TeamLiquid Dota 2 Power Rank - December 2013 December 6th, 2013 16:34 GMT Text by Heyoka TL Dota 2 Power Rank December 2013





We're back with another TeamLiquid Power Rank for this, the month of December 2013. Our core experts Kipsate, Kupon3ss, and flamewheel talk shop and rate how each team has done through the last month between our last rank and through major LANs MLG and DreamHack.



Note that our cutoff point for this month's rank was the end of the DreamLeague tournament at DreamHack and so keep that in mind while reading the East ranking.



China/SEA Power Rank





1. LGD.cn





Kipsate: This patch seems to suit LGD.cn quite well. Split-push appears to be less prevalent while team fighting is more important. Not only does this style fit well with LGD but they have shown more versatile drafts. Xiaotuji also seems to have found his place as the replacement of Sylar and shows great promise to be the next great Chinese carry player.



Kupon3ss: LGD is 26-4 in the month of November, doing exceptionally well in every tournament they've played, and winning the NEST tournament, the first major Chinese LAN post TI3. 6.79 seems to favor deathballs and team fights, two of LGD.cn's historical fortes. With the team's post International revitalization, the team looks to once again strike fear into teams across the world, not just in China.



flamewheel: The masters of "five men middle" are back at the top of China. With an extremely strong showing in D2L, the undefeated LGD has secured themselves a trip to Vegas in the grand finals.



Though the eastern scene seems like an "any top team can beat any other top team" situation, LGD has a slight edge over everybody else. The players have an excellent understanding of the patch. Xiao8 is drafting more flexible lineups and Little Rabbit is really coming into his own as a strong, dependable carry player. Compared to other Chinese teams, LGD may be lacking in individual skill level, but the overall coordination and level of team play that the squad has demonstrated is nothing short of remarkable.









2. Vici Gaming





Kupon3ss: VG was the first team to worship the Bristlegod that is the strongest hero in Dota at the moment and their results show it. Sitting pretty near the top of most of the Chinese Leagues, the team is a contender in every tournament and plays a varied style that is quite refreshing to watch. The main qualm of the team at the moment are still the issues with consistency once other teams catch up in the meta and how well Sylar will integrate into the lineup going forward. Their trip to EMS will hopefully shine light on how they stack up against the rest of the world.



flamewheel: Sylar's addition to VG has made the team even stronger, and VG has had quite a respectable run in both D2L and Sina Cup. In D2L, they placed third and still have a decent shot at making it to Vegas. And for the Sina Cup, respectable is a bit of an understatement. VG crushed the bracket, including a 2-0 over LGD in the winners' final and a dominating 3-0 in the grand final to seal the deal. Had VG not won, I'd put them at fourth under DK. If possible, I'd put both Vici and DK at 3.



But because this is Power Rank, there are no ties and a second place slot on the Power Ranking is controversial enough to be fun.







3. Invictus Gaming





Kipsate: iG has become a solid team once again in 6.79 with Hao leading the charge. While the old iG played a strong 4-protect-1 lineup Hao is more active early game, something which iG definitely needs right now. Aside from this Ferrari seems to have found a bit of its old form back after a few months of mediocre performances.



Kupon3ss: iG has been doing well, but not spectacular, of late, with a series of decent finishes and an overall shift towards more aggressive midgame play. However, the team still doesn't seem to function under a clear command organization and things quickly become dysfunctional when the team doesn't move to an early lead.



flamewheel: iG placed third in Sina and second in the group stage for D2L. Hao's aggressive playstyle meshes well with the rest of iG, and like LGD, the players have a deep understanding of the new patch. Of special note is Ferrari, who has just impressed me again and again with his strong solo play.







4. Team DK





Kipsate: The star-studded team with perhaps an unfair amount of talent is not doing as well in 6.79. They showed an impressive performance at MLG but in the East they are not the top dog. DK's greatest problem appears to be their drafts. Nevertheless DK has the potential to quickly rise once again to the #1 spot if they can find the draft that works for them as they do are not lacking in the skill department.



