Team Archon are taking a shot at one of the two Wild Card tickets into the TI5 main event. With two North-American Dota 2 veterans on board and some fresh talent added to the mix, Team Archon are not to be underestimated. They are going against MVP.Phoenix in the TI5 Wild Card series, tonight, July 26th, starting with 18:00 CEST.
The team resurfaced in enough time to get themselves in order and receive a nod from Valve in the TI5 Americas Qualifiers. After besting the qualifiers’ favorites, Mousesports, 2:1, in the Lower Bracket finals, North American Rejects moved on to the Grand Finals to face compLexity. They seized the second place in the qualifiers and grabbed one of the four TI5 Wildcard Series spots.
With some of the original founding members of the squad that competed in The International 4 under the Na’Vi.US banner and some newer fresh talent added to the mix, Team Archon have already shown they should not be underestimated.
Veterans Steven “Korok” Ashworth and Ioannis “Fogged” Loucas – with their indisputable experience and long and storied legacies – together with familiar faces from the former Team Dignitas and Sneaky Nyx Assassins, Arif “MSS” Anwar, Scott “bLeeK/chad” Jensen, and Chris “USH” Usher, have a crack at one of the two Wild Card tickets into the TI5 main event.
In their relatively short time together, Team Archon haven’t competed in many tournaments. Although their TI5 Qualifiers run was successful, Team Archon have recently had a disappointing performance in the BTS Americas. Whether their lack of team cohesion and LAN experience will work against them or rather be a blessing in disguise at TI5, it remains to be seen.
MSS, Korok, Chad and Fogged arriving in Seattle for TI5
North American Rejects become Na’Vi.US
Team North American Rejects was originally created in April 2014, by Theeban “1437” Siva, Braxton “Brax” Paulson, Allan “Dismek” Garcia, Ioannis “Fogged” Loucas, Steven “Korok” Ashworth, and JingJun “Sneyking” Wu, in order to participate in The International 4 qualifiers.
The team won the regional qualifiers and were picked up by Natus Vincere on June 2nd, 2014. They were renamed Na’Vi.US. After placing 15th at TI4, the team pushed on for a few months longer before disbanding, in December 2014.
NAR TI4 roster picked up by Na’Vi US
NARv2: Korok and Fogged give it one more try
Original members Korok and Fogged reformed the team on March 24, 2015. NAR were able to grab a 3rd-4th place finish in the World Cyber Arena 2015 American Qualifiers and received a TI5 qualifier invite from Valve. The team also had been crowned the Canada Cup Season 5 Champions just days before the TI5 qualifiers, after a grueling five-game series with Canadian team Boreal, 3:2.
Korok and Fogged
Team Archon
On July 3rd, it was announced that Team Archon has signed NARv2 to represent their new Dota 2 division at TI5.
The team has since been in Florida on bootcamp training for their upcoming TI5 Wildcard series. They have recently participated in the BTS Americas tournament, where they placed 3rd-4th.
Team Archon roster:
Chris “USH” Usher, Steven “Korok” Ashworth, Arif “MSS” Anwar, Scott “bLeeK” Jensen, Ionnas “Fogged” Loucas
Chris “USH” Usher
USH, Team Archon
Chris “USH” Usher started playing Dota 2 professionally in 2014, when he joined Sneaky Nyx Assassins, alongside Michael “ixmike88” Ghannam and Brian “FLUFFNSTUFF” Lee. He later played for team FIRE with his former teammates. In March 2015, he joined NARv2 when the squad regrouped just in time for the TI5 qualifiers.
Steven “Korok” Ashworth
Korok, during his time with Team Liquid © GosuGamers
Ashworth was introduced to DotA 1 and played as a stand-in for Nirvana.int, at the ESWC 2010, alongside Clinton “Fear” Loomis, Clement “Puppey” Ivanov and Jimmy “DeMoN” Ho. He switched to Heroes of Newerth for a brief period of time, before returning to Dota 2.
He started playing for It’s Gosu, alongside Sam “BuLba” Sosale and Saahil “UNiVeRsE” Arora. He moved on to Quantic,, and participated in the TI2 qualifiers, but the team was unable to qualify for the event. He then joined Team Liquid, where he would become known for alternating between the hard carry, mid, and offlane roles. With Team Liquid, Korok was able to compete in TI3, finishing 7th-8th.
After The International 3, Korok left Liquid for Team Dignitas for a short period of time, before taking a hiatus in order to focus on his education.
In 2014, he formed North American Rejects especially for The International 4 Americas Qualifiers. The team ended up securing a TI4 spot and was picked up by Na’Vi, in June, as the organization’s US division. Na’Vi.US finished second to last in the group stage and did not advance to the TI4 main event. The team disbanded a few months later and it would be another three months before Korok would reform the squad together with Fogged.
Arif “MSS” Anwar
Arif “MSS” Anwar has played for a variety of teams in the last two years, as either a stand-in or a permanent member. He started to play Dota 2 with Fnatic.NA in 2013, where he played for approximately three months until the team disbanded. He then went through a series of stand-in performances for Team Liquid, Evil Geniuses and Dignitas before he was signed by Evil Geniuses, in September 2013.
Following his time with EG, MSS played as a regular stand-in for Team e-Hug, but was never signed on as a permanent member. He joined Team Dog, in March 2014. The squad was picked up by Mousesports for TI4, but disbanded following the event, after a disappointing 11th-12th placement. Arif joined NARv2 in March, 2015.
Scott “bLeeK/chad” Jensen
Chad, during the TI5 Media Day photo-shoot, in Seattle
Just like many other professional Dota 2 players, Jensen was a HoN player before switching to Dota 2. He started his professional Dota 2 career in 2012 with Absolute Legends. He stayed on the team for about six months and, once dropped, he moved to Dignitas for a month. His next registered Dota 2 team would be two years later, when he joined the reformed NARv2, in March 2015.
Ionnas “Fogged” Loucas
Fogged, Team Archon
Ionnas “Fogged” Loucas has a long and storied legacy as a HoN, DotA and Dota 2 professional gamer. He started his Dota 2 career in 2012, as a part of the North American team PotM Bottom, alongside Kurtis “Aui_2000” Ling.
Despite their relatively unknown roster, PotM Bottom placed highly in several minor tournaments and eventually took a first place finish in the Prodota2 Pro League. That led to their acquisition by Team Dignitas. The team took 3rd/4th place at DreamHack Summer 2013 and received an invite to The International 2013, where they landed a 9th-12th placement.
After TI3, Fogged, along with teammate Saahil “UNiVeRsE” Arora, went to Evil Geniuses, in September 2013. He left EG in February 2014 and joined Team Dog.
In April 2014, Fogged parted ways with Team Dog and formed the original North American Rejects team. The team won the TI4 regional qualifiers and was picked up by Natus Vincere to represent their expanded brand’s US division. After placing 15th at TI4, the team pushed on for a few months longer before disbanding in December 2014.
A period of instability followed, as Fogged then joined team FIRE, with Tyler “TC” Cook, and then Monib Baray with Ben “Merlini” Wu and “TC”. In March 2015, Fogged and Korok reformed North American Rejects. It wasn’t long until the squad was picked up by Team Archon.
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