• Log InLog In
  • Register
  • Shop
Liquid`
TeamLiquid Liquipedia TLnet LiquidHearth LiquidLegends
  • Home
  • Forum
  • Live Streams
  • Calendar
  • Liquipedia
  • Store
  • Heroes
  • Items
  • Store
  • Players
  • Teams
  • Recent Results
Forum Sidebar
Events/Features
News
Featured News
StarLadder - The Chase is On!4DAC - The SuperMajor!46DreamLeague Season 9 Recap2Defining Moments: Liquid vs Vici Gaming8GESC: Jakarta - EG’s Revenge2
Community News
Paris Saint-Germain partners with LGD38Digital Chaos Released from Contract8Super Major Invites Announced65Team Empire Drops Nix-3W33 joins Pain Gaming11
Dota 2 General
General
Paris Saint-Germain partners with LGD LGD drops out of StarLadder Super Major Invites Announced Digital Chaos Released from Contract Mineski pulls out of GESC, blames biased organizer W33 joins Pain Gaming Team Empire Drops Nix- Dota Patch 7.13
The Tavern
Official Off-Topic General Discussion In-Game Standard Hero Builds Project Offlane and you Dota 2 QQ thread On Copyright Strikes and Tournament Streams new dota 2 mod : Heroes of the New Age
Tournaments
Dota 2 General LR thread [StarLadder] Kiev Minor - Finals Day [StarLadder] Kiev Minor - Group Stage Day 3 [StarLadder] Kiev Minor - Group Stage Day 2 [StarLadder] Kiev Minor - Group Stage
Players & Teams
Alliance Discussion Na`Vi Discussion Fnatic Discussion Evil Geniuses Discussion OG Discussion Optic Gaming Discussion Team Liquid Discussion Mineski Discussion
Strategy
Simple Questions, Simple Answers [Hero] Clinkz [Hero] Pangolier [Hero] Invoker [Hero] Juggernaut
Community
General
North Korea says/does surprising and alarming thing US Politics Mega-thread European politico-economics QA mega thread The Big Programming Thread 420 marijuana "culture" redundancy & replacements
Other Games
Opensource RTS Zero-K is going to release on steam Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne EVE Corporation
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
DreamHack Marseille 2018 Counter-Strike: Global Offensive The Shuffle Truffle General
Heroes of the Storm
Heroes Global Championship League Discussion HotS: WP and Funny Moments HOTS guide collections
Sports
NBA Playoffs + Finals 2018 2017 - 2018 Football Thread 2018 NFL and CFB season
Media & Entertainment
Anime Discussion Thread [Manga] One Piece [TV] Suits
TL Mafia
[M][N]MafiacalFeast I Mafiacalfeast votes TL Mafia Community Thread
Blogs
Heater
LemOn
Please build magic wand.
ahw
How far we've come
Julmust
can someone coach me …
evanthebouncy!
On Reddit, ESL, and Team AP
Aui_2000
Meta Report Week 48+49/2017
Qody

Website Feedback

Closed Threads

Discord Server


Active: 337 users

StarLadder i-League StarSeries Season 3 - Preview

Forum Index > Dota 2 General
14 CommentsPost a Reply

StarLadder i-League StarSeries Season 3 - Preview

February 21st, 2017 20:04 GMT
Text byDoctorHeckle
Graphics bySL/iLeague Official
DotaPit Season 5 Preview

Table of Contents


Intro
What's happening?

Teams
Who's there?

Bracket
Road to the finals

More on Liquipedia


For the eight teams attending the StarLadder i-League StarSeries finals this weekend, the stakes could not be higher. It is the final LAN tournament before the invites for The Kiev Major go out; for most of the rosters present, taking home first place means bypassing the bloodbath of the perennially tense regional qualifiers. For other teams that are shoo-ins for invitation—namely, the most recent Major winners, OG—conquering StarSeries means establishing themselves as lasting powers on the global stage. And make no mistake - the competition at the top is some of the stiffest in recent memory. With the exception of Team VG.J, every team here has won a LAN title since TI6. For all the hopefuls, underdogs, and favorites in Shanghai, the road will be tough, but the prize sweet.

Games begin in


Teams

[image loading]
Life at the top has always shrouded prolific teams in a kind of mystery. Despite a successful fall season following their victory at TI6, Wings Gaming’s flaming out at Boston and middling runs in online Chinese leagues and ESL One Genting have eroded the accumulated confidence in the reigning champs. Since their defeat in Malaysia in early January, Wings has bypassed the bloodbaths of the multi-stage Chinese qualifiers for DAC and StarSeries (for that, they can thank home field advantage and the afterglow of TI6). In place of their appearances in the public proving grounds of qualifiers, there have been no matches or any other spectator-facing games to speculate over.

Breaking their long hiatus this weekend on home turf has the potential to bring back the cred they have lost over a lackluster early winter and a nearly-totally absent 2017. The stakes of their performance, however, are fairly low in the looming shadow of the Kiev Major. It would be an unprecedented move for Valve to not invite the current Aegis holders, barring an out-of-bounds roster shift, so it would not be out of place for Wings to take the weekend to put some more of their experimental theorycrafting into practice. Now that the time for the champs to lace up and return to the ring has arrived, they must decide which punches to pull and which haymakers to throw.

