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BoBoKa gets a visa, all Chinese players cleared for The International 7

By Jor'El "Sheen Sah" Jones

Image courtesy of wiki.teamliquid.net
Image courtesy of wiki.teamliquid.net /
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Ye “BoBoKa” Zhibiao’s visa situation worried many fans of Chinese Dota 2. The International (essentially the world championship) begins in two weeks. Thoughts that Chinese players would struggle to receive permission to play in the United States were becoming common. However, BoBoKa gets a visa; he’s the final player to have his visa confirmed. China is good to go.

Image courtesy of weibo.com
Image courtesy of weibo.com /

BoBoKa gets a visa, will play at TI for the first time

BoBoKa, a 20 year-old Dota 2 starlet, plays Support for Invictus Gaming. He’s an 8k mmr player, not shabby whatsoever. BoBoKa moved to Invictus Gaming in April of 2016 and lost to his former squad, iG Vitality, in his first tournament with the main squad.

Invictus Gaming struggled with BoBoKa for the first three months after adding him. However, a 2-0 victory over Newbee in the finals of National Electric Arena 2016 earned iG their first title of the BoBoKa era. The win earned iG more than $120,000.

Invictus Gaming missed The International 6, which is mainly why BoBoKa ended up in this visa situation. Last year’s China qualifier for TI6 went south for iG very quickly. Both Vici squads easily defeated iG. Two 2-0 sweeps sent BoBoKa and Invictus Gaming home in a flash.

2017 has been a different story for iG. They’ve had moments of brilliance, but appear to be petering out lately. They’ve missed the Top 4 of three consecutive premier tournaments. Nonetheless, they’re not a team overlook at TI7.

Until the Manila Masters in late May 2017, Invictus Gaming had reached the semifinals of each premier tournament they played in. However, since heading to the Philippines, iG hasn’t been so fortunate. A 5-6th Place finish in Manila has been followed by two more 5-6th Place finishes at EPICENTER 2017 and the Mars Dota 2 League.

It’s great that BoBoKa gets a visa for TI7, but how will the team do when play begins in two weeks? Do you see a Top 4 finish coming from iG? Reach out on Twitter and let us know. #LetsTalkDota has daily topics to tweet about. Thanks for reading.

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