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
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| 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
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| 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
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| 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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