What does a champion truly need? Is it good team mates? Good manager? A fail safe plan or is it the ability to enjoy themselves while conquering their opposition? These were the questions that were answered at the recently concluded inaugural Rotaract DotA Premier League hosted by the Rotaract Club of Colombo Mid Town.
During the Covid 19 lockdown period so many clubs were making innovative decisions to host various competitions from the comfort of their homes but what was the answer for the DotA players of RID 3220? To fill that void the gamers of Colombo Mid Town decided that we host a DotA tournament for the movement with a twist. Instead of players representing their individual clubs, they will instead represent a District Committee member of RID 3220 who will manage their own franchise.
DRR Rtr. PP Krishan Balaji – The Slithereen Guards
ADRR Rtr. PP Afraa Mohamed – The Pyraxae Dragons
Rtr. PP Ravindu Jayakody – The Boreal Watchers
Rtr. Milan Smahon – The NightCrawlers
20 players registered for the tournament unaware of which team they will represent at the tournament. However, plans were put into motion as the teams were to be decided through an auction system. The player auction was broadcasted live on the Colombo Mid Town Facebook page via Zoom and indeed it was a long night as the team owners were plotting against each other just for the laughs and in a bid to sum up the best team for the tournament. As the auction ended the teams were finally set for the tournament dates as they had only 1 week to prepare themselves.
The Night Crawlers
Rtr. Thushan Thilanka – RAC Colombo Mid Town
Rtr. Atheeq Irshad – RAC Colombo Mid Town
Rtr. Omar Hussain – RAC Colombo Fort
Rtr. Afran Zaman – RAC Colombo Mid Town
Rtr. Jacob Asirvathem – RAC Colombo West
The Pyraxae Dragons
Rtr. Sajid Ali – RAC Colombo Mid Town
Rtr. Dhanushka Madusanka – RAC ICBT
Rtr. Frank Joseph – RAC Wellawatte
Rtr. Vindyas Gnanasekaram – RAC Wellawatte
Rtr. Digantha Perera – RAC IIT
The Slithereen Guard
Rtr. Amjad Khan – RAC Colombo Uptown
Rtr. Yaqoob Mohamed – RAC Colombo Mid Town
Rtr. Isanka Dissanayake – RAC IIT
Rtr. Shimar Ahamed – RAC IIT
Rtr. CJ Shajee – RAC IIT
The Boreal Watchers
Rtr. Insaaf Hussain – RAC Colombo Mid Town
Rtr. Aadhil Hafeez – RAC Colombo Mid Town
Rtr. Jalal Thajudeen – RAC Pearl Island
Rtr. Basharath Isamath – RAC ICBT
Rtr. Rimshad Sham – RAC Colombo Mid Town
Finally with the tournament upon the players it was time to test their skills against the other teams as it was a battle of which team had the strongest mentality. The tournament was broken down into 2 segments, the group stage and the knockouts.
The first day saw some intense DotA being played between the teams as there was never a one sided game. The Nightcrawlers looked in fine form as they seemed to outplay all the teams and ended the day unbeaten which left the team owner Rtr. Milan Smahon happy and feeling like Sharukh Khan. The Pyraxae Dragons, The Slithereen Guard and The Boreal Watchers ended the day with 1 win a piece. Some of the players were showing signs of doubt but that I’m sure that never stopped them from reaching great heights.
Finally with the players getting their much needed sleep and having their team motivation talks things were a totally different tempo as the games were fast paced and intense from the previous day’s games. The tournament favourites from day 1 The Nightcrawlers who started the day in the upper bracket was eliminated to the lower bracket after losing to The Pyraxae Dragons 2-0 in the first series of the day. The 2nd game of the day was between The Slithereen Guard and The Boreal Watchers which The Boreal Watchers clinched after a close game. The much awaited rivalry game between Rtr. Thushan Thilanka and Rtr. Insaaf Hussain was intense with Rtr. Insaaf Hussain led The Boreal Watchers to victory and clinched the series 2-0 to set up the finals between The Pyraxae Dragons and The Boreal Watchers.
The finals was broadcasted on Facebook Live with Rtr. Chirag Amit and Dr. Arun Goonewardene commentating the games with expert analysis from Rtr. Omar Hussain. The games that were played were fitting for the finals as it came down to the final game of the best of 3 series with The Boreal Watchers losing the finals with just one single mistake of young blood not being able to control the adrenaline rush with the series ending 2-1 in favour of Rtr. Afraa Mohamed’s team clinched the tournament and The Pyraxae Dragons being crowned the first ever RDPL Champions.
We are yet to find out what Afraa aka Preity Zinta has given her team for the hard work.
Rtr. Chirag Amit | Email: cjamit12@gmail.com