[image loading]
Unlike some of the teams present at this weekend’s LAN finals, OG has been fairly public in the new year. Following their victory at The Boston Major, n0tail and friends have put together a finals appearance at Dota Pit, where they narrowly lost to EG in a full five game set, as well repeating their championship in Moonduck’s Elimination Mode last week. Stakes wise, OG have very little to worry about going into this weekend, since they’re virtually guaranteed an invite to Kiev. However, a decisive victory against the strong teams here at StarSeries could renew a perception of dominance which has been missing since the their initial incarnation.

OG’s flexibility has always been one of their strong points, be it n0tail’s unconventional carry picks, Fly’s mastery of defensive supports, JerAx’s legendary Earth Spirit, or any of the wide assortment of heroes that ana and s4 have excelled with in recent games. Perhaps it’s this deep hero pool that has given them their recent success in these early days of Dota’s latest era. As the landscape of patch 7.02 begins to cool, can OG still stay one step ahead of the meta? A victory in Shanghai would cement their reputations as born-again contenders, and not as just another flash in the pan.

[image loading]
Rebuilding is hard work. Team Liquid, for those unaware, was a top team from early 2016 through TI6, making finals appearances at both the Shanghai and Manila Majors. Since their roster shake up last fall, Liquid has been struggling to reclaim their former prestige, undergoing numerous role swaps. At one point it got so out of hand that Liquid had their star carry MATUMBAMAN playing a hard 5 position Io. After swapping out BuLba for GH and hammering down the team’s roles following their elimination from the Boston Major qualifiers, Liquid is well on their way to becoming a force to be reckoned with once again.

Following their LAN win at DreamLeague Season 6, Team Liquid has swallowed up qualifier victories both here at StarSeries as well as in the qualifiers for DAC. Notably, they have been the only team that has been able to beat FATA-’s new team, B)ears, who looked bulletproof to the rest of the competition in the Western European leg of the qualifiers. Now that Liquid has finally ironed out all the kinks that held them back, this tournament can serve as the breakout moment for the new roster. With Kiev looming ever closer, locking down an invite with a win here scores the horse boys a much needed vacation from yet another qualifier grind.

[image loading]
Like the other qualifier teams, we have seen a fair amount of play from this current iteration of Team Secret after the dust from the post-Boston shuffle settled. Swapping Forev for Khezu has proved to be a solid improvement on the team’s play, as the pre-Boston move yielded fruit with a convincing LAN win against a collection of budding SEA talents and regional mainstays at the ROG Masters in Malaysia. After only dropping one map between the group stage on playoffs combined, Secret went into the new year with something to hang their hats on.

After taking 5th-6th place at Dota Pit back in early January, however, signs of a comeback began to dim. Gone were the days of their direct invites, as they returned again to the grind of qualifiers against the best Europe had to offer. While they did qualify for StarSeries with a convincing cushion of points between them and Cloud9, they were unable to repeat their success in the following weeks during the DAC Western Europe qualifier. With invites for Kiev looming in the near future, this may very well be Team Secret’s last shot to avoid the jaws of yet another regional qualifier. Can Puppey work his magic and orchestrate a performance that will remind us of the Secret of yesteryear?

[image loading]
After languishing in underperformance in Chinese qualifier hell since the team’s inception last September, Team VG.J’s latest roster has finally found their stride. There is no better time than the present to jump onto the bandwagon for Jeremy Lin’s boys, as their high placing in regional tournaments like Dota2 ACE and DPL’s Secondary division have translated at last to spots in international LANs. In qualifying for DAC’s and StarSeries’ finals, they now get the opportunity to prove their mettle against the best of the West, as well as the regional titans they have been battling for months on end.

It’s hard to believe that it has taken this long for VG.J to get their moment in the sun. With an initial roster consisting of three TI finalists (Fenrir, rOtK, and Agressif) and the emerging talents of Nono and hym (both of whom had been incubating within the Vici Gaming ecosystem), the hype surrounding the new team sadly dwarfed the reality of their performances. With the addition of an another up-and-coming player, Freeze, and the reunion of Fenrir with his old buddy fy to replace the former new comers, VG.J seems to have finally found the recipe for success. This weekend in Shanghai can provide this team with their big break; whether we get the dominant new VG.J or the withered potential of the old VG.J will remain to be seen.

[image loading]
Invictus Gaming Vitality has a score to settle. After the visa fiasco that saw both of iG.V’s supports unable to attend the team’s biggest event to date, The Boston Major, it is time to show up once again to the global stage. The potential for this sister squad has already manifested in what could be considered a dress rehearsal for this weekend: their victory at WCA 2016 comprised of iG.V not only besting the stiff regional competition of Vici Gaming and Newbee, but also finishing ahead of teams from South America as well as several tier 2 teams from Europe. After their victory at WCA, teams that choose to sleep on iG.V are making a grave mistake.

