Bach: "One week before Wallachia, we barely played Dota."

Vici Gaming has qualified to the playoffs of PGL Wallachia Season 7. They had to take down regional rivals Xtreme Gaming in the final round of the group stage.

After defeating his former teammates, Zhang "Faith_bian" Ruida (also known as Bach) talked about his team's preparations for Wallachia, how they currently draft, and what's changed in his life since his first retirement.

Bach: "We started practicing one week before this tournament"

Vici was a last minute invite to the event. They replaced Power Rangers who couldn't secure a visa in time. Bach was aware they might be invited but was still surprised and didn't really train for the tournament till recently.

"We started practicing one week before this tournament. Because we know we might stand-in for this tournament. So we just play a lot of pubs and we don't have any scrim before. So we just watched replays and talked together. Try to figure out what heroes we want and build around those heroes."

Vici Gaming had lost several qualifiers in a row, often in second place. The team had zero expectation to play Dota for a while. When asked what they were aiming for Faith_Bian said their next goal was qualifiers.

"One week before Wallachia, we barely played Dota. Because we lost all the qualifiers, so we don't have tournaments to play for two months. So we were preparing for next qualifier." 

Dota 2 patch 7.40c has been around for a while now. Teams have figured out the best heroes and most tournaments play in the same meta. This brings back the hot debate of first vs second pick in the draft.

Bach believes that the longer a patch goes, the better second pick becomes. As hero counters start popping up even to the most broken options.

"At the beginning of the tournament, Largo, Batrider, and Shadow Fiend. Those heroes are very OP and teams don't have too much solutions to them. So first pick was great at the time. But Shadow Fiend, you can pick Marci into it. So maybe it's not very good to do first pick."

While many teams expirement with unique picks from time to time, Vici Gaming has taken it to another level. Game one saw the team win in 22-minutes, courtesy of an unusual Faceless Void support pick.

Despite how unusual it is, Bach believes the hero suits the role quite well, "Planet loves this hero. And he is a very good melee hero for pulling waves. Because he can escape and isn't easy to kill. For my side, it's actually ok. Because I have a guy who can block camps, and pull waves for me always. It's a very strong hero in teamfights also."

Faith_Bian has left Dota 2 before. After the conclusion of The International 2022, he took a year off from the game. Originally planning not to return, Bach realized he still had a lot to give to the game.

He recognizes that now, he is more focused, with an end-goal in mind. He is also persuing programming and generally explained how much healthier he feels his life balance is now.

"The difference between now and the first time I quit, is that time I don't have very strong target to do in my life. So I was just tired, I just wanted to escape. There was no main goal in my life. It wasn't a very good condition. The biggest change is I know what I am doing right now, so I can have a meaningful and happy life every day."

You can catch Vici Gaming and the rest of the playoffs in the main PGL Wallachia Channel.

READ MORE: DM: "Playing Tournaments In Tier-Two Is Better Than Scrimming Tier One Teams"

Featured Image Source: Vici Gaming