Team Falcons has the best team money can buy | TI14 Team Preview

It’s hardly a secret to anyone that follows the esports industry that owning an professional gaming team is a huge money sink. Very few organizations, if any at all, actually manage to turn a profit — and that’s even after esports as a whole exploded in the early to mid-2010s. The onset of the pandemic at the start of the current decade did little to help things in this regard.

Enter Team Falcons, a massive organization by esports standards, with active rosters across, uh, let me check Liquipedia real quick — twenty-one different esports titles. They are one of, if not the richest outfit in the entire industry.

As one might expect, they also have a Dota 2 branch — by all measures, one of the most successful in terms of results over the past two years. They dominated the competitive scene since 2024, after winning four major tournaments and placing no lower than the podium in every other competition they went to.

Can’t buy happiness — or can you?

Falcons’ Dota 2 squad has managed to avoid the trappings of overspending on big names, for the most part. Like I said, they tasted near-instant victory at the time of their formation. Failing to even make the grand finals at TI13 had to sting, though, given the dominance they enjoyed last season. And since winning at TI is a mental game as much as it is a mechanical and strategic one, perhaps they just weren’t ready for that previously.

When the current season started in October 2024, they picked up more or less right where they left off — but things did turn a little sour a few times in between. The Falcons haven’t been nearly as assertive this year as they were previously, with their 9th-11th place finish at PGL Wallachia Season 4 being the lowest point.

They have managed to bounce back as of late, placing second at the Esports World Cup and winning FISSURE Universe Episode 6. This sets them up quite nicely for TI14 — with some much-needed momentum and regained confidence to help propel them forward.

Falcons’ string of defeats is only a bigger motivator

There’s far too much talent, experience, and genius in this roster for them to not at least be in the running for an International title. The true problem is that, as this season has shown all of us many a time, they’re prone to underperforming severely and are now more vulnerable than they’ve ever been.

And what better motivation than that, plus the fact that they were unable to even make the final day of TI13? By all accounts, they were supposed to win that tournament with the way they simply demolished everyone in the months prior. They didn’t even reach the podium, in fact, having to settle for just fourth place after losing to Tundra Esports in the lower bracket semifinal.

It makes a bit of sense, to be honest. As a team filled with hero specialists like Stanislav “Malr1ne” Potorak and Wu “Sneyking” Jingjun, they’re hardly built for sustaining long-term success — as they are practically at Valve’s mercy if the developers target their heroes after Dota 2 Patch 7.39d . This ironically makes their rule over the competitive scene for an entire year in 2024 even more impressive, but when it comes back to bite them, it bites hard.

After all, what’s a specialist without their tools of choice? Falcons are one of the best teams, but typically only if they’re allowed to play their comfort picks. They won’t always have this luxury at TI14 where their rivals will be prepared to draft against them.

High Flyers and Player to Watch

Team Falcons has a roster so packed with star power that they might end up just brute forcing their way through the TI14 group stage and bracket. Ammar “ATF” Al-Assaf is their best proof of this, as he possesses a level of talent at such a young age akin to a young Syed “SumaiL” Hassan, Amer “Miracle-” Al-Barkawi, or Anathan “ana” Pham. He even has the fiery personality to go along with it.

If their signature heroes are banned, Falcons will have to tap into their sheer individual strength in order to get much of anywhere at TI14. They are capable of this, so it’s just a matter of unlocking that energy when it matters most. It’s been a struggle for them to do just that at times this season, so it’s easier said than done — but if there’s any squad in the field that can, it’s this one.

Otherwise, they might be in for another disappointing end to their season, relative to their supposed potential.

I’ve already alluded to which player is the most entertaining and most pivotal for this team: ATF. I’d say his play from the offlane position is rivaled only by that of Neta “33” Shapira, who happens to be a two-time International champion.

If Ammar gets his hands on Razor, Bristleback, Mars, or Doom, expect sparks to fly and for you to be dazzled by his mechanical skill and rapid-fire decision making.

My TI14 Falcons Team Grade

Team Falcons’ uncharacteristically poor performances this season are well-documented. It does give me some pause as to how they might stack up to the rest of the field. Targeted bans against their comfort picks might also prove to be an issue, as they are quite reliant on them.

Their recent return to form is proof that they haven’t just fallen off a cliff this season, and might have some fight left in em. I give Team Falcons an A-.