The International 3: A closer look at the competition

The International 3: A closer look at the competition

The most anticipated Dota 2 event of the year is just around the corner and indeed it’s in its third year and this means that there’s a lot stored for us. With 16 of the best teams from all over the world grouped up in this prestigious event, it will surely be an electrifying and exciting event to watch for. 8 teams from last year’s contest are back to  challenge once again and this includes the previous two champions, Natus Vincere and Invictus gaming, with 8 more hungry teams joining them for the battle of the year.

Let’s take a look at the their achievments during the year and what they can bring to the table.

INVICTUS GAMING

The reigning champions will return with the same roster to try and take the title once again, but they will have their hands full come TI3 as they have to defend their title against 15 incredible teams and they will surely not hand them the championship that easily.

Despite an impressive performance during and after TI2, their journey through the year was tough and left a lot wondering, “do they still have anything left in their tanks?” A sample of that was during G1 Champion’s League where they underperformed and ended up in 5th place tied with Team Liquid. Finishing in different places during the year proved that they are not the Invictus Gaming we once knew — a consistent and dominant team and that will be a force to reckon with come TI3.

Achievements 2013

• 1st – G League 2012 Season 2
• 5th/6th – G-1 Champions League
• 3rd – Alienware Cup

NATUS VINCERE

They are undoubtedly one of the favorites to win this year’s event having been the most consistent team during the year despite having to go through a roster change where they lost ARS-ART and LighTofHeaveN and were replaced by Funn1k and Kuroky. A lot of people criticized them that they needed time to be adjust and work as a unit, but they proved that they can easily adjust with each other after finishing in first place in the RaidCall EMS One in just under a month after the roster change.

They continued to dominate in the Wastern Scene almost finishing all in first place, they also ended their run in the Alienware Cup in convicing fashion where they defeated the chinese powerhouses TongFu, Invictus Gaming and LGD.cn to take home the championship and $25,000 cash price.

Achievements 2013

• 1st – Bigpoint Battle: March
• 1st – ESL Major Series One – Cup 1.1
• 2nd – ESL Major Series One – Cup 1.2
• 3rd – Techlabs Cup (Moscow, Russia)
• 1st – joinDota Master XI
• 1st ESL Major Series One – Spring
• 3rd – WePlay Dota 2 Tournament
• 1st – Techlabs Cup (Minsk, Belarus)
• 5th-8th – Dreamhack Summer, Sweden
• 1st – Alienware Cup 2013
• 1st – Raidcall Dota 2 League – Season Three
• 1st – The Defense 4

NEOLITION E-SPORTS ORANGE

One of the best teams in South East Asia and are consistent contenders when it comes to international competitions, they will be having another shot at The International 3 and they are hungrier than ever. Despite losing Yamateh, Winter and Ice last January who were later on be replaced by Ky.Xy, Net and Ohaiyo, and it seemed like it rejuvenated the whole team as they continued to dominate in South East Asia. They finished in decent places in their last three major events, which only proved that they can keep up with the best. 

Achievements 2013

• 1st – SEA League 
• 1st – GOsucup Asia V
• 2nd GEST February
• 3rd – Steelseries DotaTalk League
• 1st – GEST The Challenge
• 1st – Asian Gaming League #2
• 1st – Pride Challenge
• 1st – Pinoy Gaming Festival – Summer 2013
• 3rd – G-1 Champion’s League
• 4th – Dota 2 Super League – Season 1
• 5th-6th – Alienware Cup
• 1st – AMD Premier League #2

ZENITH

After finishing fifth place in The International 2, they went through restructuring, where we saw their captain HyHy retire from competitive Dota and carry player Loda leave. Their original replacements LuX and alanter just could not cut it for them and Zenith decided to part ways with them and introduce former NeoES.Orange players, Yamateh and Ice.

Considered as one of the most unique and exciting teams in the scene with their surpising and unpredictable lineups. They are among those teams who are not afraid to get out of their comfot zones, but come to think of it, they are probably in their comfort zones when they do unorthodox lineups that can really catch the opposing teams off guard and give them an edge.

