[G-1] Qualifiers Phase Three March 27th, 2013 01:01 GMT Text by Kupon3ss Graphics by HawaiianPig

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Phase 2 Recap

By kupon3ss



Phase 3 Preview

By Tangeng



1v1 with Xia08

By kupon3ss



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G-1 Asian Qualifiers

Phase 3 Preview

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Now, they're back, and ready to face four challengers for just four G-1 League slots. These challengers cannot be easily dismissed. Among them are noted international teams like LGD.int and Zenith, and up and coming outfits like Rattlesnake and Chain Stack. Tangeng



Needless to say, the feature of this G-1 update is



Missed Phase 2 completely? Don't feel bad! TL writer kupon3ss has



Finally, we're proud to introduce



Phase Two Recap





Group A







The first round of Group A played out more or less as expected as both MUFC and RattleSnake sailed to smooth 2-0 wins as huge favorites over 1st.Vn and Gizmo.



The meeting between RS and MUFC, however, was a highly anticipated feast for the eyes. The first game played out in a slow downward spiral for MUFC as they found that they could do little against a well-protected PL. After a pair of key MUFC smoke ganks found themselves reversed by TongFu and their heroes routed, the situation became untenable even for a Syllabear with early game freefarm.



The second game began well for MUFC as their Potm-based trilane heavily pressured RS’s Antimage one while Hontrashplayer’s Lifestealer obtained more or less freefarm against Kabu’s Clockwerk. However, MUFC was unable to convert their early game advantage into a strategic one and became bogged down in midgame teamfights in which little were gained while Icy’s Antimage began to recover from the early-game deficit. Eventually, the initiation from Clockwerk and a Shadow Blade Doom would find gaps in MUFC’s play that a farmed Antimage exploited to seal the game.





Group B







Group B began with Risingstars overwhelming Mith.Trust with their hyper-aggressive style while the Chain stack obtained a hard-fought win over ForLove with an amazing performance by their Antimage and Tinker in the final game.



The series between RisingStars and Chainstack for a spot in the next phase was a strange one, the first game unfolded as a classical battle of the hard carries between RS’ Faceless void and Chain’s Antimage. While both carries obtained fairly adequate amounts of farm early game, the midgame clashes determined the fate of the game. The aoe combo of DS, Gyro and Antimage from Chains was executed far better than the (in theory) equally potent RS lineup of Qop, Mag, and Void and Chains emerged victorious.



In a twilight zone of sorts, the next game saw a hyper-agressive midgame gank lineup out of the Chinese team and a safe, concerted 4-1 out of the coalition of Australian SEA pubstars. In a bizarrely familiar scene, we saw an Antimage weather the storm of aggression in the midgame with safe and calculated play to push the dual core of QoP and Storm Spirit into the lategame. Neither hero would prove a match for the devastating power of an Antimage with sufficient farm. Chains would go into the next phase as the biggest dark horse of the tournament.





Group C







As expected LGD.int and VG sailed through Neolutions.int and RILIMIN with relative ease. The sole exception being a debacle of a game 2 where LGD.int threw away a significant early game advantage, though even that was quickly remedied by a dominating game 3.



Everybody knew that LGD.int were the favorites after their performance in G-League, but against VG they showed the caliber of play we expected from the second best team in the world. The first game was quite literally, Godkillthemall as G racked up 10 kills and 78 last hits in 16 minutes on one of the most stellar QoP performances in recent memory before VG tapped out.



The second game seemed like a flashback to G-League as LGD.int’s Syllabear-centered midgame lineup came face to face against VG’s Kotl+PL. Despite holding their own in the early game, VG lost a few fights and a few towers midgame and suddenly found themselves against the snowball of aggression that had pushed even iG to their limits. VG was no iG, a fact that was made abundantly clear as LGD.int simply strode up the high ground with surprising ease while VG was out of position, sealing the game and clinching their ticket to phase 3 as one of the favorites.





Group D







While Zenith dispatched First Departure relatively easily, Neolutions Thailand would surprise everyone by knocking out TongFu, a semifinal of the last G-League, including an extremely entertaining game where an alchemist properly played on a farming role crushed TongFu.



But against Zenith Neolutions should do little, the first game saw Neolution’s antimage shut down by a strong midgame lineup from Zenith centered on a gyrocoptor. In 25 minutes, Neo.Thai had but a single kill and next to no farm before conceding.



The second game between the two was a bit closer, though the result was never in doubt, Zenith looked every bit as scary as their pre-TI2 online hype as they sailed to a quick and easy win and clinched their spot in phase 3.



