Frankfurt Major Overview: Chinese Teams
With the Frankfurt Major right around the corner it is time to freshen our knowledge about the participating teams. Today we would like to cover the Chinese region: VG, EHOME, LGD, CDEC and Newbee. The main focus of this Blog Post will not be the history of the teams, but rather their current playstyle, roster and favorable drafts. We hope this will enhance your viewing experience in the upcoming major and provide the necessary background to fully enjoy the matches.
The now retired Xiao8 was one of the best, if not the best captain in the Chinese region and it is unsurprising to see the team perform worse after his departure. While rOtK is no amateur, the team under his command has produced below average results in the current patch and does seem slightly weaker compared to the other Chinese teams. The team is currently 11-12 in 6.85.
LGD is notoriously known for their defensive playstyle and while it might be unexciting to watch some of their overdrawn games, it certainly gets the job done. At least it used to. Highground sieges against this team have a really high chance of failure and any mistake made by their opponents will be punished. This Aikido approach to Dota is backed up by a very talented and experienced roster which, above all, has a lot of patience.
The "star" players of the team - Sylar and Maybe form a very organic core duo which is comparable to Sumail and Arteezy in terms of skill and are probably ahead of them in terms of synergy. It is unlikely to see either of them to under-perform in terms of Net Worth, yet they do not sacrifice team involvement for extra farm. Maybe is arguably the more aggressive part of the duo and he has a lot of talent to back him up in fights - watch out for his big plays.
In the current patch, the team is mainly playing a strong farming mid (SF and Ember Spirit are the top mid picks) and a flexible "tempo" first position (Gyrocopter, Queen of Pain, Windranger). It is usually backed up by a relatively aggressive support (Rubick, Visage and Winter Wyvern) with a frequent Dazzle pick. Roaming Bounty Hunter has also been used to a great success despite the nerfs. [Details]
The "Cinderella" of Dota - the team has made a huge leap from "chinese pub-star team" to a well respected vice-champion of TI5. The team does seem to have a relatively rough time after the 6.85 changes and are currently 14-15 in 6.85, but, as proved by CDEC themselves, you always have to take them seriously.
CDEC is a very atypical Chinese team. If anything, they seem like a CIS team - they want to fight you when they shouldn't, they want to dive you and they often succeed. This undisciplined by Chinese standards playstyle does have its benefits - at the very least they are putting up a great show.
Their roster, to a great extent, revolves around Agressif - an incredibly talented player with a very straightforward approach to Dota: if he sees a kill, even if it is on the other side of the map, he goes for it. His rotations are more frequent and successful than that of most supports in 4.5k bracket.
The CDEC mid player Shiki has been criticized for his rather unimpressive pool of heroes - ever since the nerfs to Lina he has been underperforming and does seem weaker than his opponents in the similar role. Perhaps he finds it harder to adjust to the meta changes and we hope to see him in his former strength in the upcoming major, because given a good start he is easily one of the flashiest Chinese players - he is just below average when it comes to farming efficiency.
Garder - the star support player of the team seems to be what ultimately glues the whole thing together. He is often the team's initiator in smaller skirmishes - more often than not as a bait and a very convincing one at that. Knowing that your carry will TP to help you is probably what makes the player more confident in this playstyle, while his signature Tusk compliments it very well.
The 6.85 team drafts revolve around a tempo mid and carry heroes - they want to be able to fight you as soon as possible and Queen of Pain, Slardar and Lina are among the best heroes for it. Their offlane has a similar idea in mind - Spirit Breaker, Tusk and Clockwerk are all among top picks for the team and it is not uncommon for them to draft two of these heroes to have one as a roaming support. Because of that they frequently lack in the the support department - Rubick, Dazzle and Winter Wyvern are the only dedicated supports the team uses frequently. [Details]
Even though the current EHOME is a far cry from what EHOME was in Dota 1, it is still a team to be reckoned with. After losing rOtK as their captain in the aftermath of TI5, the relatively young roster of talented players was discredited by the majority of spectators. After all, the only "names" left in the team were LanM and Cty and neither were considered the Top players in their respective positions for a while. Once again, the community might be wrong - the team has already proved itself by defeating Team Liquid with relative ease and even took a game off Team Secret in the NYC. They are currently 14-7 in 6.85.
Very little can be said about the playstyle of EHOME and it is probably their main strength and weakness. While they are quite efficient at playing practically any strategy, they excel in neither.
