Dota 2: Talon's Mikoto talks about his success in the mid lane, preparing for TI 2023

Southeast Asian Dota 2 powerhouse Talon Esports has been the lone bright spot in what has been a very disappointing 2023 Dota Pro Circuit (DPC) season for the region's competitive scene.

Talon is the only Southeast Asian team to secure a direct invite to The International (TI) 2023, this year's iteration of Dota 2's annual world championship tournament.

And in the recently-concluded Riyadh Masters 2023, the last big Dota 2 event before TI 2023, Talon surpassed expectations to finish in third place.

Key to Talon's surprising run was Indonesian midlaner Rafli "Mikoto" Rahman, who won the Riyadh Masters tournament MVP award and US$10,000. Throughout the tournament, Mikoto averaged 8.6 kills, 9.5 assists, and 2.8 deaths, according to datdota, while acting as Talon's primary playmaker from the mid lane and even taking up secondary carry roles whenever the game called for it.

In an exclusive interview with Yahoo Esports SEA last month, Mikoto credited the changes to the midlaner role brought about by the massive 7.33 update for creating an environment where he can thrive in.

"[7.33] is quite fun. Now I feel like the mid lane is supposed to be a one-versus-one and we don't need to get help from the supports. I really enjoy having a one-versus-one with against the enemy mid and focusing on ganking," said Mikoto.

"I really like it honestly. The thing I like the most is the portal, it makes the game more fun to play. It really changed the playstyle [for midlaners]. I need to keep looking at both side lanes, it's quite different from the patch before. Because in the patch before, people are always coming for the mid lane and they keep trying to fight for the runes. Now it's the opposite, so I need to keep looking at both side lanes."

Mikoto shined when his team needed him the most, especially in their incredible showing in the sixth day of the Riyadh Masters Playoffs. En route to securing a third place finish that day, Talon ousted Eastern Europe's 9Pandas in the lower bracket quarterfinals before handing three-time Major champions Gaimin Gladiators their first tournament loss this season in the lower bracket semifinals.

In Talon's 2-0 sweep over 9Pandas, Mikoto racked up a total of 27 kills and 23 assists on only one death. Against Gaimin Gladiators, Mikoto put up 33 kills and 34 assists against just four deaths across a hard-fought, three-game slugfest.

In the closeout game against the Major champions, Mikoto led the way on Snapfire and recorded 10 kills and 11 assists against just one death.

Despite facing a team that was previously thought unbeatable, Mikoto was unfazed and confident that he could carry his team to victory.

"Honestly, even in the late game we were very confident, especially because [I was on] Snapfire. We also were winning from the [laning stage], right? Even if it's gonna become the late game, we were not in a rush," Mikoto said in the post-match interview.

Mikoto's confidence in both his teammates and his own abilities was built by a relaxed team environment and strong results throughout the season, which include a Top 3 finishes in the season's first two regional leagues for Southeast Asia, third place at the Lima Major, and fourth place in DreamLeague Season 20.

"We are quite chill, mostly because we are more experienced now. Especially in Lima, we gained a lot of confidence from that," Mikoto told Yahoo Esports SEA.

With that said, Talon isn't always as level-headed as they would like. Case in point; their infamous game three loss to Liquid in the Riyadh Masters upper bracket semifinals.

In the closing seconds of that game, Talon were so sure of victory that carry player Nuengnara "23savage" Teeramahanon stood up and celebrated as the team were sieging down the enemy Ancient. However, Liquid's Ludwig "zai" Wåhlberg managed to sneak into Talon's base to try and take down their Ancient.

With the rest of Liquid preventing Talon from teleporting back to defend their base, the Southeast Asian squad was forced to watch victory slip from their fingers. Liquid would then go on to knock Talon out of Riyadh Masters in the lower bracket finals.

"Definitely that last game against Liquid we should have won, but we were trolling. We were not calm and we made a stupid decision," Mikoto said of that loss in a post-match interview.

Looking ahead to TI 2023

Even after such demoralizing losses saw them fall short of a championship, Mikoto is always looking to get better and learning from the teams that beat them.

"I always look at European teams. We respect a lot of teams and we are trying to learn from them, like Gaimin Gladiators and Team Liquid. I also like Team Spirit in [Eastern Europe]. We are always trying to learn something from them," Mikoto told Yahoo Esports SEA.

"In [Eastern Europe], their heroes are quite different. They have Invoker and Tinker, who we never see in SEA. It makes the game more interesting to watch and gives us options for heroes to try and play."

But now that Riyadh Masters as well as the DPC regional leagues and Majors are behind them, Talon are now looking ahead to TI 2023.

With Dota 2's world championship tournament over two months away, Mikoto says he is looking forward to taking a break from Dota before preparing for their biggest tournament this season. After an entire season of grinding for a chance to raise the Aegis of Champions, Talon's midlaner will be looking to reset and put himself in the right headspace to perform at his best.

"If I am burnt out, I stay away from Dota. I'm not gonna play for one or two days. I think it's quite important to find other tools to gain your emotion back. Especially in [the DPC], the schedule is so packed and we don't have many days off. We need to try our best to keep resetting our emotions," said Mikoto.

"It helps me a lot especially. After taking a break, I feel like I'm more motivated, I feel happier playing the game. It's like making a new environment for me to become better."

Of course, Mikoto's focus remains on winning TI. Even as he takes a break away from the game, playing in Dota's biggest event and hopefully becoming a world champion is always at the back of his mind.

"I always think about TI. It's the dream for any pro player," said Mikoto.

Talon is one of the 12 teams that earned a direct invite to TI 2023, which will have a total of 20 participating teams. The remaining eight slots will be determined during the regional qualifiers in August.

TI 2023 will be held in Seattle's Climate Pledge Arena from 14 to 29 October. This year's world championship tournament features a revamped format similar to last year's tournament, which was held in Singapore.

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