Rocket League, My Favorite Type of Soccer:

When i started this blog and page, i never expected i would be watching every kind of esports available, so i could get the biggest inside to write about. I still miss lots of content from different types of genres, and since we don’t have a lot of people managing the page is a little frustrating. That being said, i had the opportunity to recently watch some rocket league esport.

 Doubting the League:

At first i had my doubts, when we talk about esports we look at the giants (league of legends, dota 2, counter strike, cod, ect) but is theres one thing i learn from watching a couple of games, is that Rocket League definetly deserves a spot not only on the Teamwiped! Blog. But in what we consider general esports overall.

 My Favorite Type of Soccer:

Im a big fan of different real sports, automovil, boxing and NFL being some of my favorites to watch, but i’ve never been to excited about Soccer, although many of my friends watch it, i’ve never been really into it. But Rocket League is completely different. If real Soccer manages to combine cars in the future, you have a big fan right here!

 The Esport:

While watching, i managed to spot some differences from the typical esports crowd im use to seeing and the Rocket League fan. The crowd is electrifying and they go wild whenever a team scores (just like real soccer) a lot of them also have a lot of knowledge of actual Soccer and some even apply what they know into Rocket League. The chat was less spam-ish? than other esports (maybe it was the match i saw) but with 100k people watching, i was really suprise to see less “that team sucks kappa kappa kappa” and more “Lets go! Omg this game is incredible” all in all my experience watching this was very very pleasing.

 Selfless vs Flipsid3

This is the match that got me super into it, as the commentator said “If you are new to Rocket League or the Rocket League esports, this is a great introduction” and it was, these two teams were on point every single time and they went into the 5th game of the Bo5 they were playing. During the last couple of seconds Selfless had a 1-0 advantage over Flipsid3, and Selfless and many fans were already smelling victory. But during the last 5 seconds of the game Flipsid3 manages to score one last point, going to overtime, with a score of 1-1. The crowd, myself and Twitch chat were going crazy. HOW CAN THIS BE POSSIBLE!! Last game of the day, full 5 games and on the last game they go into overtime! In the end Flipsid3 took it, it took the upper bracket, it took the respect of the crowd and Selfless and it took my doubts away, Rocket League is amazing as an esport.

 Personal Opinion:

In my opinion, Rocket League is not for everyone, hell i even thought it wasn’t for me, but if you ever have the chance to watch a couple of matches, feel free to do so. RLCS are doing a great job and they have some great teams and sponsors supporting them. I for once, can not wait for the next game of the RLCS!

 -IceCoqui

The Manila Masters

It’s always exciting when we get a manila event, the crowd there is electrifying! And for some reason the games that we get are always great games full of clutch moments, tobiwan loves Manila events and so do i! So lets jump into some of the highlights of the event, and the moments and teams who made the Manila Masters(dare i say it) better than the Keiv Major.

 Team NP, The Missing Ingredients:

 We here on Teamwiped! Are big fans of Team Np (and its not because they show us love all the time….. Shout out to the Team np facebook page lol) Team Np seems to have found the missing ingredients to take Np to the next level. During the last roster shuffle Np drafted former Secret teammate Johan “Pieliedie” Astrom, and former Liquid player Adrian “Fata” Trinks into the equation, not only did they draft two amazingly strong players, but this meant most of them would be returning into their comfort positions, with Envy moving into the first position, and Aui moving into his 4th, Team Np looked stronger than ever during this event.

 Taking down Envy’s and Pie’s old team Secret, demonstrating power and lane controls during all their encounters. Taking down IG, Faceless and making it all the way to the lower bracket finals where they faced EG. EG won but it wasn’t easy, Np demonstrated the same amount of control in the laning phases vs EG, pushing EG into a corner, and taking teamfight after teamfight, But this wasn’t enough and EG took the series 2-1 against Np.

