TI Dark Horse: Who is on Kaipi?
With Newcomer Zai, Kaipi is Poised to Go Deep in the TI Qualifiers. Who is On Kaipi?
Team Kaipi has jumped onto the radar for many fans after signing Zai, following the star player’s graduation from high school. The team has had limited success recently, and have built up a bit of a reputation as a “meme team” made up of popular players and streamers. But could the team make an impact at The International? Signing Zai sends a definite signal that the team is serious about making a run in the TI European Qualifying Tournament. We break down who is on Kaipi below.
bOne7
Pittner “bOne7” Armand is the 1 position carry for Kaipi. bOne7 is best known for his offlane play with Cloud9 from 2014 through the team’s run at TI5 in August of 2015. The Romanian player is known to be occasionally brilliant, but inconsistent. However, his former C9 teammate Eternal Envy has repeatedly spoken of his abilities with very high regard.
SingSing
WehSing “SingSing” Yuen can regularly be seen at the top of the Dota 2 Twitch stream rankings, but his tournament showings have not quite met the same marks. SingSing has played every role on the map at one point or another in his career, but has stuck mostly to the mid lane with Kaipi. Though he is known for goofy, meme-heavy streaming personality, SingSing is a notoriously serious and dedicated player off-screen in the competitive world.
SexyBamboe
Discussions of Alaan “SexyBamboe” Faraj often center on big plays he made years ago with teams like Mousesports or the 2013 version of Evil Geniuses. Though he’s been in the limelight less lately, it shouldn’t be forgotten that Bamboe carried teams like 4CL and Mama’s Boys to impressive tournament placings last year essentially by himself from the offlane. One of the best Earthshaker players in Dota, so long as the hero is strong (and he is right now), Bamboe remains a huge threat to work around in the draft.
Zai
The signing of Ludwig “Zai” Wahlberg instantly turned Kaipi from a curious collection of players with promise into a serious European regional contender. Zai really is just that good. Zai was previously one of the best (and greediest) 4 position supports in the world with EG, and that’s the position he’ll be playing with Kaipi to start off. However, Zai turned himself into a tip-top-tier offlaner with Team Secret last year, and it shouldn’t come as a surprise if the roster gets shuffled around if things don’t go well for Kaipi between now and Qualifiers for The International.
Related Story: School's Out: Zai is Back
ComeWithMe
Alexandru “ComeWithMe” Craciunescu is known mostly for his abrasive personality, but he has managed to stick around the CIS Dota scene as a reliably effective support despite chemistry issues with former teammates. ComeWithMe brings a veteran presence, having played competitively since the dawn of Dota 2.