Achievements 2013

• GosuCup Asia Dota 2 – Season 4
• 1st – Flash Dota 2 League – Pro Category
• 2nd – SEA League – Season 1
• 2nd – AMD Premier League – Season 1
• 1st – Neolution GosuCup – June
• 7th-8th – Alienware Cup

DK

We havn’t seen much of team DK and has been under the radar until a few month’s before TI3. Their highlight moment of the year so far was during the season 1 of the Dota 2 Super League where they went undefeated in the group stage, convincingly defeated LGD.cn 3-1 in the semi-finals but unfortunately fell short against TongFu with an outstanding 0-3 loss.

Their playing style and hero compositions undoubtedly improved with Burning and his teammates showing their flexibilities and indeed it composed a threat and can catch the opposing teams off guard.

Achievements 2013

• 4th – G-1 Champion’s League
• 2nd – Dota 2 Super League – Season 1
• 4th – Alienware Cup

ALLIANCE

One of the most successful teams this year, finishing first in 12 of the tournaments they joined including their first encounter with the Eastern scene teams in the G-1 League where they shocked the whole eSports world as they went through the group stage in crushing fashion, not losing a single game to secure a spot in the grand finals where they defeated LGD.cn 2-0 to achieve an undefeated score of 7-0. They not only grabbed the illusive title, but they also etched their names into the history books as they became the first Wetern team to win in a major LAN even in China.

Achievements 2013

• 3rd/4th – ESL Major Series One – Cup #1.1
• 1st – ESL Major Series One – Cup #1.2
• 1st – ESL Major Series One – Cup #1.3
• 1st – ESL Major Series One – Cup #1.4
• 1st – EiZO Cup – March
• 3rd – Ritmix DOTA 2 League
• 1st – Star Ladder – Star Series #5
• 1st – Dteamhack Dota 2 Invitational
• 5th-8th – ESL Major Series Spring LAN
• 1st – The Premier Leagie – Season 4
• 1st – WePlay Dota 2 Tournament
• 1st – G-1 Champion’s League
• 1st – Dreamhack Summer
• 1st – Star Ladder – Star Series VI
• 1st – The Premier League – Season 5

LGD.CN

One of the invited teams that was revoked due to roster change where we saw the departure of LongDD and the comeback of dd, they were then forced to participate in the qualifiers instead. They took the qualifiers as an opportunity to prove that they are still a stable team despite the roster changed and indeed they did it in convincing fashion.

They then went through G-1 Champion’s League and instantly dominated as they only dropped 1 game in the hands of Alliance, they then defeated NeoES.Orange 2-0 but later had to suffer another loss in the hands of Alliance in the grand finals and had to settle for second place.

Achievements 2013

• 3rd/4th – G League 2012 – Season 2
• 2nd – G-1 Champion’s League
• 3rd – Dota 2 Super League – Season 1
• 2nd – Alienware Cup
• 1st – Red Bull ESports Champion League

LGD.INTERNATIONAL

They were picked up by LGD a month after The International 2, probably to have two representatives for this year and for their China squad to had someone to scrim with without revealing most of their strategies. LGD.Int’s highlight moment was when they surprised a lot of people when they reached the grand finals of the G-League 2012 season 2, where they faced the Chinese powerhouse Invictus Gaming and ended up losing 1:3.

Besides finishing second place in the GEST The Challenge, they just went under the radar and being out-shadowed by other teams.

Achievements 2013

• 2nd – G League 2012 – Season 2
• 2nd – GEST The Challenge
• 7th-8th – Alienware Cup

TONGFU

The team who was awarded with a direct invite after LGD.cn’s invitation was revoked due to roster change, they were immediately criticized by many that they do not deserve what Valve gave them. So, what did they do? They they proved that they also have enough gas in their tanks after dominating the AMD Premier League Season 1 as they went undefeated throughout the tournament and crushed Zenith 3-0 in the grand finals.

An impressive 3-0 win against DK the grand finals of the Dota 2 Super League was just an icing on the cake as over the past months, TongFu have been said to be the strongest team in China and that was proof that they can keep up and beat the best.

Achievements 2013

• 3rd-4th – G League 2012 – Season 2
• 1st – AMD Premier Leadue – Season 1
• 1st – Dota 2 Super League – Season 1
• 5th-6th – Alienware Cup

VIRTUS.PRO

The Acquisition of ARS-ART was not much of an impact for the team after Santa left, as their performance during tournaments remain the same besides defeating Fnatic.Eu 3-0 in the grand finals of The Defense 3. They still came up short in LAN events as their inexperience showed.

