The Defense Season 3 Playoff Preview January 31st, 2013 18:10 GMT Text by TheEmulator Graphics by shiroiusagi



The Defense Season 3 Playoff Preview Table of Contents



Playoff Preview/Groups Recap

What's happening





Recommended VODS

Three great games

(and more!)









More on

What's happeningThree great games(and more!)More on Liquipedia The Defense Season 3 Playoff Preview

The western Dota season is upon us again, and we are proud to bring you coverage of



As usual, we also have some features for you. With so many new teams on the scene these days, judging who to watch and who to skip can be hard. Never fear though! In this TD S3 playoff preview,



That's what we have for you right now! Be sure you stay with us through The Defense S3, as we will be bringing you coverage all the way. Watching the games today? Stop by our



The western Dota season is upon us again, and we are proud to bring you coverage of The Defense Season 3 , which is just rounding up its group stage, and entering the playoffs this week. In this playoff preview, we will introduce the teams you will be spending the next few weeks of Dota with, as Carbonyl previews them all so you know who's who, with a short recap of groups from TheEmulator.As usual, we also have some features for you. With so many new teams on the scene these days, judging who to watch and who to skip can be hard. Never fear though! In this TD S3 playoff preview, TL writer Tephus gives us his take on the three recommended games so far in TD3, and even one really bad game worth watching.That's what we have for you right now! Be sure you stay with us through The Defense S3, as we will be bringing you coverage all the way. Watching the games today? Stop by our Live Report thread , or say hi to us on IRC

Playoff Preview/Groups Recap By Carbonyl and TheEmulator



The group stage for The Defense Season 3 was nothing short of amazing, showcasing some of the top teams throughout the Western scene battle it out for a spot in the playoffs starting this week. Although, there were a few hiccups on the way through, especially with the scheduling of tiebreakers, but in the end everything worked out for the better.







Group A was extremely close throughout. They were one of the groups that ended up having tiebreakers to determine the last few spots in the playoffs. In the end we saw mousesports and Virtus.pro come out on top, with records of 7-0 and 4-3. Just scraping by and getting bumped to the lower bracket after the tiebreakers, we have Team Liquid and aL.Academy.



Group B housed two of the most efficient and consistent teams in TD3, which were Team Dignitas and Team Empire, both of which claimed the top two spots in the group stage. Right behind them were mTw(not mTw anymore), and 4FC, clinching spots in the lower bracket.







Group C was even closer throughout than group A. Both of the top teams, No Tidehunter and Evil geniuses, finished with records of 5-2, while dd.dota and Gamer University finished with records of 4-3 placing in the lower bracket after a hard fought tiebreaker.



Group D was home to the League favourites, Natus Vincere, however it took them a while to get into the groove of things, and Fnatic.EU and Team 3DMAX took the top spots, with Na`Vi and Absolute Legends coming closely behind them.





UPPER BRACKET PLAYOFF PREVIEW







Team Empire (B) (6-1)

vs.

Virtus.Pro (A) (4-3), (2-0) (6-1)(4-3), (2-0)



Team Empire really doesn’t like Nyx, actually they probably really have disliked him recently. In their games from the Raidcall League and The Defense since early December, they’ve picked Nyx once themselves in Raidcall, losing that game, and banned the hero in every other game except one game in The Defense, which they proceeded to lose to the “Nyx pickers,” 4 Friends + Chrillee, thus solidifying their hatred for the hero once and for all. It will be shocking if they let it through in the playoffs as well, which will put them “down a ban” so to speak – one less ban to use on other heroes. However, this doesn’t seem to be a problem for them, as they win every game where they ban Nyx, including their game against the powerhouse Team Dignitas.



The Russian based Virtus.Pro showed up to win in their tie breakers, going 2-0 over Team Liquid and aL.Academy. However, even though they were victorious, based on their performance in those games it doesn't seem like they will make it past their first match in the upper bracket against Team Empire. It is important to mention that Empire is the Achilles heal of Virtus.Pro right now, going 4-0 against them in the TPL finals, and holding a 7-1 lifetime record against them. In both games for TD3 they lost their defensive trilanes early, and then made a comeback with good team-based play. And to be honest, Empire will not make the mistakes that aL.Academy and Team Liquid did that allowed Virtus.Pro to claw back into those games. High level DotA is all about who can make the least mistakes, and if Virtus.Pro makes mistakes early in the game, they will lose. To win, Virtus.Pro will have to somehow sneak in a Nyx pick and then play phenomenally well against Empire.





