Power Rank - The International 2016 August 1st, 2016 20:09 GMT Text by TheEmulator Graphics by Nixer IntroductionPower RankCreditsFocus Mode Power Rank:

The International 2016 The time has finally come for the biggest event of the year, and thus the staff of LiquidDota have risen from their slumber to provide you with a top notch power rank. At The International 2016, we will see sixteen of the best teams Dota 2 has to offer battle it out for the largest prize pool in all of esports. Due to historical evidence, this TI should be the year of the East, however the question is whether this will be the first year to break the trend with Western powerhouses such as Liquid and OG in the mix.



This time we sat down and came up with the full ranking as a team, which is different than how we usually do these rankings. We came up with the best ranking we could with the information given to us, and as always we love to hear the opinions of our loyal readers about how wrong we are, so please flame away. With that being said, we at LiquidDota are proud to present The International 2016 Power Rank.



Note: You may notice that there are sixteen teams and that this was released before the Wildcard matches. So yes, we have predicted who will advance from the wildcard to make our full ranking. I guess this ups the stakes a bit.





16. Escape Gaming Escape Gaming are one of the wildcard teams that we have predicted to advance. They formed earlier this year as No Diggity, and signed to Escape Gaming in June of this year. They have seen some small successes over lower tier teams, however, their first major success was coming in third at the European qualifiers for TI6, which came as a surprise to most. We believe they will narrowly advance from the wildcard, and then have a very slim chance of making it any higher than 16th in the group stage. They have some strong up and comers, and do possess some powerhouse talent from qojqva, although Escape have yet to show they can really compete with the big boys. Era and SyndereN are veterans of the scene, but will that be enough for these young men to pull a major upset? We will see. Escape Gaming are one of the wildcard teams that we have predicted to advance. They formed earlier this year as No Diggity, and signed to Escape Gaming in June of this year. They have seen some small successes over lower tier teams, however, their first major success was coming in third at the European qualifiers for TI6, which came as a surprise to most. We believe they will narrowly advance from the wildcard, and then have a very slim chance of making it any higher than 16th in the group stage. They have some strong up and comers, and do possess some powerhouse talent from qojqva, although Escape have yet to show they can really compete with the big boys. Era and SyndereN are veterans of the scene, but will that be enough for these young men to pull a major upset? We will see.





15. TnC Gaming The big surprise of the SEA Qualifiers, TnC, unfortunately find themselves at almost last place in our power ranking. While their upset stole the direct qualification spot from Fnatic there is little to suggest that they might make a huge splash in Seattle. Their consistency in placing just behind the big guns of their home region throughout the year is nice, but will be of little relevance at The International as the world’s best are duking it out. Demon’s addition to the roster seems to have bumped them up onto the greatest of stages, but they will most likely just be unceremoniously shoved out just as fast. They are far out of their league in Seattle. The big surprise of the SEA Qualifiers, TnC, unfortunately find themselves at almost last place in our power ranking. While their upset stole the direct qualification spot from Fnatic there is little to suggest that they might make a huge splash in Seattle. Their consistency in placing just behind the big guns of their home region throughout the year is nice, but will be of little relevance at The International as the world’s best are duking it out. Demon’s addition to the roster seems to have bumped them up onto the greatest of stages, but they will most likely just be unceremoniously shoved out just as fast. They are far out of their league in Seattle.