  Newbee, China’s Strongest Team This Season:

 Newbee dominated the upper bracket, making it all the way into the finals, only losing 1 game against Secret in a Bo3. Newbee demonstrated strong Teamfights and drafts against each of their opponents, unconventional to some extent, but amazing in theory. Newbee demonstrated they are no joke, and that they were ready for the masters when they took down 4 times, major champions OG in the upper brackets. Newbee has been on fire this season, with a Top 4 finish in almost all events, The keiv Major being one of the few exclusions where they placed 9-16th place.

  OG Struggles To Find Their Footing:

 I like to think that this is OG’s plan is, to look weak in the masters and take later events in a big way…. But being honest, i’m a dreamer and this wasn’t the case. The 4 time major champions struggled to find their footing against newbee in the upper brackets, this isn’t the first time OG has showed signs of struggle going up against the chinese powerhouse Newbee, or other teams like IG. Later on in the series, OG took on Faceless on the lower brackets, Faceless took a clean victory in a 2-1 Bo3.

EG The Kings Of The Comeback:

 Whether it is coming back from the lower brackets of Ti5 to get revenge against CDEC and becoming world champions, or coming back from mega creeps at Ti6 and making history, it’s no secret that EG favors from double elimination and that they learn from mistakes and adjust their gameplay to take games. This was the case this time around, coming back in a huge way against Np in the lower brackets, taking the series 2-1, and then facing Newbee in the grand finals, after being sent to the lower brackets in the first place by the chinese powerhouse, taking revenge and being crowned The Manila Masters champions last night.

 Although in the past i have doubt some of EG’s drafts, it seems that Eg’s new captain Andreas “cr1t” Nielsen is slowly learning ppd’s old ways. Not only that but EG this time around had a clearer vision of the “meta”. It was a scary 0-2 loss against Newbee, and Team Np did not make it easy, but EG went into the Grand Finals with a clearer vision on their opponents after that devastating loss in the upper brackets, with Suma1l doing amazing work with ember spirit, or cr1t just out playing Newbee on phoenix, its hard to say who even was the match’s MVP this time around. Oh! And lets not forget Zai’s 3v1, where he survives with 1 hp and taunts the enemy letting them know, EG is not here to joke around… or are they? EG were clear champions last night, and the way things are going, along with OG and newbee i wouldn’t be surprise if EG received a direct invite this Ti7, but theres still lots of events till then, and teams are slowly ranking.

  Amazing Moments Worth Mentioning:

 The amazing battle of the rages, as contestants from the audience raged and broke a monitor, with puppey as a judge. Puppey Jr. definetly deserves that name. Clockwork cosplayer falling off stage, as the host screamed “HE’S OK! HE HAS BUYBACK”. Envy’s chair attack and then the chair vs monitor quote by the host. This Manila Major was full of not only amazing moments in game, but out of them as well GG WP MANILA!

  Personal Thoughts and End:

 I said “tobiwan loves manila and i do too” and i mean it, this event was funny, exciting and amazing from start to finish. Even though i want to keep writing about everything that happened, my time is limited. I wish i could have seen more from Clutch Gaming, or Team Secret, Yapzor is an amazing addition to the Secret family and i think a lot of the times when Secret came on top in teamfights were thanks from either Yapzor or Mid One playing some incredible Dota. I would have love to see EG vs OG again, the thrilling rivalry between these 2 teams are one of the best at the moment.

 All in all, the event was great, and even though i didn’t get my EG vs OG (batman vs superman) fight, i am truly happy that this event took place, Manila is always an exciting place to watch Dota, and what games they were. Next up is the Zotac cup and Epicenter in Moscow, hopefully i get the opportunity to write an article about these events as well. Like i said, sometimes my time is limited but im trying to do everything i can, to make this page work and keep you guys informed! Thank You! For supporting us, and for more news and articles, keep it here on TeamWiped! -Icecoqui

The Worst Case Of Ti Curse

We in the Dota 2 community are familiar with the term “Ti Winners Curse” and trying to find an explanation for the phenomenon is a little more complicated than it should be. This is the case for Team Random formerly known as Wings Gaming who after winning Ti6 has been on a down slope, but its been worst to the former Wings Gaming players than any other Ti curse and this is where we pick up our latest news. But first lets take a look at Wings Gaming: The International 2016: The international 2016 was filled with not only excitement but with big surprises! Tnc eliminating OG who were at the time 2 time major winners and were fan favorites going into Ti6, Na’vi directly invited to the event, and Digital Chaos in the finals against Wings Gaming, the Chinese team that no one expected. Wings took the finals 3-1 against DC to be crowned world champions and Ti winners. But this didn’t last long…