MouseSports (A) (7-0)

vs.

Team Dignitas (B) (6-1) (7-0)(6-1)



Mousesports played in what we can fairly call the easiest group of the group stages. There were no serious contenders for 2nd place, and they consistently beat their opponents ruthlessly (Black^’s total K-D-A in groupstages was an amazing 72-13-70, going over 650gpm every game he wasn’t Pudge) and efficiently, their longest game taking just over 35 minutes to finish fountain hook-fishing the then-sponserless Romy and the Rest (now AL.Academy). While we saw that they consistently outperformed lesser or newer teams – undoubtedly a mark of a good team – they have yet to prove what they can do against other top contenders in The Defense. Their secret seems to be Black^’s Naix, with Mouz having won every game in The Defense and The Raidcall Season 2 League where they drafted the Lifestealer. Their only loss in the Raidcall League? When No Tidehunter beat them 2-1, after banning Naix all 3 games. The main question we have going forward then, will be: who will ban Naix against them? And how badly will those who don’t ban Naix lose? It seem like their opponent in the first round of the playoffs will be more than competent enough to ban Naix, or at least have a specific counter set up for it.



Previously PotM Bottom, the North American team, has been on a rampage as of late, 2-0ing Na’Vi, Team Liquid, and Virtus Pro in the Raidcall League, and dismantling everyone in their group by picking Nyx. They have a 100% win rate with Nyx, picking him in 4/7 of their Defense games and 3/6 of their Raidcall games. So perhaps it was only inevitable that they would fall to the horrible “Nyx banners” of Team Empire. On a more serious note, this is definitely one of the top teams heading into the playoff stages. They’re fearsome across the board with a very talented lineup, and are able to win while down from behind (see their game against paiN Gaming), and will capitalize on your mistakes if you’re unfortunate enough to play them. Any team heading up against Dignitas will have to bring their A game if they want to stand a chance.* Look for them to ban Naix, and look for Mouz to ban out Nyx to return the favor, as both teams will probably have studied their opponents going into this match.



*banning Nyx may increase chance of victory from “none” to “slim.”





Evil Geniuses (C) (5-2)

vs.

Fnatic.EU (D) (7-0) (5-2)(7-0)



Evil Geniuses always makes a solid showing, because they have such great talent that they can just win games. They will take a game off anyone through good teamwork and at least 1 cheeky play (and/or a cringe-worthy misplay). Part of the danger is in their front 3 heroes, with Fear, Jeyo, and DeMoN being able to mix and match roles in any given game. This gives them flexibility in lineups and the ability to run combinations that can catch enemy teams unaware; EG in their 7 games of The Defense picked a total of 28 different heroes out of their 35 total picks. This type of variability is unrivaled by anyone else and one of their biggest strengths. In addition, Fear has been flexing his carry muscles lately, going a combined 80-17-47 in his seven Defense games, one of which he played a support Darkseer, and more importantly, playing a different hero every game. There is no magic ban that can reduce the threat of Fear or EG. However, their weakness is their occasional misplays and misjudgments that can turn games around. But, if EG shows up ready to compete, they’ll definitely be a top contender. As said before, Dota 2 is a game of who can execute and who can make the least mistakes. If EG plays a little tighter and more cleanly, then they have a great chance to show some epic games against Fnatic.EU.



One of the two undefeated group stage teams is doing it their own way, with only one Nyx pick in their seven games, and zero Naix picks. Admittedly, it wasn't realized as possible, seeing as how most team’s Nyx/Naix win ratio is quite high, but Fnatic.EU is defying the odds. However, a important factor in Group D, just as with Group A, is the skill level of the teams. Besides Na’Vi, who Fnatic.EU was lucky enough to play early in December (before Na’Vi decided to play to full potential), the rest of the teams were just not the same tier or were going through major roster adjustments. Not to say that Fnatic.EU isn’t a great team, just that they have yet to be tested in this tournament; their hardest game was when ROOT decided to exit The Defense graciously with a Pudge+Chen fountain hook combo. All of their other group stage games were very lopsided, so it will be interesting to see how they perform against a team that shouldn’t get walked over like EG.





No Tidehunter (C) (5-2)

vs.

