put Mars and Razor aside at Fissure Universe: Episode 3, the only event played on the 7.37c patch, and tried his hand at Death Prophet, Sand King, Broodmother and Viper. He played 10 different heroes at that tournament, while all the team members experimented with different things. The good news is that they won that event too, which should only mean that they feel confident in the new meta.

However, we should expect to see Falcons be one of the teams setting the meta for The International 2024. They have wide hero pools and great flex potential between their cores and the supports alike. Should we mention that they have the only person who knows how to carry a game on Naga Siren perfectly from position 5 on their side, and win TI by doing it?

If anyone can guide a completely new Team Falcons in terms of strategies, and ensure another smashing performance on the TI stage, it's Aui_2000. So prepare to be amazed once more by his strategic mind, and by his team’s game plan execution.