14. Alliance Time has not been kind to Alliance. Aside from a brief resurgence at the start of this year, the team has been mediocre since their stupendous TI3 run. Alliance have looked shaky in online and offline play since Manila. They placed second-to-last at ESL One Frankfurt; barely survived the round robin stage of the TI6 qualifiers; and only managed a third place finish in the Global Grand Masters, a tournament that should have been theirs for the taking once Team Liquid dropped out. Alliance look their best when playing with more niche picks like s4's Brewmaster or AdmiralBulldog's Broodmother, however, given the amount of time teams have had to study Alliance's play, they will no longer have the element of surprise they once had. Alliance will live or die by s4's creativity in the draft. If they can dictate the meta of the tournament, and force other teams to play by their rules, Alliance can make a deep run. If they follow the lead of other teams, and pick the same heroes as everyone else, Alliance are, once again, destined for an early lower bracket exit. Time has not been kind to Alliance. Aside from a brief resurgence at the start of this year, the team has been mediocre since their stupendous TI3 run. Alliance have looked shaky in online and offline play since Manila. They placed second-to-last at ESL One Frankfurt; barely survived the round robin stage of the TI6 qualifiers; and only managed a third place finish in the Global Grand Masters, a tournament that should have been theirs for the taking once Team Liquid dropped out. Alliance look their best when playing with more niche picks like s4's Brewmaster or AdmiralBulldog's Broodmother, however, given the amount of time teams have had to study Alliance's play, they will no longer have the element of surprise they once had. Alliance will live or die by s4's creativity in the draft. If they can dictate the meta of the tournament, and force other teams to play by their rules, Alliance can make a deep run. If they follow the lead of other teams, and pick the same heroes as everyone else, Alliance are, once again, destined for an early lower bracket exit.





13. Digital Chaos While this is clearly the best roster SUNSfan has fielded, they can only seem to compete with the lesser teams at TI. When put up against the middle of the pack, they consistently lose, and have struggled against rival NA teams that themselves have not been playing well. The meta doesn't seem to be fitting the play-styles and heroes for the teams core playpers, Resolution and w33. Resolution is being forced to fight more frequently than he is historically used to, and his successful heroes, slark and naix, have been seeing a lot of nerfs. w33's meepo has also been non existent, and his lane dominating heroes of Invoker and DP have been getting pushed out of the meta as of late. It's hard to imagine TI being a breakout event for this team, so a low finish is expected. While this is clearly the best roster SUNSfan has fielded, they can only seem to compete with the lesser teams at TI. When put up against the middle of the pack, they consistently lose, and have struggled against rival NA teams that themselves have not been playing well. The meta doesn't seem to be fitting the play-styles and heroes for the teams core playpers, Resolution and w33. Resolution is being forced to fight more frequently than he is historically used to, and his successful heroes, slark and naix, have been seeing a lot of nerfs. w33's meepo has also been non existent, and his lane dominating heroes of Invoker and DP have been getting pushed out of the meta as of late. It's hard to imagine TI being a breakout event for this team, so a low finish is expected.





12. Evil Geniuses Defending champions Evil Geniuses are a team with an undoubtedly high upside, but the lack of official games with the roster makes it impossible to gauge their current form with any accuracy. The qualifiers for TI make up the bulk of this team’s games, and although EG won the North American qualifiers, the wins were far from convincing and EG even dropped a game to compLexity in the process. The only other event they attended, Starladder, witnessed Evil Geniuses falling 0-2 to Na`Vi and 1-2 to Friends Gaming, a conspicuous result filled with questionable drafting from Peter “PPD” Dager. Perhaps the team sorts out its issues and rises to the TI challenge, but the lack of convincing results relegates EG to just outside the bottom four in the power rank. Defending champions Evil Geniuses are a team with an undoubtedly high upside, but the lack of official games with the roster makes it impossible to gauge their current form with any accuracy. The qualifiers for TI make up the bulk of this team’s games, and although EG won the North American qualifiers, the wins were far from convincing and EG even dropped a game to compLexity in the process. The only other event they attended, Starladder, witnessed Evil Geniuses falling 0-2 to Na`Vi and 1-2 to Friends Gaming, a conspicuous result filled with questionable drafting from Peter “PPD” Dager. Perhaps the team sorts out its issues and rises to the TI challenge, but the lack of convincing results relegates EG to just outside the bottom four in the power rank.





