The International starts in just a couple of days. Today we are going to have a quick overview of the participating teams and highlight the favorites for your Predictions.
1.Team Spirit
Team Spirit, with their recent EWC and DreamLeague results come into TI as the strongest contender. It seems that they will also be playing with their full roster and no substitutes and a fully charged up Team Spirit is a force to be reckoned with.
The Kings of Comebacks doesn’t even begin to describe this squad and while they are not unbeatable, they are an incredibly tough opponent, especially for tempo-reliant teams.
2. Team Falcons
Masters of Macro and Greed. Team Falcons’ playstyle revolves around taking an early economic lead and very steadily growing it into something insurmountable.
They are a team that is fine playing for 50+ minutes. They don’t take unnecessary risks and getting out of their chokehold frequently feels impossible. This combination of both economic and emotional damage makes them very scary for slower-paced opponents, but it can sometimes backfire against faster, more aggressive teams.
3. Pvision
Creativity and precise execution in one disciplined package. Rules are meant to be broken, and Pvision turned the rule-breaking into an art form. Their unconventional position four supports ruined an exorbitant amount of pubs, but considering the level of commitment to playing “different” Dota and how entertaining it is to watch, we can’t complain.
Their games are always a performance and even the best teams in the world sometimes fail to keep up with the weirdness of it all.
4. Team Liquid
The defending champions of the International, Team Liquid doesn’t look weak by any means, but they also haven’t shown anything exceptional this season either. They are, ironically, the definition of Solid in the Dota scene.
Smart drafts, precise execution, high discipline are all very generic descriptors for a Tier S team and while Liquid are undeniably Tier S, in their current state they lack strong identity, that sets them apart. Is it enough for a high placement? Given their skill level, we believe it is. But we are not sure it is enough to take it all.
5. BB Team
Another very solid team with one of the highest individual skill levels across all positions. The problem with BB Team, at least in my opinion, is their drafts. For some reason, they always feel slightly off, with some glaring issues that are often exploited by their opponents.
Perhaps we don’t understand the whole picture and BB Team is trying for some creative, surprising micro-synergies, but it often feels like a team of prodigies that doesn’t have enough guidance.
6. Team Tidebound
The recent victory at Clavision should have put the team on the map for their future opponents and we are a little bit afraid that this Chinese squad peaked a bit too early. They are a Tier S team, but it is much easier to surprise an opponent that underrates you. I don’t think anyone will underrate Tidebound at TI.
The team’s overall playstyle is also surprisingly fast-paced for a Chinese team. They are extremely conservative during the laning stage, but this allows them to hit consistent timings in the early midgame, where they start hunting their opponent relentlessly. And if they start rolling, they usually don’t stop, and that can be a problem for late-game oriented teams.
7. Tundra Esports
If it wasn’t for a last-minute substitute, Tundra would probably end up much higher in our rankings. Alas, they will be playing without their star position five and while it is not the end of the world, the team is certainly going to be weakened.
Still, adaptability is one of the defining characteristics of the team as a whole and if they manage to adapt well, we can see them getting into top4 or maybe even higher.
8. Aurora Gaming
One of the newer formed squads that oozes skill. Over the last season we saw Aurora grow at an unprecedented rate and half a year later, we feel like the roster has gelled well enough to put on a show.
It is also a team with a very strong identity. Their matches are a constant battle… within themselves: between agents of chaos and order. Conservatism versus Style. Safety versus Risk. And for some incomprehensible reason it works: the friction between the parts of the team is so high that it produces enough thermal energy to burn their opponents.
Special Mentions
This is our top8 teams who will make it to the main event, but there are a couple of caveats.
We decided to discuss the teams as a whole for this blog post, as winning a tournament like TI is a team effort, but when it comes to Xtreme Gaming, we simply can’t deny that their overall performance will most likely be dependent on the performance of Ame.
The legendary Chinese player has been faltering lately, but in his prime he was by far the most consistent carry player in the world. If he manages to get back into the zone, we can see Xtreme making a deep run in the tournament, as the rest of the squad have been working overtime in the last six months.
Additionally, biased as it may be, I would also like to highlight the young Navi squad. It is the youngest team of the tournament and what they might lack in terms of experience, they more than make up for with Vivacity.
Do you agree with our list and who will you be rooting for? Share your thoughts in the comment section below and if you want to support this blog directly, you can get the KawaiiSocks TI bundle in-game. See you on the Road to TI!
