Dire Wolves have climbed steadily from near-relegation to Major qualification; a stress-free attitude to competition seems to be the key

_{Image via Dire Wolves}

The Dire Wolves have been on a journey and a half, to say the least. The genesis of this roster can be traced back to Team Notorious, a name few will be familiar with, which secured promotion to APAC North for the 2020 season.

Team Notorious then merged with 7th Heaven, who they had beaten for the APAC North berth, but labored to 10th and 12th place finishes in the 12-team league. That necessitated playing in the APAC North relegations, where the team only just survived.

There was a temporary improvement to fourth in Stage 1 of 2021, and a debut at the APAC Playoffs, but that dropped to seventh in Stage 2. But the improvements were visible, especially after signing with Dire Wolves, as the Taiwanese finished fourth again in Stage 3, fourth at the APAC Playoffs, and gave a strong account for themselves in the SI 2022 Qualifier despite a last-minute inclusion.

Now, after a flawless Stage 1 in 2022, they’ve punched their tickets to the Charlotte Major.

“It’s too many feelings,” said team captain Tsung-Cheng "Ed" Hou of the team’s long climb from near-relegation to Major qualification. “One of the biggest reasons is that you can see we [have gained] more resources compared with before … when we gaining more resources, meanwhile we gaining more experience, and we have more motivation.”

The steady uptick in Dire Wolves’ results came together with the signing of German-South African coach Odin Hempel, who joined the team in Apr. 2021 -- midway through Stage 1.

“I think during that time it was more… gaining experience, getting used to each other,” said Odin of his early efforts with the team. “It wasn’t really super hard to get those results but I think it was also because we were so used to working so hard.”

The hard work was central to Dire Wolves’ efforts, but it certainly is not an exclusive trait that only the Taiwanese players have. What was perhaps unique was how playing the game as a career felt to all in the team; according to Odin, it felt less like a job and more like a fun time playing the tactical shooter Rainbow Six Siege with friends.

“During Stage 1 … it felt like quite easy to get the first place [in APAC South],” said Odin of his team’s 7-0-0-0 record, which was unmatched across every single top-flight league. Dire Wolves were also only one of six teams in the seven leagues to have all players with SiegeGG Ratings of 1.00 or above.

“The previous years, we always had problems with our roles, we were switching up a lot,” explained Odin. “With HARAM3E joining, a proper support, we were able to put Ed on flex and then JackyWu on entry.”

Ed, on the other hand, was quick to disagree that the improvements were solely player-driven. Defending Odin’s efforts in a show of camaraderie, he stated that “Odin also helped … he just underrates himself” and that he believes the improvements came from “a combination” between the players and the coach.

The uniformly high SiegeGG Ratings also came from each Dire Wolves player stepping up on different play days, a distinction from many other teams with outright “star players”, according to Ed.

In the APAC Playoffs, though, Dire Wolves were given significant trouble by Talon, a team that was one round away from beating Dire Wolves and qualifying to the Major itself, but one that failed to qualify through the lower bracket as well. Central to that effort was an impressive 1v4 clutch from Ed against a Montagne on site.

“I’m the one who never gives up,” said Ed, referring to a quote from the anime Slam Dunk. The quote is something Ed lives by, even to the point where he has the words tattooed on his forearm. “We have very good mindset, we are the team [that] have lots capability to win a clutch. We trust in each other.”

Now that Dire Wolves have qualified, though, they are the subjects of the perennial question posed to APAC teams: can their playstyle yield deep runs, or long-term international results? Only Fnatic, Nora-Rengo, and DWG KIA have been able to say yes to that, but the former two rosters have split and the latter failed to qualify for Charlotte.

“Our play style really fits into the current meta,” said Odin. “Being aggressive, being fast, changing a lot of operators and switching up the attack every round, more or less. … Attacker Repick, at least for us, has a big role in our success on attacks.”

And much like CAG’s affirmation from the buildup to the Mexico Major in 2021, Ed also believes that his team’s play style has “higher potential” of success than the structure of old.

Catch Dire Wolves “bing chilling” at the Charlotte Major, which will run from May 16 to 22.