11. Vici Gaming Reborn It’s rare to see a ‘potential’ or ‘academy’ team surpass the main squad, but Vici Gaming Reborn is shattering the preconceptions surrounding the organization’s structure. They made waves in the professional circuit placing highly in the first half of 2016 leading to The International. Roster issues and the lack of results as of late make it hard to tell what this team is capable of. On one hand, you have a squad that is able to beat or at the very least hang with teams that we placed higher in the power rank. On the other, they are also losing to teams that they should be taking care of without breaking a sweat. This volatility compounded with Visa issues contributing to the loss of their offlaner, Yang, means that VG.R will have to put in overtime to break into the Elite 8 of The International 2016. It’s rare to see a ‘potential’ or ‘academy’ team surpass the main squad, but Vici Gaming Reborn is shattering the preconceptions surrounding the organization’s structure. They made waves in the professional circuit placing highly in the first half of 2016 leading to The International. Roster issues and the lack of results as of late make it hard to tell what this team is capable of. On one hand, you have a squad that is able to beat or at the very least hang with teams that we placed higher in the power rank. On the other, they are also losing to teams that they should be taking care of without breaking a sweat. This volatility compounded with Visa issues contributing to the loss of their offlaner, Yang, means that VG.R will have to put in overtime to break into the Elite 8 of The International 2016.





10. Team Secret Team Secret were regarded as the #1 team in the previous LiquidDota TI Power Rank. This year, not even the most diehard fans of Secret would even dream of putting their team as one of the aegis contenders given their performance post Shanghai Major. Now, after Secret conquered the European Qualifiers for TI6, the community has seen a small glimpse of hope that the duo of EE + Arteezy will finally live up to its hype.



With the addition of Bulba, Secret have added more space creation to their squad, which has allowed the main cores to play a more comfortable game overall. This improvement showed its results during the last Starladder where Secret showed some great games and came in 2nd place.



With this recent momentum it's hard to believe that Secret will repeat a last place performance much like they did at the Manila Major, however, they have yet to show if this all-star lineup has the ability to compete with the likes of OG, Liquid, Newbee, or Wings. One question that will be on everyone's mind is whether they will get a higher placement with this iteration of their roster than they would have with w33 and Misery? Only time will tell. Team Secret were regarded as the #1 team in the previous LiquidDota TI Power Rank. This year, not even the most diehard fans of Secret would even dream of putting their team as one of the aegis contenders given their performance post Shanghai Major. Now, after Secret conquered the European Qualifiers for TI6, the community has seen a small glimpse of hope that the duo of EE + Arteezy will finally live up to its hype.With the addition of Bulba, Secret have added more space creation to their squad, which has allowed the main cores to play a more comfortable game overall. This improvement showed its results during the last Starladder where Secret showed some great games and came in 2nd place.With this recent momentum it's hard to believe that Secret will repeat a last place performance much like they did at the Manila Major, however, they have yet to show if this all-star lineup has the ability to compete with the likes of OG, Liquid, Newbee, or Wings. One question that will be on everyone's mind is whether they will get a higher placement with this iteration of their roster than they would have with w33 and Misery? Only time will tell.





9. EHOME EHOME has never quite found their footing after the chinese shuffle that followed the disaster of the Shanghai Major. Middle-of-the-pack results galore must have felt very unsatisfying for a team with TI veterans like iceiceice and LaNm. Nevertheless, EHOME have established themselves just behind the top tier of Chinese teams in the many smaller chinese competitions that go largely unnoticed in the West. A fact quite firmly reinforced by their 3rd place finish in the qualifiers earning themselves a Wildcard slot at Seattle. While their tendency to lose to “lesser” teams occasionally is worrying, they have also proven to be able to go toe to toe with the likes of Newbee, VG.R and LGD making them a lock-in for making it out of the Wildcards. It may be difficult to exactly gauge where they stand right now as officials (especially games with western teams) have become a rarity in the lead up, but we are sure the sheer amount of skill and experience assembled will carry them to a maybe better than expected finish. EHOME has never quite found their footing after the chinese shuffle that followed the disaster of the Shanghai Major. Middle-of-the-pack results galore must have felt very unsatisfying for a team with TI veterans like iceiceice and LaNm. Nevertheless, EHOME have established themselves just behind the top tier of Chinese teams in the many smaller chinese competitions that go largely unnoticed in the West. A fact quite firmly reinforced by their 3rd place finish in the qualifiers earning themselves a Wildcard slot at Seattle. While their tendency to lose to “lesser” teams occasionally is worrying, they have also proven to be able to go toe to toe with the likes of Newbee, VG.R and LGD making them a lock-in for making it out of the Wildcards. It may be difficult to exactly gauge where they stand right now as officials (especially games with western teams) have become a rarity in the lead up, but we are sure the sheer amount of skill and experience assembled will carry them to a maybe better than expected finish.