The Curse:

Once Wings Gaming won Ti6 they slowly began to fall into the famous curse. Their fall began in the Boston Major where they finished at the 9th/16th place and from there on, Wings Gaming was lucky to see a top 4 place at any tournament. Struggling with not only new patches and changes but with Organization problems.

Wings Gaming Departure: Days before the Keiv Major the players of Wings Gaming announced their departure from Wings and started playing under a new team name “Team Random”. The players explained that the organization owed them salaries and that they expected the players to give 1.9 million dollars from the Ti6 winnings to the organization. ACE Ban, Wings and Legal problems: Today (5-17-2017) its been announced on other websites and blogs that Team Random has been banned from participating on Chinese tournaments. This ban has been issued from ACE(Association of Chinese Esports) the banned has been issued because the organization Wings Gaming send a letter to ACE to take action against the former Wing players, for not legally terminating their contracts.

Personal Thoughts and Final Conclusion: This is the worst case i’ve seen of “Ti Curse”, i do agree that players should have ended their contracts under legal terms, but ACE’s ruling was a bit much. ACE has been criticized in the past and i can see why, contract fulfillments should be taken into court, and issued fines instead of straight bans. In the other hand the organization has full rights to take a percentage of tournament winnings if its specified in the contract, a lot of people may argue that taking percentage is “bad” but its totally normal, and you shouldn’t be surprise when organization take away percentages from winnings. 2016 was a good year for the former Wings players, but they have never been a consistent team, so it didn’t surprise me that much to see them falling into the curse. Now the players will have to face the consequences of breaking contract rules without legal supervision and some of them will take this opportunity to move on or retire from the scene for the time. I wish the best of luck to these players and i hope all issues are resolve with time. On another note/Thank You: During the last couple of weeks we have been getting many followers on our social platforms, and we just want to thank each one of you for the support given to us! It’s a dream of mine to get this page going, to expand to other esports and to have an all rounded esports webpage, with news and articles. But everyone has to start small, and this Facebook page and Tumblr blog is where i decided to start, thank you for your time, and keep following us here at TeamWiped! -IceCoqui

Professionalism In Esports

In a time where Esports have become such an impact, professionalism has taken a front sit on this scene. Prodota team hires 49’s coach, Jeremy Lin endorses a dota team, Espn opens an esports branch and Golden State Warrior co-owner buying controlling interest in Team Liquid, in all divisions from Dota2 to League Of Legends. Is there a time to act like professionals and act like esports is a legitimate sport, the time is now! But sometimes situations in the scene makes the scene look bad and childish. Lets talk about professionalism in the scene, teams and games.

The Keiv Major:

As the Keiv Major approaches, two situations come to mind. The Keiv Major is Valve’s 5th Major and last major of this season leading to Ti7 in August. In the past we have seen amazing Majors(frankfurt and manila being my favorites) and one that we shall never talk about (opps…. I just did, shangai major 2016) But even at its worst, the professionalism of the casters, teams, managers ect. Has always been present, so why do we have to start now?

1st Situation: The Ghost Team

Ad Finem took the Dota 2 world by storm when they qualified to the Boston Major last year and took second place in the event, talk about the underdogs! Because of this is only reasonable to invite Ad Finem to the Keiv Major. But Ad Finem players have made a questionable decision before the event even took place, they decided not to sign with the organization Ad Finem and thus remain in the event as a nameless team, being able to participate but not representing any organization and not even playing under any type of name. The nameless team will still compete in the upcoming major (teamless that is) and Valve has done nothing against this, it looks ridiculous, its laughable and its unprofessional. But this, this is nothing compared to the next one, this is just the tip of the iceberg.