Kupon3ss: DK has recovered a bit from their early missteps in 6.79 to a decent run at MLG. Despite displaying some world-class play throughout the tournament, the team wasn't able to close out the grueling final day. If the trip has shown us anything, it’s that:

DK can make anybody in the world look silly playing the game they're comfortable with

They're still not entirely comfortable drafting and playing in the age of #pentacore yet.



flamewheel: I honestly didn't expect DK to do as well as they did at MLG. They didn't show that they had adjusted to 6.79, with Burning still drafting as if it were 6.78. Yet even with their loss in the MLG grand final to Speed, DK impressed me. The drafts were better, and the execution was as good as it was going to get given DK's extremely long championship Sunday. DK still has a ways to go before I'd proclaim that they know the patch as well as other teams do, but when DK gets to play its style, it is capable of beating any other team.



The star-studded team with perhaps an unfair amount of talent is not doing as well in 6.79. They showed an impressive performance at MLG but in the East they are not the top dog. DK's greatest problem appears to be their drafts. Nevertheless DK has the potential to quickly rise once again to the #1 spot if they can find the draft that works for them as they do are not lacking in the skill department.DK has recovered a bit from their early missteps in 6.79 to a decent run at MLG. Despite displaying some world-class play throughout the tournament, the team wasn't able to close out the grueling final day. If the trip has shown us anything, it’s that:I honestly didn't expect DK to do as well as they did at MLG. They didn't show that they had adjusted to 6.79, with Burning still drafting as if it were 6.78. Yet even with their loss in the MLG grand final to Speed, DK impressed me. The drafts were better, and the execution was as good as it was going to get given DK's extremely long championship Sunday. DK still has a ways to go before I'd proclaim that they know the patch as well as other teams do, but when DK gets to play its style, it is capable of beating any other team.



5. TongFu



Kipsate: Fourth at TI3 and since then have once again fallen into the shadows of the big 3. The team is inconsistent and more than often feels like it lacks good leadership. One game Zhou seems to carry the team and the next he appears to be the burden.



Kupon3ss: Tongfu has attempted to snap out of its tottering Dotage by swapping ZSMJ and Zhou's roles to some success. While the month hasn't been particularly kind to the team, there didn't appear to be any appalling drop in play. Tongfu is still capable of trouncing most of 2nd tier teams and putting up a fight against the top ones.



flamewheel: TongFu kind of feels lost. Some games, it seems that Zhou is the only one that knows what's going on. And when Zhou is being a burden, TongFu is just flat out losing. Overall, I think TongFu is mechanically weaker than the other top eastern teams and suffers from a lack of direction. TongFu games go one of two ways: either TongFu stomps, or TongFu gets stomped. That's not a very good strategy.











Individual Ranks Kipsate Kupon3ss flamewheel









European/North American Power Rank







1. Natus Vincere



Kipsate: Once again they are at the top, winners of WePlay, winners of DreamLeague and winners of Techlabs. At MLG they fell in a close bo3 against a strong DK, Na`Vi once again shows the world that they are to be feared. In the patch that favors an active early to midgame, Na`Vi is king.



Kupon3ss: Na`Vi has excelled at the chaotic meta brought in by 6.79 with a series of victories in various tournaments ending in the recent DreamHack. While the team has not looked particularly dominant, Kuro claims that they've basically not practiced since TI3. The team can only improve as the players get back to a strict schedule and as their style of play lends itself quite naturally to adapting #pentacore that is the hallmark of the version.



flamewheel: No team in this edition of the Power Rank has played flawlessly. Of the top contenders, each has had stunning victories and surprising defeats. Let's start by outlining Na`Vi's shortcomings since our last Power Rank. They lost to DK at MLG (placing third), got 0-3'd by Fnatic in the DreamLeague semifinal, and have gone relatively even against most other teams. Na`Vi really seems to have trouble against Fnatic, as they were recently bested again by Fnatic in D2L.



