The DreamLeague Season 10 Teams
Image by Epicenter
Two weeks of qualifiers in a row can be a little tedious for an average viewer, especially considering how Minor qualifiers generally feature teams of relatively unknown players. However, despite low fame, these teams produced some excellent Dota and definitely deserve recognition.
Today we would like to spend some time to give you a quick overview of the teams coming to DreamLeague Season 10 qualifier. There are some well-known names among these teams, but for some players it is going to be their first international LAN experience. Qualified teams are definitely excited about the upcoming tournament, and so should be you: in slightly over a month the new DPC season will officially kick off.
NoPing Esports
South America is showing slow, but steady progress: there are now both recognizable names and recognizable teams coming from SA. One of these big names, Timado, has returned back to his home region after a year of playing for EU and NA teams and will get a chance to prove himself once again, after a somewhat uneventful year.
He will be joined by relative veterans of the SA scene—Matthew and Papita, as well as some absolute newcomers—MoOz and Wisper. The latter is also going to be the first professional player from Bolivia to attend an International Dota LAN.
While it is easy to disregard SA teams as strong contenders for the title, they are always fun to watch, bringing a lot of explosiveness to their games. And if that team does manage to take it all in DreamLeague, we are certain it is going to be done with style.
The Final Tribe
An all-Swedish roster that managed to secure a convincing first place in the qualifier. We didn’t have any successful Swedish teams in Dota since TI3 [A]lliance, but it seems the scene is going through a renaissance.
The Final Tribe didn’t make many changes since the TI8 qualifiers: it is still a squad with a 23-year old veteran Era at its helm. Three other members of the team aren’t new to the scene either. Chessie returned home after a 2-year tenure with
compLexity Gaming, while Handsken and jonassomfan most notably played together for [A]lliance last year.
The only new guy in the team is Frost who was around the scene for a couple of years now, but never truly succeed. This tournament is going to be the big chance for the team to prove itself, especially since they didn’t get to play against Liquid in their qualifier run.
compLexity Gaming
The new EternalEnvy squad. Jacky Mao is a very polarizing player, but he is always entertaining to watch: even switching to support position didn’t slow him down. He is joined by Zfreek for a very convincing and mechanically skilled support duo—something that not all top tier can boast.
Despite having stand-ins and generally being a very new squad, this team looks very promising. More importantly, they insist on playing their own Dota, developing their own playstyle and are confident enough to not follow meta. It is definitely a good sign and while it may not pay out immediately, it will allow this roster to grow together, potentially leading to excellent results later on in the season.
Tigers
The core of TNC Tigers remained, with 1437 sticking around in the SEA region. His influence on the growth of the SEA scene can’t be underestimated, with many young players from the region doing well in international tournaments.
This time he is also joined by MoonMeander, who slightly fell off the scene after his departure from OG. Ahjit is also playing first position in this squad and we recommend keeping a close eye on this player. He might not have been successful in former Fnatic and Clutch Gamers, but he is easily one of the most reliable and consistent carries of the region.
Knights
A half-Malay, half-Chinese squad that managed to emerge victorious against both favorites of the Minor Qualifiers: on their way to the top this team has beaten both Newbee and Team Serenity.
This squad consist of two former LFY players and one former iG player: these teams haven’t been successful last season, but their names still carry a certain weight. Both Monet and ah fu were a part of the amazing TI7 run by LFY and will now get a chance to return to the scene stronger, under the guidance of 343, former Fnatic coach.
There are now newcomers on this team, there are no unproven players: all of them have both skill and experience. They also have Mikasa as their coach—probably one of the most proven coaches in Dota history, who’s led Newbee to TI4 victory and helped make Vici Gaming the brand it is today.
ROOONS
Second stack since the beginning of the season to prove that you don’t need brands and sponsorship behind you to play good Dota. Featuring community favorite BSJ, as well as other top tier NA pub players, this team wasn’t as clean and precise in their execution as most top tier teams are, but they still have a whole month to grow.
Hopefully they will manage to overcome their communication issues as well as propensity to give up leads unnecessarily: they will face very tough opposition in the LAN event and it would be a shame if their entertaining run through the qualifiers will be cut short in the main event.
Natus Vincere
First LAN for the organization without Dendi: new Na’Vi was built around SoNNeikO and Crystallize and this might actually bear some fruit in the season. After a very slow start in Major Qualifiers, Na’Vi has shown that they can and will grow as a team.
Their run through qualifiers was very convincing, with 6 victories in a row to secure the spot. It is still too early to claim that Na’Vi is back—they will need to test themselves against the international competitors. But at least for now, for the first time in a very long while, the fans can be cautiously optimistic.
Team Liquid
The most dominant team a year ago is now making it to the minor with a second place finish. Did TI curse finally catch up to Team Liquid or are they simply gathering their strength? We bet it is the latter.
We mostly saw the team goofing around in the Major qualifiers and they managed to qualify for the Minor with a stand-in: this team is still incredibly strong, at least on paper. After finally giving up on trying to make position 2 Kuroky work, the team immediately transformed to the Liquid we know and had little to no problem securing the invite.
We knew that there is always going to be this one Tier 1 team in Minors—there is a limited amount of Major slots after all, but no one would ever assume that it is going to be Liquid. All seven team discussed above are going to be tested and compared to Team Liquid. Will the tournament develop as expected, with Liquid making it to the Major the long way, or are we going to see the rise of a new contender for the Tier 1 status? We will know in a month.
Go ROOOOOONS
To be honest last season Na'Vi was doing well. It wasn't amazing, but they were able to snag points enough to get on the invite board until Sonneiko left. I wouldn't say it's been all that long since fans of the yellow had hope, but it definitely was dashed after Sonneiko hopped out.
No InYourDream mentioned on Tigers. Poor rank #1 SEA player.
^ Second to that.
Not to mention both him and Xepher would be the first Indonesians to play in a Valve event.
Nice article, I love it
sem uma delicia sopa de pangolier
Great article, Kawaii. I personally am hyped to see more SA DotA. Their playstyle and drafting seems so much more lax and casual than most other region's. Where regions like EU seem to surf the meta, adapting to what is "good", regions like CIS seem to find what they want and stick to it, figuring out how to implement old strategies into new games... SA just seems to pick what is fun and have a ball. At the end of the game, it's all about just that. Enjoying some DotA with the boys.
In other news,
Currently the Enchanted Mango has a 31.27% win rate. This is a tragedy. Whether being accidentally used while still in fountain or used just in time for that clutch nyx stun saving your teammate's life, it has always made memorable game impacts. It is our duty and responsibility as fellow gamers and members of this community to give the item the win rate it deserves. Thank you in advance for your support.