Recommended Games



RattleSnake vs MUFC Game 2





Doom is Back!



Chains vs For.Love Game 2





Alchemist 4-1 vs Antimage 4-1



LGD.int vs VG Game 1





Godkillthemall





The first round of Group A played out more or less as expected as both MUFC and RattleSnake sailed to smooth 2-0 wins as huge favorites over 1st.Vn and Gizmo.The meeting between RS and MUFC, however, was a highly anticipated feast for the eyes. The first game played out in a slow downward spiral for MUFC as they found that they could do little against a well-protected PL. After a pair of key MUFC smoke ganks found themselves reversed by TongFu and their heroes routed, the situation became untenable even for a Syllabear with early game freefarm.The second game began well for MUFC as their Potm-based trilane heavily pressured RS’s Antimage one while Hontrashplayer’s Lifestealer obtained more or less freefarm against Kabu’s Clockwerk. However, MUFC was unable to convert their early game advantage into a strategic one and became bogged down in midgame teamfights in which little were gained while Icy’s Antimage began to recover from the early-game deficit. Eventually, the initiation from Clockwerk and a Shadow Blade Doom would find gaps in MUFC’s play that a farmed Antimage exploited to seal the game.Group B began with Risingstars overwhelming Mith.Trust with their hyper-aggressive style while the Chain stack obtained a hard-fought win over ForLove with an amazing performance by their Antimage and Tinker in the final game.The series between RisingStars and Chainstack for a spot in the next phase was a strange one, the first game unfolded as a classicalbetween RS’ Faceless void and Chain’s Antimage. While both carries obtained fairly adequate amounts of farm early game, the midgame clashes determined the fate of the game. The aoe combo of DS, Gyro and Antimage from Chains was executed far better than the (in theory) equally potent RS lineup of Qop, Mag, and Void and Chains emerged victorious.In a twilight zone of sorts, the next game saw a hyper-agressive midgame gank lineup out of the Chinese team and a safe, concerted 4-1 out of the coalition ofSEA pubstars. In a bizarrely familiar scene, we saw an Antimage weather the storm of aggression in the midgame with safe and calculated play to push the dual core of QoP and Storm Spirit into the lategame. Neither hero would prove a match for the devastating power of an Antimage with sufficient farm. Chains would go into the next phase as the biggest dark horse of the tournament.As expected LGD.int and VG sailed through Neolutions.int and RILIMIN with relative ease. The sole exception being a debacle of a game 2 where LGD.int threw away a significant early game advantage, though even that was quickly remedied by a dominating game 3.Everybody knew that LGD.int were the favorites after their performance in G-League, but against VG they showed the caliber of play we expected from the second best team in the world. The first game was quite literally, Godkillthemall as G racked up 10 kills and 78 last hits in 16 minutes on one of the most stellar QoP performances in recent memory before VG tapped out.The second game seemed like a flashback to G-League as LGD.int’s Syllabear-centered midgame lineup came face to face against VG’s Kotl+PL. Despite holding their own in the early game, VG lost a few fights and a few towers midgame and suddenly found themselves against the snowball of aggression that had pushed even iG to their limits. VG was no iG, a fact that was made abundantly clear as LGD.int simply strode up the high ground with surprising ease while VG was out of position, sealing the game and clinching their ticket to phase 3 as one of the favorites.While Zenith dispatched First Departure relatively easily, Neolutions Thailand would surprise everyone by knocking out TongFu, a semifinal of the last G-League, including an extremely entertaining game where an alchemist properly played on a farming role crushed TongFu.But against Zenith Neolutions should do little, the first game saw Neolution’s antimage shut down by a strong midgame lineup from Zenith centered on a gyrocoptor. In 25 minutes, Neo.Thai had but a single kill and next to no farm before conceding.The second game between the two was a bit closer, though the result was never in doubt, Zenith looked every bit as scary as their pre-TI2 online hype as they sailed to a quick and easy win and clinched their spot in phase 3.



G-1 Champions League Third Round: Group Stage



The speedy procession of the G-1 Champions League continues at its rapid pace, whittling the field of sixteen teams down to four over the course of one week of action in preparation for the third and final stage. At this stage, the big guns come out as the four finalists from last season, the big 3 from China, and the SEA powerhouse, Orange, look to join in on the fray. The teams will play round-robin best-of-three matches in two groups of four, and the top four teams will be eligible to attend the offline finals for the G-1 Champions League in Shanghai, China. Let's take at brief look over the eight contenders.