3DMAX (D) (5-2), (1,0) (5-2)(5-2), (1,0)



The team from nothing, No Tidehunter, is a showing that they’re not a 1-trick pony with their winter Dreamhack victory. EternaLEnVy has his boys' eyes on the prize, and they’re playing with purpose. They have been together only a few months, but they have shown that they are definitely not to be thrown in with the lower echelons of professional Dota 2 teams. They have talented and experienced players that will assure that No Tidehunter makes a strong showing in the playoffs. They make consistent good decisions in their games that keep them ahead of their opponents. This will be a key factor in their game against 3DMAX, ideally they should plan and set the pace of the game and set up better positioning through good team movement.



Although the Danish team 3DMAX has shown themselves to be quite capable in The Defense, they have faltered against the top teams in their group. While that will get a team into the playoffs, it will not get you very far through them. However, 3DMAX has shown a strong ability to make a solid game plan and execute it, as well as being able to handling their lanes well. But their weakness has been figuring out how to beat teams that simply won’t give them the better positioning. Even in their tiebreaker game against Na’Vi, they were losing team fights while ahead by 20,000 gold at one point. These types of subtleties are the hardest to master, but will be necessary to win this tournament. If 3DMAX can take control of their games more and make sure they are constantly planning and preparing during the game then they will stand a much better chance of beating No Tidehunter.





LOWER BRACKET PLAYOFF PREVIEW







Team Liquid (A) (4-3), (1-1)

vs.

SyndereN and co. (B) (3-4) (4-3), (1-1)(3-4)



Team Liquid’s new Dota 2 team, formerly Complexity, has made their debut in The Defense to mixed results. They appear dominant in some games, and on the other hand they get outplayed by Lion’s Pride. While they have the raw skill, similar to EG, they don’t have the consistency yet (which can’t really be attributed to them being a “new” team because they have been together since before Liquid). If they can find their consistency in these playoffs then they are one of the most dangerous teams out there. Their first match is against SyndereN + 4, who haven’t been playing at their top level yet. If Liquid is on form they should be able to easily take this victory and move on. But if they are having an off day, they only get one chance in the lower bracket, and then it could be gg.



Though SyndereN’s squad has lost sponsorship, they will still play together in The Defense. How far they’ll make it beyond the group stages will depend on if they can bring more solid execution and better play to the table. They narrowly made it into the playoffs over the weaker teams in group B, beating only 4FC out of the top 3 teams in front of them in the group. That said, they have only been playing together for 3 months, and no one should be expecting them to win, or even make it as far as they have. Making it into the playoffs is a good indicator for them that they have potential, and hopefully we see the group stay together in this tumultuous DotA scene and have enough time to truly develop and become a force to be reckoned with. Don’t expect to see SyndereN and company go far in these playoffs, but expect to see more of them in the future as they improve.





dd.Dota (C) (4-3), (2-0)

vs.

Absolute Legends (D) (4-3) (4-3), (2-0)(4-3)



DD.Dota was a team everyone was unsure about going into their tiebreakers, and we honestly did not expect them to make it out over Turtle Masters. However, they have now won 6 Defense matches in a row heading into the playoffs and are looking hot, especially Sockshka and link. Sockshka’s Magnus ultis have been phenomenal and Link’s carry has been ridiculously good. DD also likes to pick Shadow Demon, having picked him in 6 out of their 9 games. If we were AL and wanted to feel good about our chances then we would ban out Magnus and then focus on not letting Link get free farm. Fortunately, AL’s playstyle has been revolving around action-heavy lineups, so if they can have good positioning against DD then it should be a very good match to watch.



Since their roster change, AL has actually managed to pull it together to win 3 out of their 4 games, their only loss coming against Na’Vi. This shows that the team quite possibly has great potential together. However, I’m reluctant to advocate the position that this team, in its infancy, can beat the top teams in this tournament. We're expecting them to make a run through this lower bracket, but falter against the big dogs. They’re currently relying on a few core picks, in their 4 games together they picked up Windrunner and Rubick 3 times, and have picked up Lone Druid, Enigma, and Furion. We expect this trend to continue into the playoffs as they try to solidify a core playstyle that will win them games before branching off to strategies they may or may not have played before while they are unfamiliar with each other. A huge part of professional Dota 2 is team synergy and while they’re still struggling to find their footing, they have to try and keep all other variable as consistent as possible.





