The International 2019 has ended and every Dota 2 pro team is looking to rebuild their roster in hopes of finding better talent. TNC and Kuku have parted ways, while Alliance decided to keep their roster intact. But in the Chinese Dota 2 scene, something different is happening – pro players are looking to coach and build a youth team.
Some players from Old Boys are reportedly interested in coaching younger talents. In case you did not know, the Chinese team features some of most well-known Dota 2 players of the region. And mind you, many of them have already won The International.
Interestingly, though, the team is not looking to compete in events and/or qualifiers. Instead, they want to be a home for retired legends of Chinese Dota 2. Apparently, they want to bring a significant change.
The announcement came from Weibo, suggesting that Old Boys will be an academy dedicated to coaching up and coming talents. The goal is to nurture these young players and lead them forward in the Dota 2 pro scene.
Chen ‘Zhou’ Yao, Jiang ‘YYF’ Cen, Zhang ‘Mu’ Pan, and Gong ‘ZSMJ’ Jian, among others, have decided to build one to two youth teams. Their aim is to simply provide an avenue specifically designed for skilled players who want to play competitively. More importantly, these pro players are hoping to nourish fresher blood for the entire Chinese Dota 2 community.
According to the post, Old Boys will be looking for players with 7,500 MMR+ from position 1 to position 3. For positions 4 and 5, the player should at least have 7,200 MMR+ on his/her resume. As of this writing, the team has yet to announce a name for its upcoming roster. Nonetheless, they are expected to search for new talents in a good number of selection matches, all of which will be cast and streamed. Fans and players alike can expect more details about these matches from Old Boys very soon.
It is interesting to see how Old Boys will pull this off. Also, this might just encourage other regions and/or esports organizations to build on younger talents for their Dota 2 teams.
