Bali Major has truly become the last part of a chain quest for a ticket to The International 2023 for a fresh team that started the year in the Western European Division II Regional League.
Quest Esports are making a huge splash in Bali with their performance. They took everyone by surprise in the group stage and managed to claim the top seed. Their group was arguably the toughest as it featured the most dominant team of the year, Gaimin Gladiators.
Nonetheless, Quest have done the impossible and by winning the group they had the advantage of choosing their opponents for the first playoffs series.
On the day off at Bali Major, between the group stage and the playoffs, Quest Esports sat down with the press present on-site for a round of Q&A.
For Quest to snatch a last-minute invite to TI12 via Dota Pro Circuit points, they need to win the major, and as everyone is aware of the tough challenge they have ahead of them, the question on everyone’s mind was what kind of expectation did Quest set for themselves.
We came in here with no expectations. We came here to play and show our best. Of course, we would like to win and hopefully get to TI with this major. It's a very low chance that we going to do it via points, but we are hopeful - Ammar "ATF" Al-Assaf
Asked about what do they think was the main factor for their success in the group stage, Quest’s position 4 support, Omar "OmaR" Moughrabi answered the following: “There a lot of factors that led to this result. Firstly, we kind of came out of nowhere and the other teams didn't really expect us to be so prepared. Secondly, what Ammar mentioned earlier, that we came with no expectations helped us. We just came to play our best Dota, to show what we have.”
Quest have picked Team Aster for the upper bracket quarterfinals. Asked about their choice, ATF wanted to mention that he needs to beat Emperor Sumail, who is a former teammate of his from Nigma Galaxy. But mainly, it was a strategic choice.
ATF: We chose Aster for two reasons: Firstly, if we beat Aster we would have a higher chance to qualify for TI via points. For us to qualify, we need Aster and BetBoom to get no points here. And secondly, I need to beat Emperor Sumail.
ATF was also asked what is the main difference between playing with Quest Esports and Nigma Galaxy.
I can say that at Nigma Galaxy we were trying to fix things. We were all good players, but all we did was trying to fix things. We also didn't have all the five roles at Nigma because I was their carry instead of offlaner. That created a lot of confusion in the team. I would say that's the main difference - ATF
Continuing on the roster change topic, Quest Esports’ mid laner, Tony "No!ob" Assaf has also mentioned the kind of impact ATF had on the team and how his arrival marked the turning point for the team. “He clicked with us, he gave us many ideas, he is loud in the game, he makes good calls and we improved our communication overall," said No!ob.
As ATF mentioned that Gaimin Gladiators and PSG.LGD were the toughest opponents in the group play, we asked how did they kept themselves composed through what ended up being the 136 minutes game versus Gaimin, which ended up being the third longest game in the history of Dota 2.
No!ob: We were excited to play that game. It was very fun for us. Our carry, TA2000 kept saying "guys, we are younger, we gonna win." We waited for them to make a mistake so we can win and at the end of the day, I guess we played better than them.
Asked what’s their opinion on not having a Battle Pass for this year’s TI OmaR said: “I'm not sure how is going to affect the Dota 2 community overall, but I think it's a positive change. Dota shouldn't be only about the money, it should be about the competition first. Of course, money matters, but the competition should matter more. “
OmaR also gave a few words to the Dota 2 community as we approach the 10-year anniversary since the game was officially launched, on July 9, 2013.
I want to take a moment to just appreciate what a complex game Dota 2 is. It's hard at times, it's easy at times, it's fun, it's everything. It's also a very competitive game.
When I compare Dota to any other games, Dota is just on another level. So, we should really appreciate what we have with Dota 2- OmaR
Quest Esports have in the meantime advanced to the upper bracket semi-finals after sending Emperor Sumail to the lower bracket. They will return to the major stage on Friday, July 7 for another round with Gaimin Gladiators, this time around in a best-of-three duel for a guaranteed top 3 finish.
