Quick summary:
Here’s your 30-second summary for this issue of Ancient Tidings:
ESL/Dreamhack are in the midst of drama again, this time regarding tiebreaker rules
Tiebreakers have been implemented differently depending on the TO: SEA had tiebreakers to determine final positions despite all games being played, for instance
No update regarding EEU and China for the major
Personal picks:
Game of the week: Game 1 of BOOM vs SMG. Ah fu Earth Spirit, Yopaj Ember. Enough said.
Player of the week:
Play of the week: This insanity by Yopaj in the opening match vs SMG.
Miscellaneous content
Tiebreaker drama
Pre-TI10, ESL/Dreamhack fell into controversy regarding vague rules that allowed teams to have a “coach” present in the room with their team. Ironically, this was only outed after Alliance released a vlog showing PPD, their coach at the time, physically present while Alliance played their games. Drama ensued, of course, leading to the community asking Valve for more consistency in their rules for the DPC.
As luck would have it, the same TO is under fire again… this time for introducing a last-minute change to tiebreaker rules. Teams with the same series score would have to play a series again, regardless of head-to-head to determine their final standings. This would impact their DPC points and prize money, but the way it was communicated left a lot to be desired.
Here’s what a few people had to say about this.
Noxville:
Taiga:
Sorry, but I gotta say that I find this depressing after reading the tiebreaker rules and thought we were already first place considering “head 2 head” rule that was now changed after all the games were played :) This is very silly. https://t.co/E6PGIp3XRCESL/DH are changing how the tiebreaker rules are applied, after regular matches are played, and in a way which affects standings. It's inconsistent with the prior seasons. Because clear rules are a requirement for listing, Liquipedia admins are nuking the pages. https://t.co/Y1HhIjsgAmBen Steenhuisen @NoxvilleSkiter:
Suffice to say, teams weren’t informed at all regarding this. Liquipedia even deleted their pages pertaining to the DPC since the TOs violated Liquipedia’s notability rules.
The pushback seemed to have worked, however… since TOs reverted back the rules, which was also not met with gracious smiles since teams had to go back and forth with logistical arrangements.
Aui_2000, for instance, had to say this:
Hopefully, this leads to some consistency in the future regarding rules across regions and teams don’t have to alter plans at the whims and fancies of TOs.
The TI3 Alliance squad will be at the major
Not as participants, unfortunately, though that would be incredibly hype.
It is only fitting that one of the most dominant teams in pro-Dota history attends the first non-TI Valve LAN in literal years which also takes place in Sweden, their country of origin.
If you’re a reader who recently got into following Dota 2, do yourself a favour and catch some of Alliance’s matches vs the Navi squad at the time. The grand finals of TI3 are of course up there with amongst the very best of matches Dota 2 has to offer, but they weren’t the only faceoff these 2 legendary squads had.
Fingers crossed they play a showmatch or something at the Major.
Matchmaking exploit
TL;DR: Get a group of high MMR friends to avoid a certain player, queue along with them (easy to do if they’re streamers) and then queue as a team on the opposite side of the target player. The lengths people go to simply ruin games for others is always astounding…
Western Europe
Division 1
Brame vs Tundra
A win for Brame here would cause tiebreakers between Tundra, Secret and themselves (at the very least) for the final major slot. They looked a bit checked out in their previous series versus OG; Brame (or dare I say, even Secret) supporters were hoping for Brame to punch above their weight this series as well.
Not to be, as Brame got whomped by Tundra’s frosty lads in 2 rather short games.
It appears that Brame goes Plus Ultra only when facing off against TI veterans as they barely put up a fight in this crucial match for them.
Entity vs OG
The new OG took 2 players from the roster formerly known as Creepwave, in a move that can only be described as a resounding success. Creepwave became Entity, and despite their standing in the series, they’ve looked, frankly, quite good. In fact, they may have played the most games out of every team in Tour 2 since most of their series went all the way to 3 games. Could Entity prove able enough to stop their former teammates’ rampage in WEU?
Quick answer: No. But Entity put up a fight, especially in that second game which turned out to be a lot closer than most people were expecting.
Liquid vs Gaimin Gladiators
The results of this series wouldn’t impact either teams’ chances to attend the major. All they had to play for were DPC points and prize money.
This turned out to be quite a fun series to watch, both teams took each other to their limits in this 3-game series. Ace Timber, Matumbaman Lone Druid, Micke Ember, iNsania Rubick (quite possibly the only regular pos 5 Rubick pro player), this series had it all.
It is insanely impressive how Gaimin Gladiators, the team formerly known as Team Tickles, climbed up to Div 1 prior to the previous Tour and have stayed at the top of EU Dota. Their international performance however, remains to be seen.
Division 2
Team Bald Reborn vs IVY (tiebreakers to stay in the DPC)
The series to decide whether everybody’s favourite meme team will be guaranteed to remain in Tour 3 of the DPC.
Prior to their first series this DPC, some of IVY’s players reportedly had a tiff with Gorgc in a pub, leading to a bit of spice into the first time they’d face off in the DPC. TBR ended up taking that 2-1. The ending of game 3 of this series was a bit fiery too, as Gorgc all-chatted in response to the mass tips he’d been receiving by the opposing team. With IVY’s slump in performance, TBR had all but guaranteed their placement in Div 2 next Tour.