The competition at StarSeries is undoubtedly stronger than WCA, however. Present are both the grand finalists from TI6, the most recent Major champions, the winners of WESG, a fellow Chinese squad looking to stage a similar breakout performance, as well as two European teams looking to put their post-Boston changes through their first field test. iG.V’s strength is in their persistence, and as the one year anniversary of the squad’s inception draws nearer, the greatest birthday gift they could gives themselves is the same kind of performance that secured them WCA and punched their ticket to Boston so many months ago..

[image loading]
Since their grand finals appearance at TI6, there is no doubt that the once questionable Digital Chaos squad has done more than enough to establish itself as a serious contender not only at home in North America, but also abroad as a lasting power on the global stage. However, to be worthy of wearing North America’s crown, DC must be able to perform consistently both at home and on LAN. Misery’s band of European occupiers had failed to recapture the magic that delivered them to a second place finish at TI, bouncing between substandard performances at The Summit 6, Elimination Mode 2, and the barely-more-than-showmatch China Top 2016, and their inspiring yet ultimately unsuccessful run at The Boston Major.

2017 has been fairly kind to SUNSfan’s boys, though. In a huge upset over Newbee that went the full five games in the grand finals, DC took ESL Genting away from other favorites such as Virtus.pro and their familiar Chinese rivals, Wings Gaming. Not two weeks after their first LAN win, though, DC was sent home packing from Dota Pit after a painful first round loss at the hands of Team Secret and elimination in the lower bracket, compliments of the then-ailing Team Faceless. Unable to secure direct invites to either StarSeries or DAC, Digital Chaos had to overcome Team NP in deciding matches for both tournaments’ American qualifiers, but only secured a berth for StarSeries. Despite their Genting win, it would not be a stretch to see DC as a team on the border for an invite to Kiev. A win at StarSeries would mean not only a bright future at the next Major, but also their position comfortably near the top of NA.

[image loading]
TnC is a funny team. After their underdog story last summer that cumulated in a top eight finish at TI6, they lost most of their roster to a retooling of Fnatic that ultimately went nowhere and missed the cut for the Boston Major. In the aftermath of having to bail out of WCG in December due to roster issues, TnC snuck Tims into their roster and, having previously gotten Raven back on board from Fnatic, went into this year with a new lease on life.

The Pinoy team has already shown that they can perform on LAN, as their victory at WESG saw them crushing through their group and producing decisive victories against teams like Alliance and the newly rebranded Cloud9. In the wake of the downfall of teams that once ruled over the SEA region (namely Fnatic and MVP), TnC has used this renewed confidence to become a major regional player, in the ranks of Team Faceless and WarriorsGaming.Unity. Qualifying for StarSeries in an incredibly thorough fashion via the round robin format has confirmed just this. Despite following short in the DAC SEA qualifiers, TnC go to Shanghai as a worthy competitive force, perfectly capable of surprising us all again with another deep run against the world’s best.

Bracket



The first match of Group A is will be a harsh reminder for Fly and n0tail, as TnC was the team to send OG home after a stunning 2-0 upset in the lower bracket of TI6. Momentum will play a big part in this series, and with OG coming off of a win at Elimination Mode and being in generally great form, expect a series more like the TI6 group stages, where OG 2-0’d TnC. The other match, pitting iG.V against Team Secret, will be a bit more interesting. Both teams have recently failed to make the cut for DAC, but since the closest the two have come to butting heads in the past was when iG’s main squad 1-0’d Secret at ESL Genting, it’s hard to gauge where the two stand. Most likely, it will go the full three games, but I would not be surprised if Vitality takes it 2-1.


Liquid’s first round match against Team VG.J is bound to be explosive. Dripping with talent and pedigree on both sides, and with so much to prove for both teams, it may be the craziest best of three in the whole group stage. In the end, though, Liquid’s forward momentum off of their qualifier victory for DAC gives them the edge that they will need; Liquid should take it in three with a map score of 2-1. Even though it’s late February, the other match in Group B’s first round is another loop in the Groundhog’s Day series, endlessly replaying the TI6 finals between Digital Chaos and Wings Gaming. Though we haven’t seen much from Wings in the recent months, DC may still be rattled from the near miss in the DAC qualifiers, and with Wings’ raw skill and history against DC, the set could easily slip Wings’ way in another full 2-1 slugfest. Then again, should Wings be unable to shake off the rust, that 2-1 could fall DC’s way just as well.
Writers: DoctorHeckle
Editors: tehh4ck3r
Front Page and Banner Image: StarLadder Official, Nixer
Facebook Twitter Reddit
WriterI keep things two ways: Nice, and neat.
MetalMercury
Profile Joined January 2015
United States917 Posts
February 21 2017 20:34 GMT
#2
I think you overestimate Wing's chances of receiving a direct invite to Kiev. There's probably 3 teams in China that are better than Wings right now (iG.V won a LAN, Newbee got second in two LANs, and VG.J is crushing qualifiers at the moment) and I don't think they'll get a direct invite unless Valve invites 10 teams because there are too many LAN winners in their way: EG, DC, TnC, iG.V, OG, Team Liquid.... then you have Ad Finem for second at Boston and Newbee for second place at two LANs and that's your full 8 teams invite right there. So, Wings is on the fence big time for Kiev, especially if a team like Team Secret or VG.J wins this LAN. If that happens, I don't think you can squeeze in Wings in anyway without a top 2 or possibly top 3 finish at this tournament with 8 invites.

