Sneyking on Team Falcons roster: "The team was close to falling apart"

Two-time The International champion Jingjun "Sneyking" Wu appeared as a guest on the All Chat podcast with Cap, Quinn, and Insania. In the interview, he discussed the 796 matches played by the Team Falcons roster, the team's crisis after DreamLeague Season 28, his approach to stress at TI, and Tundra Esports' strategy at The International 2022, which the community missed due to the absence of True Sight.

Team Falcons Almost Disbanded After DreamLeague Season 28

One of the main topics was the current Team Falcons roster, which has played 796 matches together. According to Sneyking, there were moments when the team was close to making changes or disbanding. The toughest episode occurred after their TI victory, during DreamLeague Season 28, when ATF suffered a finger injury, forcing the team to play with a stand-in.

This happened recently, just a few months ago, during DreamLeague Season 28. After the tournament, Malr1ne was very upset and thought that skiter and I weren't trying as hard as we could. The team was close to falling apart.

 

Sneyking believes that replacing players doesn't always solve a team's problems. He notes that the team already has proven success, and slumps can be related to the patch, player form, or external circumstances.

Personally, I think it would have been a mistake. Players have peaks and slumps throughout the year. You can't expect the best performance at every tournament. When you change players, you're not solving these problems; you're just rolling the dice.

 

Sneyking Considers the Second TI More Important Than the First

Sneyking also compared his two victories at The International. He stated that the second title was more important to him because he wanted to help his Falcons teammates win the most significant tournament of their careers. He specifically mentioned Cr1t-, who had been competing at the tier-1 level for a long time but hadn't won a TI before.

Honestly, the second TI was more important. I was happy to help these guys achieve victory, especially Cr1t-. He was the longest-standing active player on the scene who hadn't won a TI yet.

 

The player noted that he felt calmer at the last TI than before. He said he tried to help his teammates maintain focus because, at TI, many teams lose not just due to gameplay but also due to pressure.

Everyone feels stressed at TI. Everyone's hands shake. The key is to have our hands shake less than the opponent's.

 

Tundra Used a Camp Blocking Strategy at TI12

Sneyking revealed that Tundra Esports' victory at The International 2022 is often attributed to Wraith Pact, but the team had a deeper plan. He explained that Tundra focused on controlling the jungle, blocking camps, and gradually building a gold advantage.

If we control our jungle and farm most of the enemy's jungle, the opponent can only take two neutral camps per minute, while we can take about eight.

 

Due to constant contention over sentries, according to Sneyking, Mirana became one of the team's best supports in the tournament. Opponents spent resources to unblock camps, while Tundra would block them again, gradually building an advantage.

At some point, the opponent simply ran out of sentries. Invisibility became invulnerability. We accumulated small advantages until they became overwhelming.

 

Falcons Can't Always Play with Ranged Heroes

In the interview, Sneyking also explained why Falcons often revert to a style with three melee cores. He said this is not only due to team philosophy but also the comfort of individual players on certain heroes.

I think it's more of a hero issue. My cores don't have many ranged characters they genuinely enjoy playing. When Razor, Viper, or Huskar aren't in the meta or are banned, the second and third positions have almost no ranged heroes they're comfortable with.

 

Sneyking added that he would like to see Invoker in the team's pool, as the hero has been strong across various patches, but Falcons haven't achieved consistent success with him.

The Mala Chicken Story

At the end of the episode, the players recalled a story from a bootcamp before TI9. Quinn mentioned that he caught the flu and left some food, warning Sneyking not to touch it. Despite this, Sneyking ate the mala chicken and subsequently became seriously ill.

Of course, I regretted it. I literally couldn't speak. I lost my voice completely and slept 16 hours a day for about a week.