Preview of The International 2017
Ihor MatusThe general information
The most anticipated event of the year starts tomorrow - The International 2017, at which 18 best teams of the modern Dota 2 scene will face each other. The stadium “KeyArena” is still the venue that has been hosting the event for four years and a prize pool of the event keeps growing.
The format
All participants of the final stage were divided into two groups with nine participants in each of them, they will play in a Round Robin system in a bo2 format. Four best teams will go to the upper bracket of the playoff stage and rosters to hold the 5th-8th places will start their way from the loser’s bracket. The team to hold the last place leaves the tournament.
Group A Evil GeniusesTeam LiquidTeam SecretTeam EmpireLGD GamingTnC GamingFnaticInfamousInvictus Gaming.Vitality | Group B Invictus GamingVirtus.proOGNewBeeCloud9ExecrationHellRaisersLGD.Forever YoungDigital Chaos |
The playoff stage will be run in a double-elimination bracket with bo2 matches from August 7 to August 12 this year. The first match of the loser’s bracket is scheduled in a bo1 format and we will see the bo5 match as the grand final.
The prize pool
The prize pool of The International 2017 will be funded until the end of the LAN final with a help of selling cases, battle passes and levels to them. At the moment, Valve has gathered $23,098,103, $100,000 of them will go to the winner of the all stars match.
1st place: $10,119,165 - 44%2nd place: $3,679,696 - 16%3rd place: $2,414,801 - 10,5%4th place: $1,609,867 - 7%5th-6th place: $1,034,915 - 4.5%7th-8th place: $574,953 - 2.5%9th-12th place: $344,972 - 1,5%13th-16th place: $114,991 - 0,5%17th-18th place: $57,495 - 0,25%
The winner of the all stars match - $100,000
The list of talents
Valve has pleased fans with a great number of professional players in the analytics studio at the event this year - Fng, Resolut1on, ALWAYSWANNAFLY, AKKE, SyNdereN, pajkatt, LaNm and others will analyze the championship for us.
Interesting facts
- Natus Vincere misses the tournament in The International series. This statement, also, relates personally to Danil «Dendi» Ishutin who has remained an unchanged symbol of the Ukrainian organization.
- Daryl «iceiceice» Koh has the same story - the Singapore cyber-sportsman misses The International for the first time in history.
- None of the players on the modern Dota 2 scene has visited all tournaments from Valve - DDC and MiSeRy were the last players to have the chance, however, the Chinese player did not pass the qualification to The Kiev Major 2017 and the Dane failed at the North American qualifiers to The International.
- The International 2017 will become the first championship from Valve, in which final stage 18 teams will play.
- The creep stat record was beaten on the professional stage at the qualifiers to The International 2017 - Sergey «God» Bragin spent about 130 minutes to kill 2417 creeps. The previous record belonged to Ilya «Illidan» Pivcaev who had smashed 2063 creeps in 122 minutes.
- The teams to fight their way through the qualification in Southeast Asia to TI7 are the same that have been at TI6. The amazing fact is that they are located in the same order.
- None of the TI6 winners will take part in the final stage of TI7.
- Valve has gathered the record prize pool, which sum amounts $23,098,103 at the moment.
- For the first time in history, the winner of the tournament will earn more than $10,000,000.
The list of teams-participants:
Evil Geniuses (Arteezy, SumaiL, zai, Cr1t, UNIVeRsE)
Evil Geniuses are definitely one of the strongest teams in the world, considering the fact that the team has been being on the top for a long time, reaching the top 4 at most of Valve championships. Evil Geniuses are one of the most unpleasant teams for Virtus.pro and are probably able to put a spoke in the wheel of OG. Despite the team had played with a variable success, they found their game and gained their momentum after the patch. Very young roster under the guidance of the experienced Clinton «Fear» Loomis definitely wants to repeat the success of 2015 and they are able to do this.
Achievements of the team in 2017:
Dota Pit League Season 5 - the 1st placeDota 2 Asia Championships 2017 - the 5th-6th placeThe Kiev Major 2017 - the 3rd-4th placeThe Manila Masters - the 1st placeEPICENTER 2017 - the 2nd placeMars Dota 2 League 2017 - the 5th-6th place
The odds for the victory: 4,5
OG (n0tail, ana, s4, JerAx, Fly, )
Probably, each Dota 2 fan remembers the last year’s OG story - the team was the dread of Majors and most of analysts and bookmakers considered the European mix the main contender for the victory. The team sensationally left the championship, having lost to TNC Pro Team with a score 2:1. The story repeats this year - the Fly’s mentees have won two of two Majors tournaments and guys are coming to TI7 as one of the favorites, however, the pressure of the last year’s story is definitely present and if guys can cope with emotions, S4 will rise his second Aegis above his head.
