The International 4

cherryghost · 01-04-2014 10:03am #1

This was announced Mar 31st, so it's not an Aprils fools joke :P

Save the date. This year The International moves to KeyArena, taking place July 18th through the 21st in Seattle.

For those interested in attending there are three types of tickets available:

- General Admission ($99)

- Floor Seats ($199)

- VIP package ($499) that includes:

Access to all 6 days of Playoffs (formerly Group Stage) taking place on July 8th, before the Championships Event
Floor Seating
Exclusive VIP Meet & Greets
Access to the After Party
Every ticket includes access to all four days of the Championships Event at KeyArena. Tickets will be sold through Ticketmaster beginning this Friday April 4th at 3PM PDT, so check back later for more information.

This year there will be 11 teams invited directly as well as four Regional Qualifiers taking place May 12th through the 25th. The winner of each Qualifier will receive an invitation, with the four runner-ups competing in Seattle for the final spot.

So... any takers for the 11 invited teams?

I have: Empire, Na'vi, Alliance, Fnatic, DK, IG, Newbee,VG, EG, C9, Titan

The last 5 teams who qualify, I cannot really tell. It's too close to call.

GO_Bear · 01-04-2014 11:51am

cherryghost wrote: »

This was announced Mar 31st, so it's not an Aprils fools joke :P

So... any takers for the 11 invited teams?

I have: Empire, Na'vi, Alliance, Fnatic, DK, IG, Newbee,VG, EG, C9, Titan

The last 5 teams who qualify, I cannot really tell. It's too close to call.

I agree with the invited teams;

Alliance and Na'Vi, TI3 winner and runner up
Fnatic, Stable roster and consistant(ish)
IG, Cause Chaun
Newbee, not completly sure, but they are essential TI3's Tongfu + Xiao8, they did come fourth so most likely will get invite )
Empire, DK, EG C9 ( Based off recent performance, Empire are on a absolute rampage the last few months, I wonder if C9 are considered EU or US , should not matter if they get an invite but will have a big impact on things if they have to go through the qualifiers )
VG and Titan, These teams I have not followed much , but VG has a good roster and good results for the end of 2013, Titan also has good a pedigree of players, but I do not know how they have been playing, and I Suppose they need to invite at least one SEA team.

I think the Qualifiers will be interesting;

Europe Competition here will be fierce really hard to predict, lots of great teams, Sigma, Rox.Kis, Virtus Pro, Team Dog and secondary teams like MYM, Next.Kz
China Some good teams here as well with DT, HGT, LGD, CIS
America Will probably be Liquid to be honest, if they get their **** together, I don't think anyone that qualifies will do well, or at least better than EG
SEA and Korea ? Will probably be an SEA team like Mith Trust or Orange esports ( Winter at the helm, can he recreate the MUFC magic ?? ) Lets be honest the Korean teams are ****e, they have not been in the scene long enough, BUT I really do ****ing hope, that the stars align, and somehow Purge and Blitz's team of 5 yanks, are allowed to play in the qualifier of this region, and THEN somehow qualify against the SEA teams, so they can go to the international and get absolutely trashed. Or even they may have a small chance of qualifying if they have to play in the American qualifiers as the team pool there is also a bit weak.

The Wild card will almost certainly be a European or Chinese team, if I had to guess all the teams it would be ( like cherry );

Invited: Empire, Na'vi, Alliance, Fnatic, DK, IG, Newbee,VG, EG, C9, Titan

Qualifiers:

Europe: Virtus Pro Win, Sigma Runner Up
China: LGD.cn Win, DT Runner Up
America: Liquid Win , Revenge Runner Up
SEA and Korea: No idea ! But, Orange Win, Zephyr Runner Up (Hopefully**)

Wild card final DT v Sigma, DT to win

cherryghost · 01-04-2014 12:02pm

Orange have been thrash lately, you'd be more likely to see Arrow or Scythe get through at this stage unfortunately. I feel for the team (and Liquid ofc).

LGD have also been substandard, I can see them not getting to TI4 unless Valve go nuts and send them a direct invite.

