#merlini

Si parte dalla Val Trebbia, da nord, con l’idea di oscillare tra l’appennino e il Po percorrendo strade periferiche. Ci si allontana dalla Via Emilia cercando un diverso baricentro: da una parte “sotto la strada”, il mondo che sale verso l’appennino, dall’altra “sopra la strada”, quello della pianura che dilaga verso il grande fiume. La geografia dei corsi d’acqua e delle valli ci guida alla…

It all begins with a little Danish man named Troels Nielsen, more commonly known as Synderen. Syndy was a reasonably big name in the esports community - or at least in Dota - since at least the late 00s. He was relatively successful during the days of Dota 1, but sometime after the transition to Dota 2 in 2011, he began winning less and less - placing joint-last in all of the three first Internationals - and his reputation suffered a bit.

Luckily, Synderen managed to attain an uncommon rapport with Toby “TobiWan” Dawson, probably the most iconic of Dota commentators, and managed to make a name for himself as a caster and analyst. At the end of 2013, he decided that he would find much more success behind a mic than a keyboard, and officially retired from professional Dota play to focus on casting.

Cut to late 2015. Evil Geniuses are the reigning TI champions. Valve has just held its first seasonal major to great success. Peruvian teams are making it to international LANs. It’s a time of great possibility. Synderen, seemingly out of the blue and in classic Dota fashion, breaks out of retirement as a part of the bafflingly-named Steak Gaming, often jokingly referred to as “4 pro players plus Synderen”. 

As Synderen was, by this point, long cemented as an analyst and not a player, and this sudden move spurred something in the hearts of his fellow non-players - maybe confidence, maybe sarcasm, possibly both.

Not a week after the birth of Steak Gaming, Vegetables Esports Club was born. The brainchild of beloved commentators and analysts Ben “Merlini” Wu, Austin “Capitalist” Walsh, Kevin “Purge” Godec, and Jacob “Maelk” Toft-Andersen, as well as noted friend of Merlini Monib “Monib” Baray, Veggies was meant to be the dark mirror to Steak - scrappy where Synd was pedigreed, American where Synd was European, and incredibly dank where Synd was, it seemed, oblivious.

As the next seasonal major - the soon-to-be infamous Shanghai major - loomed ever nearer, both Steak and Veggies signed up for the open qualifiers in their respective regions. Steak, while putting up a good fight, fell in the round of 16 on their first run, while not even making it to the second day on their second. The team would disband not long after. Veggies, on the other hand, not only made respectable showings on both runs, but nearly made it to regionals, dropping 1-2 against Infamous in the semifinals, wowing all of their new viewers. 

And they did rake in the viewers. Not only was this a chance to see some of the most notable personalities in Dota compete (and possibly crash and burn), but the team’s decision to broadcast their own games from their perspective, giving the Twitch masses a listen in on their strategy and teamspeak, was a novel viewing experience. What surely started in the minds of many as a chance for a quick laugh became a storyline that was shockingly easy to get invested in. 

At the end of their qualifier run, dreams of Shanghai glory smashed, Reddit was filled with threads thanking Merlini & Co. for not only their inspiring effort, but also the rare glimpse into high-level Dota as it is being played (well, as “high-level” as Veggies is). The players, appreciating the response, noted how much fun the experience was, and their eagerness to try again when the next major comes around.

Many months later, now in the run-up to The International 6, Veggies has just finished the first leg of their open qualifier run, falling in the quarterfinals to this season’s Ritsu-stack. Their roster has changed, but maintains its roots: besides Merlini and Capitalist, this iteration also includes players-turned-analysts William “Blitz” Lee, Dominik “Black^” Reitmeier, and Ioannis “Fogged” Loucas (who was previously on Steak with Synderen). Their run was warmly anticipated and much-spectated, with expectations high for tomorrow’s second try. 

As for the future, Veggies appears to be here to stay - shortly before the TI6 open qualifiers, the team reported that Veggies would be establishing separate American and European squads for the upcoming major season. Whether both of these squads would be made up of non- or former-pros, or whether they would continue the practice of personally streaming their games is still uncertain, but the expansion of the brand is a surprising and promising development.

As for Synderen, he’s still trying. After Steak fell apart, it didn’t take Synd long to put together a new team, a more impressive squad known as No Diggity, which has just been acquired by upstart esports org Escape Gaming. They have put up respectable performances in their few months of existence, and many believe they could even secure a spot at TI if they perform to expectations in the European qualifiers - this time, no open qualifier run necessary.