I'm going for the semi-upset here: VG.J wins the whole thing!
hunter_x
Profile Joined June 2014
Germany2592 Posts
February 21 2017 23:23 GMT
#3
Liquid fighting!!!
TEAM LIQUID TI WINNER 2017!!!
DucK-
Profile Joined January 2009
Singapore9054 Posts
February 22 2017 10:12 GMT
#4
On February 22 2017 05:34 MetalMercury wrote:
I think you overestimate Wing's chances of receiving a direct invite to Kiev. There's probably 3 teams in China that are better than Wings right now (iG.V won a LAN, Newbee got second in two LANs, and VG.J is crushing qualifiers at the moment) and I don't think they'll get a direct invite unless Valve invites 10 teams because there are too many LAN winners in their way: EG, DC, TnC, iG.V, OG, Team Liquid.... then you have Ad Finem for second at Boston and Newbee for second place at two LANs and that's your full 8 teams invite right there. So, Wings is on the fence big time for Kiev, especially if a team like Team Secret or VG.J wins this LAN. If that happens, I don't think you can squeeze in Wings in anyway without a top 2 or possibly top 3 finish at this tournament with 8 invites.

I'm going for the semi-upset here: VG.J wins the whole thing!


Considering how they had been dominating pre ti, it shows that they're not a one hit team. They have also not looked terrible post ti. I think their invite is 100% guaranteed, even over IG.v unless they fail spectacularly here.
MetalMercury
Profile Joined January 2015
United States917 Posts
February 22 2017 13:58 GMT
#5
On February 22 2017 19:12 DucK- wrote:
Show nested quote +
On February 22 2017 05:34 MetalMercury wrote:
I think you overestimate Wing's chances of receiving a direct invite to Kiev. There's probably 3 teams in China that are better than Wings right now (iG.V won a LAN, Newbee got second in two LANs, and VG.J is crushing qualifiers at the moment) and I don't think they'll get a direct invite unless Valve invites 10 teams because there are too many LAN winners in their way: EG, DC, TnC, iG.V, OG, Team Liquid.... then you have Ad Finem for second at Boston and Newbee for second place at two LANs and that's your full 8 teams invite right there. So, Wings is on the fence big time for Kiev, especially if a team like Team Secret or VG.J wins this LAN. If that happens, I don't think you can squeeze in Wings in anyway without a top 2 or possibly top 3 finish at this tournament with 8 invites.

I'm going for the semi-upset here: VG.J wins the whole thing!


Considering how they had been dominating pre ti, it shows that they're not a one hit team. They have also not looked terrible post ti. I think their invite is 100% guaranteed, even over IG.v unless they fail spectacularly here.


What counts as failing spectacularly? If not making it out of group stages counts, then I'm pretty sure they are going to fail spectacularly.
nanaoei
Profile Joined May 2010
1525 Posts
February 22 2017 14:05 GMT
#6
i expect TnC to surprise by getting out of their group and some of the chinese teams showing up to upset.
i hope liquid is in good form too, but my cynicism fears that it'll be shaky for them ):.
*@boesthius' FF7 nostalgia stream bomb* "we should work on a 'Final Progamer' fangame»whitera can be a protagonist---lastlie: "we save world and then defense it"
DoctorHeckle
Profile Joined October 2013
United States191 Posts
February 22 2017 14:30 GMT
#7
On February 22 2017 23:05 nanaoei wrote:
i expect TnC to surprise by getting out of their group and some of the chinese teams showing up to upset.
i hope liquid is in good form too, but my cynicism fears that it'll be shaky for them ):.


I feel like between DreamLeague and placing first in the qualifiers for this and DAC, the boys are back on a good track. GH is looking like the linchpin that they've needed post TI6, they've been adapting to the patch well, wouldn't be surprised if this turns out to be their launching pad.
WriterI keep things two ways: Nice, and neat.
spudde123
Profile Joined February 2012
4205 Posts
February 22 2017 14:46 GMT
#8
On February 22 2017 05:34 MetalMercury wrote:
I think you overestimate Wing's chances of receiving a direct invite to Kiev. There's probably 3 teams in China that are better than Wings right now (iG.V won a LAN, Newbee got second in two LANs, and VG.J is crushing qualifiers at the moment) and I don't think they'll get a direct invite unless Valve invites 10 teams because there are too many LAN winners in their way: EG, DC, TnC, iG.V, OG, Team Liquid.... then you have Ad Finem for second at Boston and Newbee for second place at two LANs and that's your full 8 teams invite right there. So, Wings is on the fence big time for Kiev, especially if a team like Team Secret or VG.J wins this LAN. If that happens, I don't think you can squeeze in Wings in anyway without a top 2 or possibly top 3 finish at this tournament with 8 invites.