2nd Situation: Embarrassing Behavior, Leads To Childish Break Up

Team Unknown in the south american qualifiers made fools of themselves and the organization in a matter of minutes. Rage Quitting in the middle of a game against fellow Peruvian team Infamous and disbanding before the game was even over. Rage Quit into Disband on $3,000,000 event  was the title of the day, on many blog post, youtube videos and community forums. This brings shame to the organization, its employees and EVGA Latin America who at the time was sponsoring the team. The situation escalated to a point, where the organization took to facebook to apologize for the players behavior stating “We have decided not to continue with the current roster of players due to their unprofessionalism, we apologize to fellow team Infamous and to our sponsor EVGA Latin America.”

It’s A Big Deal:

These situations are indeed a big deal, especially when Dota 2 has become such a huge esport. We want esports to succeed and we want people to respect it as a sport, but if these situations keep happening we will become the laughing stock of the esports scene, right behind Smite’s Team EnVyUs.

EnVyUs Smite:

Last year Team EnVyUs had a similar situation to these ones. After a disappointing first round against SoaR, EnVyUs opened the second round with a questionable strat that fell flat and resulted in player Baskin getting a triple kill and Envyus surrendering in 2 minutes of game. This was a hot topic last year that put in question the professionalism of the Smite Pro League. But in response Smite’s League took action and sanctioned Team EnVyUs with a fine to each one of its players.

Closing Argument/Personal Opinion:

A) We need to prevent this as much as possible inside Dota, if we want this esports to keep growing and getting better, not only to the players and teams, but for the viewers. The first situation is not a bad one, but it falls into Valve’s hand to prevent this, by either making the team undergo a new organization or team name, or removing them from the invites list as soon as it happened. This is nothing against Ad Finem or its players, but its unprofessional and it looks bad. The second situation is a little bit more delicate, it didnt happen on the event (like its bound to happen with Ad Finem ghost team) and it falls into the organization a lot more. But this second situation is the worst ive seen, i think the organization should take time off this season, as they now lay as the laughing stock of the peruvian community.

    B) The second situation is a real shame, and it goes beyond the pro scene. This is the reason peruvian players have such a bad reputation in Dota 2 community, and these players did not only make fools of themselves but they also proved the community right. If players like these are willing to do this in a professional match, imagine what they do in pubs? This goes beyond the peruvian community, the latino community in general has a bad reputation in Dota 2. They rage, they dont know how to communicate, they play on english speaking servers without even knowing 2 words in english, and before you go off telling how im using this platform to insult the latino community, i have to tell you… I am latino, its a shame to me, to my friends and to all the other members of this community that want to be seen as good players, that want to be taken serious and that not partake in any of these actions.

C) This has been a long blog post, i wish i could say more, i have so much stuff to talk about, but i think ill end it here. Lets work together to make not only the pro scene, but the pub scene better. Hopefully you understood my point of view, and if you didnt you are entitled to your own opinion and i respect that. These are solely my opinions.

By IceCoqui

Team Onyx Remains Strong

It’s been a long time! Well, im back and after watching EG vs Onyx today i decided to write a blog about Onyx, the next big team in NA. Thats a bold assumption if i have ever done one! But i think these guys have a lot of potential, and after watching a fantastic game, im here to share my thoughts:

Onyx Hard As a Rock:

My third article here on TeamWiped!(if i remember correctly) was Team Onyx Hard As a Rock. An article i released after Jimmy “Demon” Ho announced his new roster on the new team. On this article i talk about some of the players (at the time the full roster wasn’t announced) i talk about how this team might influence the NA scene, i also talk about Jimmy and the return of Mason to the competitive scene. “But i believe is Team Onyx who will be the greatest contender in the North America scene, right behind Evil Geniuses. With a powerhouse of players, and still one more player remaining to be picked off by Onyx, Team Onyx is looking powerful and hungry, let’s hope they stay that way, i want to see more of this team in the future. Best of luck to Team Onyx in 2017, welcome!!!” this is what i wrote as i ended the article. So is this still the case? Is Onyx still hungry and still remains a great contender for NA?

