Player Spotlight: Xctn. Abed

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Abed "Abed" Yusop. the youngest player to attend to The International 6. Abed provided a highlight reel-worthy performance that helped Execration remain in contention in The International 6 at the Key Arena on Wednesday (Philippine Time).

Yusop dominated the series-clinching Game 2 as Meepo as the Filipino club delivered the upset ax to host country side Complexity via a 2-0 sweep in their do-or-die match-up in the wildcard phase.

The 15-year-old gamer went 18-0 with the carry hero as Execration lorded over Complexity in the second game, duplicating their stunning Game 1 win.

Despite Linus Blomdin going for the durable Tiny and skipper Kyle Freedman opting for hard carry Ursa in the opener, Complexity was forced to early clashes against Execration with Tim Randrup's Earth Spirit and RR Peñano's Sand King leading the way.

Execration's early offensive worked as Freedman and Blomdin failed to get their needed vitality and Nando Mendoza, playing Juggernaut, got his core items in time for the endgame for the Game 1 win, setting up Yusop's Meepo show.

Execration takes on Escape, which lost to EHome for the first wildcard berth to the group stages, for the last ride to the next round of the megabucks DOTA 2 tournament.


Despite being the clear underdogs of the Wildcards, Xctn showed they were not to be taken lightly after they won their opening game against EHOME. As the clear favorites to breeze through the Wildcard stage, EHOME decided to draft a rather questionable mid Warlock pick against Xctn. While EHOME was able to accrue an early lead, Xctn was able to take a few key teamfights to secure a comeback win.

Even though Xctn proved they weren’t an easy sweep for EHOME after their game 1 victory, they nonetheless lost the next two games and were sent to the lower bracket.

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Dota 2: The International 2016 breaks its own record for biggest prize pool in e-sports

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Last year, Dota 2 set a remarkable record of $18,429,613 with the prize pool for its biggest annual tournament, The International. This year, Valve’s team-based battle game has done even better, surpassing its previous mark with two weeks to go before the 2016 main event kicks off at the KeyArena in Seattle.
Valve adopts a unique crowdfunding approach to raise funds for its marquee competition. The company provides $1.6 million of its own money each year to get the ball rolling, which it then augments with sales of in-game perks, quests, and cosmetics to fans and players of the game. Dota’s consistently rising prize pools are thus just an expression of its enduring and growing popularity. In 2016, Valve has stepped up the sophistication of its enticements for players to buy so-called Battle Passes and Compendiums, staging strategically timed weekend sales and setting stretch goals that tempt people into buying more levels to unlock more cool loot. There’s even a special prize for surpassing the now-defeated 2015 record: every Battle Pass owner will now receive three treasure chests with a random item of high in-game worth.
The International 6 is now officially set to be the most lucrative e-sports tournament yet. Over the past 12 months, Valve has augmented The International with four $3 million tournaments, dubbed The Dota Major Championships, which in total makes Dota the most cash-rich e-sport by quite a margin. Riot Games’ League of Legends enjoys a vastly larger player base, however its funding and competition coordination scheme is quite different, with Riot running a full annual schedule of competitions versus Valve’s rarer but much larger marquee events.

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TI6: Players you need to keep your eyes on

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 The $6 million dollar echo slam. The million dollar dream coil. The hype surrounding The International is getting greater by the day. Here are the hottest names that you may want to keep an eye on when the battle for the Aegis begins.
Amer "Miracle-" al-Barqawi, OG

9000 MMR and climbing, Miracle- is the star player in a lineup composed of star players. His prowess in the mid lane is unmatched, and teams often dedicate a great deal of resources to keep him from spiraling out of control. 

Apart from his high skill level cap, he also has a wide hero pool and during ESL One Frankfurt he played with a different hero in each of his team’s nine games. Although there are a few players who could be said to be close to him in skill, his consistently high performances are what sets him apart from the rest of the top players.


Zhang "Faith_bian" Ruida, Wings Gaming

Many three-roles find themselves drawing the short straw, struggling to find farm and gold against aggressive lineups. Most offlaners fight tooth and nail just to get their Blink Dagger. But Faith_bian finds opportunities.

As far as offlaners go, he's one of the best playmakers in the game. He's able to do a lot with very little, and never tries to capitalize over cores. Looking at his stats, you'll see great KDAs but low kills; he makes plays happen with minimal resources. Get used to his Beastmaster? Here's Dark Seer. Think he'll run a normal lane? Now it's offlane Legion Commander ending the game with higher gold per minute (GPM) than your core.



