Prior to Team Spirit’s victory at the PGL Arlington Major, the players and coach had a lengthy interview. In one of the segments, Collapse talked about Faith_bian’s influence to his gameplay.
The PGL Arlington Major just ended with an epic TI10 finale repeat as Team Spirit defeated PSG.LGD. In a recent video posted on Team Spirit’s YouTube channel, the members of Spirit including its coach gave their thoughts about the Arlington Major. One particular segment with Magomed "Collapse" Khalilov saw him pay his respects to opponent Zhang "Faith_bian" Ruida.
On August 15, a solid-looking Team Spirit clashed against the undefeated giants, PSG.LGD. Unlike the teams’ previous few encounters, the finals of Arlington Major saw PSG.LGD crumble. The BO5 unfolded in an epic culmination, from Ame’s carry Pudge domination in Game 1, a 75 minutes comeback by Spirit and clear mental warfare in the final two games. But like a replica of TI10 - Spirit outclassed PSG.LGD in all aspects during the BO5, winning convincingly with a 3-1 score.
Team Spirit, who had been actively uploading vlogs on its YouTube channel, uploaded a lengthy interview that they had prior to the final day. They highlighted their experience at the Arlington Major as well as their preparations for the tournament. A segment with offlaner Collapse saw him talk about his hero diversity as well as his thoughts on his counterpart, Faith_bian.
Take a look at the YouTube video below!
Collapse talks about his hero pool
Relevant time of the clip: 11:59
Back during TI10, Collapse stole the spotlight with his Magnus and his magnificent Skewer plays. He is also known for his signature Mars that almost always demolishes the enemy. In the interview, Collapse stated that he feels better as a player because he has diversified his comfort pool.
“I feel comfortable with the meta changes cause I’m adding more and more heroes to my pool - to the heroes I consider familiar," said Collapse.
He also revealed that he doesn't go for the usual meta heroes if it doesn't suit him. One of them is the offlane Visage that has been surging in popularity. "I played Visage a couple of times and realized it just wasn’t my thing. I don’t feel that I’ve lost anything, on the contrary, I got better cause I got more heroes. With the change in meta, I became more viable.”
Source: Spectral Stats
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In the entirety of the Arlington Major, Collapse played 10 different heroes and it isn’t too enormous when compared to other players. However, during the grand finals, Collapse had 4 different heroes in 4 games: Enigma, Viper, Beastmaster, and Axe. This proves his versatility and he didn’t even have to pick his signature Mars in the most important series of the tour.
When Faith_bian was playing at TI, I watched his replays and I learned from him. Even now, I sometimes borrow some of his ideas.
Relevant time of the clip: 12:28
Collapse and Faith_bian are two sides of the same coin. They are both offlaners for the two strongest Dota 2 teams in the world. But Collapse revealed that there is no rivalry between him and the TI6 winner.
“Many people think that there is some competition between Faith_bian and me, but to be honest I just respect him and don’t consider him my rival. I respect him because he has a lot more heroes than I do in my pool, he’s a pretty good player, and I’ve watched his replays too. When he was playing at TI, I watched his replays and learned from him. Even now, I sometimes borrow some of his ideas."
Team Spirit to defend their title at TI11
Credit: PGL
With the CIS team lifting the Major trophy before TI11, all eyes are set on the team. This time around, Team Spirit will be going to the biggest Dota 2 championship as the favorites and they are looking extremely solid. Look forward to Team Spirit's next vlog upload where they will show the behind-the-scenes of their victory at the Arlington Major.
Meanwhile, you can stick around Esports.gg for more Dota 2 content!
