eSports Spotlight: Team Efficiency
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Welcome to our new eSports Spotlight series! Our tournaments have always seen a good many teams vying for the title of Champion, and some of them are definitely worth keeping an eye on. But who are the players behind the tanks? Where do they come from, and how do they play so well? That's what we aim to find out. In eSports Spotlight, we're going to get up close and personal with the teams as they chat about themselves, their achievements in World of Tanks and learn what being in a professional eSports team is really like. Each featured team in this series will be presented in two parts. In the first part, you'll get to read all about the history of the team, how they interact amongst themselves and the roles played by each member. On the second part, we'll show you a video interview that goes into the finer details regarding their life, both in World of Tanks and outside of it. |
Team Efficiency
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The Team:
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The Red Pandas
One might assume that Team Efficiency was a newcomer to the tournament scene in World of Tanks, but that is not so. In fact, T-E (as they like to call themselves in short) was just another group of upstarts among many others that were interested in competing in the first offically sanctioned matches in Asia.
"It all began with pred_error (Team captain) wanting to form a team just to dip our toes into the 7/42 format when TankAsia Open Season started," Team member comix says about the team's early days. According to him, pred_error was the first to sound the call to arms, summoning any who would listen to join him.
"I recall him saying, 'Hey look, monies to be grabbed, let's sign up and troll'!" He continues. "Many of our regular platoonmates flocked in to form a team that would be known as T-E today."
Casual Beginnings
Originally from different clans, the players of T-E found each other in Random Battles of all places, sometimes on the same side, other times as opponents. "We saw each other as great players and started to form a group of platoon-mates," comix says. The inevitable followed soon after - a mass migration to clan Misguided Pacifists (MP), where they would go on to create Team Efficiency.
Like comix, most of the players weren't too concerned about winning their first tournament, the Open Season of TanksAsia Masters. They were much more interested in the 'loot' - free gold that could be spent in-game for various upgrades, shortcuts and Premium tanks. With the promise of virtual riches before them, they dived in head-first.
"We started as a casual team that played pretty much in silence or with useless chit chat during our matches, but soon found out that we were winning matches more often than not. We realised that if we just played a little more seriously, we would actually be able to compete with the best."
Armed with this knowledge, the team's mindset began to change. "In Season 1 of TanksAsia," comix says, "we began to improve our game, learning as much as we can by watching others play and analyzing our own mistakes." But as they were to find out for themselves, it was not going to be a mere walk in the park.
A Wrench in the Works
It's no secret that the ingredients to a team's success relies on two things: skill and teamwork. But while the tactical experience and the camaraderie possessed by this particular band of brothers was the best they could ever ask for, it nevertheless came at a price: the players themselves were physically scattered across five different countries across Asia.
The issue of logistics and planning is ever-present. "We have no place to gather in person like other teams do, which makes training very difficult," comix says. "That's why we've never really trained until recently, with arranged training times."
"Other teams usually go to a cybercafe in a capital city [to train], but for us we just simply cannot afford to travel to meet in person. Immortals (VN Team) gather in a cybercafe to play their matches every week, same with teams like UAD and other big teams worldwide. We use Teamspeak to compensate - we make do with what we have."
Efficiency Rising
Despite the difficulties in training and coordination, there was no mistaking the surge in skill that resulted in their efforts at improvement. Originally a casual play-for-fun team, Team Efficiency rocketed past the opposition to capture 3rd Place for both Season 1 and 2 of TanksAsia Masters, all within the span of a year.
Despite the progress that they have made so far, comix believes that he and his team only are just making the first steps in their journey. "We are a team that has yet to reach our peak, and we're still learning from every game that we play and every loss that we suffer."
"We will continue to play as we are now, hoping to continue this awesome bonding experience that this game has brought us - a group of random strangers that formed a little over a year ago and became a tight-knit group playing together - and looking forward to many other things coming our way."
The Team
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pred_error (SG) |
comix (AU) |
botek9 (MY) |
| "The guy who started it all, gathered the team. Essentially the glue in which everyone is held together." | "I command the team's overall direction during battle." | "One of the more consistent players on the team. Offers tactical insight." |
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Carves (ID) |
djuice (AU) |
HatsuneMiku39 (MY) |
| "Arguably one of the best arty players on the server. Now he focuses on being a T1 driver." | "Adds a special personality to our team with humour and sarcasm. Also provides tactical ideas on the spot while being the team sloth (lazy ass, hence his nickname 'donkeyjuice')." | "One of the team's core founding members. Also a huge anime fan with sound mods heard through his mic when it's open." |
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Megajoel (SG) |
Slyfox (PH) |
tanaka6149 (MY) |
| "Known for making clutch shots with a dead gunner or damaged gun. A solid player who always has a calming aura to soothe the team in stressful times." | "'When in doubt, blame Slyfox'. The clumsy one of the team, we use him as a scapegoat for most things and joke around with him a lot." | "Has the most battles under his belt than all of us. By far our best player/carry when he isn't suffering from connection issues." |
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deksta (AU) |
Deathskyz (SG) |
Elite (SG) |
| "This guy played with myself and djuice in SEA Cucumbers. Well known for his ability to switch to any tank needed." | "'He has joined us for the time being and is sharing his wealth of knowledge with us. Again an all-rounder." | "Sharing a similar situation with Deathskyz, joined our team for this season. A great player with autoloaders." |