Djardel Jicko "DJ" Mampusti, Fnatic


DJ is a young player from the SEA region, who was chosen by Mushi to enter the ranks of Fnatic in order for the team to pursue international recognition. Prior to that, he had been in three other teams in his career and he mainly performed on his home stage. He has been with Fnatic for almost a year now and has been an integral part of the team’s achievements.


Wong "ChuaN" Hock Chuan, Newbee

It might be easy to fill this list with cores, but it's important to recognize the unsung heroes in the support roles, doubly so for four-roles like the tested veteran Chuan. Newbee's roaming four have been in the game for some time, with one Aegis already hanging proudly on the wall. Chuan is well known for his loud manner during games and for his Enchantress play, which leads to many spectators spamming "Enchuantress" in the chat whenever he chooses to run it.

 On 6.88, Chuan has averaged a 6.96 KDA leading up to TI6. An unbeaten team on the current patch, Chuan stands out with his exceptional play across supports like Lion, Vengeful Spirit, Dazzle and Rubick. In a match at the Manila Major, Chuan put up a 7/0/12 performance on his signature Enchantress against OG, a 19.0 KDA in a 31-minute game. Be wary, because Chuan can find chances to secure a kill almost anywhere on the map.


Kim "QO" Seon-yeop, MVP Phoenix

QO experienced the feeling of playing on The International stage last year when, against all the odds, the underdog Korean team reached 7-8th place – the same as the super favourites Team Secret.

He is prone to high-risk high-reward moves, such as early tower diving which can pay off or bring the team to early disadvantage. Winning or Losing, QO like to fight, Which is always a delight for the fans.

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RIse of E-sports

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Traditional sports fans have, on average, looked down their noses at eSports, but whether you like it or not, eSports are here to stay. The rise in popularity in recent years is nothing short of phenomenal and chances are, if you don’t like them, you may just not have tried them.

Today names such as Lebron James, Tom Brady, Cristiano Ronaldo, Derek Jeter etc. are household. Have you ever heard of Soeren Bjerg, Danylo Ishutin, Christopher Alesund, or even Tom Taylor? If you are not an avid watcher of the online gaming scene these names probably mean nothing to you. However, I interest you in understanding the rise of the eSport scene and what the future will hold for gaming.
Nearly one and a half decades ago a man by the name of Sundance DiGiovanni started a gaming division known as Major League Gaming or MLG. With "Halo 2" being its main game, it invested itself in gathering the most highly skilled console Halo players from around the world to compete on one stage. Over the years they have developed quite a large fan base and introduced several different games where competitors and viewers alike can thrive. Games such as "Call of Duty," "Tekken," "Super Smash Bros," "Gears of War," etc. were introduced to MLG in 2004 and it was all uphill from here. Tournaments across the US were being taken place from Raleigh, North Carolina to Las Vegas, Nevada. These tournaments saw tremendous success and viewers were extremely satisfied of where the gaming scene was.

"League of Legends," "Counter Strike," "Heroes of the Storm," "StarCraft," "DotA 2," and many other games is where the most amount of viewership comes from today. Streaming platforms such as Youtube, Twitch, and Azubu have made countless steps toward drawing out fans of every age in the last five or so odd years. When RiotGames, creators of the popular MMO(Massive Multiplayer Online) "League of Legends," helped sponsor competitions and leagues in every continent, a massive viewer base was born. From Korea to China and Europe to America, teams are created and battle it out during a Spring and Summer split. The best teams then travel for a chance at the League World Championship where prizes include an enormous trophy, nearly $1 Million and bragging rights to the best team in the world. Drawing thousands to each competition alongside the hundreds of thousands of viewers online, the League of Legends community continues to grow every year and will only get larger from here.

Overall the eSport scene has seen an increase in nearly every category from viewership to technology. Just like sports on TV, eSports is now introducing a fantasy aspect where friends can invite each other to a league and draft their fantasy roster where a point system calculates a players worth. Coaches and analysts are now being hired for professional teams because the competitiveness is always rising and sometimes the player cannot rely on his/her own instinct and needs criticism or encouragement to achieve victory. In my eyes the eSports scene is the fastest growing sport industry in the world. Within the next five to ten years I guarantee there will be a TV channel or channels dedicated strictly to gaming. Commentators, statisticians, players, and fans will all come together to create entertaining content for any audience. From the very beginning it has always been about the viewer and creating the best quality for watching eSports. The mission statement from MLG is a perfect way to sum up what each competition is striving for today. "To promote eSports globally through premier competition and to deliver premium gaming content to viewers anytime."

