8 Asian Teams To Watch At The International DOTA 2 Championships 2013

The biggest prize pool for a single tournament in e-sports can be found at The International DOTA 2 Championships 2013, which are set to take place in Benaroya Hall in Seattle, Washington, from August 7 to 11. What makes The International DOTA 2 Championships (TI3) an awesome must-see event is not just the prizes and production values, but also the fact that it brings together 16 of the best teams from the East and the West. And unlike regular online play, the fact that the tournament happens over LAN allows for these East-vs-West matches to run speedily without lag and ping issues and other online tournament hassles.

Asian teams dominated last year’s event (TI2) where they took seven of the eight top spots (the single European team, Natus Vincere, took second). With European teams like Team Alliance and Natus Vincere winning recently-concluded Chinese tournaments (the G-1 Champion’s League Season 5 and the Alienware Cup respectively), some are wondering if Asian teams can still dominate this year’s International the way they did last year. Let’s take a look at how the Asian teams for the International 2013 are performing as of late. How has their play style changed, improved and adapted so far? Here are the teams:

1. Invictus Gaming (China)

Invictus Gaming or simply iG has been considered by many to be the top Asian team since their win at the International 2012. Their flawless execution and amazing synergy allowed them to dominate the Asian scene and achieve a six-month long winning streak. However, their recent underperformance has led many to question their current roster’s synergy and play style. There have been instances where iG seems to be taking a shot at playing European style and sometimes seems to be either experimenting or struggling with drafts. There has even been more than one instance where they drafted a Wisp – a hero that the Chinese teams said they would not pick up.

Although their current form won’t grant them an easy ticket to the top ranks at TI3, we can’t just count them out of the competition just yet. iG has had a solid non-changing player roster since prior to TI2, granting them the kind of team synergy that can only be acquired over time. Their performance at TI3 will be determined by how they can emerge from their current funk and return to their old ways.

Current Roster

• Chen “Zhou” Yao (Captain/1)
• Luo “430” Feichi (2)
• Jiang “YYF” Cen (3)
• Zeng “Faith” Hongda (4)
• Wong “ChuaN” Hock Chuan (5)

Alienware Cup – Lower Bracket – Orange vs iG – Game 2

2. LGD Gaming.cn

Although they finished third in last year’s International, LGD Gaming.cn – or simply LGD.cn – dominated the TI3 preliminaries by being the only team without a loss. Their first taste of defeat came later in the winner’s bracket finals against Natus Vincere and was then followed by their second and final loss to Invictus Gaming. Since then, LGD.cn has been working on improving their strategies and play style in order to adapt to the changes not only in the game itself, but also in the playstyle of the competitive scene more commonly known as the metagame. Another advantage that LGD.cn has is the availability of their international counterpart, LGD.int consisting of five experienced players from the West, giving them some experience with European and North American play styles. They can also test more strategies against their international team with less worry compared to scrimming with other teams. LGD.cn hasn’t had the winning streak that iG had, but the group’s performance has slowly but surely been building as they head towards TI3.

Current Roster

3. TongFu

4. Orange.Neolution Esports

5. Invasion MUFC

6. Team DK

7. Team Zenith

8. RaTtLeSnAkE