4 Friends + Chrillee (B) (5-2)

vs.

aL.Academy (A) (4-3), (0-2) (5-2)(4-3), (0-2)



While they may not have any super stars in their lineup, 4FC do have what it takes to win a high level game of Dota 2, dealing Team Empire’s only loss in the group stage. They have a good sense of game timing, evidenced by their knack for denying towers (just ask ex-mTw). However, they are also capable of making mistakes, such as making decisions that just don’t seem thought out or wasting time on the map when they could be farming. If 4FC can tighten up their game against the teams of the lower bracket, then there is a possibility of them making it through. But as the tournament gets farther along, the teams will only get better. If we see the average 4FC, it won’t be for long.



AL.Academy, in some of their losses, have done well in the beginning of their games, and then proceeded to lose their lead and momentum, and eventually the game. A successful team cannot throw away a game where they are ahead. In addition, they tend to try more outside-the-box heroes such as Alchemist and Razor that other teams aren’t currently running. While this is entertaining, it hasn’t won them any games yet. We believe that against the solid play of 4FC, aL.Academy is not going to have what it takes to win this series.





Natus Vincere (D) (5-2), (0-1)

vs.

Gamer University (C) (4-3), (1-1) (5-2), (0-1)(4-3), (1-1)



Na’Vi started the group stages 0-2, which oddly occurred right before their victory in Star Ladder Star Series Season 4, we can only think they didn’t care too much about those games as they were practicing for their finals match. Once Star Ladder was over though, the Na’Vi we know and love came back with a vengeance, 5-0ing the rest of their group in a dominating fashion. However, we can say that they did beat 4 of the weaker teams in that run. In their tiebreaker game they showed they still have that amazing “Na’Vi-ness” that allows them to win teamfights while down 20,000 gold (although they had a couple of extremely lucky plays in that game). As Puppey has recently said (as of this week’s TalkDotA episode), they haven’t been able to practice much (when have they ever though?). What we know about Na’Vi though is that they like to win money. Now that elimination is on the line, as well as pride in that they don’t get knocked out of the Defense playoffs in their first series two seasons in a row, we can be assured that we will see the best Na’Vi can offer against Gamer University.



The Peruvian squad from Gamer University has acted as the “bar” for the other teams in their group. The teams that beat them were clearly playing well and deserved their wins, and the teams Gamer beat were just not quite at the level needed to get into the Defense playoffs. Turtle Masters, even though they were able to beat No Tidehunter, ran into the wall that was Gamer University twice, and both times fell short. Gamer is definitely the underdog of the lower bracket, and have a huge challenge in their first series against Na’Vi. If they can overcome it they’ll be legends, but I think Na’Vi will be able to hop over the bar with relative ease.