EG:

Before we jump into the mix, let me remind you, who Onyx was going against in the Betway Arena King of the Hill. Evil Geniuses, i think i’ve talked about this team quite a lot (one of my favorite teams if i’m being honest) but Evil Geniuses is a tough contender to have, a true T1 team, past champions, great organization behind them and amazing roster of players. They are also the number one team world wide at the moment, in the JoinDota’s Team Rankings, thats no easy feat!

No Max Revives for Onyx:

Although Team Onyx fell short this time, and lost the King of the Hill, that doesn’t mean Onyx is not a great contender, going up against a team like EG is not something to joke about. Team Onyx is relatively new to the scene, and i can just imagine what they can accomplish as time passes. Onyx recently qualified to the Keiv major and we will see them in action soon, in their first major ever, thats big! An event housing the best of the best, dozens of teams competing, but Onyx came to play and it was supereffective!

It’s All About Teamplay:

Is there’s something i can make out of those matches against EG, is the chemistry between the players, their team play is great to watch. They took many team fights against EG and in some cases even outpowered EG when they overstood their stay. They take advantages on these teamfights and look to fight in packs instead of solo play. They showed how in many scenarios they can hold their own, even against a team like EG. They slowly keep showing signs of improvement and i think we will see an even stronger Team Onyx when the keiv major arrives in april. They have great players and good chemistry, they only need that extra push! And believe me when i say, Team Onyx can become a monster this season.

The NA scene is on fire(part 2):

The NA scene is looking at some great teams this season (and hopefully for the next seasons to come) Team Onyx and Team NP are the newest teams to come out of the NA scene, and they both look strong this season. With NA having 3 teams representing this Major, its incredible to see how far NA Dota has come.

Final Thoughts:

Team Onyx needs to remain hungry, theres always room for improvement! And i believe they are getting better and stronger, the way they played against EG and the way they played through those qualifiers only indicates to this. I wish the best to Team Onyx, good luck in the Keiv Major!

By IceCoqui

Top 5 Heroes in the 7.02 patch for Both New And Old Players (In No Particular Order).

  And what a patch it is ladies and gents of teamwiped. Many nerfs and buffs that were anticipated have occurred in the pro scene as well in the ranked/pub. The new hero Monkey King is getting more tweaks for balancing reasons, Ranged Lone Druid and Veil Ember Spirit were hit with slight nerfs but still viable and popular and blademail no longer lifesteals as it used to. What a turn of events but nerfs are not the only thing in this patch we have some very interesting buffs as well like Anti-Mages blink cooldown levels exchanged and his aghs build now made even stronger with his level 25 mana void skill. The teamfighting meta has grown even stronger and mid games far more important.

But we all know why you are reading this list. So here is my top 5 Dota heroes you should learn this patch; Number 5: Undying (4th position support role). A hero who went underused for some-time due to his low power curve. He has literally come back from the dead with a vengeance. Undying is in a very interesting place at the moment some say he is a very greedy support pick other say he is no good and should be played 3rd. But as seen in the pro-scene this hero does wonders with very few items has a mid game presence most supports can’t compete with and his abilities can turn any enemy gank into a nightmare to handle. His item build can be both simple or very versatile but one thing is certain Guardian Greaves is core on this hero without a doubt and can be built first but it's recommended to pick it up after an item like force staff or Euls. Remember as well the early game is the most important part of a good undying player and those first 5 minutes mean gold remember to play around the enemies picks and predict the solo lanes so you don’t lose kill potential early and grabbing an urn with correct warding helps the outcome of the match. Also don't forget to pick up a casual glimmer cape if magic damage is a problem for your early game “rampage”. Number 4: Ember Spirit(2nd position carry).

 Ember has not changed much from the last patch. He is played pretty much the same as 7.00. With just some adjustments in damage calculations and blademail has turned skippable in some line-ups. If you want some more info here on teamwiped we have an article about this hero made by yours truly here:         But besides that Ember is still strongly played as mid hero with very high kill potential mid game falling out in the late. This hero takes some practice and has a rough skill cap but once learned is very enjoyable to play. Number 3: Outworld Devourer (2nd position carry).

