Win and Learn as a Team: TeleTrip Campus SUTD – DOTA 2

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Our second TeleTrip Campus for the DOTA 2 players happened at TeleTrip Campus SUTD – DOTA 2 on 29 June 2019. So glad to see familiar faces. This time, we had 15 participants!

Serious Business

This time, we changed the format of TeleMatch to round-robin, which provided the players an opportunity to play against every team! When there is a tie-breaker, the winning team will be determined by the total number of kills earned during TeleMatch. With the number of kills taken into consideration, the teams must now think about how to secure kills and reduce casualties in every match, increasing the challenge of TeleMatch!

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During TeleTalk, the players were introduced to roles, teamwork, and effective communication so that the teams are aligned. With that being set, the teams then proceeded to strategise their draft based on their strengths and weaknesses. It was interesting to find out what were the teams’ priorities and considerations during their discussion, such as kill potential and how to create combos out of their hero pools.

Keeping Our Players “Farmed”

As games and discussions can get really intense, we provided snacks and drinks for the players to perk themselves during the games (shoutout to Kangaroo for the tasty nuts).

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To help relieve the burden of thinking about meal options while planning for the next game during lunch break, we went out to get tasty chicken rice for the players!

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When it was lunchtime, both Team 1 and Team 2 were still in their games with no sign of ending. Team 3 ended early and had the option to have their meals first. Instead, they decided to watch the ongoing match and waited until both teams ended their games to have their meals together. It was really nice to see how the players were willing to wait for each other.

Below are some key events that happened to each team.

Team 3: Youngest Player with the Most Experience

Even though bots games sounded like a no-brainer to most players, two of the teams were shocked to find out that Team 3 achieved 312 kills in 30 minutes. As a comparison, the other two teams only managed to reach their highest of 152 kills and 134 kills in 30 minutes.

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So what’s the secret? It turned out that during the bots warm-up game, Team 3 found out that their youngest player, 15 years old, understood how the AI-controlled heroes react to their actions and which strategy would be best to get as many kills. So how did he actually know this? It was revealed during the pizza party that he would play a game with bots during his free time in school due to unstable internet connection. He would then constantly try to find out how to improve his strategy to kill them and end the game faster by observing the bots.

Team 1: Win as a Team, Learn as a Team

Even though Team 1 managed to win games convincingly and lose games which were close, they always took the time to reflect on what could be improved after each game. They noticed that for the games they lost, they communicated less which might have greatly affected their chances of winning. It was amazing to witness how quickly they learnt that communication was a key to winning and every teammate had a part to play in this.

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Team 2: Learning through Difficult Situations

During TeleMatch, it was obvious that Team 2 was struggling to play as a team. The primary reason was that none of the players had experience in leading a team. Instead of shying away from the problem, they stepped up to take on the team roles that were lacking, such as the captain and shot-caller. Despite playing out of their comfort zones, they were able to take a lot of good team fights that required coordination.

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Even though they did not manage to win a game against the other teams, their determination as a team and growth as players during TeleTrip was astounding.

Good job to all three teams!

Prize Presentation and Pizza Party

We had five TeleTrip Campus winner tags for the winning team. There were prizes for the “Most Improvement Team” and “Best Teamwork” as well. The winning team received a Tecware Keyboard each. “Best Teamwork” received Aftershock mouse each and “Most Improvement Team” received Aftershock backpacks.

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…not to forget the “Best Support”, George!

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Also, a shoutout to our facilitators JJ and Wah Yi for helping out at TeleTrip!

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During the Pizza Party, we got to surprise Wilson, whose birthday was just a few days after TeleTrip!

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Like always, we had a chit-chat session with the players over pizza. It was memorable as our facilitator JJ, who is a competitive DOTA 2 player, shared his experience which includes the struggles and how the team overcame their circumstances. It definitely served as an encouragement and a reminder that everyone, not excluding stronger players, faces similar roadblocks. The most important thing is how we overcome them.

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Had lots of fun with you guys, hope to see you at the next TeleTrip Campus – DOTA!

Thank Yous!

Thank you SUTD for providing the venue for TeleTrip Campus! Appreciate the support from all our partners AftershockPCKangaroo Nuts and SCOGA in making this TeleTrip Campus possible. Shoutout to JJ and Wah Yi for all the help. Last but not least, to the gamers who came and made TeleTrip such a fun and memorable day for all of us ^-^

Hope to see you at the next TeleTrip Campus!

Facebook Photo Album of TeleTrip Campus SUTD – DOTA 2 Jun 2019: https://www.facebook.com/pg/soos.oio.sg/photos/?tab=album&album_id=2167289866895511

Instastory of TeleTrip Campus SUTD – DOTA 2 Jun 2019: https://www.instagram.com/s/aGlnaGxpZ2h0OjE3ODk4ODYyODk0MzM5NjY1/?igshid=bdfb5wxtpsiy&story_media_id=2076621788663343799

Details of TeleTrip Campus SUTD – DOTA 2 Jun 2019: http://soos-oio.com/teletrip-campus-sutd-jun-2019-dota-2/

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