The group stage for The Defense Season 3 was nothing short of amazing, showcasing some of the top teams throughout the Western scene battle it out for a spot in the playoffs starting this week. Although, there were a few hiccups on the way through, especially with the scheduling of tiebreakers, but in the end everything worked out for the better.Group A was extremely close throughout. They were one of the groups that ended up having tiebreakers to determine the last few spots in the playoffs. In the end we saw mousesports and Virtus.pro come out on top, with records of 7-0 and 4-3. Just scraping by and getting bumped to the lower bracket after the tiebreakers, we have Team Liquid and aL.Academy.Group B housed two of the most efficient and consistent teams in TD3, which were Team Dignitas and Team Empire, both of which claimed the top two spots in the group stage. Right behind them were mTw(not mTw anymore), and 4FC, clinching spots in the lower bracket.Group C was even closer throughout than group A. Both of the top teams, No Tidehunter and Evil geniuses, finished with records of 5-2, while dd.dota and Gamer University finished with records of 4-3 placing in the lower bracket after a hard fought tiebreaker.Group D was home to the League favourites, Natus Vincere, however it took them a while to get into the groove of things, and Fnatic.EU and Team 3DMAX took the top spots, with Na`Vi and Absolute Legends coming closely behind them.Team Empire really doesn’t like Nyx, actually they probably really have disliked him recently. In their games from the Raidcall League and The Defense since early December, they’ve picked Nyx once themselves in Raidcall, losing that game, and banned the hero in every other game except one game in The Defense, which they proceeded to lose to the “Nyx pickers,” 4 Friends + Chrillee, thus solidifying their hatred for the hero once and for all. It will be shocking if they let it through in the playoffs as well, which will put them “down a ban” so to speak – one less ban to use on other heroes. However, this doesn’t seem to be a problem for them, as they win every game where they ban Nyx, including their game against the powerhouse Team Dignitas.The Russian based Virtus.Pro showed up to win in their tie breakers, going 2-0 over Team Liquid and aL.Academy. However, even though they were victorious, based on their performance in those games it doesn't seem like they will make it past their first match in the upper bracket against Team Empire. It is important to mention that Empire is the Achilles heal of Virtus.Pro right now, going 4-0 against them in the TPL finals, and holding a 7-1 lifetime record against them. In both games for TD3 they lost their defensive trilanes early, and then made a comeback with good team-based play. And to be honest, Empire will not make the mistakes that aL.Academy and Team Liquid did that allowed Virtus.Pro to claw back into those games. High level DotA is all about who can make the least mistakes, and if Virtus.Pro makes mistakes early in the game, they will lose. To win, Virtus.Pro will have to somehow sneak in a Nyx pick and then play phenomenally well against Empire.Mousesports played in what we can fairly call the easiest group of the group stages. There were no serious contenders for 2nd place, and they consistently beat their opponents ruthlessly (Black^’s total K-D-A in groupstages was an amazing 72-13-70, going over 650gpm every game he wasn’t Pudge) and efficiently, their longest game taking just over 35 minutes to finish fountain hook-fishing the then-sponserless Romy and the Rest (now AL.Academy). While we saw that they consistently outperformed lesser or newer teams – undoubtedly a mark of a good team – they have yet to prove what they can do against other top contenders in The Defense. Their secret seems to be Black^’s Naix, with Mouz having won every game in The Defense and The Raidcall Season 2 League where they drafted the Lifestealer. Their only loss in the Raidcall League? When No Tidehunter beat them 2-1, after banning Naix all 3 games. The main question we have going forward then, will be: who will ban Naix against them? And how badly will those who don’t ban Naix lose? It seem like their opponent in the first round of the playoffs will be more than competent enough to ban Naix, or at least have a specific counter set up for it.Previously PotM Bottom, the North American team, has been on a rampage as of late, 2-0ing Na’Vi, Team Liquid, and Virtus Pro in the Raidcall League, and dismantling everyone in their group by picking Nyx. They have a 100% win rate with Nyx, picking him in 4/7 of their Defense games and 3/6 of their Raidcall games. So perhaps it was only inevitable that they would fall to the horrible “Nyx banners” of Team Empire. On a more serious note, this is definitely one of the top teams heading into the playoff stages. They’re fearsome across the board with a very talented lineup, and are able to win while down from behind (see their game against paiN Gaming), and will capitalize on your mistakes if you’re unfortunate enough to play them. Any team heading up against Dignitas will have to bring their A game if they want to stand a chance.* Look for them to ban Naix, and look for Mouz to ban out Nyx to return the favor, as both teams will probably have studied their opponents going into this match.Evil Geniuses always makes a solid showing, because they have such great talent that they can just win games. They will take a game off anyone through good teamwork and at least 1 cheeky play (and/or a cringe-worthy misplay). Part of the danger is in their front 3 heroes, with Fear, Jeyo, and DeMoN being able to mix and match roles in any given game. This gives them flexibility in lineups and the ability to run combinations that can catch enemy teams unaware; EG in their 7 games of The Defense picked a total of 28 different heroes out of their 35 total picks. This type of variability is unrivaled by anyone else and one of their biggest strengths. In addition, Fear has been flexing his carry muscles lately, going a combined 80-17-47 in his seven Defense games, one of which he played a support Darkseer, and more importantly, playing a different hero every game. There is no magic ban that can reduce the threat of Fear or EG. However, their weakness is their occasional misplays and misjudgments that can turn games around. But, if EG shows up ready to compete, they’ll definitely be a top contender. As said before, Dota 2 is a game of who can execute and who can make the least mistakes. If EG plays a little tighter and more cleanly, then they have a great chance to show some epic games against Fnatic.EU.One of the two undefeated group stage teams is doing it their own way, with only one Nyx pick in their seven games, and zero Naix picks. Admittedly, it wasn't realized as possible, seeing as how most team’s Nyx/Naix win ratio is quite high, but Fnatic.EU is defying the odds. However, a important factor in Group D, just as with Group A, is the skill level of the teams. Besides Na’Vi, who Fnatic.EU was lucky enough to play early in December (before Na’Vi decided to play to full potential), the rest of the teams were just not the same tier or were going through major roster adjustments. Not to say that Fnatic.EU isn’t a great team, just that they have yet to be tested in this tournament; their hardest game was when ROOT decided to exit The Defense graciously with a Pudge+Chen fountain hook combo. All of their other group stage games were very lopsided, so it will be interesting to see how they perform against a team that shouldn’t get walked over like EG.The team from nothing, No Tidehunter, is a showing that they’re not a 1-trick pony with their winter Dreamhack victory. EternaLEnVy has his boys' eyes on the prize, and they’re