I'm going for the semi-upset here: VG.J wins the whole thing!


TnC's and Liquid's LAN wins were in events that had zero Boston Major teams in them. I don't think those alone should put them ahead of the queue. But of course they aren't worthless either and both teams can pretty much guarantee their spot in this event if they manage to do well. Also if one counts Liquid's Dreamleague win in some way then one should also count Wings winning Northern Arena, considering both were after Boston invites went out and there was only 2 weeks between them.

I wonder how many invites they will give out to Kiev. I don't think they will give out direct invites based on Boston to more than top2 or top4. AF's current level doesn't really warrant an invite but in the past such a high major placing has meant that you get invited to the next one. I'd guess they invite the top4 from Boston (which also covers EG and DC as recent LAN winners) + 2 more, which include at least 1 Chinese team. Perhaps even two if some Chinese team wins here. But also TL or TnC might get it by doing well.

And then the qualifiers could go 2+2+2+2+1+1, where the regions with 1 qual spot are South America and either NA or CIS. NA might be an option because both EG and DC already would have invites but it could well also be just 1 spot for CIS.
MetalMercury
Profile Joined January 2015
United States917 Posts
February 22 2017 14:52 GMT
#9
On February 22 2017 23:46 spudde123 wrote:
Show nested quote +
On February 22 2017 05:34 MetalMercury wrote:
I think you overestimate Wing's chances of receiving a direct invite to Kiev. There's probably 3 teams in China that are better than Wings right now (iG.V won a LAN, Newbee got second in two LANs, and VG.J is crushing qualifiers at the moment) and I don't think they'll get a direct invite unless Valve invites 10 teams because there are too many LAN winners in their way: EG, DC, TnC, iG.V, OG, Team Liquid.... then you have Ad Finem for second at Boston and Newbee for second place at two LANs and that's your full 8 teams invite right there. So, Wings is on the fence big time for Kiev, especially if a team like Team Secret or VG.J wins this LAN. If that happens, I don't think you can squeeze in Wings in anyway without a top 2 or possibly top 3 finish at this tournament with 8 invites.

I'm going for the semi-upset here: VG.J wins the whole thing!


TnC's and Liquid's LAN wins were in events that had zero Boston Major teams in them. I don't think those alone should put them ahead of the queue. But of course they aren't worthless either and both teams can pretty much guarantee their spot in this event if they manage to do well. Also if one counts Liquid's Dreamleague win in some way then one should also count Wings winning Northern Arena, considering both were after Boston invites went out and there was only 2 weeks between them.

I wonder how many invites they will give out to Kiev. I don't think they will give out direct invites based on Boston to more than top2 or top4. AF's current level doesn't really warrant an invite but in the past such a high major placing has meant that you get invited to the next one. I'd guess they invite the top4 from Boston (which also covers EG and DC as recent LAN winners) + 2 more, which include at least 1 Chinese team. Perhaps even two if some Chinese team wins here. But also TL or TnC might get it by doing well.

And then the qualifiers could go 2+2+2+2+1+1, where the regions with 1 qual spot are South America and either NA or CIS. NA might be an option because both EG and DC already would have invites but it could well also be just 1 spot for CIS.


Yeah, I understand what you're saying.

I'm more confused by the single elimination bracket; I have no idea how you want to expand to 6 regional qualifiers but still have only 16 teams in the tournament. Maybe there will be more than 16 teams at the event, and only the top 16 make the bracket stage?

Valve can choose to invite 4 teams, 6 teams, 8 teams, or 10 teams. 4 Invites leads to just straight up 2 qualifiers for each region, but you're gonna leave out a deserving team from the direct invites, no question. If they did that, it would probably be something like EG / OG / DC / Newbee.

I was really hoping we'd see 20 teams in Kiev, but we'll see what happens!
Kamisamanachi
Profile Joined April 2015
4658 Posts
Last Edited: 2017-02-22 16:23:15
February 22 2017 15:19 GMT
#10
On February 22 2017 05:34 MetalMercury wrote:
I think you overestimate Wing's chances of receiving a direct invite to Kiev. There's probably 3 teams in China that are better than Wings right now (iG.V won a LAN, Newbee got second in two LANs, and VG.J is crushing qualifiers at the moment) and I don't think they'll get a direct invite unless Valve invites 10 teams because there are too many LAN winners in their way: EG, DC, TnC, iG.V, OG, Team Liquid.... then you have Ad Finem for second at Boston and Newbee for second place at two LANs and that's your full 8 teams invite right there. So, Wings is on the fence big time for Kiev, especially if a team like Team Secret or VG.J wins this LAN. If that happens, I don't think you can squeeze in Wings in anyway without a top 2 or possibly top 3 finish at this tournament with 8 invites.