Yet that picture is incomplete. Na`Vi barely lost to DK in three epic games involving multiple rapiers. And remember, this is the DK that had demolished group stages. And after being 0-3'd by Fnatic and sent to lower bracket in DreamLeague, Na`Vi managed to travel through the bottom half, taking out Alliance and Liquid on the way before getting revenge on Fnatic in the final. In addition to the DreamLeague gold, Na`Vi also won WePlay and Techlabs. Of all the teams, Na`Vi has the overall best record and most achievements for this rank of PR, but they're not as clear of a first place as we're used to seeing.







2. Speed Gaming



Kipsate: The winners of MLG and breakout stars for the past few months. They have also managed to qualify for G-League and will be traveling to China to showcase their strength there against Chinese finest. Their play is creative, flamboyant and well-practiced. They are the team that practices the most and it shows for them in the results.



Kupon3ss: Speed is still a team hampered with ups and downs, but a victory at the biggest LAN since TI3 with a standin is not something that can be discounted. What makes Speed strong isn't just the fact that they win, but rather the team's understanding of the greedy #pentacore that appears unrivaled in the world. We likely won't see how good they really are until G-League in China, but it's certain that EE-kami and friends will show some next-level Dota.



flamewheel: These boys have taken up most of the limelight for the past couple weeks, so I don't feel like reiterating everything. In short, Speed convincingly won MLG after a rocky start. Despite not having too many other notable games played, Speed had such a strong showing at MLG – a tournament replete with the best of the West and DK – that they've cemented themselves in the second seed for this iteration of PR.







3. Fnatic



Kipsate: From here and on it gets hard, no team really seems to have found their place in patch 6.79 save for the ones listed above. Each of the teams look inconsistent but Fnatic deserves third place because of its placing at DreamHack, and the decent but not great placing at MLG. One thing however is still certain for Fnatic, they are still the king of Wisp as only Na`Vi was able to beat it.



Kupon3ss: Fnatic is another team whose habitual greed lends itself well to this version. The team showcased strong play throughout the month and at the DreamLeague finals against both Na`Vi and Alliance and proved itself to be a constant threat, though perhaps not championship material.



flamewheel: Having fallen out of the spotlight for a while, it seems Fnatic is back. And if it weren't for Speed winning MLG, Fnatic would be second in this PR. Fnatic barely didn't qualify for playoffs at MLG (had Speed not won over DK Fnatic would have been the 3 seed), took silver at DreamLeague, and really stepped up their games against the other top teams. Two months ago, I would automatically bet on Na`Vi over Fnatic when the two teams met, but now those rares aren't as easy to win anymore – especially with Fnatic's win over Na`Vi in D2L to knock Na`Vi out of convention for a trip to Vegas.



I'm still not confident that Fnatic's current level of play is going to stick, but for now they have my curiosity. At the very least, they seem to understand this patch quite well. Who would have thought that a team known for greedy play would love a patch that favors Midases?







4. Alliance



Kipsate: The great Swedish giant has fallen from grace as 6.79 seems to have gotten to them. They can no longer play their more passive early game where the supports pull the jungle and they win by sheer amount of farm rather than kills. The team has shown the capabilities to roam early they do not appear to have transitioned as well successfully. Make no mistake however as Alliance can quickly rise to the #1 position once again as they have shown before. Rest and practice will do them well.



Kupon3ss: Alliance is a team rather stuck in a rut. Perhaps the problem is more a certain psychological unwillingness to move away from their comfort zone rather than something like "being figured out". The team appears to be refusing to adapt to the times sticking to the same heroes more than any other while trying to play the "new" meta. While the results of the last month have been rather disappointing, the team could click again at any time and quickly rise back to the top.



flamewheel: Arguably, this period has contained the worst showing since Alliance appeared on the scene. They performed quite poorly at MLG, didn't do so well at DreamLeague, and with a 2-1 loss to RoX.KIS, didn't even qualify for G-League. Perhaps Alliance's play style has been figured out. Perhaps they have gotten complacent. Of these two statements, the former is more likely than the latter. Alliance still has the champion's mentality, and they have future tournaments (such as D2L, where they're directly seeded into the Vegas playoffs), to make up for their lackluster showing in the past month.