Achievements of the team in 2017:
Dota Pit League Season 5 - the 2nd placeElimination Mode 3.0 - the 1st placeStarLadder i-League StarSeries Season 3 - the 3rd-4th placeDota 2 Asia Championships 2017 - the 2nd placeThe Kiev Major 2017 - the 1st placeThe Manila Masters - the 5th-6th placeEPICENTER 2017 - the 7th-8th placeMars Dota 2 League 2017 - the 4th place
The odds for the victory: 4,5
Team Liquid (MATUMBAMAN, Miracle-, GH, MinD_ContRoL, KuroKy)
Team Liquid is in an unbelievable shape, which they gained during the season. Probably, this patch suited this team the best and Miracle~ and the company was losing the grand final against Planet Odd at DreamLeague Season 7 with a score 2:0, however, they organized themselves and won three maps in a row without an effort. This only confirmed that the team was in a great shape and had not been playing the championship with a full force. The team should definitely get in the top 4, however, no one will surprise in the case of their victory.
Achievements of the team in 2017:
StarLadder i-League StarSeries Season 3 - the 1st placeDota 2 Asia Championships 2017 - the 9th-12th placeThe Kiev Major 2017 - the 5th-8th placeStarLadder i-League Invitational #2 - the 1st placeEPICENTER 2017 - the 1st placeDreamLeague Season 7 - the 1st place
The odds for the victory: 5
Virtus.Pro (Solo, 9Pasha, RAMZES666, Lil, No[o]ne)
The team was created in the beginning of August 2016 to become the best team in the CIS region, however, things went a bit better and guys are the main contenders to win The International 2017. “The bears” have repeatedly proved that they are one of the strongest teams on the modern Dota 2 scene, having held the second place at The Kiev Major 2017. Solo and the company have already proved to the world that they are ready to bring the title of the champion to CIS, having crushed their opponents at DOTA Summit 7 where they have picked about 85 heroes and have recurred only at the grand final.
Achievements of the team in 2017:
ESL One Genting 2017 - the 3rd-4th placeDota Pit League Season 5 - the 5th-6th placeThe Kiev Major 2017 - the 2nd placeMr. Cat Invitational Europe - the 1st placeRussian e-Sports Cup 2017 - the 1st placeEPICENTER 2017 - the 5th-6th placeDOTA Summit 7 - the 1st place
The odds for the victory: 6
LGD Gaming (Ame, Maybe,eLeVeN,Yao,Victoria)
Probably, this is one of the most unpredictable teams of the championship because guys played different qualifiers and could only fight their way to DOTA Summit 7, Mars Dota 2 League 2017 and EPICENTER 2017 in 2017. The team didn’t go to the second season of the tournament in EPICENTER series due to visa issues and it is not worthy to judge by Mars Dota 2 League 2017 and DOTA Summit 7 because most teams didn’t play in full force due to the nearness of the World Championship. It is unknown what to expect from Maybe and the company, however, a status of “the dark horse” might be in favor of the team.
Achievements of the team in 2017:
DOTA Summit 7 - the 3rd placeDota2 Professional League Season 3 - Top - the 2nd placeMars Dota 2 League 2017 - the 1st place
The odds for the victory: 11
LGD.FY (Monet,Super,Inflame,Ahfu,ddc)
LGD.FY made three replacements in May this year and transformed into one of the strongest teams in the Chinese region. The roster hadn’t held a place at LAN-finals, which was lower than the third, in two months before TI7 and they completely lost the last tournament to the second roster of the organization. Probably, guys will get to the round of 16 or even to the quarterfinals but not further. The fact that they like to show their strategies in the beginning of the tournament might be not in the favor of the Chinese roster, considering eight matches of the group stage - each self-respecting roster will prepare and win LGD.FY.
Achievements of the roster in 2017:
Dota2 Professional League Season 3 - Top - the 2nd placeEPICENTER 2017 - the 3th-4th placeMars Dota 2 League 2017 - the 2nd place
The odds for the victory: 11
Newbee (Moogy, Sccc, Kpii, KaKa, Faith)
Newbee successfully participated in LAN finals this year and they had won two champion titles in the recent months - at ZOTAC Cup Masters and Galaxy Battles, which brought guys a direct invite from Valve. There are two high-class carries, Sccc and Moogy on the roster of the team Newbee, who have the similar support from teammates unlike the most of the professional teams. Both above-mentioned guys visit the competition in The International series for the first time, so they might burn out as it often happens.
