Dota 2: Learn how to train Na`Vi with Mag

New Natus Vincere coach Andrey “Mag” Chipenko spoke about the team’s past and upcoming tournament qualifiers on Na`Vi’s website and discussed his role on the team. The talk took place before the DreamLeague Season 10 Minor closed qualifier.

About the Kuala Lumpur Major qualifying journey:

We learned a lot from the draft qualifiers, I think we are better prepared for the Minor qualifiers now.

[Trận vs ferzee] We can’t lose the first map of this series. The team lacks motivation and the games start too soon. Also, the other last day was problematic and ended very late: people didn’t get enough sleep.

We won the first map thanks to the draft. The draft for the second map was fairly even, but the team lost despite having some advantages. You could say the third map lost was ’tilt’.

Regarding training in general and specifically NaVi:

Looking at the general trend when it comes to selecting coaches, teams are trying to recruit someone who can help with the draft. For example, Virtus.pro explained that replacing ArtStyle was in need of training in drafting drafts and helping to generate new ideas.

My goal is the same: I try to tweak the draft and come up with some ideas of my own. We kept practicing with SoNNeikO, drafting one-on-one, trying different ways. So far, we have achieved certain results: the team has several draft plans from different positions, first pick and double pick.

I may be running the team with positivity, but you can’t call me a psychologist. I’m still a current player, so I don’t have any qualifications for it. We have a manager for this who handles issues like that. The members did not have any difficulty in building the lineup. We stayed together, played games together, rode bikes together.

[Về việc giúp đỡ trong trận đấu] The team also tries to get me to help in matches, but my advice is usually general and only involves timing the bounty rune, Roshan, and Ultimate cooldown. I can give crafting advice, the basics. SoNNeikO coordinates what to do and where people need to go, and I shouldn’t touch that.

Double-pick or prioritize first pick?

It’s better to pick the first, since you get the last pick in the first and second stages. This has a big impact on the draft as a whole

Preparing for DreamLeague Season 10 Minor Qualifiers

It’s very basic: scrim, draft, practice. When we compare the Kuala Lumpur Major qualifiers with the current one, we have more confidence since the strategies we are using have a high win rate in practice.

About how to deal with social networks

Everyone has to deal with it in their own way. I’ve learned not to read comments in my career, because negative comments are so common. But when people write something to support, it gives us strength. I really don’t feel any pressure.

Minor Form

This format surprised me a lot, due to its long qualifiers being more difficult. The Minor was previously for tier-2 teams, but qualifying makes it much more difficult. Aside from only one spot, we only had four teams in the closed qualifiers and only two of them were invited.

Qualifying results of other regions

[Tôi không ngạc nhiên với khả năng của Alliance]. We’ve scrim with them and know they’ve been preparing for a long time. The organization has kept the same roster since last season, so they have all the time to practice during the summer. I like their gameplay and drafts.

Ninja in Pajamas and Team Secret look pretty strong. I’d say there’s a drafter war going on this season. Looking at the last matches of those teams, I realized that I really like the drafts of these teams and they brought their own meta. Take Drow Ranger for example, you don’t see this hero present in other regions. If I’m not mistaken, they won every game against this hero.

For now, you can say Team Liquid hasn’t found itself after TI8. Mainly drafts. The team is still strong. Top 4 in Vancouver says a lot. Maybe you’ve been on vacation for too long and just need to understand the current meta and drafts.

Natus Vincere announced the new roster, centered around Crystallize and SoNNeikO, on September 7. The team made it to the closed qualifiers of the Kuala Lumpur Major CIS in the 2nd attempt, but lost to ferzee in the first draw. The DreamLeague Season 10 Minor Qualifiers went better, and Na`Vi earned CIS’ only spot.