8. LGD Gaming Looking at LGD, each of us had a very difficult time deciding where to place them. While they looked really good, and they have the Director and all that, there were many doubts as to their capabilities with Banana replacing September. While Banana is indeed a respected TI winner and support player, he hasn’t been seen playing competitively since The Frankfurt Major and he is much older in contrast with the young September. With September, we would have comfortably placed LGD in the Top 5, but we sincerely felt that the loss of September could make a huge difference especially when replaced by a player who hasn’t played competitively for awhile. Nonetheless, LGD have been doing quite well, losing out only to Wings and Newbee in China and constantly just falling short of Top 3 on the international stage. We believe that if the lineup clicks with Banana, they will certainly hit Top 8 and likely even achieve a higher result, but for now they are 8th. Looking at LGD, each of us had a very difficult time deciding where to place them. While they looked really good, and they have the Director and all that, there were many doubts as to their capabilities with Banana replacing September. While Banana is indeed a respected TI winner and support player, he hasn’t been seen playing competitively since The Frankfurt Major and he is much older in contrast with the young September. With September, we would have comfortably placed LGD in the Top 5, but we sincerely felt that the loss of September could make a huge difference especially when replaced by a player who hasn’t played competitively for awhile. Nonetheless, LGD have been doing quite well, losing out only to Wings and Newbee in China and constantly just falling short of Top 3 on the international stage. We believe that if the lineup clicks with Banana, they will certainly hit Top 8 and likely even achieve a higher result, but for now they are 8th.





7. Fnatic The volatile mess that is Fnatic. When they do well, they do it decisively, and when they do badly, they do it decisively too. Fnatic have been showing more and more grit on the international stage, even more so at Valve events with Top 6 finishes in the last two Majors. With the incredible talent of Dj and the stability of 343, the team appears to have found their footing in most situations and can no longer be called the MuShi+4 SEA team. However, they constantly seem to fall short at other international events as they did at ESL One Frankfurt and Starladder. What we ultimately came down to was the fact that Fnatic’s performance is highly dependent on MuShi’s drafts and overall mental state as he is often the charisma of the team. In light of Fnatic’s abilities to upset some of the strongest teams, and with the meta much in their favour (fight-centric), we believe that 7th is precisely where they belong. The volatile mess that is Fnatic. When they do well, they do it decisively, and when they do badly, they do it decisively too. Fnatic have been showing more and more grit on the international stage, even more so at Valve events with Top 6 finishes in the last two Majors. With the incredible talent of Dj and the stability of 343, the team appears to have found their footing in most situations and can no longer be called the MuShi+4 SEA team. However, they constantly seem to fall short at other international events as they did at ESL One Frankfurt and Starladder. What we ultimately came down to was the fact that Fnatic’s performance is highly dependent on MuShi’s drafts and overall mental state as he is often the charisma of the team. In light of Fnatic’s abilities to upset some of the strongest teams, and with the meta much in their favour (fight-centric), we believe that 7th is precisely where they belong.





6. Natus Vincere Na`Vi’s revitalization from the ashes and subsequent rise back to the forefront of the Dota 2 World throughout the season has rewarded them with a very commendable 6th place in our power rank. Since their decent Top 8 finish at Manila (running into eventual finalists OG and TL in the Upper and Lower Bracket respectively) Na`Vi have shown steady improvement in the lead up to Seattle, taking 4th place at The Summit 5 and then winning Starladder about a week later. With their confidence rebuilt and a tournament win on their back you might expect them to actually have a shot at another grand finals appearance in Seattle. Unfortunately, their confidence only extends to the teams ranked below them in this power rank. Against our Top 5 the CIS-squad does not look even remotely as competent, making them quite effectively the gatekeeper separating the true elite from the rest. Na`Vi’s revitalization from the ashes and subsequent rise back to the forefront of the Dota 2 World throughout the season has rewarded them with a very commendable 6th place in our power rank. Since their decent Top 8 finish at Manila (running into eventual finalists OG and TL in the Upper and Lower Bracket respectively) Na`Vi have shown steady improvement in the lead up to Seattle, taking 4th place at The Summit 5 and then winning Starladder about a week later. With their confidence rebuilt and a tournament win on their back you might expect them to actually have a shot at another grand finals appearance in Seattle. Unfortunately, their confidence only extends to the teams ranked below them in this power rank. Against our Top 5 the CIS-squad does not look even remotely as competent, making them quite effectively the gatekeeper separating the true elite from the rest.





