Nexon Starter League Grand Finals Preview July 13th, 2013 23:53 GMT Text by K-poptosis Graphics by Heyoka

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The Genesis of an ESport

By rkffhk



Grand Finals Preview

By K-poptosis



Chat With FXO.Febby

By Tephus



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Grand Finals Preview



Not often do you get to see a new beginning. The dawn of a new era, fresh with possibilities and open to new ideas.



Tonight the finals of the Nexon Starter League are set to play, a grandiose contest between FXOpen and Eye of Tiger in what is the biggest Korean Dota event to date. In that league that has already generated



Coming up, we take a glance at the two teams fighting it out for trophy and recognition as the Best in Korea, as well as an interview with FXO.Febby, who has already been honored as MVP twice during the tournament. In addition to the usual money, fame, and the first title as NSL champion, the players are competing for a free pass to The International 2013 to spectate the action so expect them to bring their absolute best tonight.



Get ready because the games start in just











The Genesis of an ESport By rkffhk



Dota in the Hermit Kingdom is, of course, rather secluded and unknown to the rest of world. Linguistic, geographical, and cultural barriers have played a major role in preventing Korean Dota from ever earning the attention of those in the Eastern and Western worlds. Though there were a select few Koreans who sought out and made a name for themselves in the East throughout Dota's history, Korea was never regarded as a top tier Dota country by most. That honor has traditionally been reserved for the Europeans and Chinese. This Sunday at 1pm KST, though, the eyes of the world will be upon the two teams in Gangnam, Seoul as Korea makes its entrance onto the world's Dota stage.



When Brood War was let go upon the release of Starcraft 2, the Korean youth were not convinced. Struggling to find a successor, they turned to League of Legends, which had coincidentally made its debut as just some obscure American game that nobody had ever heard of but for some reason was in WCG Busan in 2011. The Korean youth were inspired by what they saw at that event and quickly adopted League of Legends as what they believed to be the successor to Brood War. It has since gone on to enjoy huge support and has captured the imagination of an entire generation. Many confused it as the successor of Dota at first and some even mocked this. Cella, the former coach of Team `SlayerS`, when he made his League of Legends account even set his summoner name as "cometodota2," which he still uses to this day. At the time, the first International had not even been announced yet.



When League of Legends was explained and introduced to the Koreans, though, it was not done in the way that many think. Before DotA there was of course the Brood War custom map Aeon of Storms. While many in the West may not have played it very much, this UMS map was a huge hit in Korea. So much so, in fact, that it was the single most played UMS map in Korea for years until it was ported to Warcraft III and became DotA. When League of Legends was introduced to Korea, it wasn't called a MOBA. It was called "the successor of AoS." Both AoS and its WC3 port, DotA Chaos, were what Koreans played when they were not playing Brood War.



As for the professional scene of DotA, though, it always played second fiddle to Brood War. It was hardly a staple of OGN or MBC's non-Starcraft downtime. DotA was a game that had only a small and disorganized (by comparison to the West) competitive scene. Roster changes occurred every week as teams would go back to Brood War. Even today, most (if not all) Korean Dota 2 teams can be described this same way. The teams you see here in the top 8 of the Nexon Starter League are the teams that have done the best job of maintaining stable rosters in their nation. For the Korean people, DotA was just a fun game.



Now, DotA 2 has been released and Nexon, in cooperation with GomTV, have begun to introduce DotA 2 to the isolated Hermit Kingdom's youth. It is not billed as a "MOBA." It is not explained in terms of League of Legends. It is explained as the "*true* successor of AoS."



The eyes of the world will be upon the teams involved in the finals this Sunday at 1pm KST at the GomTV studio in Gangnam. The Korean Dota community has its chance to finally reveal itself on the world's stage, show it's long history, and do away with the years of obscurity. One can only imagine the level of mind games that these players, who have had only one another to play with at a serious and competitive level for so many years, will play on one another throughout the drafting phase this Sunday, having known and played both with and against one another all the time for so many years.



