With the recent news of support superstar and 2-time The International winner OG’s Jesse “JerAx” Vainikka, I’m taking this opportunity to explore the massive impact that he made on the professional scene and the DOTA2 world as a whole.
The Classic Position 4
In the early days of DOTA2, the focus of almost all matches were the farming cores be it the Hard Carry or the Midlaner. In contrast, less attention was given to the other positions specifically the Support players or the Position 4 and 5.
The 4 position or the greedy support was pioneered by players like Clement “Puppey” Ivanov as an additional core, as a jungler or as a farming support so they can transition as a powerhouse in the late game. Heroes such as Lycan, Enigma and Chen were played in the 4 position back then to coincide with this playstyle to massive success. Natus Vincere’s Puppey, Alliance’s Akke and Evil Geniuses’ Aui_2000 were the prime examples of this success helping their respective teams lift the Aegis of Champions at DOTA2’s The International.
The Post TI5 Shakeup
In the aftermath of Aui_2000 and Evil Geniuses’ victory at The International 5, there was a seismic change in the professional DOTA2 landscape, the birth of teams like 5Jungz and Monkey Business later to be known as Team Liquid and OG respectively, these 2 giant teams will be the at the epicenter of professional play for many years to come. Spearheading this change were Position 4’s of these 2 teams, Team Liquid’s Jesse “Jerax” Vainikka and OG’s Andreas “Cr1t” Nielsen, the innovative roaming and aggressive playstyles of both players fundamentally changed how the game was played and the results showed with both of their teams reaching 2 Valve Major grand finals even facing off against each other at the Manila Major.
With heroes like Earth Spirit, Earthshaker, Tusk and Rubick, both of these innovators set the pace of every game they played and helped their star core players like OG’s Miracle- or Liquid’s MATUMBAMAN have an easier time to carry their teams into the later stages of the game.
The Smashing JerAx Earth Spirit
Earth Spirit in particular was a deciding factor in most games featuring the two but especially with JerAx who spammed Earth Spirit in his matchmaking games and got to know the ins and outs of every aspect of the unique hero. The skillset of the hero was perfect for the early game aggression and the pace that JerAx wanted to set. Along with this, JerAx had mastery over how to control the game with limited farm, always suddenly appearing in ganks across the map and disrupting the farming patterns of countless core players. He was labelled a one-trick pony among the community but with the lessons that he learned playing the pesky strength hero paid off because he adapted this playstyle with other heroes, forever changing the game is played.
The Fearsome (4)some
As JerAx and Cr1t moved to different teams in the post-TI6 season, it became clear that they were not the only ones that can achieve superstar status while playing the 4 position. The perennially underrated Chinese superstar fy and Team Liquid super rookie GH- leapt out the gates and took the position 4 support to even greater heights in leading their respective teams. With GH, he completed the puzzle that Team Liquid were trying solve with the departure of JerAx to OG, arguably eclipsing their star player Miracle- on their path to claim the TI7 crown, while with fy, his phenomenal play during the following year’s TI8 with heroes like Tusk, Rubick, Phoenix and many more was nothing short of a transcendent position 4 performance. BUT unlike GH the previous year, a massive roadblock was in the way, enter once again, JerAx.
An Improbable Win
In The International 8, JerAx’s OG and fy’s PSG.LGD faced off in what can be considered as quite possibly the 2 greatest series in DOTA2 professional history, in the Upper Bracket Finals OG defeated PSG.LGD in a heart-racing 3 game series that ended in a frantic and messy way in which PSG.LGD tried to end the game abruptly by pushing OG’s throne while majority of the European team’s players were on the sidelines, but with Ana and Topson’s amazing defensive play and JerAx’s Echo Slam reverberating throughout the map, they pulled out the win that led them to the Grand Finals where they awaited the winners of the Lower Bracket Finals between Cr1t’s Evil Geniuses and fy’s PSG.LGD, which LGD won, setting up a rematch between OG and LGD.
In a grueling back and forth best-of-5 series and stellar performances from both sides, it all came down to 1 game. Game 5 in which the draft looked bleak for OG. The early game was utterly dominated by fy’s Earthshaker, he even managed to get a Blink Dagger in an absurd 11(!!!) minutes with Boots, but in typical OG fashion, they just will not die. A fight on the bottom side of the map was turned with an amazing Spell Steal made by Jerax’s Rubick of the opponent Kunkka’s Ghost Ship helped save the fight and Ana’s Ember Spirit, turning the momentum in their favor, and OG rode this momentum all the way to the Aegis of Champions and winning an improbable International.
We Goin’ Back 2 Back
After a meandering 2018–2019 Dota Pro Circuit for JerAx and OG, they were revitalized with the return of Carry player, Ana from a long break just before The International 9. As defending champions, they definitely had a target on their back but after an underwhelming season they were not really looked at as a threat leading into the tournament. But boy oh boy, were the pundits wrong, the defending champions dominated the field, only losing a handful of games and beating rivals Evil Geniuses once again on the same Upper Bracket Semifinals stage as last year.
The EG vs OG series was not the only parallel however, because once again, OG and PSG.LGD met in the Upper Bracket Finals and in a bit of déjà vu, another 3-game series and another series victory for OG. JerAx turned in another stellar performance from the Position 4 role with heroes like Rubick, Earthshaker, Spirit Breaker and his signature hero during the tournament, Tiny. The momentum will carry them into the Grand Finals once again, where they faced off with GH’s Team Liquid and handily defeating them with JerAx’s Tiny prominent in every OG win in the quick 4-game series and achieving what was once thought as impossible, a 2-time International winning team and a successful championship defense.
A Lasting Legacy
A pioneer in the modern way of playing the Position 4, JerAx will be looked at as THE Position 4 player to watch and meticulously study for years to come. A bonafide legend if you ask anyone who has ever watched him and his movements across the map. Thank you JerAx, you were truly an icon, a superstar that innovated a position for so much people around the world. You will sorely be missed. But we all wish you the best in your future plans, and knowing you, you will surely rock (hehe) it.