It’s not just rugby that Australia has challenges in. In a stunning turn of events last night, New Zealand’s national esports team, The E Blacks, defeated Team Australia in the Dota2 Women’s qualifier. The win secures them a coveted spot at the Global Esports Games in Riyadh on the 12th of December.
The E Blacks women’s team had never previously won against the Australian side, making them the underdogs going into the match. The tension was palpable as NZ won the first game, lost the second, and then clinched victory in a 90-minute final that had fans on the edge of their seats.
“Last night was a testament to the hard work, dedication, and resilience of our team,” said Lucy Tam, captain of The E Blacks. “We kept our cool, stuck to our game plan, and when the moment came, we seized it.”
The game-winning play came from Rangsey Mou, known as Magic, who sacrificed herself to distract Team Australia while the rest of the E Blacks squad applied pressure on the opposite side of the map. This strategic move allowed her to return and destroy Team Australia’s ancient, securing the win for New Zealand.
This isn’t the first time the team has made waves on the international stage. They previously competed in the Global Esports Games in Istanbul, and Magic represented New Zealand in the open team at the Commonwealth Esports Championships, standing out as the only female player in the open division for Dota2.
Conor English, President of NZ Esports, said, ” This is a fantastic result by our E Blacks! Their hard work and preparation see them progress to the Global Esports Games in December. This is very exciting for our Esports community. Australia is a really strong Dota country, with some players being dota2 royalty and former world champs. Our team has put in the hard yards and trained well since their last encounter to improve significantly to take out this victory. Our strong congratulations to the whole team. A job very well done.
“The E Blacks aren’t slowing down anytime soon. They have another qualifier next weekend for eFootball, as they continue their campaign towards the Global Esports Games in 2023.
“The Global Esports Games is the flagship event of the Global Esports Federation. The third edition is staged in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in December 2023. The GEG23 is a global, multi-title esports competition that showcases the energy of esports through competitions and a dynamic celebration of esports culture and entertainment at the GEFestival. A global convention of thought leaders and idea creators – GEFcon – runs in parallel and convenes leading minds from the world of esports, sports, technology, business, academia, and other talents to share ideas and strategies that will define esports in a connected future.
