Entity Founders Explain How They Became A Stalwart In The Western European Dota 2 Scene

Neerav Rukhana and Varun Bhavnani discuss their team's rise to prominence in the world's most competitive Dota 2 region 

Entity made history last year as they became the first-ever Indian franchise to compete in The International Dota 2 championships. In their maiden TI campaign, Entity made a commendable 9-12th finish. They are likely to retain their position in the tournament following a good start to their 2023 Dota 2 Pro Circuit season. As of writing, Entity are 12th in the Dota Pro Circuit 2023 rankings with 260 points to their name. However, their path to success has not been a paved one. 

Entity founders Varun Bhavnani and Neerav Rukhana appeared in a recent episode of the AFK Gaming's Men of Culture podcast, where they talked about their team's journey so far and how they decided to throw their hats in the professional Dota 2 ring. What motivated them to join the Western European Dota 2 Pro Circuit? What challenges did they face? They lifted the lid on it all. 

How Entity Entered The Competitive Dota 2 Ecosystem 

Neerav Rukhana revealed they got in touch with several prominent individuals in the Dota 2 scene to assess what they needed to do to set foot in the most competitive Dota 2 region in the world. Rukhana confirmed that Daniel “ImmortalFaith” Moza, who was the Gaimin Gladiators coach at that time, was one of the people they contacted in the early stages of their venture. 

“From the get-go, we knew that it was going to be a super expensive venture for us. Nevertheless, if we managed to make it in the most competitive region in the world, that is the definition of success,” Rukhana explained. “I think when we first started talking to Creepwave, which at that time had Dzmitry ‘Fishman’ Palishchuk, Ammar ‘ATF' Al-Assaf, and Bozhidar ‘bzm' Bogdanov. But three days before signing the contract or something, we get to know that Ammar and bzm are going to OG,” he continued.

The Entity hierarchy was undoubtedly frustrated to miss out on Ammar and bzm. But they also felt assured that they were making the right decisions as their scouted players were taken by a powerhouse like OG. It motivated the management to move forward with their plans and announce the roster. “That's how Entity started in Division 2,” Rukhana said. 

Entity made waves in the division and quickly emerged as one of the Division 2 big shots. They secured promotion to Division 1 and did not suffer relegation since then. Rukhana gave most of the credit to the players for Entity's quick ascension. He hailed the players for their tremendous effort. 

Vharun Bhavnani also echoed Rukhana's sentiments while talking about the role of players in Entity's success. “We’ve sensed the hunger from them,” Bhavnani said. “They want to win, they want to achieve, they want to compete at the highest level, and that is what we have been supporting.”