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# A Place Where No One Has Ever Been: Wings Gaming and their ESL One Manila Journey

The majority has heard of it yet a few still saw it coming. Either it is the human's ability to be naturally skeptic or the fans sheer admiration for powerhouses that disregarded the fantasy-like run of these underdogs from China. Not to put the blame entirely on them, but these group of aspirants came in Manila without knowing who they actually are.

Now that the dust has settled, they did not only made a name out of themselves but they also made us believe in the slightest chance of victory. Join us in a flight with Wings Gaming to a place where no one has ever been.

### Set to Fly
In April 2014, the bunch of hopeful lads once fought under the legendary banner of Team DK led by Xu “*BurNIng*” Zhilei. Coming from Speed Gaming China, Zhou “*bLink*” Yang, Zhang “*Faith_Bian*” Ruida, and Jiang “JDH” Donghao (ex-Wings Gaming) were asked to stand in for Chai Yee “*Mushi*” Fung, Zhang “*LaNm*” Zhicheng, and Daryl “*iceiceice*” Koh for DK’s fight against Team Titan in the World E-Sports Professional Classic League where they won 2-0.

![](http://community.mineski.net/uploads/default/original/2X/a/a428504fb2cf88495db8016a9e075088d1fd2423.jpg)
*Faith*, *bLink*, and *Jdh* stand behind *BurNIng* during the ban phase versus Team Titan. (c) [Reddit](https://www.reddit.com/r/DotA2/comments/4g8ftr/one_picture_about_wings/)

Four months later was when Wings Gaming took its first flight in the professional Dota 2 scene. The team’s international debut was in the qualifier of Valve’s Dota 2 Asia Championship where they, unfortunately, fell a slot short behind Na’Vi and Hyper Glory Team. Expecting to accelerate further after a minor speed bump, the boys’ comeback did not come any earlier because of their inability to join ACE Alliance, a Chinese organization who handles the region’s Dota 2 community, which hinders them to join premiere tournaments.

It was in The International 5 when Wings Gaming once again surfaced, winning Chinese Open Qualifiers. Their roster, composed of Liu “*xdd*” Silong, Yang “*InJuly*” Xiao, Su “*super*” Pengdong, *Jdh*, and *bLink*, battled for the Aegis of Champions in the Chinese Qualifiers but failed after they were defeated by Energy Pacemaker in a tight series. A seemingly unstable roster as they pointed out, the group decided to change pilots and form the Wings Gaming that we knew today.

### They Came, They Saw, They Conquered

Multiple appearances in major and premiere tournaments later but Wings Gaming still have to translate a significant achievement under their banner. This is when ESL One has announced that the Philippines will be hosting the first ever premium Dota 2 tournament in Southeast Asia. Clad in a mixture of black and white, the boys wasted no time.

Taking advantage of the setback which Chinese Dota experienced post-Shanghai Major, Wings Gaming flew past every team in the ESL One Manila Chinese qualifier then straight into the harbors of the archipelagic nation. Despite their hammering performance against Vici Gaming Reborn, 3-0, in the finals of the regional qualifier, Wings Gaming are still regarded to be a minor contestant with a little to no fan base… which will change eventually.
![Imgur](http://i.imgur.com/8q3dF0t.jpg)
The arrival of *Wings Gaming* for the ESL One Manila.

It’s the long run way that Wings Gaming chose after finishing the group stage with a 2-0 loss card from Team Liquid. This entitled them to attend the first day of the main event to battle a spot for the semifinals against Complexity Gaming who defeated the Filipino contenders, Mineski.Sports5. In a moment, it looked like that ESL One will also be having a semifinal with no Chinese representatives in it after Wings Gaming lost their first game against the meme-strategy of the North American team. This fueled the burning desire of Wings to extend their tournament lives, and proceeded to take two straight games out of sheer domination from Complexity Gaming. Their win ensured them to live another day but tomorrow poses another death threat as they set themselves a date with the seemingly unstoppable squad of Fnatic-Dota.

The final day of ESL One Manila opened with Wings Gaming getting schooled by the crowd favorites. After losing their first game, they found themselves once more at the brink of exiting the tournament with only a game left to lose. This is when the boys spread their wings and soared high into the sky, where Fnatic-Dota can’t reach them. Two games of surprising drafts, rhythmic display of team fights, and wise decision-making later, *bLink* and his boys shut the Fnatic-chanting crowd and became the first grand finalist of ESL One Manila.

No matter what happens, the grand finals will be a classic matchup between East versus West as the second part of the semifinals features Team Empire battling with Team Liquid. Racing to the top with them as grand finalist is Team Liquid, an old nemesis who won two out of their three meetings, including the recently concluded group stage matchup,  for a combined 5-1 map record. Meaning to say, the following best-of-five bout will determine whether Team Liquid extend their beating or Wings Gaming have already learned their lessons.

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*Eyes on the prize*: Wings Gaming know exactly what they came for.

The harsh grip of reality in our daily lives taught us not to believe in fairy tales; Cinderella is merely a children’s story and Rocky Balboa hardly ever existed. That is why when the underdogs rampaged the highly favored squad for three straight games, nothing can be heard from the whole Dota 2 community but the cheers of respect for the newly crowned champions. Wings Gaming managed to beat all odds, defy expectations, and claim their very own ESL One Manila trophy.

### Learn How to Fly

What transpired in the recently concluded ESL One Manila is a historical state for the entire Dota 2 scene. Not only it did open a new ground for the growing industry of eSports, it has also recorded an incredible feat of a reigning underdog. In a press conference held right after they won their first international title, Wings Gaming light-heartedly revealed that their recipe for domination is not purely skill. As *bLink*, with a help from a translator, said, “*we found Team Secret really strong and luckily, we were not able to meet them. Our team rather focused on studying Group A and everyone else we faced afterwards were on our same group.*”

However, on a more serious note, winning is not entirely based on being at the right place in the right time as Wings Gaming has been in the edge of dropping out for more than once in the tournament. What’s really behind their success is the mindset which everyone shares, “*… we knew that we did not have a lot of major LAN experiences which made us feel nervous at first, causing us to commit minor mistakes, but later on, we adjusted our mentality which gave us confidence. Even though we are still making mistakes, we no longer feel anxious.*”

Wings Gaming displayed an incredible play of Dota that will surely stack up the highlight reel until the next big tournament. When asked who among the team they think deserve the award for the Most Valuable Player, the boys displayed an attitude of humbleness which is commonly over-looked as a key to success. They meekly pointed at each other until they are decided with the same answer: *everyone*.

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*Straight out of Championship*: Wings Gaming entertain a press time before their early morning flight.

Up until now, what they technically did still posts a lot of questions in everyone’s mind. A thing for sure, though, is that the victory which Wings Gaming claimed shows more than just their competence. Take away their shocking display of skills and manipulation of a wide pool of heroes and what we will get is a team who believe. They came in a LAN with nothing, no fan nor enough exposure to the international scene, but a single mindset, to win.

The first-ever international LAN event which was hosted by the Philippines undeniably created a lot of unforgettable memories. Aside from lifting the trophy while being showered by white confetti, Wings Gaming shared that they will always remember their very first entrance in front of the cheering crowd of passionate Filipino fans.

As for the passionate Filipino fans, what we should never forget is to believe that nothing is impossible with a positive mentality driven by hard work and perseverance. Take it from the boys of Wings, the world may not be with them at first, but after they spread their wings and learned how to fly, they reached a place where no one has ever been: Manila's very first ESL One Champion.