TI4 Preview: The Western Teams

TI4 Preview: The Western Teams

The Alliance-"The Kings of the North"

The Alliance are the returning TI3 champions. Last year they dominated the group stages going 12-0 and only dropped three games the entire tournament. After TI3 they faced a bit of a falling off where they were no longer revered as the best team in Dota, but due to a recent resurgence they are right there back on top of the western scene.  They returning to Seattle this year with the same exact roster they heralded at TI3.

Roster:

Loda(1-Hard Carry) 

S4(2-Mid/Captain)

AdmiralBulldog(3-Offlane)

EGM(4-Support)

Akke(5-Support)

The Swedish All-Star team was known at TI3 for not only their ratty Bulldog Natures Prophet/Lone Druid play and gigantic individual play from S4, but most importantly their ridiculous cohesion and coordination within the team. Since TI3 Bulldog has expanded his hero pool greatly from what was previously just NP/LD with a hint of Clockwerk, so we may expect to see plenty more heroes played by him. However on that note, he has been back to his R [A] T D O G playstyle with a new and improved Natures Prophet build. Bulldogs standard NP build at TI3 was something along the lines of Phase/Midas/Shadowblade/Deso/Sheep. Recently he has revisited the way he plays prophet to adjust to the meta and been building Treads/Maelstrom/Blink/Sheep/Mjollnir. 

Key Heroes: 

Bulldog- Natures Prophet

S4- Batrider/Puck

Akke- Chen/Enchantress

2014 Team Achievements:

4th-D2L Season 4 LAN finals

1st-Dota 2 Champions League Season 1

2nd-Starladder Seaon 8

4th-Dota 2 Champions League Season 2

Evil Geniuses- "America's Hope"

EG may be one of the quickest teams ever to go Zero-to-Hero in such a short amount of time. After a huge disappointment in the TI3 Qualifiers last year, the team reconstructed their roster by adding young talent and have been anything but disappointing ever since. Going into TI4 they are definitely one of the favorites to finish in the Top 3.

TI3 Qualifier Roster:

Fear

Jeyo

Bamboe

Demon 

Bdiz

TI4 Roster:

Mason*(1-Safe Lane)

Arteezy(2-Mid/Hard Carry)

Universe(3-Offlane)

Zai(4-Support)

PPD(5-Support/Captain)

Fear(Coach, Formerly 1-HC)

*-Replaced Fear due to injury

What makes EG's success so incredible is because they are doing it at such a young age. Zai and Arteezy clock in at the age of 17, naturally this is their first international. PPD and Zai are former proffesional HoN players and both have played at the top level for some years now. 

Over the past several months, PPD and his unique style of drafting has sort of led the meta and brought new heroes onto the scene. EG was the first team to consistently draft very hard farming carries for their mid player Arteezy, such as Naga/Morph/Phantom Assassin. Because of this you tend to see their safelane farmer Mason, on a softer carry or even initiate heroes such as brewmaster. Beyond this, PPD and Zai have a tendency to never "lane" as their supports. They do an impeccable job of going lane-to-lane and making things happen where and when they are needed.

Key Heroes: 

Arteezy-Naga/Tinker/Phantom Assassin

Universe-Dark Seer

PPD-Treant/Bane

Zai- Sand King/Enigma

Team Achievements:

3rd-Starladder Season 9

1st-The Summit LAN Finals

1st-HyperX D2L Western Challenge

2nd-ESL One Frankfurt

Fnatic-"The Mixed Bag Of Tricks"

Fnatic has been all but consistent in recent months and have had some roster struggles due to mental illness from their carry player, Era. Over the past month and a half they have had to play with a stand-in for Era and until recently it was up in the air who would play for them during TI4. Despite these issues, Fnatic joins Alliance and Na'vi as the only three teams to return to TI with the same roster they carried in 2013.

