Professional Dota 2 coach Kurtis “Aui_2000” Ling has joined the Saudi Arabian organization Team Falcons as the head coach of its Dota roster.
Aui_2000 joins Falcons after departing from Tundra Esports in late 2023 when the organisation’s TI-winning roster disbanded. He now joins a Falcons roster that features two members of the former Tundra roster in the form of Oliver “skiter” Lepko and Jingjun “Sneyking” Wu.
While coaches are often overlooked in pro Dota, Aui_2000 is one of the few that has become a fan favourite thanks to his career as a pro, where he won The International 5 as part of Evil Geniuses, and on-screen broadcast talent. After he retired as a pro player he tried working as a member of the broadcast team for multiple tournaments, but eventually took the coaching role with Tundra Esports.
But his skills as a coach should not be overlooked. He led Tundra to a dominant TI victory in 2022 and kept the team at the top of the European scene for months following the win, establishing himself as one of the best Dota 2 coaches in the world.
Over recent weeks the Falcons Dota 2 roster has established itself as the top team in the new MENA region which is flourishing with its own qualifiers for major events. Falcons have consistently beaten other top teams in the region to qualify for some of the bigger upcoming tournaments, but it remains to be seen how well the team will hold up against international competition.
The Falcons roster is made up of the two previously mentioned former Tundra players, along with veteran Andreas “Cr1t-” Nielsen, and two younger players; Ammar “ATF” Al-Assaf and Stanislav “Malr1ne” Potorak. The mix of veterans and young stars seems to be working well and they will certainly be a contender throughout the season, especially with Aui_2000 as coach.
For 2024 the Dota 2 pro scene will look very different to other years, with the DPC being killed off in favour of an open format where any tournament organiser can run events whenever they want. This has already led to some big tournaments being announced for the top teams, but fans are worried that this will again lead to a situation where tier two and lower Dota teams struggle to make any amount of money going forward, as was the case before the DPC was implemented. With the prize pool for TI dropping massively last year, it is safe to assume that there will be less money than ever for Dota 2 teams in 2024.
