UK Dota 2 talent Robson “Teaguvnor” Merritt said his time at the Chongqing Major was a learning experience and believes his team can lift the trophy at ESL One Birmingham 2019.
Teaguvnor worked as a coach for Chaos Esports Club at the major, which took place last week.
His teamed placed 9-12th, which is an improvement from the last major, when they finished 13-16th.
“We should have got top 8 but were unable to execute in the crucial game 3 of a bo3 in lower bracket against VG,” Teaguvnor told Esports News UK.
The coach, who as a position 5 player, had a peak MMR 7.1k position and fluctuated in and out of the top 5 highest ranked UK Dota players. As the others are core players, Teaguvnor is the highest-ranked UK Dota player that only plays support.
Upon reflecting on the Chongqing Major with Chaos, he said: “There were two sides to being at the major, the first being myself. It was a brand new experience for me, as previously I was just playing high MMR pubs (public games) and watching pro Dota.
“So to go from that into coaching, without the smaller steps like playing in lower tier teams, was a bit of a shock. But even though it was a shock to get the opportunity, it was through self-belief and having a bit of free time after graduating that enabled me to just give it a go.
“My initial nerves of becoming a coach are now gone and I think things can only become better. I hope to still be with this team for ESL Birmingham 2019 and have a good shot at lifting the trophy in front the home crowd.”
“My time at the major and with the team was a learning experience. It took some time to gel and be able to convey my opinion with confidence, but I can now confidently say that is not a problem. It was all a bit surreal initially.”
Teaguvnor continued: “The second side to the major is obviously the team. I will not go into too much detail around the errors we experienced in this major – taking too long to understand/adapt and sloppiness. But I can confidently say in the upcoming tournaments this team is going to become stronger.
“My initial nerves of becoming a coach are now gone and I think things can only become better, especially knowing that right now UK Dota lacks any representation within pro teams’ coaching/player positions. With this opportunity I will not take it for granted and try my best.”
On looking forwards at the upcoming ESL One Birmingham 2019 tournament, Teaguvnor added: “I hope to still be with this team for ESL Birmingham 2019 and have a good shot at lifting the trophy in front the home crowd, as these guys have not forgotten the love they got when they attended ESL Birmingham 2018.”
It’s great to see some UK Dota talent taking part in big tournaments, let’s hope personalities like Teaguvnor can inspire others in the UK to take up the game and aim high in the future.
Dom is an award-winning writer and finalist of the Esports Journalist of the Year 2023 award. He graduated from Bournemouth University with a 2:1 degree in Multi-Media Journalism in 2007.
As a long-time gamer having first picked up the NES controller in the late ’80s, he has written for a range of publications including GamesTM, Nintendo Official Magazine, industry publication MCV and others. He worked as head of content for the British Esports Federation up until February 2021, when he stepped back to work full-time on Esports News UK and offer esports consultancy and freelance services. Note: Dom still produces the British Esports newsletter on a freelance basis, so our coverage of British Esports is always kept simple – usually just covering the occasional press release – because of this conflict of interest.
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