Some of you may want to watch the International Dota 2 Championships, yet have seen nothing of the current season. That’s understandable! This season flew by, with Major and Minor Championships happening practically every month. Many teams won these to earn a large haul of Pro Circuit points, thus gaining direct invites to the International. Just as many battled their way through the qualifying rounds.
Either way, the main event begins today with a total of 16 teams. Fans that watched this season and know the Dota 2 landscape likely have their favorites locked. Others may have picked based on the International’s group stages, which split the qualified teams into two brackets to determine their rank for the main event. But which teams should you look out for, if you’re out-of-touch with the Dota scene?
Virtus.Pro
The Russian team Virtus.Pro is on fire right now. They won four Major Championships and one Minor since last year, and placed second in the final Major of the season. When all is said and done, they earned the most Pro Circuit points this season. In the opening group stages, they placed second in their bracket. They’ve shown time and again that they can adapt quickly to new metas, new teams, and new strategies. They’re a force to be reckoned with, and may be able to continue their hot streak.
Team Liquid
There’s one major fact you need to know: Team Liquid won the International in 2017. Typically, teams that win an International fizzle in the season that follows. Liquid is subverting this curse, though, and placed second in the Pro Circuit point rankings. In the final Major of the season, the EU-based team even trounced Virtus.Pro. Liquid finished at the top of their bracket in group stages, so it’ll be interesting to see if they can carry those victories onto Valve’s grand stage.
PSG.LGD
There’s another major fact you need to know: International wins have annually bounced between “Western” and “Eastern” teams. Seeing as Liquid, an EU team, won last year, many think that a powerful Eastern one is fated to snatch the throne this time. Look no further than PSG.LGD, the Chinese team that partnered with Paris Saint-Germain in April. LGD earned enough points to place third in the seasonal rankings and gain a direct invite to the event. In addition, they won two Majors back in May, one of which even had Liquid and Virtus.Pro in attendance. LGD is third in their bracket for group stages, so they may end up carrying on the East v. West tradition.
Team Secret
It’d be remiss to overlook Team Secret, who placed fourth in the seasonal rankings. Another EU team, Secret has consistently worked their way into impressively high placements for each tourney. They’ve won some Minors lately, and even some Majors in the early season. Who knows whether Secret can re-gain that spirit and win it all, but they ended third in the bracket for the International’s group stages. They’re doing great, and no matter what, they’ll play some exhilarating matches in their run.
Evil Geniuses
Evil Geniuses have been in a rough patch lately. They hadn’t had scored any significant wins for most of the season, and likely weren’t gaining a direct invite to The International. But after a roster shuffle in May, EG picked up two players from OG: Fly and s4. The North American team rose through the International’s qualifying rounds, blazed through the group stages, and are now just below Team Liquid. They also placed first at a North American tournament in mid-July. The International’s main event has yet to begin, but it already seems EG’s roster change paid off.
VGJ.Storm
EG may have placed first in that July tourney, but there’s another NA team turning heads. VGJ.Storm ran through the International’s qualifying rounds and just placed first in their group stage bracket, above even Virtus.Pro. Storm is the North American arm of the Chinese organization VGJ. But seeing as next season only allows the entry of one team per organization, it’ll be interesting to see what happens with VGJ.Storm and its sister team. Right now, though, Storm is looking strong, and could storm into the main event.
OpTic Gaming
OpTic Gaming, as an organization, is pretty new to the scene. The Call of Duty org bought a Dota team just last year, making this a new face on the block. But the players on it are far from new. Team captain Peter Dager was captain for EG when they won the International in 2015, and went on to become their CEO for around a year. Even with his semi-pro league launch in a few months, Dager is playing to win at the International. Just like EG and VGJ.Storm, OpTic climbed their way through qualifying rounds, and now sits in the upper half of their group stage bracket. They’re not going down without a fight.
what's the dyl 