Just Error and the overhyped bandwagon of Sumail’s new team

It’s been three months since we last heard from Syed Sumail “SumaiL” Hassan. Notably known as the former Evil Geniuses mid player and the International 2015 champion, it has been a rough season for the young prodigy ever since he left EG for Dota 2 esports team Just Error.

Then, earlier in November, SumaiL’s followers were greeted with the delightful news of the king’s return to Dota 2 esports. Alongside the champion were several outstanding Russian players, who have made a name for themselves during their time in Virtus.pro.

Needless to say, with such overflowing talent in this team, fans were excited to hop on the bandwagon. Many even cheered, “The King is back.”

Photo credit to Valve.

Team Just Error’s Roster

Just Error is the unlikely collaboration with the Dota 2 Russian superstars from Virtus.pro. SumaiL’s teammates consist of Roman “RAMZES666” Kushnarev, Vladimir “No[o]ne” Minenko, Alexey “Solo” Berezin, and Bakyt “Zayac” Emilzhanov. In terms of sheer skills, these are some of the world’s finest players individually.

Yet, as they prepared for their first tournament debut under the team name, Just Error, performance seems to be out of the question. Unfortunately, SumaiL’s superteam just wasn’t what fans anticipated from a team of such caliber. Despite their reputation as world-class players, the team struggled to play cohesively and had several blunders at EPIC League.

Official Debut at EPIC League

Down to the final week of the group stage, SumaiL and friends are second to last on the scoreboard. Just Error lost six out of eight matches with only one remaining versus powerhouse OG on December 5. Hence, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say they are as good as dead and will soon see themselves out of the tournament.

Frankly, the team can thank RAMZES666 for the whole fiasco. From the solo plays he attempts and fails miserably to his ill-mannered rage quit when the fight went south. It just doesn’t seem ethical for the latter to disconnect without calling GG does it?

It’s also noteworthy to emphasize that Just Error wasn’t directly invited for the EPIC League, nor did they play a full-course qualifier. After sixteen teams competed in the closed qualifiers, Just Error was shadily registered as the finalist for the second-place match. With their single best-of-five victory versus Yellow Submarines, Just Error secured their ticket to EPIC League Division 1.

The fact that Just Error didn’t play the entire qualifiers was already baffling, to begin with, but perhaps the fans and hype surrounding the team justified their entry.

A Weak Dota 2 Esports Team

Frankly, this phenomenal squad would have had a better outcome if they participated in Division 2 of the EPIC League. While the competition in Division 2 is mostly subpar, it’s the perfect training ground for Just Error to sharpen their blunt edge after months of no official games. But they skipped the grind altogether and tried their luck with the big boys.

In the end, the expectations surrounding the team backfired for them and everyone onboard the bandwagon. Additionally, heavy loss streaks can be detrimental to the team’s morale and eventually create conflict. In fact, besides Evil Geniuses, SumaiL never found any success playing with other teams this season.

QC update: we tried to resolve our fit issues, but ultimately weren't able to do so to the point where everyone felt most comfortable and empowered to keep moving forward. @SumaaaaiL will be leaving the roster while we search for an offlaner

— Jack Chen (@KBBQDotA) October 11, 2019

The last team SumaiL played for is arguably the strongest team in Dota 2, team OG, who won two consecutive The Internationals. Unfortunately, even OG couldn’t adapt to SumaiL’s unorthodox playstyle, which many depict as greedy and requiring tremendous space to be successful. Later on, SumaiL was removed from Quincy Crew weeks later, as the other players saw similar issues.

As far as potential goes, Just Error is still a very competent team. However, Rome wasn’t built in a day and this team still has a long way to go before rivaling Dota 2 esports teams like Team Secret or Virtus.pro. Assuming they plan on sticking around, it will take more than combining the world’s best players in a team to produce significant results.

Written by Marcus Wong

———————————————————————————————

If you’re interested in seeing more of Esportz Network, follow our social media at Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. We have daily podcasts at the Esports Minute and weekly interviews at the Esportz Network Podcast. Anyone can also join our community on Discord and chat about your favorite games, esports, and more!