I'm going for the semi-upset here: VG.J wins the whole thing!


while mentioning teams from china,u forgot about IG who crushed the qualifiers for DAC without dropping a single game and got 4th at dotapit. they are more hot team than VG.J, atleast for me. and do look for VG.J's group for startladder qualifiers. it was more of a joke compared to other side from where IG.v qualified and where IG were. The only competent team on VG.J side was CDEC.
fan of dream runs. orange ti3 , fnatic ti6 , wings ti6 , cdec ti5 !! B-god's anti mage , mushi's shadow fiend
DucK-
Profile Joined January 2009
Singapore9054 Posts
Last Edited: 2017-02-22 19:22:07
February 22 2017 19:20 GMT
#11
On February 22 2017 22:58 MetalMercury wrote:
Show nested quote +
On February 22 2017 19:12 DucK- wrote:
On February 22 2017 05:34 MetalMercury wrote:
I think you overestimate Wing's chances of receiving a direct invite to Kiev. There's probably 3 teams in China that are better than Wings right now (iG.V won a LAN, Newbee got second in two LANs, and VG.J is crushing qualifiers at the moment) and I don't think they'll get a direct invite unless Valve invites 10 teams because there are too many LAN winners in their way: EG, DC, TnC, iG.V, OG, Team Liquid.... then you have Ad Finem for second at Boston and Newbee for second place at two LANs and that's your full 8 teams invite right there. So, Wings is on the fence big time for Kiev, especially if a team like Team Secret or VG.J wins this LAN. If that happens, I don't think you can squeeze in Wings in anyway without a top 2 or possibly top 3 finish at this tournament with 8 invites.

I'm going for the semi-upset here: VG.J wins the whole thing!


Considering how they had been dominating pre ti, it shows that they're not a one hit team. They have also not looked terrible post ti. I think their invite is 100% guaranteed, even over IG.v unless they fail spectacularly here.


What counts as failing spectacularly? If not making it out of group stages counts, then I'm pretty sure they are going to fail spectacularly.


Like losing 2-0 to both DC and VG.J and looking like post TI Navi level of rubbish. Look at their games. Despite not winning much since The Summit, they have still been very competitive. No shame in losing to EG. They narrowly loss 2-1 to newbee (G3 was quite a game). Aside from The Summit, they were all knocked out of in a Single Elimination format. Basically it still shows that wings are still a force not to be reckoned with, not a one hit wonder, and can be said to be a little unlucky. You cannot conclude that they are a bad team atm.

At the very least, they are way ahead of igv and vgj in the pecking order. igv, while looking good and winning WCA, has not done enough elsewhere to show they deserve it more than wings. Same goes for vgj, who has no accomplishments yet. Newbee hasn't won anything, finished same place as wings in Boston, but has been 2nd in many tournaments, so probably in the same place as wings.

Teams that deserve an invite more than wings...probably just EG DC and OG. Liquid is looking good with GH so far, but can you count dreamleague as a big accomplishment? TNC won a similarly minor tournament. 2nd place AD Finem hasn't showed up yet after Boston. Logically wings spot is more or less secured if China gets 2 invites, unless of course igv/vgj shows up big here.
wanzmor
Profile Joined December 2015
81 Posts
February 22 2017 19:33 GMT
#12
As much as I want Wings to be in Kiev, I don't actually mind having them qualify through the the regional qualifier. They did so at TI6, and they didn't just qualify, in fact they kind of crushed the qualifier, tying first with EHOME before winning the tie breaks. Wings has made Dota2 such an entertaining view, I have never seen a team like them in terms of game dynamics, not even DK came close. It's just amazing how they were able to polish such a godly teamwork and mesh their players' talent into play.

Right now they need to find their motivation to strive for the best once again, for Kiev and then for TI7. Tbh I don't know the mentality of Wings right now, they have already achieved the pinnacle of Dota2 career which is the TI victory. At some point Faith_Bian even considered taking break. Wings at their peak is easily the best team around, they don't afraid to take fights, they don't afraid to pick unusual picks, they also have easily one of the best players around in each positions, and they have good leadership.
A bucket of water will not extinguish a forest fire
MetalMercury
Profile Joined January 2015
United States917 Posts
February 22 2017 20:26 GMT
#13
On February 23 2017 04:20 DucK- wrote:
Show nested quote +
On February 22 2017 22:58 MetalMercury wrote:
On February 22 2017 19:12 DucK- wrote:
On February 22 2017 05:34 MetalMercury wrote:
I think you overestimate Wing's chances of receiving a direct invite to Kiev. There's probably 3 teams in China that are better than Wings right now (iG.V won a LAN, Newbee got second in two LANs, and VG.J is crushing qualifiers at the moment) and I don't think they'll get a direct invite unless Valve invites 10 teams because there are too many LAN winners in their way: EG, DC, TnC, iG.V, OG, Team Liquid.... then you have Ad Finem for second at Boston and Newbee for second place at two LANs and that's your full 8 teams invite right there. So, Wings is on the fence big time for Kiev, especially if a team like Team Secret or VG.J wins this LAN. If that happens, I don't think you can squeeze in Wings in anyway without a top 2 or possibly top 3 finish at this tournament with 8 invites.

I'm going for the semi-upset here: VG.J wins the whole thing!