Outworld Devourer aka. OD this astral being just doesn't want to fall from the meta. A versatile int hero that is played mid-lane who has a huge lane presence and can literally starve opposing mid players from getting last hits and farm, save his allies and himself with his astral imprisonment skill. But that's not the only thing that makes OD special he is the hero who pretty much reinvented the item “huricane pike” and made him into a very strong powerhouse who can easily carry efficiently when his build are done correctly for the situation.  This hero has a very common mid lane build that runs bottle most of the time but timing is key for his momentum. Depending on the line-ups he may face mid this hero can build an array of items and be very successful thanks to his versatility and stats from force staff and atos all the way up to bkb and mkb if needed. Most OD build intelligence items because it helps some of his other skills items like Shiva's guard and Staff of Vyse are very important and help show of what this hero is capable of. But beware he has very tricky timing because a good OD player has to know how to fight around his nemesis Black King Bar or BKB for short. This hero is intermediate in difficulty he is not that hard to learn but very difficult to master.

Number 2:

Bounty Hunter(4th or 5th position support).

 Bounty Hunter is the best roaming support hero in this meta. A support with so much potential he can switch the tides of gold gain towards your favor even in a losing game. Thanks to his skill trees he can become online much faster than before helping him with his ganking potential. This hero counter picks a long list of heroes and can be first picked without any fear of what the enemy can bring to the table. Why? Because bounty hunter can only be countered by 3 things in reality: Gems,Sentries and Dust. Yes bounty hunter is a invisible agi based hero and that has its disadvantages. But at the same coin that is why he can be picked up and played by many new players because of his stealth traits but in the pro scene mind-games are the point of picking this hero forcing the enemy supports to waste resources on you and focus you down and not your team's carry. You are a chaos maker by choice and what you do early determines how the game will be in the late game. As a support it is a lot of responsibility but as a roaming support it is even more because effective ganks change the game. You are a gold machine thanks to your ability track that also helps you spot your target anywhere in the map for a certain time or until a dispel. You also have a very powerful nuke, slow and crit and with certain items this skills can break any hero who wanders solo or a support that is out of position. So what do bounties build? And how come he can be played as a 4th or a 5th? Well bounties build anything the team may need. Guardian Greaves or Pipe Of Insight is always a great choice vlads if the team needs more lifesteal and you need survivability. Mobility like blink or force and if the game is going good enough you can start building into a semi-carry. Also don't forget as a support it's your job to help stack, ward and gank lanes and if there is a jungler maintain him harassed. Bounty can be played in both because he doesn't need much to pop off and win games just dedication.

SO WHO IS NUMBER 1 IN THIS LIST IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER ?

Anti-Mage(Position 1 carry.)

 Anti-Mage the hero hit with so many direct and indirect buffs lately he is becoming the late game carry of choice. This hero is for those players who want to hard carry into the lategame. Being a hero who builds battlefury an item that received a buff it’s only the tip of the iceberg in the buffs this hero has received lately back in 7.00 he was given an aghs upgrade that gives him a likens/lotus orb hybrid for only 4200 gold. But not only that in 7.02 he received a buff to his ultimate mana void making its cooldown so much faster making him a danger in long fights. Also putting his blink cooldown reduction skill to level 15. Being a carry who has been played a certain way for the longest time is both a blessing and a curse because he suffers from predictability and timing issues. But with a good team and free farm anti-mage becomes a monster who makes the game really unfun for the enemy team. Having this in his arsenal now makes him the target of pros and noobs alike. Just try to practice his item timings and last hitting correctly and you will be kicking ass with anti-mage in no time.

Closing statement Well here is another article for teamwiped remember guys if you like any of the content on our page please share and like it helps us the world and motivates us to make more content for you. Also I hope this list gets you interested in playing heroes you are not used to or give you an ego boost if you know how to play them. Thank you very much for the support. -Hektor mekano

Single Elimination, Mixed feelings:

We have seen many changes since Dota 2’s own major tournament was announced. When Ti1 took place it was a historical moment for all Dota fans across the world, and it seems like things once again are changing in the pro scene, but is it for the better? I have my doubts and give my opinion on the single eliminations format, as The Keiv Major gets the single eliminations treatment.