playing with purpose. They have been together only a few months, but they have shown that they are definitely not to be thrown in with the lower echelons of professional Dota 2 teams. They have talented and experienced players that will assure that No Tidehunter makes a strong showing in the playoffs. They make consistent good decisions in their games that keep them ahead of their opponents. This will be a key factor in their game against 3DMAX, ideally they should plan and set the pace of the game and set up better positioning through good team movement.Although the Danish team 3DMAX has shown themselves to be quite capable in The Defense, they have faltered against the top teams in their group. While that will get a team into the playoffs, it will not get you very far through them. However, 3DMAX has shown a strong ability to make a solid game plan and execute it, as well as being able to handling their lanes well. But their weakness has been figuring out how to beat teams that simply won’t give them the better positioning. Even in their tiebreaker game against Na’Vi, they were losing team fights while ahead by 20,000 gold at one point. These types of subtleties are the hardest to master, but will be necessary to win this tournament. If 3DMAX can take control of their games more and make sure they are constantly planning and preparing during the game then they will stand a much better chance of beating No Tidehunter.Team Liquid’s new Dota 2 team, formerly Complexity, has made their debut in The Defense to mixed results. They appear dominant in some games, and on the other hand they get outplayed by Lion’s Pride. While they have the raw skill, similar to EG, they don’t have the consistency yet (which can’t really be attributed to them being a “new” team because they have been together since before Liquid). If they can find their consistency in these playoffs then they are one of the most dangerous teams out there. Their first match is against SyndereN + 4, who haven’t been playing at their top level yet. If Liquid is on form they should be able to easily take this victory and move on. But if they are having an off day, they only get one chance in the lower bracket, and then it could be gg.Though SyndereN’s squad has lost sponsorship, they will still play together in The Defense. How far they’ll make it beyond the group stages will depend on if they can bring more solid execution and better play to the table. They narrowly made it into the playoffs over the weaker teams in group B, beating only 4FC out of the top 3 teams in front of them in the group. That said, they have only been playing together for 3 months, and no one should be expecting them to win, or even make it as far as they have. Making it into the playoffs is a good indicator for them that they have potential, and hopefully we see the group stay together in this tumultuous DotA scene and have enough time to truly develop and become a force to be reckoned with. Don’t expect to see SyndereN and company go far in these playoffs, but expect to see more of them in the future as they improve.DD.Dota was a team everyone was unsure about going into their tiebreakers, and we honestly did not expect them to make it out over Turtle Masters. However, they have now won 6 Defense matches in a row heading into the playoffs and are looking hot, especially Sockshka and link. Sockshka’s Magnus ultis have been phenomenal and Link’s carry has been ridiculously good. DD also likes to pick Shadow Demon, having picked him in 6 out of their 9 games. If we were AL and wanted to feel good about our chances then we would ban out Magnus and then focus on not letting Link get free farm. Fortunately, AL’s playstyle has been revolving around action-heavy lineups, so if they can have good positioning against DD then it should be a very good match to watch.Since their roster change, AL has actually managed to pull it together to win 3 out of their 4 games, their only loss coming against Na’Vi. This shows that the team quite possibly has great potential together. However, I’m reluctant to advocate the position that this team, in its infancy, can beat the top teams in this tournament. We're expecting them to make a run through this lower bracket, but falter against the big dogs. They’re currently relying on a few core picks, in their 4 games together they picked up Windrunner and Rubick 3 times, and have picked up Lone Druid, Enigma, and Furion. We expect this trend to continue into the playoffs as they try to solidify a core playstyle that will win them games before branching off to strategies they may or may not have played before while they are unfamiliar with each other. A huge part of professional Dota 2 is team synergy and while they’re still struggling to find their footing, they have to try and keep all other variable as consistent as possible.While they may not have any super stars in their lineup, 4FC do have what it takes to win a high level game of Dota 2, dealing Team Empire’s only loss in the group stage. They have a good sense of game timing, evidenced by their knack for denying towers (just ask ex-mTw). However, they are also capable of making mistakes, such as making decisions that just don’t seem thought out or wasting time on the map when they could be farming. If 4FC can tighten up their game against the teams of the lower bracket, then there is a possibility of them making it through. But as the tournament gets farther along, the teams will only get better. If we see the average 4FC, it won’t be for long.AL.Academy, in some of their losses, have done well in the beginning of their games, and then proceeded to lose their lead and momentum, and eventually the game. A successful team cannot throw away a game where they are ahead. In addition, they tend to try more outside-the-box heroes such as Alchemist and Razor that other teams aren’t currently running. While this is entertaining, it hasn’t won them any games yet. We believe that against the solid play of 4FC, aL.Academy is not going to have what it takes to win this series.Na’Vi started the group stages 0-2, which oddly occurred right before their victory in Star Ladder Star Series Season 4, we can only think they didn’t care too much about those games as they were practicing for their finals match. Once Star Ladder was over though, the Na’Vi we know and love came back with a vengeance, 5-0ing the rest of their group in a dominating fashion. However, we can say that they did beat 4 of the weaker teams in that run. In their tiebreaker game they showed they still have that amazing “Na’Vi-ness” that allows them to win teamfights while down 20,000 gold (although they had a couple of extremely lucky plays in that game). As Puppey has recently said (as of this week’s TalkDotA episode), they haven’t been able to practice much (when have they ever though?). What we know about Na’Vi though is that they like to win money. Now that elimination is on the line, as well as pride in that they don’t get knocked out of the Defense playoffs in their first series two seasons in a row, we can be assured that we will see the best Na’Vi can offer against Gamer University.The Peruvian squad from Gamer University has acted as the “bar” for the other teams in their group. The teams that beat them were clearly playing well and deserved their wins, and the teams Gamer beat were just not quite at the level needed to get into the Defense playoffs. Turtle Masters, even though they were able to beat No Tidehunter, ran into the wall that was Gamer University twice, and both times fell short. Gamer is definitely the underdog of the lower bracket, and have a huge challenge in their first series against Na’Vi. If they can overcome it they’ll be legends, but I think Na’Vi will be able to hop over the bar with relative ease.



