TI8 Overview: The Favorites
Image by Team Liquid
With the final teams set to compete at TI8, we’ll be taking a closer look at each of them. While every TI is marked with upsets—wildcard teams like CDEC rising to a 2nd place finish—they wouldn’t be upsets without a consensus on what the stronger teams of the tournaments are. The Dota Pro Circuit has given us a metric on how to rank teams on the totem pole. It takes more than just wins at Majors, but also a sustained level of success to reach the top of the DPC standings.
Virtus.pro
Virtus.Pro is the runaway leader on the standings. The margin they have above the 2nd place team (Team Liquid) is greater than the total points of the 6th place team (Vici Gaming). VP was the first to secure their TI8 invite, and they haven’t let up. Virtus.Pro have been on a roll ever since they added RodjER back in February this year. They won the Katowice Major just weeks after he joined, where he also acquired a new Mercedes E400 for being the team’s MVP. Three months later, no[o]ne would win his own Benz as VP won ESL Birmingham.
Virtus.Pro seals the grand finals victory over Optic at ESL BirminghamVirtus.Pro plays with the style of aggression marked by CIS teams—a trend dating back to Na’Vi’s early days—but they’ve managed to succeed where their countrymen have failed. Virtus.Pro rarely overextends, able to mete out just enough offense to push their chances of victory, without putting it in jeopardy. That’s in part to their team cohesion, but also the decision making of their individual players. No[o]ne and Ramzes, VP’s core 1 and 2 players, often initiate without pulling their teammates into a losing battle.
In this clip, they’ve baited Secret into the gank and successfully turned it around. Most teams would continue pushing here, picking off the remaining team members. It’s 2v3 and both Void and OD have their ultimates. But instead, they dance backwards, just briefly, planting a Sentry Ward in case a Shadow Bladed Slark was also in tow. That moment allowed 9pasha to wrap around the back, let VP survey that they were in a winning position, and they finished off the remaining heroes.
Virtus.Pro enters TI8 as the large favorites to win it all. While they did lose to Team Liquid in a close 5 game series at the China Supermajor, VP still maintains a winning head-to-head record against the rest of their competition.
LGD Gaming
PSG.LGD, sponsored by Paris Saint-Germain, stands out by being one of the best teams in one of the toughest regions. While Chinese teams have not been as dominant in recent years, they still still hold 3 out of the 7 TI titles, and last year’s event had 3 Chinese teams out of the top 4.
For a region with a surfeit of exceptional players, LGD has quite a few legendary ones. Maybe, LGD’s franchise player since 2015, is one of the best mid players in the world. Fy was one of the best position 4 players, known for his aggressive rotations and spellcasting during his time with VG.
Chalice and xNova were new additions to the team and both were relatively new to higher level of competition. LGD finished 9-12th at their first LAN at ESL Katowice, but then at DAC 2018 they rumbled through Team Liquid and Virtus.Pro toward a 2nd place finish. They ended up losing to Mineski, who won the event.
Then, at Epicenter XL, LGD matched up against both Virtus.Pro and Liquid again. They bested Team Liquid twice, 2-0 in the upper bracket finals and 3-1 in the grand finals, as part of the double elimination format.
Chinese teams make up half of the top 8 on the DPC standings, but the three other teams—Vici Gaming, VGJ.Thunder, and Newbee—have had inconsistent performances. PSG.LGD carries the challenge of bringing the Aegis back to China.
Team Liquid
All eyes are on the defending champions as we enter in TI8. They were the first team to ever sweep a TI grand finals, and as champions, they’re one of the few teams who hasn’t fallen into complacency. Wings.gaming completely dissolved after one of the most impressive runs at TI. Newbee reportedly shifted their gaming grind towards RPGs. It’s surprisingly tough to win multiple TI, even if you’re trying. Na’Vi came close to winning three years in a row (1st, 2nd, 2nd finishes). And Evil Geniuses, with varying rosters, has had the best success so far, placing top 3 in three consecutive years, in a time when the prize pool completely ballooned to 8 figures.
Perhaps partially invigorated by the inaugural year of Dota’s Pro Circuit, Team Liquid has still been competitive at the highest levels. That’s in no small part to having a legendary vet and one of the best captains in Dota, Kuroky.
In a 3v5 scenario, Miracle gets an ultra kill off the backlines against PSG.LGD at EpicenterTeam Liquid has had only one Major win this year, but it was the most important one at the China Supermajor. On the road to their 1st place finish, they swept both Secret and PSG.LGD 2-0 in the upper bracket, then eked out a 3-2 victory over Virtus.Pro.
Team Liquid already had a target on their backs as the defending champions. But fresh off their Supermajor win over the best team in Dota, they’ve set the bar for themselves to be the first team to become back to back TI champions.
First . Give me some tips based on my performance xD
VP should win. I'd like to see Rodjer with a TI win. He's been playing so well and VP just gels well together.
It is always Western team , than Chinese team.
this year it's gonna be Chinese team.
hello Gaben
No pain gaming no respect
VP should definitely win, plainly just as a long, insulting middle finger to lil whos now wrecking the ranks of navi and whatever little momentum they had going before that little narcissist showed up in their daily vlogs
Beastmaster is 35% win and he got nerfed? Questionable balance of dota 2 at the moment. It is hilarious that right before TI they always rig the meta, to favor some teams over others. When playing for millions this is completely unethical. The people in charge of patches should be investigated and terminated. Guarantee there is money being made under the table.
"While Chinese teams have not been as dominant in recent years, they still still hold 3 out of the 7 TI titles"
a typo here it seems
Lina 670 attack range. AKA new caster sniper.
Glad we break DOTA 2 before TI year after year.
"While Chinese teams have not been as dominant in recent years, they still still hold 3 out of the 7 TI titles"
a typo here it seems"
Nick is on meth or cocaine.
IG Newbee Wings. I count 3
You're right,
Na'Vi
iG
Alliance
Newbee
EG
Wings
Liquid
Serenity will win
i think what Nick means you little shit hodor is that even though they've won 3 of the 7 the writer still says 'not as dominant in recent years' where just 2 years back they won the ti and lgd have been tearing it up
"While Chinese teams have not been as dominant in recent years, they still still hold 3 out of the 7 TI titles" he probably means the use of 'still' twice in succession
Делаем ставки
its TNC tiger
"While Chinese teams have not been as dominant in recent years, they still still hold 3 out of the 7 TI titles"
He means there a typo because he used "still" twice. Hahaha. Lol.
whats wrong with you people xd
600g for an Undying Pos4 9 minute kill.
DOTA IS BROKE
GOOD JOB
@Librock Games If a Dota 2 team is any worth at all, they should be able to use pretty much every hero in the pool. You don't get paid millions of dollars to only be good with a handful of heroes. Adapt or get left behind.
who knows what team will shine on ti
As You can see below:
Na'Vi
iG
Alliance
Newbee
EG
Wings
Liquid
Every other TI is won by a Chineese team, and I've heard of some very RIGOROUS bootcamps in China going on right now. So I belive that this year its a Chinese team.
Liquid for the win!
@Failing_Yak When some teams have historically never picked a hero and another team has picked it a substantial amount and valve chooses to nerf that hero right before TI that's not about being well rounded that's an obvious FIX JOB.
@Librock Games come on then genius, based on this, who will win the tournament. If it's a fix then you must know...
I have a feeling that Mineski will dominate this year. and I know that they might not have a chance at all. Just a weird feeling.
Na-Vi Na-Vi Na-Vi
Goooooooooooooo ti8
HAHA NAVI OMEGALUL
flytomoon
I bet OG wins