Alan “Nahaz” Bester to coach compLexity for The International 6

Well-known Dota 2 statistician and panelist Alan “Nahaz” Bester will coach Wild Card contenders compLexity Gaming for the upcoming International 6.

Alan Bester is a Professor of Economics at the University of Western Ontario, in Canada.

Bester’s academic matters have kept him busy for quite some time. But in recent years, and somewhat to everyone’s surprise – including Bester’s, he found himself thrown in the spotlight, as a very appreciated Dota 2 statistician and panelist nicknamed “Nahaz”.

A statistician of great merit, Nahaz came to be a constant fixture on tournament panels, in no time.

When he was inexplicably disregarded for an invitation at this year’s International, Nahaz found “a home” with North-American esports organization compLexity Gaming. Valve’s loss is compLexity’s gain!

Alan “Nahaz” Bester will help compLexity make their push far into The International 6 main event brackets from the Wild Card series.

The announcement was made on the team’s website.

compLexity General Manager Kyle “Beef” Bautista welcomed Nahaz on board, throwing bouquets at his “preparation, statistical analysis, and ultimately the way in which he enhances our team’s ability to prepare and improve”:

To many people Nahaz may seem like an odd choice for a coaching position, but to myself and our team, he was the only choice. Nahaz is extremely intelligent, well spoken, hard working, and his mature approach and attitude extends to the way in which he works with our team. What he may lack in professional experience in the booth, Alan more than makes up for with his preparation, statistical analysis, and ultimately the way in which he enhances our team’s ability to prepare and improve. I could not be more happy to welcome Nahaz on board for The International.

Nahaz has also expressed his excitement ahead of the new challenge:

I’m beyond excited to be joining compLexity as they make their push to The International 2016. I’m convinced this team has the talent and teamwork to be among the top contenders in Seattle, and can’t wait to help them achieve their dream of a TI Championship!

compLexity Gaming

coL’s Swindlemelonzz at EPICENTER Moscow © Epicenter

compLexity Gaming is a North American organization founded in 2003.

In November 2015, their Dota 2 division underwent roster changes – welcoming Swedish brothers Rasmus “Chessie” Blomdin and Linus “Limmp” Blomdin for the new season and thus reviving most of the HoN StayGreen roster from 2013-2014. Simon “Handsken” Haag also joined the mix.

Since then, they have had powerful and compelling performances.

The North American/European mix overpowered Shazam, 3:2, in the Americas Qualifiers for EPICENTER Moscow, eventually taking fourth place in the main event. They then slid into the 9th-12th place at the Manila Major. Before the Major, coL were given a run for their money when Digital Chaos defeated them in two sets of regional qualifiers, for the SL i-League StarSeries Season 2 and the The Summit 5.

Most recently, compLexity Gaming placed 5th-6th at ESL One Frankfurt 2016 and secured the TI6 Wild Card spot for The International 6, after coming in third place in the Americas qualifiers, behind Evil Geniuses and Digital Chaos.

compLexity Gaming roster:

Kyle “swindlemelonzz” Freedman
Zakari “Zfreek” Freedman
Rasmus “Chessie” Blomdin
Linus “Limmp” Blomdin
Simon “Handsken” Haag

Nahaz interview: Balancing Dota, family life and academia

swindlemelonzz interview: Early struggles, family support, blunt chronicle of the scene