Shanghai European Qualifiers – The Teams
The battle for the two Shanghai spots across Europe and the CIS was as fierce as the rest of the qualifiers, with some unexpected events taking place. While Team Liquid were heavily favoured to advance, Team Spirit surprised many with the ease with which they managed to qualify.
Let’s take a look at the two European and CIS teams who went through from the Shanghai European Qualifiers and whether they have a reasonable chance of succeeding there.
Team Liquid
Team Liquid marched through the qualifiers unbeaten, conceding just two games to take the first spot.
After suffering the disappointment of failing to qualify for the previous Major in Frankfurt, their performances since last November have been nothing short of stellar, with victories in the Dota 2 Champions League Season 6 and The Defense Season 5, as well as third place at the World Cyber Arena.
Furthermore, last month they managed to secure 3-4th place in the 13th edition of the Star Ladder Star Series.
This range of successes rightfully put them amongst the top European teams and they are currently 3rd in Europe and 7th in the world. Their January stats illustrate their good form, with a 70% win rate in January made up of 14 wins, 4 draws and only 2 losses.
One of the reasons for their success has been the great teamwork exhibited by them. Apart from KuroKy, who has been a top player in the scene for quite a while, the rest of the team have grown a lot over the last couple of months under his guidance.
MATUMBAMAN as a main Carry is one of the players whose performances drive the team forward. He is exceptional when handling Ember Spirit and his favourite Gyrocopter, who has seen increased popularity in the current meta.
In order to become more competitive, the team could benefit from increasing the number of heroes they play. The ones they favour – Tusk, Dark Seer, Gyrocopter and Razor – are picked far more often compared to the rest of the hero pool (for example, with 46 picks in the last three months, Tusk, who is one of JerAx’s signature heroes, seems a good target for a ban). Likewise, MinD_ContRoL’s picks are often limited to Dark Seer and while one of the best Dark Seers out there, it is also quite a predictable pick from him and easy to ban or counter.
Despite this, so far the team have been quite balanced and they do have significant potential. KuroKy proved that he is not only one of the top players on the Dota scene, but that he can be a captain and lead a team too.
Consequently, given their growth, Team Liquid are more than likely to achieve great things in Shanghai and be a contender for the top places.
Team Spirit
Goblak’s team qualified for the main event by defeating Team Empire in the lower bracket final. They were one of the pleasant surprises in the qualifiers and watching them play, it was hard to believe that they had only played 44 games together under the Team Spirit banner. Their solid play lifted them up to 20th in the world and 9th in the Europe and CIS region, and there could be plenty more to come.
So far in the team’s short lifespan, captain Goblak favours Bane and Invoker as his most frequent hero picks, while Iceberg is a very solid Invoker player and a promising mid player.
In general, the team favours disablers, who are among the most picked of their heroes. Some untraditional picks who are not as popular in the meta, such as the Treant Protector, can also be seen in play from Team Spirit.
One of the reasons why the team have managed to adapt so well is the good communication between their players. All are Russian or Ukrainian and share not only the same language, but a similar culture too.
The good team chemistry is also helped by the blending of veterans in the form of Goblak and ALWAYSWANNAFLY with fresh talent such as Iceberg, AfterLife and RAMZES666. Apart from an experienced captain, the presence of Goblak also gives them a skilled and experienced drafter.
Despite their recent prowess, their January form is not particularly impressive, with a 41% win rate with 9 wins, 2 draws and 11 losses. This leaves huge questions regarding whether they will be able to make an impact in China.
However, the team has very good synergy given the short time they have been together and could be one of those outfits that pleasantly surprise. They certainly should not be underestimated by the rest in Shanghai.
Dafabet will be offering live odds on The Shanghai Major if your keen to place a meet on one of the teams going through from the Shanghai European Qualifiers head over to the site.