Returning Finalists



Defending Champions: LGD.cn

LGD.cn is the defending champion of the G-1 Champions League, claiming a solid victory over DK in the final last November in Fuzhou, China. Following their victory, LGD.cn was eliminated by iG in the G-League semifinals by a lopsided 0-3 loss, but still took home a respectable third/fourth in January. Since then, LGD.cn has not played a match in competition for the public to see. News has leaked out that DD/SC has undergone surgery at a hospital in his hometown, and is currently recovering. In his absence, LGD.cn has been practicing with LongDD, and it is expected that LGD.cn will be fielding LongDD as support for the duration of the G-1 group stages. This change may allow xiao8 to field some greedy jungle farming compositions if the rest of the team is able to adapt to LongDD's play.



Burning Giant: DK

DK claimed second at the previous G-1 Champions League, and then was narrowly eliminated by tiebreakers at the group stages of the G-League competition. Due to a lack of competitive success and quick eliminations, the team has been the target of criticism either against Super for playing too timidly, or RotK for playing too aggressive and greedy. However, there are no indications of roster changes or hints of the use of stand-ins for this G-1 Competition, and post-Chinese New Year practice is rumored to be exceptionally rigorous. Solid play can be expected out of the team and DK will remain competitive with any team that it faces. It remains to be seen if the team can be inspired to consistently pull off a best-of-three victory over fellow Chinese and SEA giants.



All Conquering: iG

The TI2 champions, iG, rolled through the group stages and online portions of the 4th Season like an irresistible force, and then immediately got eliminated by LGD.cn in the semifinals of the LAN portion. iG then repeated the undefeated run in G-League to reach the finals, but successfully converted their run of success into a title victory over LGD.int. The same team returns for the 5th Season of G-1 Champions League to challenge for the only major title in the Chinese Dota 2 scene that they have yet to win. It would appear that iG has some unfinished business.



Reconstituted: Orange

Since the last G-1 Champions League competition, Orange has heavily revamped its roster. The original Orange team that took third in Fuzhou lost Ice, IceIceIce, and Yamateh to Zenith. In their place, Orange has drawn upon the talents of former MUFC members Ohaiyo and Net, and promoted kYxY to a regular from being a substitute. Those three join Mushi and Xtinct for a return to the G-1 stage. In recent games we have seen a sneak peek at their potential performance, and the team looks as talented as ever when they destroyed LGD.int in GEST Challenge 2, but also appear slightly vulnerable in teamwork when they were eliminated from the DotaTalk Champions Cup. It is quintessential SEA DotA, heavily relying on individual talent and playmaking skill, but weaker on teamwork and game sense. It remains to be seen which of these two characteristics will win out in the end.







New Qualifiers



One More Bite: RattleSnake



The team is widely known as a new group of old DotA Vets because the entire roster consists of former professional DotA players, but in an entirely new configuration of roles. TI2 hard carry player for EHOME, LaNm, with a most memorable all-destroying Tiny, now captains the team and plays support. The highly creative former captain of WE, Luo, has switched to a solo-mid role, and his hard-lane teammate, Icy, now occupies the carry role. Kabu returns as an offlane solo after having left Tongfu last October, and Neo, returns to professional support play after the demise of the infamous and ill-fated Royal team. Following solid victories over Gizmo and MUFC in the qualifiers, marked by brilliant showings by Kabu on Clockwerk and interesting Doom and Warlock picks, Rattlesnake introduces itself as a team with flair and creativity.



The Dark Horse: Chains Stack

Chains Stack is literally a team formed out of pub stacks and due to the nature of the pub stacks, the team is less than professional and will be losing two members to activities such as vacation and military service for the duration of the G-1 Group stages. As promising and surprising as the dark horse team has been in downing two professional Chinese teams in succession, Chain Stacks's team of r1sk, Chains, and Minerva, plus two stand-ins will only find the opposition harder for them in the group stages.



Flame of the West: LGD.int

LGD.int arrived too late to take part in the previous G-1 Champions League, but took China by storm as the team fought its way to the finals and played against iG live in the Mercedes-Benz Arena for the G-League Grand Finals. The team dropped a game against Neolution.int on the backs of some very inspired Queen of Pain play, but otherwise looked unchallenged by the competition in G-1 League qualifiers. In recent lesser competition like the GEST Challenge, LGD.int lost repeatedly to Orange and showed some vulnerability, but also demonstrated strategic diversity.