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Teams to beat in the upcoming TI6

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The International 2016
The International 2016 (TI6), the biggest tournament in Dota 2, or any eSport for that matter, is almost upon us.
As Dota 2’s most prestigious battleground in Seattle is being set, and with the total prize money of over $19 million, get to know the teams to watch out for. Here are the Teams that you need to watch out for in this coming International 2016:

OG
OG Dota 2
When OG overturned Team Liquid in the final of the Manila Major they became the first team in the history of Dota 2 to win two Valve events. The addition of Seb ‘7ckngMad’ Debs as coach seemed to have worked wonders and helped them elevate themselves to a whole new level that their rivals simply could not match. Either side of their triumph in Manila, they won DreamLeague Season 5 and ESL One Frankfurt before a temporary blip earlier this month saw them finish second to Wings Gaming at The Summit 5.
OG fans will be hoping that it was merely a blip and the boys in green will continue their exceptional form and LAN performances at Valve events, in Seattle. With arguably the best support duo in the world: Andreas Franck ‘Cr1t-’ Nielsen and Tal ‘Fly’ Aizik, combined with 9,000 MMR record breaker Amer ‘Miracle-’ Barqawiit would take a brave man to bet against OG taking home the title at yet another Valve event. The experience of Johan ‘n0tail’ Sundstein and consistency of David ‘MoonMeander’ Tan rounds off a superb roster who are one of a very select few teams to still have the same roster since the Frankfurt Major. If the team are in the form we know they can produce, there will be very few able to stop them.

Rooster
1/2  Johan "BigDaddyNoTail" Sundstein          
1/2  Amer "Miracle-" Barqawi                            
3     David "MoonMeander" Tan                      
4     Andreas "Cr1t-" Nielsen                           
5     Tal "Fly" Aizik           
Manager:    Evana "the_evany" Chang                         
Coach:       Sebastien "7ckingMad" Debs                   


Team Liquid 
Team Liquid wins Epicenter                   
Kuro ‘KuroKy’ Salehi’s Team Liquid have forged a fierce rivalry with Team OG at the very highest level of Dota 2. Alliance and Na’Vi was dubbed ‘El Clasico’ around The International 3, but with OG and Liquid giving us some of the best series in recent Dota history this fixture may well be the new ‘El Clasico’. The recent trend of adding coaches to work on strategy and gain even the smallest of edges sees William ‘Blitz’ Lee and Lee ‘Heen’ Seung Gon take responsibility for perfecting Team Liquid’s drafts, strategy and execution.
Although Liquid managed to win Epicenter at the expense of both OG and Newbee, they fell to OG at both the Manila Major and ESL One Frankfurt. With their recent struggles against the boys in green, Heen, Blitz and KuroKy will have been working hard on ways to beat the seemingly unstoppable OG juggernaut. With OG’s run being put to an end by Wings Gaming at The Summit 5, they may have fresh ideas on how to overturn them. Their playstyle and drafts are often safe and predictable but their execution is superb and should they carry on their recent form they are sure to be right up there in August.

Rooster
1     Lasse "MATUMBAMAN" Urpalainen
2     Adrian "FATA-" Trinks
3     Ivan "MinD_ContRoL" Borislavov
4     Jesse "JerAx" Vainikka
5     Kuro "KuroKy" Salehi Takhasomi


Newbee
Newbee DotA 2
Historically, The International crown has been held by the East one year and the West another. Last year, Peter ‘PPD’ Dager’s North American EG took the crown meaning it’s back to the East to reclaim the title. Newbee won the biggest tournament in the calendar two years ago but the roster is now significantly different. They boast three previous winners of The International in ‘Hao’, ‘Mu’ and 'ChuaN' so the pedigree and experience is definitely there for all to see. At Nanyang a few weeks ago they beat the inform Wings Gaming squad to take home first place which may give the team the confidence boost required to elevate them to the normal level.
The way that recent tournaments have gone, it has often been the trio of OG, Team Liquid and Newbee competing for first place. We would expect the three juggernauts to be rigorously studied and other teams to elevate their performance to counter them and reach their level. Then again, if ChuaN and his squad can rekindle the kind of form that saw them break the record for most consecutive competitive wins the Aegis and lion share of the staggering prize-pool may well be on its way back to China this summer.

Rooster
1     Chen "Hao" Zhihao
2     Zhang "Mu" Pan
3     Damien "kpii" Chok
4     Wong "ChuaN" Hock Chuan
5     Hu "Kaka" Liangzhi





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