Rox.Kis has just started hitting their stride with the 3rd highest winrate of any team for last month so if they keep it going they will certainly be a contender at the quali's.

Sigma I really don't know. They were so impressive when they arrived on the scene but their recent troubles gives reason that they may not even get runner up!

tl;dr I dunno what to expect!

GO_Bear · 01-04-2014 12:09pm

cherryghost wrote: »

Orange have been thrash lately, you'd be more likely to see Arrow or Scythe get through at this stage unfortunately. I feel for the team (and Liquid ofc).

LGD have also been substandard, I can see them not getting to TI4 unless Valve go nuts and send them a direct invite.

Rox.Kis has just started hitting their stride with the 3rd highest winrate of any team for last month so if they keep it going they will certainly be a contender at the quali's.

Sigma I really don't know. They were so impressive when they arrived on the scene but their recent troubles gives reason that they may not even get runner up!

tl;dr I dunno what to expect!

Ye all this guessing is probably in vain, all the non chinese teams bar Alliance and Na'Vi will probably crumble at a lan this size and we will have a top 8 of ;

IG, DK, VG, Newbee, LGD, DT, Alliance and Na'Vi :pac:

Justice · 01-04-2014 4:05pm

The Invites must be sent pretty soon, travel and visa arrangements mean 3/4 months lead time on the invites (pretty sure that was the time-frame for ti3).]

i wonder if valve would use viewership figures from dota TV to determine most popular teams? really i think they will go all PC and give invites to cover all the main geographic areas.

we'll know alot more about the differences between east west dota soon, the big tournaments are all global now, so when they get to their finals stages we will see some east west clashes.

what im wondering is will this current version 6.80, and the diversity of strategies which are viable with it, be the version TI4 will be played on?

cherryghost · 01-04-2014 4:10pm

Nah 6.81 is currently being drafted out anyways with some further changes, they'll always play on whatevers the latest client version. I'm sure there will be another big patch prior to July too.

Dreddybajs · 01-04-2014 6:53pm

No way is 6.80 lasting til TI3. Also I don't think it's "going all PC" to invite teams from every region, it's called The International ffs. :P

BMMachine · 01-04-2014 7:44pm

I reckon LGD will get an invite. They are still a big dog in china as regards exposure and stuff. I already cant wait for this

Na'Vi to make their 4th straight final?

Actually - Dream Final for me: Na'Vi vs DK. with Na'Vi having knocked out Alliance and DK knocking out IG

cherryghost · 01-04-2014 7:59pm

They may be big but results should prioritize over popularity.

cherryghost · 05-04-2014 9:28pm

Titan are playing DK tomorrow, this game will surely see the divide (if any) between the number one China and number one SEA team and will let us know if any SEA team stands a chance at TI4.

cherryghost · 06-04-2014 8:21pm

cherryghost wrote: »

Titan are playing DK tomorrow, this game will surely see the divide (if any) between the number one China and number one SEA team and will let us know if any SEA team stands a chance at TI4.

Well that was an amazing game. Quality from both sides.

Tar.Aldarion · 08-04-2014 11:14am

vod?

cherryghost · 10-04-2014 9:44am

Look it up yourself :P I'll be doing my annual pubstomp for this too, I already had the days off. Score!

Tar.Aldarion · 10-04-2014 11:03am

This interests me >_>

GO_Bear · 10-04-2014 11:18am

Did some one say cans ?

cherryghost · 11-04-2014 11:21am

Well, expect Sigma to disband this weekend, as Fata and Pas are moving to Team Dog so it seems. Team Dog have a really strong lineup now

Dreddybajs · 11-04-2014 12:23pm

That team is so sick, Pajkatt's always been my favourite player, glad to see him back on a really strong team.

BMMachine · 11-04-2014 1:04pm

i always thought that if Pajkatt wasnt on LGD.int last year he would have been a shoe-in for no tidehunter/alliance when EE left. good to see Fata on a strong lineup too.

kiad · 13-04-2014 7:23am

btw - Empire will crumble. was the same last year, strong in jan - april, then they get figured out

cherryghost · 13-04-2014 9:23am

I disagree, their drafts are more varied than last year. I think they can go a long way as long as they don't choke.