5. Sigma



Kipsate: The oddball in the ranking, Sigma.Int took Columbus by storm as the dark horse and managed to take fourth place. While this is nothing short of impressive they have not shown consistency over a longer period of time, we have seen each of the other teams play tournament games on a weekly or daily basis. Time will tell if Sigma.Int can build upon their strong performance at MLG



Kupon3ss: Sigma.int really came out of nowhere this month and looked quite impressive in its drafts and laning. One of the best teams at the 2-1-2 into "win all of the lanes" school of the early game, the team's main weakness is the midgame, where both its draft and its play is quite lacking. With their recent triumph over Na'Vi in the D2CL, Sigma.int doesn't seem to be a fluke, but it’s too early to call them TI4 contenders.



flamewheel: I'm hesitant to put Sigma here, but the lack of other teams performing well kind of gives Sigma a free ticket for this last spot on this PR. I'm not convinced their run at MLG is indicative of anything, but on the other hand the team is still young.







Close But No Cigar









Kipsate: Empire is the strongest CIS team apart from Na`Vi, they have had some downs recently but overall are a very solid team. Unfortunately they were not invited to a variety of tournaments and as such were unable to showcase their strengths on every platform.



Liquid is the online king but at LAN seem to fail, placing fourth at DreamLeague and 7th at MLG it was not a good month for Liquid. The new patch too has shaken up Liquid, in 6.78 they played a very Alliance-esque style with often having Qojvja playing the role of Admiral Bulldog within Liquid. The patch so far has showcased that this play style has its holes and Liquid will need to adjust in order to make it to the top.



flamewheel: Empire is still a strong team plagued by the CIS shuffle and lack of tournaments. Hard to really determine how Empire stacks up against top teams if they aren't able to play them.



Liquid can't seem to beat Alliance or Na`Vi. In fact, against Alliance in recent times Liquid is 1-7, with that one win coming from MLG and 6 of those losses consisting of brutal 0-3s. Liquid had a hot streak at the beginning of November where the team was just dominating online play, but has performed very poorly at LANs (MLG, DreamLeague, Nexon).



Individual Ranks Kipsate Kupon3ss flamewheel rabidch



We're back with another TeamLiquid Power Rank for this, the month of December 2013. Our core experts Kipsate, Kupon3ss, and flamewheel talk shop and rate how each team has done through the last month between our last rank and through major LANs MLG and DreamHack.Note that our cutoff point for this month's rank was the end of the DreamLeague tournament at DreamHack and so keep that in mind while reading the East ranking.Empire is the strongest CIS team apart from Na`Vi, they have had some downs recently but overall are a very solid team. Unfortunately they were not invited to a variety of tournaments and as such were unable to showcase their strengths on every platform.Liquid is the online king but at LAN seem to fail, placing fourth at DreamLeague and 7th at MLG it was not a good month for Liquid. The new patch too has shaken up Liquid, in 6.78 they played a very Alliance-esque style with often having Qojvja playing the role of Admiral Bulldog within Liquid. The patch so far has showcased that this play style has its holes and Liquid will need to adjust in order to make it to the top.Empire is still a strong team plagued by the CIS shuffle and lack of tournaments. Hard to really determine how Empire stacks up against top teams if they aren't able to play them.Liquid can't seem to beat Alliance or Na`Vi. In fact, against Alliance in recent times Liquid is 1-7, with that one win coming from MLG and 6 of those losses consisting of brutal 0-3s. Liquid had a hot streak at the beginning of November where the team was just dominating online play, but has performed very poorly at LANs (MLG, DreamLeague, Nexon).

@RealHeyoka | DreamHack StarCrafty Man