Following Valve’s ban on his account for toxic behaviour EternalEnvy disappeared from the competitive scene. However, last night he made his anticipated return on the DPC.
North American Dota fans has been waiting for the return of the legendary EternalEnvy to the Dota Pro Circuit. Unfortunately, he didn't make a huge splash in his first series against Simply Toobased. However, it is only the first week of the second season of the NA DPC, so there is time for Envy to make the big splash we are all waiting to see him make.
EternalEnvy's career peaked as part of Team Secret, winning the Shanghai Major in 2016. Since then his ventures have not yielded great success, Over the course of his career he has earned $987,000 in prize money, currently ranking him as the #5th most successful Canadian esports player of all time.
However, over the last few years a series of disputes with team-mates saw him fall out of favour. On top of that Envy's account got banned for 6 months due to toxic behavior, and he almost instantly vanished into obscurity. However, one of NA's most beloved - and highly controversial - players has returned. For the DPC Season 2, the Canadian is playing position 1 for Black n Yellow in Division 1, meaning a place at TI10 is within reach. Ana returned to OG under the nickname HumbleGod, we take a look how EE-sama did on his debut versus Simply TooBased.
Playday 1: Black N Yellow versus Simply TooBased
Game 1: A Theoretical Counter to Phantom Lancer
Phantom Lancer has been on a rampage lately due to the patch 7.29 buffing his Shard. To answer this, pro's and pubs alike have been trying to find a solution to taking him down. One theory is of Luna, and her new Aghanim's Shard. The shard allows for a ground targeted Lucent Beam which also creates 2 of Luna's attacks. This coupled with her insane natural farming speed theoretically could stand toe to toe with Phantom lancer as she could deal with his illusions from a range and hit item timings faster. Envy tested this theory in game 1.
Unfortunately during game 1, the theory fell short. The game was very back and fourth with Envy outframing Boris' PL throughout the entire game. However, with the lead that they have, Black N Yellow took a long fight at the Rosh pit, which PL, Warlock and Tiny all thrive in. Unfortunately, even with all the farm that Envy had, it wasn't enough to survive the onslaught of PL illusions, Tiny burst combo's and Warlock spells being thrown at them.
The game ended with Black N Yellow smoking and taking a fight on the radiant side, while Envy was sieging a tier 2 tower on the other side of the map. Running into all of Toobased, they lost the fight before Envy could rotate towards them and contribute. By the time Black N Yellow respawned, it was too late, as Simply Toobased was knocking on their tier 4's with a massively farmed PL.
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Game 2: EternalEnvy's Raid Boss Luna
During game 2, Envy wanted to show that Luna wasn't just a counter to PL, but a good hero once more. With PL being first phased banned, Envy first phased picked Luna. As the game went on, it was just Envy doing Envy things: farming and becoming a raid boss of a carry. A farmed Luna with the satanic, manta and butterfly was too much to handle for the underfarmed radiant side. Envy and the rest of his teammates just stood in front of the tier 4's and hit towers until the ancient blew up.
Game 3: The No Regen Gyrocopter
Game 3's draft could only be described as an Envy Draft. Black N Yellow drafted a 4 protect 1-esque draft with Envy on Gyor with a support faceless void on Jubei. As the game started, Envy pulled out some "Envy strats" on Gyro: no regen. just boots and some iron branches. A questionable build by analysts and casters alike.
However, in the matchup against Centaur, it proved somewhat effective. Unfortunately, the strat didn't pay off, as Simply Toobased's Troll Oracle draft was too much to handle.
Unfortunately to fans of EE, Black N Yellow lost the series 2-1 but as the season is just starting for NA, there is always hope. It was an absolute treat to see EternalEnvy back in the professional Dota scene. Seeing the classic Envy's new and crazy ideas especially after the patch recently dropped inspires us all to try new things and never give up.
EternalEnvy and his teammates are set to take on Quincy Crew on April 25th for week 2 of NA DPC season 2. Quincy Crew is currently one of the stronger teams in North America, showing dominant performances and going toe to toe with EG. But if anyone can pull some insane strats out of the bag during the new meta chaos to catch a win, its EternalEnvy.
