The American DotA scene has been struggling and barely scraping by in the international scene. The only teams that have made it far in MYM Prime Defending recently were eMg, tPD, hi2u and DoP. Many new American teams have popped out recently, but none of them surpass a mediocre calibre.

Team Pandemic and eMg are two of the four original first generation sponsored DotA teams along with JMC and coL. eMg has been active this entire time, but Pandemic has had more difficulty staying active. Now both teams will be affected by the birth of a new team.

It has just been brought to my attention that a new competitive American DotA team has been formed. Currently unnamed; Yoshi, Hit0mi, Stripez, Ownage-Juice and Miraclechipmunk have joined forces to create a brand new competitive DotA team.

Pure North American teams have been vanishing one by one. A while after JMC disbanded, Merlini, Fang and p0c joined MYM. After Canadian powerhouse Excello disbanded, mO- and Enigma joined XsK and the others remained teamless. It is unknown what's in store for the future of North American DotA, the community can only hope for a few stable teams.

This new team leaves eMg without Hit0mi and Pandemic without two core starters; Yoshi and James. It is unclear what both of the teams will do now. eMg has enough players to survive without Hit0mi but could this be the end of Pandemic? Only the future can tell.

ESWC is slowly approaching and new online tournaments/leagues are forming everyday. DotA is getting bigger, and the lust for competition has been growing with it. American DotA has needed a sense of revival for a long time. Could this team contribute to it's rebirth? Time can only tell...

Unnamed roster:

Yoshi
Stripez
Hit0mi
Ownage-Juice
Miraclechipmunk

eMg roster:

King
Rwar
Remstar
Whisper
DOGKaiser
Muffins

Pandemic roster:

Fachh
DJ
Zaku
Eskimo

Interview with Nick "Yoshi" Spagnolo:

Who came up with the idea of this team? Who all were asked to join it?

This team was a group decision. Me and James were really dissapointed with the current state of Pandemic, and were debating what to do about it for a while. Andre has been a good friend of mine for a while and we have wanted to play on the same team for ages. As for Juice, he only left tPD because he was benched when he was for sure top 5 skill. Plug went inactive, and Stripez wants to play competitively.

Are there any other players you're thinking of inviting? Is everyone 100% sure of staying on this team?

Yes everyone wanted to do this and wants to stay with this, there are a few other players considering that I can't mention yet.

Are you expecting to keep this team long term, potentially competing for an ESWC qualifier spot or is this just a fun team?

This is definitely a team we want to take long term. ESWC was actually one the major reasons behind trying to create a skilled team of players that worked together.

Have all of you scrimmed together yet? If so, how did you guys perform together? If not, how do you see it working out?

We have all played together and ringed for eachother's teams many times, and know that we all work well together. I can't see anything but it working out well.

What do you think will happen to Pandemic and eMg now that some key players have left the teams?

Im not sure what's happening with Pandemic, but I'm sure eMg will stay strong as they have a large roster of good players.

What online leagues and tournaments do you plan on participating in?

We plan on participating in Pride #10 definitely, and any other tournaments when they start (ESL, HTGN, etc)

What do you think of the American DotA scene right now? Do you think your team can improve it, possibly bring some American pride on an international level?

We think American DotA was at an all time low, which is another one of the main reasons we made this team - to prove to the rest of the world that America still has it!

Are you going to start looking for a sponsorship immediately or do you plan on waiting until placement in some of the top tournaments and leagues?

We are looking for a sponsorship and of course hoping to qualify for ESWC to pay for us to fly there.

Thanks to the interview and good luck to your team! Any last words/shoutouts?

Thanks for the interview and shoutout to the rest of tPD and eMg, good luck to you guy!