They proved to be a threat to teams and should not be underestimated by any team, defeating the likes of Natus Vincere and Alliance. We all know that they are one of the team-to-beat in the Western scene as they have the potential and creativity, but their lack of experience in LAN events and facing against Eastern teams could be a huge disadvantage for them come TI3.

Achievements 2013

• 3rd – EMS One Season One – Cup 1.1
• 3rd – EMS One Season One – Cup 1.2
• 3rd – EMS One Season One – Cup 1.3
• 4th – EMS One Season One – Cup 1.4
• 4th – Techlabs Cup, Moscow
• 1st – The Defense 3
• 2nd – Ritmis Russian Dota 2 League
• 3rd – Star series Season 5
• 3rd – The Premier League – Season 4
• 5th-8th – Dreamhack Summer, Sweden
• 3rd – Star Ladder – Start Series Season VI, Kiev
• 4th – The Premier League – Season 4
• 2nd – Corasai Gaming Summer Tournament

FNATIC.EU

The team became a dominant force during the early months of 2013 and proved to be one of the best on the Western scene. However, their personal problems brought them back to real life causing the team unable to practise and scrim with other teams. Despite that, they were able to rise to the occasion during the LAN finals of the Star Series Season 5 where they made Alliance run for their money but unfortunately lost 3-2 to settle for second place.

With a few months before TI3, Fnatic.Eu announced that they would be moving in together for a two month bootcamp in Belgrade, Serbia hoping that they could rejuvenate and get back on track.

Achievements 2013

• 2nd – EMS One Season One – Cup 1.1
• 3rd – EMS One Season One – Cup 1.3
• 1st – DotaHut Invitational
• 3rd – EMS One Season One – Cup 1.4
• 2nd – Star Series Season 5
• 3rd – Dreamhack Dota 2 Invitational
• 5th – EMS One Season One, Katowice
• 3rd – EMS One Season Two, Katowice
• 2nd – BigPoint Battle – July
• 3rd – Corsair Gaming Summer Tournament

INVASION.MUFC

A team lead by the former NeoES.Orange player WinteR, they first made noise during the Armaggeddon Dota 2 Grand Slam Asia where they defeated First Departure First Departure to grab the $5,000 cash prize and sponsorship from Argmaggeddon. They have proven to be as one of the strongest teams in the whole South East Asia after defeating a few top teams including the juggernauts themselves, NeoES.orange.

Although Invasion.MUFC will be returning to The International with 3 new players in their roster, the players themselves are not to be counted out as they have their own experience when it comes to success in the competitive Dota scene. This team might still have their hands full come TI3 despite having a roster with full of individually skilled players, as their playing style can be easily read by their opponents and if not well prepared, they will be having a difficult time to keep up with the rest of the teams.

Achievements 2013

• 1st – GEST February
• 2nd – GIGABYTE E-Sport Tournament Malaysia March
• 1st – Armaggeddon Dota 2 Grand Slam Asia
• 2nd – GIGABYTE E-Sport Tournament Malaysia April
• 1st – GEST April
• 2nd – Netolic Pro League 2
• 3rd – AMF Premier League
• 9th-10th – Alienware Cup

TEAM LIQUID

The team who had much success in the Western Scene where they always made their presence felt in each tournament they joined. They were among the two western teams who was able to qualify in the G-1 Champion’s League along with Alliance but unfortunately they only managed to grab one win ,where they impressively defeated Invictus Gaming, which wasn’t enough to advance into the playoffs and had to settle for last place, tied with Invictus Gaming.

Team Liquid’s known for their creativity when it comes to drafting and the versatility of their players who can play multiple roles and heroes which can be their strongest point in the tournament. Although having a unique way of drafting and composing their lineup is a great advantage, there will be a point during the tournament that they have adapt with how the others play to basically control their opponents hero pool rather than opening it up for them to just grab it and use it against them, and that could even be the reason for their fall.