5. MVP Phoenix MVP Phoenix have consistently been one of the most improved and surprising teams in the entire scene, and they keep getting better every time we see them play. After a solid and somewhat unexpected 4th place finish from MVP at the Shanghai Major, they have kept it up with 1st place finishes at Dota Pit, the WePlay League, and the Pro Gamer League 2016 - Summer. They also took 5-6th at the Manila Major, where they managed to take a 2-0 series against Liquid, then only barely lost their series against LGD in the lower bracket. This team has a lot of potential with star cores such as MP and QO, along with their trusted supporting members. And if history repeats itself, The International is a time where MVP is known to go completely above and beyond all expectations. If they bring the same magic they brought last year they could potentially make it all the way, but for now we see them as a solid 5th place.

MVP Phoenix have consistently been one of the most improved and surprising teams in the entire scene, and they keep getting better every time we see them play. After a solid and somewhat unexpected 4th place finish from MVP at the Shanghai Major, they have kept it up with 1st place finishes at Dota Pit, the WePlay League, and the Pro Gamer League 2016 - Summer. They also took 5-6th at the Manila Major, where they managed to take a 2-0 series against Liquid, then only barely lost their series against LGD in the lower bracket. This team has a lot of potential with star cores such as MP and QO, along with their trusted supporting members. And if history repeats itself, The International is a time where MVP is known to go completely above and beyond all expectations. If they bring the same magic they brought last year they could potentially make it all the way, but for now we see them as a solid 5th place.





4. Wings Gaming Wings Gaming's exciting runs at ESL One Manila and The Summit 5 certainly garnered the team a lot of new fans. However, their successes at lighter tournaments have been marred by their unfortunate run at the Manila Major where we only saw them beat a disintegrating Secret, before being eliminated by an underwhelming compLexity.



The Manila Major demonstrates nothing other than the fact that this great team lacked experience, as they have since shown their true strength after defeating both Liquid and OG handily in recent matches. Their performance at Nanyang and DPL were also somewhat promising. To me, Wings at TI6 is an upgraded version of what CDEC was last year. They are newer, younger, and more unpredictable, but most importanty, they are more experienced. With a bit of luck, they will have no trouble climbing to the place we have given them here.

Wings Gaming's exciting runs at ESL One Manila and The Summit 5 certainly garnered the team a lot of new fans. However, their successes at lighter tournaments have been marred by their unfortunate run at the Manila Major where we only saw them beat a disintegrating Secret, before being eliminated by an underwhelming compLexity.The Manila Major demonstrates nothing other than the fact that this great team lacked experience, as they have since shown their true strength after defeating both Liquid and OG handily in recent matches. Their performance at Nanyang and DPL were also somewhat promising. To me, Wings at TI6 is an upgraded version of what CDEC was last year. They are newer, younger, and more unpredictable, but most importanty, they are more experienced. With a bit of luck, they will have no trouble climbing to the place we have given them here.





3. Newbee Entering the top 3, all of the teams in this range were debated heavily. Newbee’s eventual result was a function of its head-to-head against Liquid and OG that sees the team fall short of beating the absolute best in the current metagame. Newbee’s one tournament win at Nanyang Season 2 cements their place over Wings, but only barely. The two teams are relatively equal, Newbee gaining an edge only in stability over the younger, more mercurial Wings roster. Aside from this win, there is scant information on the team due to their failure to qualify for the other big LAN events pre-TI at The Summit 5 and Starladder. Without more games, it was difficult to justify placing them over either of the two above them, and such, Newbee comes in at third. Entering the top 3, all of the teams in this range were debated heavily. Newbee’s eventual result was a function of its head-to-head against Liquid and OG that sees the team fall short of beating the absolute best in the current metagame. Newbee’s one tournament win at Nanyang Season 2 cements their place over Wings, but only barely. The two teams are relatively equal, Newbee gaining an edge only in stability over the younger, more mercurial Wings roster. Aside from this win, there is scant information on the team due to their failure to qualify for the other big LAN events pre-TI at The Summit 5 and Starladder. Without more games, it was difficult to justify placing them over either of the two above them, and such, Newbee comes in at third.