It is the penultimate match of a decade-old hidden history most of us will never learn about that will be on display this Sunday afternoon in Gangnam.



Grand Finals Preview By K-poptosis



The Nexon Starter League has drawn the eyes of many Dota players from across the world. From the exciting play, the investment from the crowds gathered on site, to the fantastic production, this league has been a treat to watch so far. Despite this, the tournament itself is a bit of an enigma. Little is known about players, their teams, or the strategies they employ. With the Grand Finals coming up tonight, we will try and remedy that and give a bit more insight into these teams and their histories.



Meet the Teams in the Grand Final



FXOpen

The most recognizable team of the tournament, FXOpen, have made a name for themselves by blowing away the competition in the AMD Premier League 2 non-SEA preliminaries. Founded in late March, FXOpen’s Dota 2 team is not only the sole sponsored team competing in the tournament, but also the most experienced. Febby, added to the team in a July roster change, has some experience in the Western scene, having played a couple of games for Kaipi, the Retry, and an early No Tidehunter. Many anticipated that FXOpen would be able to translate these successes and advantages into a good showing in the Nexon Starter League, and so far they have lived up to those expectations.







Team FXOpen Team FXOpen



FXOpen came out of the gate fast in their first match of the League against DCruX. After giving up first blood while the clock was still negative, Febby’s Weaver was able to rack up 7 kills in as many minutes. FXOpen wouldn’t die again and went to take the match in 15 minutes. This match was very indicative of the rest of FXOpen and Febby’s tournament play, as they have cut a swath through their competition up to this point, sending Kellogg Tiger Power home after dealing with DCRuX, with Febby yet to feel the sting of death in four matches played in the tournament. FXOpen has faced Eye of Tiger before in smaller Korean leagues, taking all matches, so it is a definite possibility that FXO will continue to assert their dominance tonight.



Eye of Tiger

A lot less is known about FXOpen’s opponent in the finals, Eye of Tiger. What we do know is that they’re a relatively experienced group of players, having competed in a couple of lesser known Tournaments in Korea. Reisen even., participated in WCG last fall playing with Mineski's Korean squad. EoT’s self-defined their strategy as favoring push strategies, especially with Nature’s Prophet. During this tournament, their most picked hero has been Rubick, but they have also employed lesser seen heroes such as Nightstalker and Slardar.





Team Eye of Tiger Team Eye of Tiger



Eye of Tiger’s run through the tournament has surprised some who have been following the genesis of Korean Dota. After going to three games with a less experienced team in Best Magic Skill, EoT took down a team favored to reach the finals in Birdgang. Birdgang had previously reached the finals of the Korean Dota League, where they had faced off against FXOpen, so Eye of Tiger’s victory over them was seen as a bit of an upset. They’ll continue to be underdogs going forward, but Eye of Tiger seems to be a team that thrives when in that situation.



Chat With FXO.Febby By Tephus



Thanks a lot for doing this! To start off, can you introduce yourself to the community?



My name is Yongmin Kim, I go by the nickname Febby, currently playing carry for team FXOpen. I am 20 years old.



As of writing this, you are advancing into the semi finals of the first Dota 2 Lan in Korea. What has this event meant to your team, and to the Korean Dota scene in general?



We have been expected to do well since we're the only Korean professional Dota team. We consider ourselves the untouchable Dota team at least in Korea for the following 6 months at the very least, so we didn't exactly feel the rush of joy getting to where we are at this tournament.



As for the Korean Dota scene I'm sure the level of the Korean Dota scene is so low since the pool is so little and everyone does not have experience which is quite important in Dota. Nexon is doing what they can to draw gamers to Dota 2 (mainly from LoL to Dota 2 since it's so huge here) and once they do I'm sure the Korean Dota level will naturally increase.



Do you think Nexon so far has been successful in this?