Invincible Online? Zenith

Zenith enters the fifth season with the strange situation of having more Orange players from the fourth season than the current Orange team itself. In the intervening months between seasons, three out of five of the Fuzhou finalists ended up joining Zenith. However, due to the policies of G-1, Orange received the automatic berth. It is, thus, with great fortune that Yamateh and company have made it back to this stage of the competition with Zenith. And this fraction of the Orange roster is no less powerful than the other half. Zenith most recently romped through the Dotatalk Championship and the G-1 Qualifiers without dropping a single game, and the team is said to be hard at practice, scrimming and winning against the likes of iG and other top tier Chinese teams on a daily basis.





The Draw



The truth is that at this level of competition, no games can be taken for granted anymore. Even the slightest of slip ups can mean the difference between winning, losing, advancing, and elimination. A powerhouse team like DK learned this the hard way during G-League, last December. But for the purposes of the preview, let's take a look at some of the story lines and match ups that came out of the draw.







Group A has some really tight competition as there are no clear favorites to win the group. LGD.cn and LGD.int seem destined to be forever fighting against each other since the two teams are once again drawn into the same group. They even have the honor of opening the third round group against each other as the first match-up on the 27th. LGD.int also has the misfortune of being placed against its nemesis, Orange. Of the four teams, Rattlesnake might be considered the weakest, but that is more because of a lack of record and incidental mistakes than any evidence based on head-to-head performance. Rattlesnake may very well repeat the LGD.int feat of blazing a way to the finals in its debut competition.







Group B has a clear favorite, iG, and a clear underdog, Chains Stack. iG has been nearly unbeatable in the several months since TI2 and it will probably stay that way. Chains Stack, on the other hand, will be playing with stand-ins, making the challenge of advancing ever more difficult. DK and Zenith are solid teams and both should perform at a very high level. The fight for each placement in this group will be fierce.



1v1 with Xiao8



Source: Source: http://dota2.17173.com/news/03262013/173115247.shtml

The first round of prelims has just ended, the next phase will begin on March 27th. The first match will be civil strife within LGD, and we've thus obtained an interview with Xiao8 of LGD.cn to get some insight on their condition.



17173: We're grateful to Director8 for accepting our interview. Let's say hi to everybody first!



Xiao8: Hi everybody, I'm xiao8 from LGD.





17173: DD underwent surgery lately and hasn't been able to practice with the team. Everybody is very concerned. When did he return to the team and how is his condition?



Xiao8: The surgery went smoothly, and he arrived at Hangzhou yesterday.





17173: If he just arrived yesterday you must have not had time to prepare for your first game of the group stages tomorrow. What are you going to do?



Xiao8:Since he just arrived yesterday, he definitely won't have time to practice. We've been playing with LongDD for a while, so he will be a standin for the next few games.





17173: The groups for G-1 Phase 3 have already been announced. You've been grouped against LGD.int again and are playing them in the opening match. How are the results matching up in practice? Can you defeat them and claim the opener?



Xiao8: We're used to being grouped with them - -。It's pretty even in training. The wins and losses aren't very important. The key is to find the problems in each team.





17173: You group all also has Orange and the new RattleSnake, and the situation seems quite dire. Which of the teams in group A do you think is your strongest competitor? Also do you have the confidence to emerge as the first in the group?



Xiao8: Every team is a strong competitor, and we will do our best each game and look to get out of the group.





17173: You guys are the defending champions for this season's G1 and netizens have a lot of hope riding on you. But with the dire group situation and the unknown Western teams waiting in the wings to increase the difficulty of your repeat, are you ready?



Xiao8: Yeah, we will adjust and do our best to face the upcoming matches.





17173: Group B has iG, DK, the dark horse Chains, and Zenith. Can Director8 predict how it'll turn out?



Xiao8: iG and DK should get out without much trouble but who will be first is uncertain. Dark horse teams can upset newer teams but it won't be possible for them to go all the way.





17173: Compared to last season, this season of G1 has a higher prize pool along with more invited teams from all across the world. LGD.cn has participated in many G-1 seasons, so do you have any thoughts on this?



Xiao8: G-1 is an excellent tournament, but I think the atmosphere might be better if there were more teams for the LAN finals.





17173: OK, finally, is there anything you want to say to the fans?



Xiao8: I want to thank my friends who've always supported me and I'm grateful to our sponsors LGD, Taobao, RAZER. I hope each season of G1 is better than the last.





17173: Thank you once again, Director8, for accepting our interview. We look forward to your performance in the opener.