Considering how they had been dominating pre ti, it shows that they're not a one hit team. They have also not looked terrible post ti. I think their invite is 100% guaranteed, even over IG.v unless they fail spectacularly here.


What counts as failing spectacularly? If not making it out of group stages counts, then I'm pretty sure they are going to fail spectacularly.


Like losing 2-0 to both DC and VG.J and looking like post TI Navi level of rubbish. Look at their games. Despite not winning much since The Summit, they have still been very competitive. No shame in losing to EG. They narrowly loss 2-1 to newbee (G3 was quite a game). Aside from The Summit, they were all knocked out of in a Single Elimination format. Basically it still shows that wings are still a force not to be reckoned with, not a one hit wonder, and can be said to be a little unlucky. You cannot conclude that they are a bad team atm.

At the very least, they are way ahead of igv and vgj in the pecking order. igv, while looking good and winning WCA, has not done enough elsewhere to show they deserve it more than wings. Same goes for vgj, who has no accomplishments yet. Newbee hasn't won anything, finished same place as wings in Boston, but has been 2nd in many tournaments, so probably in the same place as wings.

Teams that deserve an invite more than wings...probably just EG DC and OG. Liquid is looking good with GH so far, but can you count dreamleague as a big accomplishment? TNC won a similarly minor tournament. 2nd place AD Finem hasn't showed up yet after Boston. Logically wings spot is more or less secured if China gets 2 invites, unless of course igv/vgj shows up big here.


You don't think Newbee, with 2 second places at recent LANs, deserve an invite more than Wings?

I still think that Valve wanting 16 teams is a mistake for Kiev, but they do what they do I guess!
DucK-
Profile Joined January 2009
Singapore9054 Posts
February 22 2017 20:52 GMT
#14
On February 23 2017 05:26 MetalMercury wrote:
Show nested quote +
On February 23 2017 04:20 DucK- wrote:
On February 22 2017 22:58 MetalMercury wrote:
On February 22 2017 19:12 DucK- wrote:
On February 22 2017 05:34 MetalMercury wrote:
I think you overestimate Wing's chances of receiving a direct invite to Kiev. There's probably 3 teams in China that are better than Wings right now (iG.V won a LAN, Newbee got second in two LANs, and VG.J is crushing qualifiers at the moment) and I don't think they'll get a direct invite unless Valve invites 10 teams because there are too many LAN winners in their way: EG, DC, TnC, iG.V, OG, Team Liquid.... then you have Ad Finem for second at Boston and Newbee for second place at two LANs and that's your full 8 teams invite right there. So, Wings is on the fence big time for Kiev, especially if a team like Team Secret or VG.J wins this LAN. If that happens, I don't think you can squeeze in Wings in anyway without a top 2 or possibly top 3 finish at this tournament with 8 invites.

I'm going for the semi-upset here: VG.J wins the whole thing!


Considering how they had been dominating pre ti, it shows that they're not a one hit team. They have also not looked terrible post ti. I think their invite is 100% guaranteed, even over IG.v unless they fail spectacularly here.


What counts as failing spectacularly? If not making it out of group stages counts, then I'm pretty sure they are going to fail spectacularly.


Like losing 2-0 to both DC and VG.J and looking like post TI Navi level of rubbish. Look at their games. Despite not winning much since The Summit, they have still been very competitive. No shame in losing to EG. They narrowly loss 2-1 to newbee (G3 was quite a game). Aside from The Summit, they were all knocked out of in a Single Elimination format. Basically it still shows that wings are still a force not to be reckoned with, not a one hit wonder, and can be said to be a little unlucky. You cannot conclude that they are a bad team atm.

At the very least, they are way ahead of igv and vgj in the pecking order. igv, while looking good and winning WCA, has not done enough elsewhere to show they deserve it more than wings. Same goes for vgj, who has no accomplishments yet. Newbee hasn't won anything, finished same place as wings in Boston, but has been 2nd in many tournaments, so probably in the same place as wings.

Teams that deserve an invite more than wings...probably just EG DC and OG. Liquid is looking good with GH so far, but can you count dreamleague as a big accomplishment? TNC won a similarly minor tournament. 2nd place AD Finem hasn't showed up yet after Boston. Logically wings spot is more or less secured if China gets 2 invites, unless of course igv/vgj shows up big here.


You don't think Newbee, with 2 second places at recent LANs, deserve an invite more than Wings?

I still think that Valve wanting 16 teams is a mistake for Kiev, but they do what they do I guess!


I don't think so.

1. Newbee finished same place as Wings in Boston

2. China Top 2016 was a 4 team SE tournament. Both wings and newbee loss to EG 2-0. Only reason they finished ahead of wings was because they didn't have to face EG first. EG being a top team is the only conclusion you can make from this mini tournament.