BMMachine · 15-04-2014 12:18am

pajkatt weaver today versus alliance was excellent. really liking the look of this sigma team

cherryghost · 17-04-2014 1:14pm

Both DK and EG doing the dirty against Alliance and Na'vi today, shows how level the teams are at this point.

Tar.Aldarion · 17-04-2014 2:03pm

when are these qualifiers, may?

cherryghost · 17-04-2014 3:02pm

Yup

cherryghost · 18-04-2014 12:41pm

Very surprised to see EG the strongest team of Starladder finals so far.

BMMachine · 18-04-2014 1:05pm

cherryghost wrote: »

Very surprised to see EG the strongest team of Starladder finals so far.

they were playing great before the finals. I think them and Empire had the two best records going in. Arteezy really is a boss, seems to be everything hes cracked up to be. also nice to see Universe on a top team. and yeah, EE subbing for fear... imba

NeoSlicerZ · 18-04-2014 3:44pm

cherryghost wrote: »

Very surprised to see EG the strongest team of Starladder finals so far.

Apart from the fact that they were the best performing team coming into Starladder, barring DK with iG playing horrendously sloppy. The usual Navi amount of scrimming. Empire was pretty impressive too. rtz' mid is impressive as usual, no SF on lux from USW problems.

cherryghost · 22-04-2014 5:03am

I dunno, EG came in the back of heavy losses against Empire, Na'vi and someone else I don't remember. Regardless, it's clear DK are in a class of their own after Starladder. EG and Empire a distant 2nd and 3rd. Rest of the teams need catching up. TI4 quali's are in a months time, and I can see some teams disappointed not getting the invite and more disappointed they didn't get through the TI4 quali's. ESL One is the last big tourney before TI4 so will be interesting to see how that goes.

NeoSlicerZ · 22-04-2014 3:50pm

cherryghost wrote: »

I dunno, EG came in the back of heavy losses against Empire, Na'vi and someone else I don't remember. Regardless, it's clear DK are in a class of their own after Starladder. EG and Empire a distant 2nd and 3rd. Rest of the teams need catching up. TI4 quali's are in a months time, and I can see some teams disappointed not getting the invite and more disappointed they didn't get through the TI4 quali's. ESL One is the last big tourney before TI4 so will be interesting to see how that goes.

Lux vs USE.

KarmaBaby · 23-04-2014 1:41pm

Watched NewBee murder DK this morning. Current Meta is starting to get awfully boring. All the Asian teams are just constantly drafting the same heroes. They need some teams to shake it up with some new strats.

As brilliant as DK are, I find it hard to see past Alliance & Na'Vi for TI4, because they are just so good at adapting with new counter drafts in a BO3/BO5.

BMMachine · 23-04-2014 3:02pm

KarmaBaby wrote: »

Watched NewBee murder DK this morning. Current Meta is starting to get awfully boring. All the Asian teams are just constantly drafting the same heroes. They need some teams to shake it up with some new strats.

As brilliant as DK are, I find it hard to see past Alliance & Na'Vi for TI4, because they are just so good at adapting with new counter drafts in a BO3/BO5.

in winning SL9, Burning played 9 different heroes across all matches. They seem to favour Cent and Invoker (for obvious reasons) and whichever supports work well with their lineup (from looking at their picks, its no issue what Lanm and X play). I agree that the meta is getting predictable but don't doubt for one second that DK can match navi and alliances draft. heck, even EG (who I consider to have quite predictable drafting) outdrafted alliance on LAN (well game 1 anyhow).
I do think Na'Vi and Alliance will up their game heading into TI4 but I think more teams have caught up to their level the past year and in the case of DK, outclassed them. Look at this time last year when both Na'Vi and Alliance went to china and won 2 major tournaments, can you honestly see that happening if they did the same now?

The International 4

Comments