Achievements of the team in 2017:
ESL One Genting 2017 - the 2nd placeDota 2 Asia Championships 2017 - the 3rd placeThe Kiev Major 2017 - the 9th-12th placeStarLadder i-League Invitational #2 - the 3rd-4th placeThe Manila Masters - the 2nd placeZOTAC Cup Masters - the 1st placeGalaxy Battles - the 1st placeMars Dota 2 League 2017 - the 3rd place
The odds for the victory: 15
Team Secret (MP, MidOne,KheZu,Puppey, YapzOr)
The beginning of the season was enough failed for Team Secret, considering the fact that aims of the organization were not in holding the 6th places at all championships. The team qualified without problems to The Kiev Major 2017 and finished the group stage with three victories. They were waited at the playoff bracket by SG e-Sports from Brazil and the sensation happened there - Team Secret lost with a score 2:1 and left the championship. Probably, Puppey didn’t cope with nerves, PieLieDie went to find a new team and the promising YapzOr came as a replacement for him, he became the key person of the team. The European mix is unlikely to get to the top 4, however, YapzOr and the company are tough enough to hold the 5th-8th place.
Achievements of the team in 2017:
Dota Pit League Season 5 - the 5th-6th placeStarLadder i-League StarSeries Season 3 - the 5th-6th placeThe Kiev Major 2017 - the 9th-16th placeThe Manila Masters - the 7th-8th placeEPICENTER 2017 - the 3th-4th placeDOTA Summit 7 - the 2nd placeDreamLeague Season 7 - the 3rd place
The odds for the victory: 15
TNC Pro Team (Raven,KuKu,Sam_H,Tims,1437)
After the joining of 1434 to the roster of TNC Pro Team, the team transformed and developed into the best team in Southeast Asia in short terms. Guys have already shown their power at StarLadder i-League Invitational #2, having fought Team Liquid in the grand final, and the first place at the qualifiers to The International 2017 only proves the strength and the aims of the roster. Guys will definitely come out from the group at the world championship and probably to the upper bracket and it will be possible for them to reach the top 8 at the playoff stage.
Achievements of the team in 2017:
World Electronic Sports Games 2016 - the 1st placeStarLadder i-League StarSeries Season 3 - the 3rd-4th placeThe Kiev Major 2017 - the 9th-16th placeStarLadder i-League Invitational #2 - the 2nd placeGalaxy Battles - the 3rd place
The odds for the victory: 17
Cloud9 (PieLieDie, aui_2000, FATA, MSS, EternalENVY)
After reshuffles in Team Secret, EternalEnVy decided to play with his friend PieLieDie again (initially, the roster was created and based on the friendship). Guys made a replacement and Team NP shined in new splendor - the 3rd place at The Manila Masters and the 2nd place at ZOTAC Cup Masters. A bit later the roster smashed the American qualifiers and the organization Cloud9 offered them contracts at once. The team looked like a good average team that could struggle for the 6th-8th place but sources, that are close to the team, say that everything is not so smooth on the roster, so we don’t advise you to bet on them.
Achievements of the team in 2017 -
The Manila Masters - the 3rd placeZOTAC Cup Masters - the 2nd placeDOTA Summit 7 - the 4th place
The odds for the victory: 19
Invictus Gaming (BurNIng, Op, Xxs, BoBoKa, Q)
Invictus Gaming was demonstrating an enough good performance during the season, however, the closer The International was, the worse the results of the team were on the international stage. It is unclear at the moment if guys are in a bad shape or simply try not to reveal strategies before the tournament with the largest prize pool. BurNIng has been at the tournaments in The International series at various times, so the team will struggle and will have to be in the top 10.
Achievements of the team in 2017:
Dota Pit League Season 5 - the 4th placeDota 2 Asia Championships 2017 - the 1st placeDota2 Professional League Season 3 - Top - the 3rd-4th placeThe Kiev Major 2017 - the 3rd-4th placeStarLadder i-League Invitational #2 - the 3rd-4th placeThe Manila Masters - the 5th-6th placeEPICENTER 2017 - the 5th-6th placeMars Dota 2 League 2017 - the 5th-6th place
The odds for the victory: 21
IG.Vitality (Paparazi,Sakata,InJuly,super,dogf1ghts)
The Chinese team has been playing together for over a year and it found its game in the beginning of 2017, however, the results of the second roster of the organization Invictus Gaming dropped by the summer. Paparazi and the company will not probably get the kick after the group stage and will compete with most of the teams if they don’t face the obvious favorites in the first round. It is worth to notice that none of the representatives of the roster has participated at championships in The International series, so everything might go wrong due to the general decrease of the team.