Roster:

Era(1-Hard Carry)

H4nn1(2-Mid)*

Trixi(3-Offlane)

BigDaddy Notail(4-Support)

Fly(5-Support/Captain)

*Plays Earthshaker support when picked

Fnatic is one of those teams that when they aren't handed with one of their favorite cookie cutter drafts, they can throw you a curve ball and pick something strange. They are known for their outstanding Tiny/Wisp play as well as the occasional Meepo. There is nowhere to really put this team as far as predictions and expectations because they are the only team in the tournament I could see placing literally anywhere from 1st-16th. I can tell you one thing, you can 100% Expect to see a H4nn1 Mid Ogre Magi at some point at TI. 

Key Heroes:

Era-Tiny

H4nn1-Ogre Mid

N0tail-Wisp

Team Achievements: 

2nd-D2L Season 4

4th-Starladder Season 8

1st-XMG Captains Draft Invitational

1st-MLG T.K.O EU

3rd- HyperX D2L Western Challenge

2nd- Dota 2 Champions League Season 3

3rd/4th- ESL One Frankfurt

Cloud 9-"The Outside Shot"

Cloud 9 is made up of what used to be team Kaipi, who couldn't quite make it through TI3's qualifiers last year. Like Fnatic, Cloud 9 is one the most inconsistent teams in the West but if they can manage to put together a few straight days of their best Dota, they could find themselves in the top 8 and at the main event in Seattle.

Roster:

1-EternalEnvy(1-Carry/Lord and Savior)

2-SingSing(2-Mid)

3-Bone7(3-Offlane)

4-Aui_2000(Support)

5- PieLieDie(Support/Captain)

Aui_2000 is the lone player on this roster that was at TI3, he played with Dignitas.Cloud 9 is led by impulsive decision making and sometimes incredible individual skill and plays. Like most teams that act impulsively, this is also their biggest downfall and what inevitably leads to them being an inconsistent Dota squad. I expect them to do opposite of whatever Fnatic ends up doing. If Fnatic makes top 8 I don't see Cloud 9 making it, and vice versa.

Key Heroes: 
SingSing-Mirana/Ember Spirit/Meepo......?
Aui_2000-Jakiro/Rubick
Bone7-Clockwerk/Nyx



Team Achievements:
2nd-Monster Energy Invitational
2nd-JoinDota league EU Season 1
2nd-Dota 2 Champions League Season 2
2nd- Dreamhack Bucharest Invitational
2nd-ASUS ROG Dreamleague Season 1

Team Empire- "Темная лошадка"

Early in April most people in the world would have called Empire a top 3 favorite for TI4. They hit a hot streak where they were handily winning 90% of their professional matches against all the top teams in the west. They appeared to be an unstoppable titan. Recently they have fallen off a bit but are still a team to be feared, I believe they will most likely be a top 8 team. 

Roster:

Silent(1-Hard Carry)

Resolut1ion(2-Mid)

Mag(3-Offlane/Captain)

Vanskor(4-Support)

ALWAYSWANNAFLY(5-Support)

Silent is the only player on this squad to make an appearance at TI3 and that was only in the play-in game with Quantic. Empire and Silent are one of the few teams that still consistently run Gyrocopter as well as 1 Position Mirana.

Key Heroes:
Resolut1ion-Puck/Templar Assassin
Mag: Batrider/Brewmaster/Clock
ALWAYSWANNAFLY: Rubick
Silent: Mirana/Gyro



Team Achievements:
3rd-Dota 2 Champions League Season 2
1st- Join Dota League Season 1
2nd-MLG TKO EU
2nd-Starladder Season 9
1st-Bounty Hunter Series 4
3rd- ASUS ROG Dreamleague Season 1
4th- HyperX D2L Western Challenge
1st- Dota 2 Champions League Season 3

Natus Vincere.US-"Rejects No Longer"

NAR'vi Won the NA Qualifier under the NAR tag and was then sponsored by Na'Vi. They are made up of exactly what their name implies, the NA stars that found themselves team-less after the Post-TI3 shuffle. All five players have been to the international in the past so they are not new to the pressure. However the team has only been together since April 11th 2013. Big things are not expected from Na'vi.NA and many people pick them to be a bottom four team. 

