While fans get to watch 10 heroes clash in every Dota 2 match, there also happens to be psychological warfare inside each game. An incident unfolded during the opening day of Road to The International 2023 on Oct. 12, where Team Liquid’s Aydin “iNSaNiA” Sarkohi attempted to provoke Arteezy.
It was the last match of Day One for Liquid and Shopify Rebellion, while the latter came to the series after an upset-like result vs. Thunder Awaken. At the start of their series’ second game, iNSaNiA decided to use a voice line from Arteezy’s girlfriend, Zhang “Dove” Tiange, immediately prompting Arteezy to mute him.
Considering Liquid had also won the first match against SR, Dove’s voice line, which translates to “Who isn’t a baby?” couldn’t come at a worse time. Within moments of hearing the familiar voice, Arteezy muted iNSaNiA and informed him through all chat, typing, “u are muted.”
Following this exchange, SR secured the game’s first blood by eliminating zai’s Razor. It seemed like SR was on a revenge mission, especially after the incident at the start of the second match.
Despite a closely contested laning stage, Liquid slowly took the lead and overpowered SR in 46 minutes. During the match, SR’s cores, Faceless Void and Invoker, attempted to turn teamfights in their favor, but Liquid’s Spirit Breaker, Chaos Knight, and Kunkka combo proved too powerful to handle.
While iNSaNiA may have received a permanent mute for the duration of TI 2023, it’s worth noting that he and Arteezy are close friends. The two often get into the same ranked matches while queuing and putting on great performances together to win MMR.
INSaNiA’s tactic of employing psychological strategies brings to mind the approach of OG, a two-time TI-winning team. OG used trolling tactics during TI9, preparing special chat wheels and map sprays tailored for each opponent. The team strategically selected voice lines that would provoke their opponents the most, a technique that proved effective and was even featured in True Sight.
