Earlier this week, Shanghai played host to yet another StarLadder season, having been the venue for the second edition last year. The home crowd did not witness a Chinese win; instead, it was the reigning champions Team Liquid that defended their title from the previous season rather comfortably. The International champions added 150 more Dota Pro Circuit Points and $135,000 from the prize pool to their collection. The team did not only triumph in the tournament itself, but broke some new ground in competitive Dota 2.
Team Liquid StarLadder milestones:
- Team Liquid won their third StarLadder tournament in a row, having already triumphed in the second and third edition (*their fourth if the slightly different StarLadder i-League StarSeries Season 3 is taken into consideration).
- KuroKy became the first player in professional Dota 2 history to achieve 1000 wins (achieved in the third game of the grand final).
- Team Liquid triumphed with the same win ratio as the previous tournament (ten wins, one loss) and the record was achieved in a similar manner (with their only loss being conceded at the grand final).
Liquid put up champion performance throughout
Liquid were drafted in group A, alongside LGD, compLexity and Infamous, and achieved a clear record of four wins and zero losses by consecutively beating Infamous (2-0) and LGD (2-0). At the semifinal stage, they were challenged by Mineski, but even though the SEA team stood tall against the TI champions, Liquid grabbed yet another 2-0 to reach the grand final.
A Chinese team had been expected to be their opponents in the final, but few would have picked a new-look LGD over the established favourites, Newbee. As it happened, Liquid and LGD would meet for the first time since the former knocked the latter out of The International 2017. The series offered some fast-paced Dota and plenty of action across four games.
The rapid pace was set right from the start and on several occasions, it seemed that LGD would win it, but eventually, Miracle-‘s Storm Spirit show proved too much to handle; Liquid got off to a great start in the series after a tough 52-minute game.
The second game was the most one-sided one in the series, but not in favour of Team Liquid; LGD swept the floor with their opponents, taking advantage of the too-late-game focused lineup and achieved an 18-minute victory that only a handful of teams have managed to pull off against the TI 7 champions.
LGD’s gamble on a snowball lineup did not pay off in game three and having contained their opponents well in the early game, KuroKy and co started building a solid advantage in the mid-game, quickly capitalising on it in terms of map objectives. LGD could do nothing to stop the Liquid snowball continuing to roll.
Despite the unsuccessful result from the previous game, LGD again drafted a gank-heavy lineup. This time, they did better in the laning stage, completely shutting down Miracle-, but another threat in the form of Matumbaman was looming. He gained solid farm and in the mid-game, his team got the upper hand yet again by being proactive and forcing team-fights on their opponents. LGD were broken for the last time and gave up after less than 30 minutes.
What did Liquid show us this time out?
It was hardly surprising that Team Liquid claimed the victory, given they’ve amassed four wins, two second-place finishes and one semifinal in the tournaments that they have taken part in so far. The side’s current roster has been in place since January 2017 (KuroKy, MATUMBAMAN and MinD_ContRoL since October 2015) and is currently one of the longest standing lineups in the sport.
To become a world champion in Dota 2, a team must excel both in the drafting phase and execution and Team Liquid certainly demonstrated mastery in both departments – strategically, they were challenged most soundly by Mineski, while there were times when the team won their match in the drafting phase (e.g. against LGD). Another top-class characteristic is that Liquid do not limit themselves to a certain playstyle – they can effectively play push, late-game, mid-game, and the laning stage, as well as split-push-focused lineups, which gives them a high degree of unpredictability.
The team also has top class players, such as Miracle-, who has been unofficially holding the title of “best mid” for more than a year now. Game one against LGD is a perfect example of how Miracle- can be a one-man show – when he has his hand on a snowballing hero such as Storm Spirit, he can demolish an entire team. Teams realise how important of a player he is and sometimes they just aim to shut him down, as was the case with LGD in the last game of the grand final.
This is when MATUMBAMAN comes in to deliver – usually playing second priority in terms of farming, he can step up to the occasion as seen in game four of the grand final when he was the driving force. The circle of cores is completed by MinD_ContRoL, who seems as if he never stops improving and rarely disappoints in his performances. As a player, he is quite versatile and can play both defensive and offensive roles, either as a team-fight support, initiator or aggressive laner and ganker. On occasions, he can even carry his team as a fully-fledged core.
The support duo comprises GH and KuroKy. The probability of Team Liquid having a good game depends a lot on the support play – the two supports play crucial roles in either securing lanes, ganking or providing space. One of the gravest mistakes that Liquid’s opponents can make is to allow GH to take the reigns of sustain support, such as Io or Keeper of the Light. The living legend of Dota, KuroKy, meanwhile, possesses an unparalleled knowledge and game understanding, and rarely gets outdrafted.
A common weakness that the team displays on occasion is that they tend to underestimate their opponents, which seemed to be the case in their only loss in the tournament.
On track for more success
Liquid’s triumph on the stage of StarLadder was widely expected and well-deserved. After the win, Team Liquid find themselves in second in the overall Dota Pro Circuit rankings, with 3510 points and well on their way to getting onto the stage of The International 2018 for the chance to defend their championship title. What sets them apart from previous TI winners is that the team demonstrates that despite winning the biggest Dota 2 prize there is, they are still hungry for more success and trophies and have the level of play to back it up.