Roster:

Sneyking(1-Hard Carry)

Korok(2-Mid)

Brax(3-Offlane/Captain)

Fogged(4-Support)
1437(5-Support)

NAR made their way through what was seen as one of the weaker qualifiers but looked quite impressive doing so. They edged out Liquid in the finals to punch their ticket to Seattle. 

Key Heroes:

1437-Kotl

Sneyking-Shadow Fiend

Na'vi.NA has only participated in one major tournament since the qualifiers, taking 5th/6th at the Summit LAN finals.

Mousesports- "Woof Woof"

Like Na'vi.NA, Mousesports is formerly known as Team Dog and only picked up a sponsorship close to the TI4 qualifiers. I think Mouse is one of the biggest underdogs that could surprisingly find their way sneaking into the top 8 at TI4. I think that the teams skill was good enough at the time of invites to warrant a direct invite to TI4, but their roster was a bit shaky at the time so Valve may have withheld the invite. 

Roster:

Pajkatt(1-HC/Captain)

Fata(2-Mid)

MSS(3-Offlane)

Misery(4-Support)

PaS(5-Support)

I think Fata is the best player on Mouse and most definitely the biggest playmaker/player to watch. His play style and hero pool is very similar to that of S4 from Alliance.

Key Heroes:

Fata-Puck

Pajkatt-Axe

Team Achievements: 

1st- TI4 EU Qualifier

4th- ASUS ROG Dreamleague Season 1

The International 2014 Preview For The Casual Fan(Part 1:Wild Card)

The international is composed of 19 teams, 11 of which were directly invited, four of which won their respective qualifier(NA/EU/SEA/China) and the final four took second place in the aforementioned qualifiers. On Tuesday, July8th, the four second place teams will fight against each other for one final spot in the group stages.

The Wild Card Teams (July 8th)

Team Liquid (NA)

Last year Team Liquid shocked the world when they knocked out LGD China in the losers bracket of TI3 to secure themselves a top 8 spot. Since the end of TI3 Liquid has struggled to reclaim their glory and have had many internal issues including roster changes, captain changes, and role changes. 

TI3 Roster:

Korok(1-Hard Carry)

TC(2-Mid/Captain)

Bulba(3-Offlane)

IXmike(4-Support)

FluffnStuff(5-Support)

TI4 Roster: 

TC(1-Hard Carry/Captain)

Qojqva(2-Mid)

Bulba(3-Offlane)

Pegasus*(4-Support)

Waytosexy(5-Support)

*-Formerly known as Demon

With Bulba and TC the only remaining players from their TI3 Roster that produced so much American pride, it's easy to see where this team may have struggled which caused them to not earn a direct invite to TI4. 

Expectations:

Although I may sound hard on Liquid and their recent events, keep in mind they are in a Wild Card playoff with other teams that have also had some hardships. Liquid is one of the favorites to come out of the Wild Card if they can stay consistent.  The three core players(TC/Bulba/Qojqva) are often interchangeable when it comes to roles they play, and it often depends on what heroes they draft. I haven't seen much of Liquid since the North American qualifier so it's hard to say where their strengths lie but a few of their known player/hero combinations to look out for are here.

TC: Razor/Ursa

Qojqva: Tinker

Bulba: Clockwerk/Elder Titan

Here's a little something to jog your memory from TI3. 

Virtus Pro(EU)

Virtus Pro has proven to be one of the most inconsistent teams in Western Dota. They have their highs of beating top teams, and their losing streaks against tier 3 teams so they are quite the risky bet. In the EU Qualifier they managed to catch a hot streak and looked quite impressive through the playoffs, even getting out to a 2-0 lead in the grand finals before dropping three straight to MouzSports and throwing away a guarenteed ticket to TI4.


