Fresh faces mix with a storied organization and veterans of the Chinese competitive scene to create EHOME. Even though they have a short history as far as the current squad is concerned, many are already familiar with EHOME’s signature heroes due to some phenomenal performances from Cty's Queen of Pain, eLeVeN's Tusk, LaNm's Ancient Apparition and Lion, KaKa's Earth Spirit (even before MDL), and old chicken's Dragon Knight. EHOME quickly established a style of their own with the experienced hand of LaNm guiding them in game while old chicken took up the mantle of drafting. Teams facing them must be prepared to withstand the early-midgame onslaught that EHOME likes to bring along with their 5 man tower pushes that allow KaKa and LaNm to get to their key items just a little bit faster than you would normally expect.

Since the formation of the current roster, EHOME have competed in six major tournaments. They took third at Nanyang, fourth at the Frankfurt Major, fifth at The Summit 4, and finished first at the Dota 2 Radiant and Dire Cup, the Shanghai Dota 2 Open, and most recently, MDL, where they secured China’s first international LAN victory in over 10 months.

Gameplay

EHOME have a very greedy mentality when they play Dota- not in terms of the heroes they pick or how much they try to farm; but rather in the sense that they want to simultaneously pressure the enemy and defend all of their towers and take as few trades as possible. EHOME will give up advantageous positioning while pushing to defend their own towers multiple times a game in an attempt to catch and kill an enemy split-pushing out of position. This allows EHOME to secure map objectives without losing anything in return. They might not farm as efficiently as other teams, but they make up for it by trying to gain map control and force the opponent into a disadvantageous position while taking tower after tower with no response on their own buildings.

However, this defensive, objective-based Dota only comes into play when their enemies split-push. EHOME's support duo of KaKa and LaNm are usually active all over the map, often with one or two of their core heroes, looking for opportunities to catch somebody out of position and unaware that EHOME are within striking distance. EHOME generate much of their early pressure while the other team has already lost a hero and can not drum up a proper defense without risk of incurring further losses and thereby losing even more map control.

The explosive and chaotic team fights EHOME engages in also work to their advantage, as their crisp communication during such engagements gives them the edge over their opponents. A recent example comes in the final fight in game 3 of the MDL finals, when EHOME faced off against EG. LaNm, Cty, old eLeVeN, and KaKa manage to win a 4v5 fight by turning it into 3 separate small skirmishes.

Players

How to beat - ehome

1) Monitor the supports

LaNm and KaKa play a key role in EHOME's early game success (as most support duos do). Any offlaner that plays against them should always try to search for information on where they are if possible. Keeping them tied up in lane and not allowing them to roam or create endless stacks in the jungle will take significant pressure off your other lanes. Of course, this is easier said than done, but often times simply securing runes for your mid before EHOME can do the same may be enough to prevent them from dealing heavy early damage.

2) Do not be afraid to play EHOME's game

EHOME is very quick to bring the majority of their heroes to a fight in the early game. TP's on your own core heroes early can turn a bad situation around, as long as you are prepared to act quickly. The other thing to be prepared for is EHOME's insistence on protecting their own towers. Even while pushing towers themselves, EHOME will TP one or two heroes to keep their towers alive and catch anybody trying to split push. When EHOME pick players off like this, it opens more of the map up to them, and they end up getting towers for free. Teams often make the mistake of defending EHOME's push while being down a player, which ends catastrophically as EHOME wipe everyone involved in the defense. Being ready for the counter play while you split push may catch EHOME off guard as they TP back to jump on what they believe is a lone hero.

3) Don’t take yourself out of your comfort zone while laning

Many teams have tried to interfere with Cty's farming with mild success. While Cty sometimes plays heroes that are punishable, they are normally drafted in tandem with a mid and offlane who can come out even or outright win their lanes if left alone. This, in turn, allows Cty to catch up as old chicken and eLeVeN wreak havoc. While it's not a bad idea to try to disrupt Cty, putting all of your eggs in one basket leads to problems of its own. The 6 minute God has a knack for turning aggressive trilanes into death sentences when he has KaKa and LaNm backing him up.

4) Capitalize on mistakes

When all is said and done, EHOME does not play perfectly. Acting decisively when you see a moment of opportunity is key. It's obvious advice, but capitalize on mistakes. Cty will often be suicidally farming alone in the enemy woods as a means of getting his team information while allowing his supports space to get levels and farm.

Even with all of the simple advice above it might still not be enough to stop the machine that is EHOME’s team fighting ability. If you are a team that is at the caliber to rival EHOME in a bo3 it will probably come down to individual performances on both sides. Being as prepared as you can be and having your own set game plan in mind (and if you can stick to that game plan) will make or break teams that face off against EHOME.