Xiao8: Thank you! The first round of prelims has just ended, the next phase will begin on March 27th. The first match will be civil strife within LGD, and we've thus obtained an interview with Xiao8 of LGD.cn to get some insight on their condition.We're grateful to Director8 for accepting our interview. Let's say hi to everybody first!DD underwent surgery lately and hasn't been able to practice with the team. Everybody is very concerned. When did he return to the team and how is his condition?If he just arrived yesterday you must have not had time to prepare for your first game of the group stages tomorrow. What are you going to do?The groups for G-1 Phase 3 have already been announced. You've been grouped against LGD.int again and are playing them in the opening match. How are the results matching up in practice? Can you defeat them and claim the opener?You group all also has Orange and the new RattleSnake, and the situation seems quite dire. Which of the teams in group A do you think is your strongest competitor? Also do you have the confidence to emerge as the first in the group?You guys are the defending champions for this season's G1 and netizens have a lot of hope riding on you. But with the dire group situation and the unknown Western teams waiting in the wings to increase the difficulty of your repeat, are you ready?Group B has iG, DK, the dark horse Chains, and Zenith. Can Director8 predict how it'll turn out?Compared to last season, this season of G1 has a higher prize pool along with more invited teams from all across the world. LGD.cn has participated in many G-1 seasons, so do you have any thoughts on this?OK, finally, is there anything you want to say to the fans?Thank you once again, Director8, for accepting our interview. We look forward to your performance in the opener.







Gfx: HawaiianPig, Shiroiusagi

Editors: TheEmulator, riptide, heyoka

Banner photo by: Writers: kupon3ss, TangengGfx: HawaiianPig, ShiroiusagiEditors: TheEmulator, riptide, heyokaBanner photo by: trioptikmal The speedy procession of the G-1 Champions League continues at its rapid pace, whittling the field of sixteen teams down to four over the course of one week of action in preparation for the third and final stage. At this stage, the big guns come out as the four finalists from last season, the big 3 from China, and the SEA powerhouse, Orange, look to join in on the fray. The teams will play round-robin best-of-three matches in two groups of four, and the top four teams will be eligible to attend the offline finals for the G-1 Champions League in Shanghai, China. Let's take at brief look over the eight contenders.The truth is that at this level of competition, no games can be taken for granted anymore. Even the slightest of slip ups can mean the difference between winning, losing, advancing, and elimination. A powerhouse team like DK learned this the hard way during G-League, last December. But for the purposes of the preview, let's take a look at some of the story lines and match ups that came out of the draw.Group A has some really tight competition as there are no clear favorites to win the group. LGD.cn and LGD.int seem destined to be forever fighting against each other since the two teams are once again drawn into the same group. They even have the honor of opening the third round group against each other as the first match-up on the 27th. LGD.int also has the misfortune of being placed against its nemesis, Orange. Of the four teams, Rattlesnake might be considered the weakest, but that is more because of a lack of record and incidental mistakes than any evidence based on head-to-head performance. Rattlesnake may very well repeat the LGD.int feat of blazing a way to the finals in its debut competition.Group B has a clear favorite, iG, and a clear underdog, Chains Stack. iG has been nearly unbeatable in the several months since TI2 and it will probably stay that way. Chains Stack, on the other hand, will be playing with stand-ins, making the challenge of advancing ever more difficult. DK and Zenith are solid teams and both should perform at a very high level. The fight for each placement in this group will be fierce. The G-1 Asian Qualifiers are chugging along, with eight teams now in phase three. We're getting closer and closer to the finals, and the stakes, of course, are getting higher and higher. Phase three sees the entrance of the heavyweights - last year's top four, and what a top four they are! LGD.cn, DK, iG and Orange, the teams that gave us the fantastic playoffs we saw last season Now, they're back, and ready to face four challengers for just four G-1 League slots. These challengers cannot be easily dismissed. Among them are noted international teams like LGD.int and Zenith, and up and coming outfits like Rattlesnake and Chain Stack. Tangeng gives you a rundown of the teams and what to expect from them Needless to say, the feature of this G-1 update is this Sgamer interview with Xiao8 . Translated for the foreign audience by kupon3ss, the interview gives us insight into how LGD.cn's skipper looks at the Phase 3. Remember, they're defending champions, and as they say, it's easy to get to the top, but hard to stay there!Missed Phase 2 completely? Don't feel bad! TL writer kupon3ss has recapped all the action for you . His quick recap will make sure that you are up to speed and ready for this third and final phase of the Asian Qualifiers. If you've missed the games so far, now's the time to pull up a chair and join us in the Live Report thread and on IRC . The world will be watching as the quals start today. Will you?Finally, we're proud to introduce Focus Mode in this G-1 Update. Focus Mode is a new, distraction free way to read TL's Dota 2 coverage. Enjoy! When in doubt, just believe in yourself and press buttons