Absolutely, the format of the tournament (NSL) attracted quite a lot of participants. There are recognizable prizes for 1st place to 8th, which I thought was pretty smart of them since that attracts more players compared to 1st place to 3rd. As far as I know there were too many participants (3000) so they had to set standards to make a cut line, which I think is pretty successful considering how small the Dota scene was in Korea.



Dota doesn't have what LoL has in terms of pretty characters to attract girls which attracts guys, nor is not that easy to play to the point that kids can play which is what you need for a game to thrive, so I believe Nexon did play the right card (1.7million prize by the end of 2013) which will attract players. Probably LoL players will switch to Dota 2 since the competition is fierce in LoL because of so many teams while as there is only one professional team in Dota 2.



You've mentioned how you are currently the only professional team. How long do you think it will be before other Korean organizations start expanding into Dota 2?



I think they'll pick up teams from the result of the following if not this Nexon tournaments.



How do you see the Korean Dota 2 scene in a year?



Koreans in nature are pretty hardcore and extreme so I see them catching up to global level quite quickly. Its pretty hard not to be hardcore since the professional environment we live in.



You recently qualified for AMDPL Season 2. Could you see FXO participating in more international events?



Absolutely, we have no other choice than to play in international tournaments if we wish to improve.



Thanks for the interview! Any last words for your fans?



I'd like to give a shoutout to Razer, 300apm, twitch, imgur, E.S.F.X., and FXOpen. It would be great if you guys followed me @FXOFebby on twitter. I will work hard to get better as a person and a player.









