In July 2013, a Dota 2 match was played in a local Internet café in the Philippines. The crowd of onlookers packed the already small space on three floors and the outer three floors, just to watch this wonderful game. The noisy environment did not affect the operation of several players, but in the process of their communication, everyone could always hear a childish voice talking.
Curiously, as you squeeze through the crowd, you'll notice that there's a man who is clearly not an adult and looks like he's in his early 10s sitting in his seat, directing his teammates in a team battle.
The above set of pictures is Yopaj 9 years ago, who just helped his teammates win the 2022 Galaxy Cup as the single of the Doom team. Keep in mind that this team has only competed in three tournaments this year: the Southeast Asia DPC Regular Season, the Southeast Asia DPC Playoffs, and the just-concluded 2022 Dubai Invitational.
Afterwards, Doom won all the championships without exception, and Yopaj's performance was indispensable. His KDA, output economy ratio, average kills per game and many other data are ranked first!
Yopaj, who was born in 2003, is currently only 21 years old, but he has already made a big name in the knife circle. As early as last year' Major in Singapore, he was still playing for OB at that time, and he left a very deep impression on players from all over the world. First kill Fnatic, then cut VG, although with Secret played three games regrettably lost, but everyone knows this singles youngster.
In an article published at the time, One Esports described Yopaj as follows: "He has the ability to compete with any single player in the world." "This is already a very high evaluation for a 20-year-old player.
Yopaj left OB in September 2021 and started a new chapter in his career at Doom this season. After rebuilding the new lineup, netizens referred to Doom as the "Southeast Asian Galactic Battleship." The results of the subsequent competition also proved the strength of this Southeast Asian team.
This year's Galaxy Cup Boom first lost to Tundra and fell into the loser group, and then returned to the finals stage to avenge Tundra to win the cup. This is not only the first championship of the Boom team this year, but also an important platform for Yopaj to show its strength. In the future competition, Boom and Yopaj can also bring more expectations to the audience.
Yopaj's success is inseparable from his own efforts, but more importantly, talent. At the age of 11, he played against adults in the Internet café team, and it is not surprising that he entered the real professional team as he grew older.
Players who have the same experience as him are Abed, the "first person in the world of the ladder". The 2001 youngster began to contact games very early because he opened an Internet café at home.
Feeling the atmosphere of the game before Yopaj, Abed competed in his first Dota game at the age of 7. At the age of 14, Abed joined Expedition to start his career and moved to Fnatic and EG to continue chasing his own Immortal Shield.
In Dota2, an esports sport with a relatively long career, Yopaj and Abed still have a long way to go in the future. If they can play well and continue, then these two young mid-singles from the Philippines are likely to meet on a bigger stage this season, let's wait and see!