Gaming
Western teams reigned supreme in Shanghai. Will the East get this round of roster shuffles right?
Hopes and dreams for the Chinese teams at the recent Shanghai Major evaporated and quickly turned to misery. The first Valve major on their home soil saw each of the five Chinese hopefuls fall perilously short with only ChuaN’s Newbee and Sylar’s LGD scraping into the top 12.
With EHOME turning in a dominant performance at MDL in the last major LAN event before Shanghai, many tipped them to win the tournament with ease. Fast forward just a few weeks and LaNm’s EHOME were swept into the lower bracket by emerging South Korean team MVP Phoenix. They subsequently managed to struggle past a weak Archon team, before being defeated and knocked out by another underperforming favourite, Swedish juggernaut Alliance.
As it transpired, only one Western team, Archon, dropped a single game to a team hailing from China during the main event. The result of the performance is yet another substantial and much needed shuffle in the East. Whilst changes in the West will be fewer and less severe, there are bound to be a few nonetheless as showcased by the early changes to Goblak’s Team Spirit.
The transfer window is open. Rosters lock on March 27, not only for the Manila Major, but also for The International 6. We take a look at the changes that have been announced and the motives behind them, as well as other changes that may be in the pipeline. The need for the perfect roster has never been higher.
In early January last year, Evil Geniuses changed the way Western teams think about Dota and rosters, when they unexpectedly picked up Syed Sumail Hassan at just 16 years old to play the mid lane role for them. 'Suma1L' was picked up based on his performances in the North American Elite League, a league in which any pub player can join should they satisfy a certain MMR criteria.
He was one of the most well known 'pubstars' in America at the time but people still had major doubts over EG’s decision. Their first LAN went poorly but at DAC Suma1L quickly introduced himself to the world with a series of scintillating Storm Spirit performances to carry the EG team to glory. History would repeat itself as his sensational performances would lead to PPD’s boys in blue being crowned The International 5 champions and propelling Suma1L to the top-5 earners in eSports history.
Certainly, teams in the West took notice and the winners of both the Frankfurt and Shanghai Major were built upon the same foundations that EG had lain down. Team OG picked up 'Miracle', the man top of public MMR leaderboards in Europe at the time. Similarly, Team Secret picked up “w33”, one of the other top pub players. Both have gone on to win Majors with both w33 and Miracle proving pivotal in their respective victories.
At The International 4, Team DK was considered the 'Galacticos'. At The International 5, Team Secret was the star studded team guaranteed to win. Dota has shown us time and time again that teams with the biggest names and personalities don’t necessarily make the most best Dota teams. Chinese Dota, for as long as we can remember, has been rotating between the same pit of old professionals. The closest a Chinese team has come to winning a major Valve event since TI4 was CDEC’s run to the grand finals at TI5. CDEC were a team put together from some of the best Chinese pubstars. Coincidence? We think not.
Western teams look stable and there will be very little activity in the rosters of the well established teams. Liquid, Alliance, Secret and EG all look set to keep their current roster in place. Meanwhile, Na’Vi, Empire, XBOCT and Funn1k continue their constant rotation in hope of qualifying for a Valve tournament again. The only potential curveball we can see is the potential return of Ludwig 'zai' Wahlberg. In a recent stream, the 19-year-old, announced that he may return to professional Dota in the coming weeks as his high school term ends. If Zai does return, we can see him forcing his way back into EG at the expense of 'old man Dota' himself, Clinton 'Fear' Loomis. What a story that would be.
We’re in the midst of yet another shuffle period where Chinese Dota is making wholesale changes. We spoke about the lessons to be learned from the West and it seems that they may have started to cotton on. Veterans DDC and Fy have moved to Vici Gaming Potential to team up with three lesser known talents. LaNm has retained young talents ELeVeN and old chicken whilst adding the nous of “Fenrir” and “iceiceice” to his EHOME roster. Burning and rOtK look to have added Cty, HYM and Snake to their roster in another fine blend of new talent and experience.
Chinese Dota has finally woken up and smelt the coffee. They have reacted and realised that big name dream teams are no longer the only way forward in Dota 2. With an exciting new group of rosters we hold high hopes for the Chinese scene to return with a vengeance come June and the Manila Major. After all, Chinese teams won The International 2 and 4. With The International 6 just around the corner, it may be their time to shine again.
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