Achievements of the team in 2017:
Dota Pit League Season 5 - the 4th placeThe Kiev Major 2017 - the 3rd-4th placeDota 2 Asia Championships 2017 - the 1st placeDota2 Professional League Season 3 - Top - the 3rd-4th placeStarLadder i-League Invitational #2 - the 3rd-4th placeThe Manila Masters - the 5th-6th placeEPICENTER 2017 - the 5th-6th placeMars Dota 2 League 2017 - the 5th-6th place
The odds for the victory: 26
Fnatic (Ahjit,QO,Ohaiyo,Febby,Dj)
Fnatic qualified to The International 2016 through the regional qualifiers, having held the 2nd place. Then, the team had not bet on, however, they could surprise everyone, having held the 4th place. After that, the time of reshuffles came to the team and replacements happened one by one and the organization took a break on the Dota 2 scene later. The new roster was announced three months later that was created around Ohaiyo and Febby and the team started playing at various tournaments and qualifiers. The team won the qualifiers to Zotac Cup Master in a week after their creation, where they got to the 3rd place and they could come out to the main championship of the year from the 2nd place a month later as it had been in the previous season. Guys have come to the USA again, having a status of “the dark horse”, and no one believes in them...
Achievements of the roster in 2017:
ZOTAC Cup Masters - the 3rd-4th place
The odds for the victory: 34
Digital Chaos (Abed, Bulba, mason,forev,dubu)
The team was at a few championships this year and the gaming style of the team has already become clear - guys fully play for Abed and he, having 10,000 MMR, crushes opponents left and right. There is the problem - he will not bе able to play at The International. If a regular viewer sees that the game of the roster is created around one player, professional teams definitely see this too and if Bulba doesn’t invent something interesting during the preparation, the participation is doomed to failure. This will unlikely be the elimination after the group stage but guys will not be able to hold the place higher than the 12th-16th.
Achievements of the team in 2017 -
StarLadder i-League StarSeries Season 3 - the 7th-8th placeThe Kiev Major 2017 - the 9th-16th placeZotac Cup Masters - the 5th-6th placeDOTA Summit 7 - the 5th-6th place
The odds for the victory: 41
Team Empire (Cappie,fn,Ghostik,Miposhka,Rodjer)
The team will definitely get to the playoff stage, despite all visa issues. Team Empire has a status of the second team in CIS after Virtus.pro and they can argue with the favorites. Let’s notice that the roster will start the first matches with a stand-in, represented by Resolut1on, who will play instead of Chappie. The team will unlikely show a great performance at the playoff stage because the training sessions of the roster were frustrated due to the above-mentioned reasons.
Achievements of the team in 2017:
Dota 2 Asia Championships 2017 - the 5th-6th placeMr. Cat Invitational Europe - the 2nd placeRussian e-Sports Cup 2017 - the 2nd placeDOTA Summit 7 - the 7th-8th placeOverPower Cup #2 - the 1st place
The odds for the victory: 41
Infamous (Benjaz,Timado,kingteka,matthew,accel)
The roster is, probably, the worst among all represented teams and no one believes in them. Surely, the victory of two-three maps against the favorites at the group stage will be a good result for them and the pass to the playoff will be a wonder. The roster had not played at the tier-2 level for a long time but the team has become a bit stronger after a reshuffle. Timado and the company qualified to two LAN finals after the reshuffle and Infamous finished both championships on the last place. Of course, guys have prepared and will try to surprise their opponents, however, the favorites must beat the Peruvians in 20 minutes.
Achievements of the team in 2017 году:
Galaxy Battles - the 7th-8th placeThe Final Match Season 1 - the 7th-8th place
The odds for the victory: 81
Execration (Nando,CartmaN,Bimbo,RR,kim0)
Execration has enough strange season as the head of the organization had made a decision to cardinally change the roster in a few days before the beginning of the qualifiers to The International and we can’t say that this reshuffle was unsuccessful. The team lost the final of the qualification in Southeast Asia but the lost team received a slot at the desired tournament. In such way, guys have come to the USA as outsiders and lots of people predict them the elimination after the group stage but there is some kind of advantage - it is unlikely that someone will prepare for them and they will show a high-quality game and will pass to the playoff. But despite all factors, they are still the main contender for the elimination.
Achievements of the team in 2017: -
The odds for the victory: 81
HellRaisers (j4,33,MILAN,Keyser,Swiftending)
HellRaisers are coming to the tournament as obvious outsiders, according to all analysts and bookmakers, however, guys might surprise. The team was very close to a victory at large tournaments, however, the qualifiers to TI7 were conquered by the European mix. The roster participated at the qualifiers without sponsor support and the signing of contracts should motivate guys, considering that the organization prepared a bootcamp for guys in America. Also, the head of HellRaisers has hired a coach, represented by Saksa, for the tournament, who will make a contribution to the team, so guys must come out to the playoff.
Achievements of the team in 2017:
OMEN Dota 2 Cup - the 2nd placeProDotA Cup Europe #14 - the 2nd placeStarLadder ProSeries Season 18 - the 1st placeProDotA Cup Europe #17 - the 1st placeMr. Cat Invitational Europe - the 4th place
The odds for the victory: 126