Recommended VODS By Tephus







SvenHunterz vs Gamer University



While this game was played by two lesser known teams, it is still a must watch. Huge momentum swings occur as the game reaches late game, culminating in every rax going down, and mega creeps fighting each other.









Fnatic.EU vs Baguette



Fly drafts N0tail his Meepo, and he puts on a show. Surprisingly, the kills remained fairly equal all game, but the map presence N0tail was able to bring (pushing every lane, while in position for fights and ganks) allowed Fnatic to take raxes one by one.









mTw vs Dignitas



Once a staple of the competitive scene, Morphling has completely disappeared. Aui_2000 shows us the hero is still relative in this high action game, with close to two kills happening per minute.









Fnatic.EU vs ROOT: The awful, yet entertaining game!



With the result of the game having little effect on the group stage standings, this game felt pretty casual heading in, and the way the game unfolded may remind you of some of your pub matches. Nothing seemed to go to plan, as ROOT's strategy revolved, unsuccessfully, around spamming fountain hooks, and Fnatic were playing down a player half the game as N0tail had to leave.



While this game was played by two lesser known teams, it is still a must watch. Huge momentum swings occur as the game reaches late game, culminating in every rax going down, and mega creeps fighting each other.Fly drafts N0tail his Meepo, and he puts on a show. Surprisingly, the kills remained fairly equal all game, but the map presence N0tail was able to bring (pushing every lane, while in position for fights and ganks) allowed Fnatic to take raxes one by one.Once a staple of the competitive scene, Morphling has completely disappeared. Aui_2000 shows us the hero is still relative in this high action game, with close to two kills happening per minute.With the result of the game having little effect on the group stage standings, this game felt pretty casual heading in, and the way the game unfolded may remind you of some of your pub matches. Nothing seemed to go to plan, as ROOT's strategy revolved, unsuccessfully, around spamming fountain hooks, and Fnatic were playing down a player half the game as N0tail had to leave.







Administrator