2. Team Liquid The last time we did a power rank, Liquid was placed squarely at the top after showing their best form at Epicenter. Since then it is no secret that OG now has their number, so being ranked 2nd after losing to them in the finals of the Manila Major isn’t exactly a fall from grace nor is should it be a shock to most. What may surprise you is how long it took the LiquidDota staff tasked with creating the power rank to decide whether or not they should be 3rd. Sure, Liquid and OG have been duking it out for the top spot but what about the giants from the East? Ultimately, we decided that Liquid’s mostly consistent performance and Newbee’s lack of Western results made it difficult to make a case for anything short of a 2nd place finish for TL. Kuroky has pulled together the most talented and cohesive squad that he’s been on since the days of TI3 Na`Vi (yes, including last year’s Secret) and he, along with his teammates, will most certainly be looking to deny the members of OG their chance at raising the Aegis on August 13th. The last time we did a power rank, Liquid was placed squarely at the top after showing their best form at Epicenter. Since then it is no secret that OG now has their number, so being ranked 2nd after losing to them in the finals of the Manila Major isn’t exactly a fall from grace nor is should it be a shock to most. What may surprise you is how long it took the LiquidDota staff tasked with creating the power rank to decide whether or not they should be 3rd. Sure, Liquid and OG have been duking it out for the top spot but what about the giants from the East? Ultimately, we decided that Liquid’s mostly consistent performance and Newbee’s lack of Western results made it difficult to make a case for anything short of a 2nd place finish for TL. Kuroky has pulled together the most talented and cohesive squad that he’s been on since the days of TI3 Na`Vi (yes, including last year’s Secret) and he, along with his teammates, will most certainly be looking to deny the members of OG their chance at raising the Aegis on August 13th.





1. OG Placing OG in the first position of this Power Rank may seem easy since they got 2 Majors under their belt. But considering how the International have gone for some of the teams that ranked first in previous Power Ranks, this decision was not as straightforward as you may think.



OG got first place at the Manila Major, won ESL Frankfurt and then lost the finals of the Summit against Wings. This is different from Secret’s last year run previous to the TI5 and will most likely prove to be a useful experience for them going into TI6. They may be the strongest team at the moment, but they don’t look unbeatable at all. This can be the key to not bust what should be a great TI for a team that is an Aegis contender.



Placing OG in the first position of this Power Rank may seem easy since they got 2 Majors under their belt. But considering how the International have gone for some of the teams that ranked first in previous Power Ranks, this decision was not as straightforward as you may think.OG got first place at the Manila Major, won ESL Frankfurt and then lost the finals of the Summit against Wings. This is different from Secret’s last year run previous to the TI5 and will most likely prove to be a useful experience for them going into TI6. They may be the strongest team at the moment, but they don’t look unbeatable at all. This can be the key to not bust what should be a great TI for a team that is an Aegis contender. The time has finally come for the biggest event of the year, and thus the staff of LiquidDota have risen from their slumber to provide you with a top notch power rank. At The International 2016, we will see sixteen of the best teams Dota 2 has to offer battle it out for the largest prize pool in all of esports. Due to historical evidence, this TI should be the year of the East, however the question is whether this will be the first year to break the trend with Western powerhouses such as Liquid and OG in the mix.This time we sat down and came up with the full ranking as a team, which is different than how we usually do these rankings. We came up with the best ranking we could with the information given to us, and as always we love to hear the opinions of our loyal readers about how wrong we are, so please flame away. With that being said, we at LiquidDota are proud to present The International 2016 Power Rank. Administrator