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8 Dota 2 teams you need to watch in 2018
There’s plenty of Dota to play in 2018. With TI8 spots limited, who are the teams to watch this year? Join us as we run through the 8 you need to keep in mind.
When the Aegis of Champions was lifted back in August by Team Liquid, the professional scene already started preparing for 2018 and looking forward to what was touted to be the busiest Dota 2 season ever. With the announcement of Valve’s Dota Pro Circuit, nine Majors and 14 Minors are on the cards, all offering qualifying points to determine the coveted eight slots at The International 2018. Since the Pro Circuit kicked off in October, the community has been treated to a constant stream of premium Dota 2. Whether it’s qualifiers for an event or a major LAN every weekend, there’s been plenty to whet the appetite.
We’ve reached the stage now where the ladder has really started to take shape. There’s a clear eight teams at the top of the leaderboard, but with the weighting of points and amount of tournaments still available, it’s all still to play for.
Here are the eight teams you need to watch as we storm towards The International 8.
1. Team Secret
When veteran captain Clement ‘Puppey’ Ivanov opted to switch up the squad for this season, not many would have expected him to bring in former Cloud9 carry Marcus ‘Ace’ Hoelgaard and Adrian ‘Fata-’ Trinks. Fata- moved from the middle lane to offlane and although Ace had shown flashes of talent, he was still yet to achieve much in the scene despite having been signed to teams for the best part of five years.
Considering Secret have arguably had stronger rosters on paper, this one looks to be the scariest yet. They’ve already earned US $865,000, clocked up 4,140 Pro Circuit points and attended more Dota Pro Circuit events than any other team. Not only that, but with one Major win and one Minor win, they’re in pole position qualify for The International. It would take a minor miracle results wise for them to not make it to Valve’s flagship tournament – and we wouldn’t put it past them to go the whole way.
2. OG
The boys in green weren’t quick to get off the mark with the gentle roster tweak this season. No one doubts the talent of Roman ‘Resolut1on’ Fominok, and considering OG have been long renowned for a play style in which Johan ‘n0tail’ Sundstein gets almost sacrificed for the mid and offlane, it’s no surprise to now see OG starting to push on in the Dota Pro Circuit.
The four-time Major champions are yet to compete in one this year, but with qualification secured for both Bucharest and Katowice, they’re set to grace the biggest stage once more. They currently sit eighth in the Dota Pro Circuit rankings, having won a minor, and with the pedigree they have, it’s impossible to write them off.
3. Mineski
It’s been a while since there’s been a dominant force in the South East Asian region – there’s little doubt now though that Mineski are that team. Familiar names in Daryl Koh ‘iceiceice’ Pei Xiang and Chai ‘Mushi’ Yee Fung have found talented team-mates, and it has shown through their results thus far.
The team has attended four minors and won one, now sitting fifth overall in the Dota Pro Circuit rankings. As a result of their strong performance last year, they’ve also been handed direct invites to both the Bucharest Major and ESL One Katowice. They’re also attending ESL One Genting and StarLadder i-League Invitational Season 4, so they’ve got a chance of making serious Dota Pro Circuit points and edging closer to The International. It remains to be seen exactly how good they are at their peak, but there’s certainly been enough flashes of brilliance to have fans excited.
4. Vici Gaming
There’s been a fair amount of criticism thrusted at the Chinese scene of late, with fans feeling that it’s not quite as strong as it once was. There are still two teams from the region that make the top eight of the Dota Pro Circuit rankings, however, and one of them is Vici Gaming.
Although they’re yet to attend a Major, three second places at Minor events leaves them well poised for a big second half of the Dota season. They lost by three games to two against both Team Liquid and Team Secret, which there’s no shame in doing, while Newbee made shorter work of them in their other grand final. Zhang ‘Paparazi’ Chengjun has talent in abundance and the experienced heads of Zhang ‘LaNm’ Zhicheng and Lu ‘Fenrir’ Chao have seen it all in Dota before. Don’t write them off.
5. compLexity Gaming
Everyone loves compLexity Gaming, but they haven’t quite achieved the result they’d have wanted. Although they’ve attended four Minors to date, inconsistencies have only seen them notch up 135 points on the leaderboard to date. They sit just 13th at present, however, with dominance in online qualification recently, they’ve got a host of tournaments lined up with good chances of Pro Circuit points at each.
David ‘Moo’ Hull is the odd one out as he’s sandwiched by two pairs of brothers in Rasmus and Linus Blondin (Chessie and Limmp) and Zakari and Kyle Freedman (Zfreek and melonzz), but the North American organisation have looked brilliant of late. They’re not scared to play innovative drafts, with Zfreek’s four position Nature’s Prophet a particular favourite. With qualification secured for so many big events in 2018, coL are once again a team to watch.
6. Team Liquid
It’s always worth keeping eyes on the current TI champions. With no roster changes in sight, Team Liquid are still perched in third place on the leaderboard and have a pretty good record. The reigning champions have won both of the Minors they’ve attended, yet fallen short at both the Majors. They’ve a little way to go if they wish to catch Secret at the top, but they’re still looking strong.
Lack of motivation doesn’t seem to have hit the team yet, either. It’s definitely worth having a look at the reigning champions as we’ve never seen a team lift the Aegis of Champions twice consecutively. Could they break all records and do it again?
7. Team World
Team World’s one of the newest teams on the block, having only been formed at the start of this year, but there’s no questioning the talent on the roster. Two experienced supports in The International runner-up Martin ‘Saksa’ Sazdov and former EG coach Avery ‘SVG’ Silverman will be looking to maximise the potential of a impressive roster.
In the offlane, we’ll see a familiar face in Lee ‘Forev’ Sang-don, while the carry role will be taken up by Grigoris ‘Keyser’ Kallianiotis, who made it to The International 7. Marking his return to the professional scene after a brief hiatus is Anathan ‘ana’ Pham, a youngster who won two Majors with OG last season. He’ll be looking to add to that with a new look team whom no one should underestimate.
8. Newbee
Eyebrows were raised when Newbee kept the same roster following a crushing defeat in the final of The International 7. It’s tough to take defeat, especially in the grand final of Dota’s biggest event. The community questioned whether the roster would have the fortitude to hurdle the disappointment and have a good season – and so far, so good.
The superstar Chinese roster sit fourth in the Pro Circuit rankings with 1,035 points and a win at the Perfect World Masters under their belt. They’ve a lot of big tournaments this year and judging by current form, it’s tough to bet against them. We’ve all seen just how good they can be, but it all comes back to consistency. They didn’t turn up in the grand final of The International, but were brilliant throughout the tournament. If they can prevent further inconsistent flashes, Newbee are without doubt a team to keep an eye on.