IVY had other plans though, bringing out their A-game versus Chillax (a team in contention for promotion) in their last series of this group stage, forcing tiebreakers with TBR.
IVY’s form continued, as they took games over TBR rather dominantly, shattering the dreams of those hoping for a Gorgc vs Miracle- showdown next Tour.
The loss seemed to have affected TBR rather heavily, as both Rajjix and Pablo tweeted their departure from the team.
Southeast Asia
Division 1
Fnatic vs T1
Incredibly crucial series for T1 as a win here would prevent tiebreakers between them and Polaris (possibly even SMG) for the all-important 3rd, and final SEA slot for the upcoming major. For Fnatic, a win wouldn’t impact their chances of going to the major… however, your final standings at the end of the regional tour do affect your DPC points, which directly impact your chances to the all-important TI.
Fnatic look like a completely different team this Tour, perhaps this is the iteration that will finally perform on an international level. Game 2 featured an Arc Warden on Fnatic’s side. Hey, if your major is secured you might as well try out some new strats. Didn’t work out this time, but at least you won’t be doing that at a LAN!
The 3rd game especially was incredibly even till almost 40 minutes into the game. It took all of Fnatic’s skill and coordination to take some crucial teamfights in succession to get the game back into their hands.
NGX.Sea vs OB.Neon
An important series for both these squads to avoid relegation. A win for NGX.Sea would keep them safe for sure, whereas a win for OB.Neon would force tiebreakers between… NGX.Sea once again for the rights to stay in Div 1. This series had NGX.Sea expressing their creativity in the best way possible, coming up with a Meepo pick for Alacrity in the 2nd game, followed by quite possibly the greediest draft I have ever seen in a pro match for Game 3: A Medusa, Templar Assassin, Broodmother, and Mars. Yes, the heroes are in order of their roles.
Major props to NGX.Sea for coming up with something wild out of the bag to keep their Div 1 hopes alive.
Yes, Kuroky’s squad is being relegated while the SEA squad isn’t. Go figure.
BOOM vs SMG
SMG’s final boss battle, one they needed to vanquish to secure a chance at tiebreakers for the Major. SMG’s playstyle is pure, unbridled aggression all the time, everywhere (makes sense, since MidOne, their now-safelaner was renowned for being a tempestuous mid at the start of his career). Their flaws lie in not being able to temper their aggression to their benefit.
BOOM, on the other hand, has achieved mastery of fast-paced Dota while also having JaCkky as a reliable failsafe.
The first match of this series promised to be a treat, as BOOM opted for Yopaj’s Ember as a second pick. SMG had all the time in the world to come up with hero counters, but instead of focusing on the Ember, they decided to double down on their own, pre-determined strategy of grouping up early, taking key fights and closing the game out by drafting heroes such as a Razor, Necrophos and IO. Ah Fu got his hands on his signature Earth Spirit, a hero that made him internationally famous at TI7.
SMG’s early game turned out to be all they could’ve hoped for… until BOOM exploited chinks in SMG’s playstyle, inching their way back into the game. A free Ember game is terrifying for the opponent team; a free Yopaj Ember game turned out to be a thing of beauty.
Game 2 unfortunately was not nearly as fun for SMG. A poor start for MidOne’s AM put so much on the back of Moon’s Leshrac, a load that proved too heavy a burden. Some classic SMG throws sprinkled into the mix only worsened SMG’s woes. Yopaj once again had a stellar performance, with a 37-KDA Storm Spirit.
SMG is a team that is almost on the cusp of perfecting their playstyle, who knows what the next Tour will bring?
North America
Division 1
Quincy Crew vs TSM.FTX
A must-win series for QC. If they drop this one, EG and TSM.FTX book their tickets to the major. If QC wins this, why, the trifecta of NA Dota will be facing off against each other in tiebreakers to the death till one team loses more than the other two teams.
‘tis a tale as old as time. TSM beats EG. EG beats QC. QC beats TSM.
It would be refreshing to see 2 non-EG teams from NA make it to an international event, for once…
We have our Major participants!
After a gruelling league, followed by some cruel tiebreakers, the following teams stood at the summits of their respective regions, securing tickets to the Stockholm major:
WEU:
SEA:
NA:
SA:
China:
For what it’s worth, PSG.LGD has looked to be the best team this Tour, relative to their region. They had their way with whomever they faced, while also showing a variety of strats.
On the other hand, iG has got to be the most disappointing team this Tour. Think of their fall from grace for a second. They won the Singapore Major, came top 4 at TI 10, let Kaka (their primary shotcaller) leave, replace him with Frisk (formerly Fade, a top-tier player in his own right, but not a shotcaller), drop to Div 2… and now, they can’t even make it back to Div 1.
Teams like OG, Gaimin Gladiators, TSM, Fnatic and Thunder Awaken have appeared to be the best in their regions… but their performance on an international level remains to be seen. Hopefully this Major serves as a good playing field for them.
Regarding China, as of writing we still don’t have any official intimation as to whether China’s teams will be able to make it to the Major, since they have pretty strict restrictions on travel. With EEU unable to even play Tour 2, one does wonder what the TOs and Valve come up with…
That’s it for this issue of Ancient Tidings! Thank you for sticking around, don’t forget to share if you enjoyed!
Yopaj Ember on the international stage is going to be so hype. Hope it doesn't get banned in every game. Great job as always this week <3