Sneyking “B.A. Baracus” Wu - #1 - Carry/Fool Pitier

PLAYER STATISTICS

Elected to play the carry position because of his incredible strength, Sneyking has a long history in esports. Originally rising to prominence in the foetid swamps of Heroes of Newerth, his reputation was strong before his transition to Dota in mid-2012. Fortunately, he has always been swift to adapt, and Dota came quickly to him. Before long, he had formed a team with one-time brother in arms Fogged.



Now, Sneyking’s reputations is beyond reproach. He was famous for his ability to wring advantages from his control of the offlane with heroes like Dark Seer and Templar Assassin while he played with Dignitas.



Clearly suited to carrying, Sneyking’s control and discipline ensure that he makes the safe plays while others might feel the need to try something flashier and more impressive. Indeed, he is very much a “function over form” player, who prefers not to take unnecessary risks. This ensures that he farms well where possible, but can bite the team when they need him to make a snap decision on whether or not to enter early fights. Aside from engineering wins from the safe-and-midlanes, it is Sneyking who is the team’s literal engineer, performing all necessary modifications to the Na`Vi.US van each week.



While he doesn’t suffer fools gladly, Sneyking has been quick to point out that he gives them his pity. It is this pity that his critics point to as his greatest in-game weakness, leading him to hesitate in teamfights. Moreover, much has been made of his out-of-game weakness in a distaste for travel. Many have questioned how well Sneyking will perform at TI4, given the distance he’ll be required to drive to get there. While the team has worked hard to persuade him to fly, sources close to Na`Vi.US report that he has replied to the effect that he, “[...] ain’t gettin’ in no plane, fool.”



SIGNATURE HEROES

Korok “Howling Mad Murdock” Ashworth - #2 - Core/Mid/Ace Helicopter Pilot



PLAYER STATISTICS

It’s never been quite clear whether Korok is genuinely mad or highly accomplished at simulating it. Fortunately, the two are largely indistinguishable to opponents and teammates alike. Korok’s history runs right the way back to the Warcraft III days. He stands alongside other old hands like Fear, Demon, and Puppey. Finding himself without any major results, he eventually moved to HoN, where it’s been speculated that he and Sneyking may have played a series of black-ops pubs together, though neither has ever commented on it. Back then, he served as part of elite SK and EG squads, before eventually switching to Dota 2 shortly after The International in 2011.



Korok’s explosive nature allows him to take control of the midlane, pressuring the enemy mid until he’s ready to make his trademarked switch from farming creeps to farming heroes. This usually happens early enough in the game, whether he’s really ready to go for it or not. As luck would have it, Korok is well-served by the chaos that comes with a well-played Brewmaster, and in the approach to TI4 Brewmaster is looking strong.



For Na`Vi.US, Korok provides two things. The first is that he acts to balance out Sneyking’s slow-and-steady approach to the game. The second is that, when the Na`Vi.US van has been converted into a mobile command centre and bootcamp, Korok pilots the Na`Vi.US helicopter (he also helps to administer the cocktail of drugs required to get Sneyking into an aircraft).



SIGNATURE HEROES

Brax “Hannibal” Paulson - #3 - Core/Offlane/Fearless Leader

PLAYER STATISTICS

For years, Brax drifted between HoN, League of Legends, and Warcraft III DotA, but without the dedication of a real soldier. When the time came, he fell into step with Dota, developed his skills, and joined Quantic in 2012. Since then, he has been deployed repeatedly, though perhaps most notably as part of the LGD.INT that appeared in last year’s International.



Despite his status as national hero, Brax seems not to have garnered notoriety in his homeland. Indeed, it seems that too many of his previous missions flew under the radar of media coverage, leading many to underestimate the sagacious Na`Vi.US captain. Given his years of operation on both the Eastern and Western fronts, Brax has a flexibility and understanding beyond that of many other captains. Moreover, he has seen combat against top-tier squads using both the Western and Eastern strategies. This knowledge allows him a depth of understanding available to few captains of teams so new.



Brax rose to prominence for his abilities as an Invoker player, but now he prefers to sit in the offlane. While some would argue that he lacks the panache of other, more spectacular offlaners, Brax is always stable in the hard lane, acting as an anchor for his team. He is not afraid to play passively until opportunities present themselves, and is always ready to exploit any weaknesses the enemy shows.



Seldom seen without his trademark cigar, Brax leads the team from the front line. Despite his distinctive looks, he is also a master of disguise, capable of flitting through even the most hazardous of laning phases almost unacknowledged.



SIGNATURE HEROES

Fogged “Faceman” Loucas - #4 - Support/Scrounger/Confidence Trickster

PLAYER STATISTICS

Playing position four for Na`Vi.US, Fogged is another player who made his name in HoN before transferring to Dota. He made waves when he first burst onto the scene with the rag-tag bunch of misfits he called PotM Bottom, shooting directly to the top of the NA Dota most wanted. While the team would eventually be picked up by Dignitas, they did not achieve an awful lot at TI3. After that, Fogged hopped from one team to another before finding Na`Vi.US, where his skills could be put to good use.



Fogged is known for his dedication, great work ethic, and for being the best-looking player on Na`Vi.US. His ability to make something out of nothing, as well as his capacity to fall into a leadership role as necessary, has made him an invaluable member of the team. While he is not the captain, he is a strong second-in-command to Brax.



Having supported since his days on Dignitas, Fogged helps to determine the pace of the game by playing ganking supports. He moves well and moves early, catching enemy troops in the mid and offlanes off guard, securing more gold for himself and an early advantage for his team.



Having assembled PotM Bottom from nothing at all, Fogged has more than earned his reputation as the team’s scrounger and confidence trickster. If Na`Vi.US needs anything, they know they can turn to Fogged for it. If the whole team is stricken down in the days before the International, the odds are that Fogged will be able to put together a replacement team just in time.



Fogged is also the team’s ladies man, being easily the most handsome man on the team.



SIGNATURE HEROES

1437 “Amy” Siva - #5 - Support/Field Reporter

PLAYER STATISTICS

1437 has always been just a little different. Jumping into the game with an immediately recognisable Na`Vi.CA tag, 1437 is the sole Canadian member of the otherwise all-American squad. Don’t let that tag fool you though; he has spent years in the North American DotA scene. Unfortunately, all that experience hasn’t brought him success at any major tournaments in the last two years.



1437 takes up the position five role that is so often something closer to “field reporter” or “embedded journalist” than anything else. Indeed, he has come to be known for his relative passivity in game. Not for him the ganking rotations of Fogged, nor the non-stop aggression of Korok.



Instead, 1437 falls into the role of the hard support, ensuring that his team has the vision that it needs to ensure victory. He has also been known to fill out the odd-ended role of dual-mid support, securing an advantage for whoever happens to be in the mid-lane at the time. Recently, he has made the effort to broaden his skillset, now venturing into using heroes like Enchantress in an effort to exert more control on the game in its early stages.



Alright, let’s be honest here. We ran out of A-Team members, but the squad’s spiritual fifth member (for season one and the first half of season two, at least) was Amy Allen. Still, it was Amy who brought the A-Team word of situations they needed to get involved in, just as it is 1437 who plants the wards that keeps Na`Vi.US informed on the state of the game. If this muddies the metaphor for you, feel free to imagine 1437 as the Tawnia, Tia, or Eddie of the group, depending on your preferred A-Team assistant.



SIGNATURE HEROES