It is quite hard to name the "star" player of the team - on one hand you have LaNm, one of the veterans of the Chinese scene as well as one of the "Big Gods". On the other you have Kaka - the top of Chinese leaderboards who, similarly to Miracle- and w33 has proved that hard work and dedication do pay off. Other players are also far from being weak - Cty is no stranger to the professional scene and has experience to back him up, while old chicken and ELeVeN are very promising young talents.
The most popular pick for the team in 6.85 has been Tusk - even after the nerfs the Chinese professionals hold him in a very high regard. He is closely followed by QoP and Spirit Breaker, as well as Earthshaker. EHOME is also one of the few teams to put high priority on Ancient Apparition. More atypical picks for the team are TA and Invoker - old chicken's specialty. [Details]
With a roster full of well-known top players it is unsurprising VG are doing quite well - 16-10 in the current patch. Ever since TI4 the brand has been on the rise and the organisation currently is pretty much on the same level with LGD and IG. This recognition is also backed up by a relatively stable roster - something very unusual for a Chinese team.
Vici Gaming's playstyle is best described as "tit for tat" - if they lose in some area they will make sure they win in the other and through a series of gambits they will eventually win the game. It is more or less an evolution of rOtK's "tactical feeding", but now they try to get slightly more than the opponent and are often successful.
Players such as iceiceice are ideal in these scenarios, since he can create a lot of space and make sure there is enough time for the team to accomplish the objectives and for Burning to farm. Speaking of Burning - in his transition to an aggressive VG, it seems he has slightly changed his playstyle - more often than not he actually joins the fights early on and contributes to the team's early success.
Fy and Fenrir are arguably the strongest Chinese support duo - incredible talent coming from Fy and consistency of Fenrir make for a very scary roaming pair which will put immense pressure on the map and will try to get as much help to the occasionally underpeforming Super. That is not to say the player lacks talent, it is just the current meta does not necessarily suit the 6.83 beast.
When it comes to the team's "niche" picks Alchemist certainly stands out - they try to get him as often as they can - after all Super was the one who invented mid Alchemist. Undying is also among the prioritized picks for the team - he goes incredibly well with early aggression and, more importantly, can create a lot of free time for the other side of the map. The team also expresses unusual interest in Silencer. [Details]
Despite a very disappointing year following their TI4 success, the team seems to adjust well to the new meta with a current record of 13-7. To a certain extent it is the return of Hao - an undeniably strong carry player and leader. Despite having broken up the immensely strong support duo of Sansheng and Banana from TI4, the team seems to has found its rhythm and synergy.
While NewBee tends to draft rather aggressive line-ups, the squad is very flexible in what they pick and play. That flexibility however does not always pay off. They may have a variety of strategies to choose from, but their success seems to come from line-ups centered around grouping up and fighting as a team.
The star players of the roster - Hao, Mu and Banana are TI4 winners, but it is the former that I feel is the most deserving of praise. Great mechanical skill coupled with good game sense generally make for a very good carry players and Hao is one of the best. His Phantom Lancer in 6.84 was greately feared, while his Spectre plays were always on point. Currently, however, there is no single hero he seem to prefer, instead going for high versatility. I do believe, though, that in a crucial moment we shall see a Spectre pick from Newbee.
Unlike most other teams Newbee have not completely given up on Lina - she is the top pick for Mu, which is even more surprising, since the hero is generally played as a support in 6.85. Earthshaker is the second most popular hero with Rubick and Gyrocopter in a third place. Overall, with the exception of Lina, the team's drafting priority does not show any particular interest in certain hero. [Details]
#1 Comment
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First EleGiggle
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Return June to ig BibleThump
Currently the Enchanted Mango only has a 36.93% win rate. Together, we as a community, have the ability to fix this problem and end this horrific tragedy. Please help. It is our duty as gamers to give this item the respect it is due.
AGREED
BurNIng Fangay is Here Keepo
BuNIng fangay is here too KappaRoss
where is iG?
mango sucks....ive never bought a single mango in over 1200 hours of playing...now if they came up with an enchanted banana...I'll think bout it
sucks that iG can't come due to passport issues.
aw is too short
Nice, good read. Keep it up!
Thanks
@Retard Magnet seems like you've attracted yourself. Mango is a situational item that can mean the difference between escaping or feeding, getting a kill or losing out.
keep rolling
It is so sad IG miss the Frankfurt Major.
vg top3 i can feel it..
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