TI3 Roster:
Illidan(1-HC)
Crazy(2-Mid)
Ksi(3-Offlane)
NS(4-Support)
Ars-Art(5-Support)

TI4 Roster:
Illidan(1-HC)
God(2-Mid)
Ars-Art(3-Offlane)
Jotm(4-Support)
NS(5-Support)

VP was a bottom four team at TI3, losing their first game in the losers bracket to Zenith. With the addition of God in the mid lane they do seem a bit stronger, and if they find themselves a hot streak on tuesday we could see them advancing. However, they are not my pick to win it.

MVP Phoenix(SEA)

MVP Phoenix is the first Korean team to ever play at The International. Over the past year the Korean scene has slowly been growing but has been seen by outsiders as still merely tier 3 teams. In April of 2014 MVP qualified for Starladder Season 9 LAN finals in Kiev Ukraine which was their first ever test against Tier 1 teams such as DK/Alliance/Na'vi/EG. Although they didn't get any wins at the LAN, they showed that they could at least play against these teams without being embarrassed. Somewhere between Starladder and the SEA TI4 Qualifiers, MVP got their shit together and shocked the world at the qualifiers. Even after their performance at Starladder, everyone still gave them minimal chances in the qualifier and said that SEA teams still way out-classed the best that Korea can offer. They managed to beat out several teams and claw their way to second in the qualifier and now have the pressure of being the first to represent their country at TI. This is the first International appearance for all five of these players, which may play a huge role in their ability to perform under pressure. Just like every major tournament they have participated in, they are not projected to be a top team. I have them in the 3rd/4th slot and it would be quite a surprise to see them take their first bo3 against VP.

Roster:
March(1-HC/Captain)
QO(2-Mid)
Forev(3-Offlane)
Reisen(4-Support)
Heen(5-Support)



Player to watch:
QO has in my opinion been the most impressive player for MVP. His mid play seems to be way above anyone else in Korea, and he has shown the most promise and improvement.


CIS Game(China)

Roster:

Black^:(1-HC/Captain)

Inflame(2-Mid)

June(3-Offlane)

Ayo(4-Support)

Demons(5-Support)

There is so much story behind CIS Game that I don't even know where to begin. CIS took second in the Chinese Qualifiers behind LGD.cn and since the Chinese Qualifier was widely revered as the strongest of the four regions, it is safe to say CIS is one of the favorites to win this qualifier. 

Let's start by talking about Black^. Black is a German carry player who moved to China to better his already prestigious Dota career. He is the only player on this team that has played at The International, playing for MouseSports at TI2/TI3. After TI3 he left MouseSports to join up with LGD.int who was a western team that was at the time living and practicing in China. Unfortunately, only a few months after moving to China to join LGD.int, the team disbanded leaving Black team-less and stranded in China. After three months Black had nearly given up his dreams of playing Dota in China as well as competiting at TI4. In March of 2014 CIS Game extended their hand to Black and offered him a carry position on their squad. 

Beyond the story of Black^ is the issues with Visa acquisition for CIS. After qualifying for the wild card round through the qualifiers,the Chinese players from CIS were denied visas three seperate times. One more denial of Visas meant they would no longer be able to travel to Seattle to compete, they had their final chance on July 3rd to acquire their Visas. Thankfully all Visas were approved on this date only five days before the playoff. However, because of all the worry and turmoil the team had little chance to practice and prepare as much as the other three teams. 

Expectations:

Black is seen as one of the greatest farming carries in the entire scene, putting him on lists with the likes of Burning and Loda. Because of this, CIS loves to play for their strengths and play a Four-Protect-One strategy with Black on a hard farming carry. However, during the qualifiers CIS was forced to play a bit out of their comfort zone to avoid being easily predictable and counterable. We saw the hard farming Black on more active heroes such as Axe. If it all comes down to one game though, expect to see Black on his favorite hero, Anti-Mage.

 Overall they are a rather exciting Chinese team and you can't help but cheer for them because of all the issues they have been through. 

Signature Heroes:

Black: Anti-Mage/Morphling/Axe