Achievements 2013

• 1st – Beyond The Summit: Weekend Cup
• 1st – Bigpoint Battle – February
• 3rd – DotaHut Invitational
• 2nd – Bigpoint Battle #2
• 2nd – EiZO Cup – March
• 4th – The Defense 3
• 1st – RaidCall Dota 2 League – Season 2
• 3rd-4th – Dreamhack Dota 2 Invitational
• 2nd – The Premier League – Season 4
• 5th/6th – G-1 Champion’s League
• 5th-8th – Dreamhack SUmmer, Sweden
• 4th – The Defense 4

MOUSESPORTS

One of the participants from last year who was forced to go through the gruielling qualifiers, but still Mouz proved that they deserved another shot at The International 3 and that’s just what they did. They were able to come on top of the western qualifiers, defeating Quantic Gaming to secure a spot in the event. Despite going back into TI3 with most of the former players gone, Black^ led the way, willing his team to countless victories. He has been the anchor of the team and with pickup of syndereN, they seemed to be rejuvenated and refilled their tanks.

A team that has the potential for upsets during the events with their solid late game potential and solid team play, their lack of experience playing with most of the participants could be a factor their could not manage to set aside and this could probably be one of the most important factors going into this event.

Achievements 2013

• 2nd – Bigpoint Battle 1
• 2nd – DotaHut Invitational
• 3rd – EMS One Season One, Katowice
• 1st – Bigpoint Battle 4
• 5th-8th – Dreamhack SUmmer, Sweden
• 1st – EMS One Season Two, Katowice
• 2nd – Raidcall Dota 2 League – Season 3
• 2nd – The Premier League – Season 5
• 1st – Corsair Gaming Summer Tournament

TEAM DIGNITAS

Composed by three of the original members of PotM Bottom, they immediately made waves in small online tournaments which later on would heard by the whole eSports scene. But they would later on be brought back to earth after Sneyking decided to leave due to school issues and scheduling conflicts that made Dignitas decide to pickup Universe. After a few months, another member would decided to leave and that was Tidesoftime that gave Sneyking the opening to come back and reunite with his old team and that would be the start of their era.

Dignitas is a team that loves to pickup heroes that come alive during the mid game and does damage in the late game, that is why they made a habit being active in the early stages with roams and quick teleportations to hold or at least stall the opposing team’s seige, that would give their carries the room needed to farm up their core items in able for them to be effective.

Achievements 2013

• 3rd – The Premier League Season 3
• 3rd – The Defense 3
• 1st – Ritmix Dota 2 League
• 2nd – Raidcall Dota 2 League Season 2
• 2nd – Dreamhack Dota 2 Invitational
• 3rd/4th – Dreamhack Summer, Sweden

THE WILD CARD TEAMS: QUANTIC GAMING AND RATTLESNAKES

Despite not finishing first place in the qualifiers, they still have a chance to grab the final spot in the event after placing second in the each qualifiers, Quantic Gaming from the West and Rattlesnakes from the East. 

QUANTIC GAMING

They were formerly known as dd.Dota, an unsponsored team that has shown immense potential before and during the qualifiers with their unique and rather unorthodox playing style that later on lead to numerous victores that attracted potential sponsors, and not so long they signed a deal with Quantic Gaming.

A team that focusses on winning in the laning stage, that why they were known for their Treant Protector pick that is really a strong hero to have during the early gaming that synergizes perfectly with aggressive heroes like the Queen of Pain and Weaver. 

Achievements 2013

• 2nd – Raidcall EMS One Season 2 – Cup 3
• 2nd – Dreamhack Summer – ASUS ROG Cup
• 4th – SLTV Star Series – Season 6

RATTLESNAKES

One of the favorite teams coming into the Eastern qualifiers with most of the known teams already invited. They still managed to hold on after LGD.cn started tearing through the qualifiers and surpassed ViCi gaming to grab the second place.

A team that loves to pickup Doom into their lineup, a hero that they can play on different positions and what’s unique about them is that their roles and lanings are unpredictable with the versatilies offered by each players, they can confuse the opposing team regarding who plays who and where the heroes can lane. Their unorthodox play could play a big role when in comes to TI3 as it could make or break their chance on defeating the opposing teams.

Achievements 2013

• 3rd – AMD Premier League Season 2
• 2nd – GEST The Challenge 3
• 9th-10th – Alienware Cup

The International is the best way to bring together incredible and exciting teams in the whole Dota scene, whether this team has a unique or unorthodex way of playing or maybe that team sticks to a more solid and basic team play, it just concludes to one thing that they are a proven team to be part of this prestigious event and should not be overlooked nor underestimated.

Who’s your pick for TI3? Share with us your personal favorites in the comment section below! 

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