3. In ESl, Newbee was 2nd, Wings were 3rd/4th. Newbee narrowly beat Wings 2-1.

I don't think newbee is clearly more deserving than wings. Like I said, wings has not been bad, and they have their pre Boston form to favour them. You can't really make a strong case of who deserves more.
Boyka
Profile Joined February 2017
India1 Post
February 27 2017 05:04 GMT
#15
Well played boys <3
Work Hard PLAY Hard
Please log in (you can use your steam or reddit account!) or register to reply.
Live Events Refresh
ESL One
Birmingham - NA Qualifier
coL vs VGJ.S21:00
OpTic vs Imt2h 41m
Liquipedia
ESL One
Birmingham - SA Qualifier
paiN vs TA2h 41m
beyondthesummit_es 1330
Liquipedia
[ Submit Event ]
Live Streams
Refresh
Players
smashdota 431
DotACapitalist324
ixmike88291
PatosDota56
Organizations
BeyondTheSummit1119
DreamLeague115
esl_dota227
[ Show 105 non-featured ]
Dota 2
• ybicanoooobov 9290
• gorgc6788
• lebrondota22743
• y0nd 1020
• GspotDOTA996
• Cheris870
• VJLinkHero811
• Rayur747
• Fireryman640
• EEGDOTA626
• waveafterwave2ndlife605
• t3stv340
• dotatv247292
• piotv 273
• meepoHa3ap226
• Bogsh212
• Gssspotted184
• dgcmomozila169
• kalashnikov_bros166
• maHoune153
• Sterlingg66114
• Ler 112
• INV0KERGIRL 108
• RonjaRaumpilot84
• Unkind1baby82
• Broxy_TV80
• SilikonovayaZina73
• arteanslive72
• D2GulL63
• bobruhatv61
• imbaelf59
• kotish8859
• kolsangame57
• ScytherDoto50
• kotblkz47
• Vardth47
• iAnnihilateDota45
• PerTzo41
• justspyro1241
• fataLLik39
• NastyaNuts38
• siniy_iniy35
• Miredia33
• Lunnal3ell29
• jsing29
• MissDior_25
• kuyanicwxc 25
• hanna_ross24
• SkeliGaming24
• goincubus23
• kings1ze92123
• MrDkeller7823
• charliedoto22
• abbadammit22
• ilya_maddyson21
• pashastoyak21
• Gosugabor21
• MonkeyQueen21
• zastava_43019
• tecla819
• TheTissueissues18
• HuffyGirl17
• Flensmeister17
• MoUraDota17
• mrsSqlite 17
• Ir0nwood17
• sad_rusty17
• Trinhil16
• Happymealify16
• TaizaiDota16
• Curious7916
• Lady_Len15
• stunbye 15
• jsemYoufee15
• Meorigigima15
• thesaddestgirl15
• old_sparky14
• suggest14
• MsDinklepuff14
• Pyr0kles14
• BipDonGoe14
• Rilesdota13
• BlackimusTV13
• JohnPitterTV13
• matrixlele13
• Partypetee13
• Yin_a_Blind_Doll13
• akosiclaridad13
• garterdota212
• G3R_Tickno12
• Honeymoon__12
• Ddamianexiss12
• soldierfake12
• unclesambroo11
• NuSuey11
• scorpdota11
• cyber_pavel11
• DA_deFi11
• AnnY_AnnY10
• FollowS1noN10
• JuliiaTV10
• Khamaich_TV10
• Plasma8710
• A_Silent_Return10
• highestTop110
Upcoming Events
China Dota2 Supermajor
EHOME vs Serenity4h 41m
LFY vs CDEC7h 41m
KG vs TBD10h 41m
iG vs TBD13h 41m
Dota2 Professional League
LGD vs KG5h 41m
iG vs iG.V9h 11m
NewBee vs VG12h 41m
MarsTV Dota 2 League
Fnatic vs TnC8h 41m
ESL One
Na`Vi vs Empire12h 41m
ESL One
Fnatic vs TnC14h 41m
[ Show More ]
China Dota2 Supermajor
Kinguin vs Alliance15h 41m
LOTV vs Going In15h 41m
TFT vs ML18h 41m
Kinguin vs LOTV18h 41m
Kinguin vs TFT21h 41m
ESL One
OG vs Kinguin18h 41m
ESL One
M Kings vs TBD23h 41m
ESL One
TBD vs TBD23h 41m
China Dota2 Supermajor
TBD vs TBD1d 4h
LGD vs TBD1d 7h
Liquipedia Results

Completed

SLi Invitational 5
DAC 2018

Ongoing

DPL.T 2018 S1
Supermajor - EU Qual
ESL Birmingham - CIS Qual
ESL Birmingham - EU Qual
ESL Birmingham - NA Qual
ESL Birmingham - SA Qual
ESL Birmingham - SEA Qual
GESC: Thailand - EU Qual
GESC: Thailand - TH Qual
MDL Changsha SEA Qual

Upcoming

EPICENTER XL
World Cyber Arena 2017
GESC: Thailand
MDL Changsha Major
ESL One Birmingham 2018
China Dota2 Supermajor



Privacy Policy | Terms Of Use | Contact Us

Original banner artwork: Lip Comarella / SalonAlpin.
The contents of this webpage are copyright © 2018 LiquidDota.com. All Rights Reserved.