Writers: K-Poptosis, rkffhk

Gfx: riptide, Heyoka

Editors: Heyoka, Tephus

Not often do you get to see a new beginning. The dawn of a new era, fresh with possibilities and open to new ideas.Tonight the finals of the Nexon Starter League are set to play, a grandiose contest between FXOpen and Eye of Tiger in what is the biggest Korean Dota event to date. In that league that has already generated significant interest in a country renown for prowess at esports titles, we may be witnessing the start of a long and powerful history as Korea gets comfortable fighting with heroes in the land of Roshan.Coming up, we take a glance at the two teams fighting it out for trophy and recognition as the Best in Korea, as well as an interview with FXO.Febby, who has already been honored as MVP twice during the tournament. In addition to the usual money, fame, and the first title as NSL champion, the players are competing for a free pass to The International 2013 to spectate the action so expect them to bring their absolute best tonight.Dota in the Hermit Kingdom is, of course, rather secluded and unknown to the rest of world. Linguistic, geographical, and cultural barriers have played a major role in preventing Korean Dota from ever earning the attention of those in the Eastern and Western worlds. Though there were a select few Koreans who sought out and made a name for themselves in the East throughout Dota's history, Korea was never regarded as a top tier Dota country by most. That honor has traditionally been reserved for the Europeans and Chinese. This Sunday at 1pm KST, though, the eyes of the world will be upon the two teams in Gangnam, Seoul as Korea makes its entrance onto the world's Dota stage.When Brood War was let go upon the release of Starcraft 2, the Korean youth were not convinced. Struggling to find a successor, they turned to League of Legends, which had coincidentally made its debut as just some obscure American game that nobody had ever heard of but for some reason was in WCG Busan in 2011. The Korean youth were inspired by what they saw at that event and quickly adopted League of Legends as what they believed to be the successor to Brood War. It has since gone on to enjoy huge support and has captured the imagination of an entire generation. Many confused it as the successor of Dota at first and some even mocked this. Cella, the former coach of Team `SlayerS`, when he made his League of Legends account even set his summoner name as "cometodota2," which he still uses to this day. At the time, the first International had not even been announced yet.When League of Legends was explained and introduced to the Koreans, though, it was not done in the way that many think. Before DotA there was of course the Brood War custom map Aeon of Storms. While many in the West may not have played it very much, this UMS map was a huge hit in Korea. So much so, in fact, that it was the single most played UMS map in Korea for years until it was ported to Warcraft III and became DotA. When League of Legends was introduced to Korea, it wasn't called a MOBA. It was called "the successor of AoS." Both AoS and its WC3 port, DotA Chaos, were what Koreans played when they were not playing Brood War.As for the professional scene of DotA, though, it always played second fiddle to Brood War. It was hardly a staple of OGN or MBC's non-Starcraft downtime. DotA was a game that had only a small and disorganized (by comparison to the West) competitive scene. Roster changes occurred every week as teams would go back to Brood War. Even today, most (if not all) Korean Dota 2 teams can be described this same way. The teams you see here in the top 8 of the Nexon Starter League are the teams that have done the best job of maintaining stable rosters in their nation. For the Korean people, DotA was just a fun game.Now, DotA 2 has been released and Nexon, in cooperation with GomTV, have begun to introduce DotA 2 to the isolated Hermit Kingdom's youth. It is not billed as a "MOBA." It is not explained in terms of League of Legends. It is explained as the "*true* successor of AoS."The eyes of the world will be upon the teams involved in the finals this Sunday at 1pm KST at the GomTV studio in Gangnam. The Korean Dota community has its chance to finally reveal itself on the world's stage, show it's long history, and do away with the years of obscurity. One can only imagine the level of mind games that these players, who have had only one another to play with at a serious and competitive level for so many years, will play on one another throughout the drafting phase this Sunday, having known and played both with and against one another all the time for so many years.It is the penultimate match of a decade-old hidden history most of us will never learn about that will be on display this Sunday afternoon in Gangnam.The Nexon Starter League has drawn the eyes of many Dota players from across the world. From the exciting play, the investment from the crowds gathered on site, to the fantastic production, this league has been a treat to watch so far. Despite this, the tournament itself is a bit of an enigma. Little is known about players, their teams, or the strategies they employ. With the Grand Finals coming up tonight, we will try and remedy that and give a bit more insight into these teams and their histories.The most recognizable team of the tournament, FXOpen, have made a name for themselves by blowing away the competition in the AMD Premier League 2 non-SEA preliminaries. Founded in late March, FXOpen’s Dota 2 team is not only the sole sponsored team competing in the tournament, but also the most experienced. Febby, added to the team in a July roster change, has some experience in the Western scene, having played a couple of games for Kaipi, the Retry, and an early No Tidehunter. Many anticipated that FXOpen would be able to translate these successes and advantages into a good showing in the Nexon Starter League, and so far they have lived up to those expectations.FXOpen came out of the gate fast in their first match of the League against DCruX. After giving up first blood while the clock was still negative, Febby’s Weaver was able to rack up 7 kills in as many minutes. FXOpen wouldn’t die again and went to take the match in 15 minutes. This match was very indicative of the rest of FXOpen and Febby’s tournament play, as they have cut a swath through their competition up to this point, sending Kellogg Tiger Power home after dealing with DCRuX, with Febby yet to feel the sting of death in four matches played in the tournament. FXOpen has faced Eye of Tiger before in smaller Korean leagues, taking all matches, so it is a definite possibility that FXO will continue to assert their dominance tonight.A lot less is known about FXOpen’s opponent in the finals, Eye of Tiger. What we do know is that they’re a relatively experienced group of players, having competed in a couple of lesser known Tournaments in Korea. Reisen even., participated in WCG last fall playing with Mineski's Korean squad. EoT’s self-defined their strategy as favoring push strategies, especially with Nature’s Prophet. During this tournament, their most picked hero has been Rubick, but they have also employed lesser seen heroes such as Nightstalker and Slardar.Eye of Tiger’s run through the tournament has surprised some who have been following the genesis of Korean Dota. After going to three games with a less experienced team in Best Magic Skill, EoT took down a team favored to reach the finals in Birdgang. Birdgang had previously reached the finals of the Korean Dota League, where they had faced off against FXOpen, so Eye of Tiger’s victory over them was seen as a bit of an upset. They’ll continue to be underdogs going forward, but Eye of Tiger seems to be a team that thrives when in that situation. @Kpoptosis