The Why:

I do understand Valves decision on the matter, it takes less games, venues become easier to find and use with an event that only takes half of the time that double elimination format will take. Venues in double eliminations are not always full of spectators, and an event lasting 3 days is quite refreshing for attendees to see their favorite teams, than a full week of games. Valves change makes sense, but everything is not cherries and sunflowers in single eliminations.

The fans:

The fact that single eliminations means less games, means that fans that like watching Dota for a full week (like me) are left with a hunger to watch more. You have to understand that Dota unlike a sport, doesn’t have a “legit” season of games, that means that we have to wait for majors to actually watch and enjoy games. Having only 3 days, instead of the full week like before really takes the experience away from fans. Minor tournaments are great to watch as well, but a lot of people have normal lives outside of Dota, meaning we can’t watch every tournament and every game. So we look forwards to Majors since they are the bigger events. (i do understand not all fans think like i do, but this is partly my opinion of what fans want, and doing research on other websites, a lot of fans share the same thoughts)

Luck > Skill:

Without a lower bracket, it means that no team has a second chance. Creating this awkward scenario where lady luck plays a major role in games. On October 8th,2016 user “Eggs” wrote a blog in dotabuff that said “In a single elimination format, CDEC would have won TI5, Digital Chaos would’ve had a first round exit at TI6, and Na’Vi would have been back to back TI champions at TI2, without having to face IG from the loser’s bracket.” That means no six million dollar echo slam, no underdog story on ti6 and the same team winning Ti for a second year. No comebacks for teams, no room for error, less interesting, in my opinion.

The Group Stages:

Whats the point of having a group stage, if the Single elimination format does not have a lower bracket? This isn’t at all bad since it means all teams are on equal footing, but it does make group stages useless to some extent, other than practicing and teams getting ready for the main event, group stages will mean nothing in today’s Dota. A team that would enter the tournament through the qualifiers, had the opportunity to make it to the upper brackets by playing the group stages and having a good placement in them. Now group stages will be obsolete, and a team doesn’t need a good placement on group stages to get a good placement on the brackets main event.

It takes time:

Of course all in all, not everything is bad, for the most part a lot of sports are single eliminations, and single eliminations format on Dota does not mean the end of an era. Might take time to adjust to these new changes, but until we don’t see this format flourish, i will have my doubts on how they plan to make this work. There’s still changes out there that can be made to make group stages useful again, changes to make the viewer experience better and changes to make to the actual format to see Teams taking an advantage on their skills and not rely on luck so heavily.

Final Opinions, Road to Ti7: I might not like it, but it seems that single elimination format is here to stay. I hope this is not the case for Ti7, i would like to see Ti7 sticking to the same format we all know and love after 6 years. Makes sense to keep this format in the biggest event of the year, but the new laws in the USA and Valve hinting that if travel bans continue, they would had to host Ti7 outside of seattle, might mean that they would have to go Single elimination on Ti7 to find a good venue outside of the US. Here’s hoping that does not happen, and that we can enjoy a full amazing event this year, on Valves home city and the iconic Keyarena. Hopefully we can have our 7th anual tournament in this place <3

By Icecoqui

The Curse, Has Been Broken

EG’s losses against OG last year were seen as a curse. The team struggled against OG in a huge way, but the tides have turned, and it seems the curse has been broken. But why exactly is the curse broken? Let’s take a look, as i break down the Dotapit upper bracket finals and main event finals.

The Curse:

EG has struggled to beat OG in the past, that may come as no surprise. If you been following the Dota 2 pro scene for the last couple of months, you would know that Andreas Franck "Cr1t-" Nielsen EG’s current 5th position player and captain, was the 4th position player for OG during the 2016 season, before the OG’s defeat in the International 6, last year. OG had a clear advantage every time they met. OG could read Cr1t like a book, out drafting and out playing EG in almost any scenario.

A TeamWiped Prediction:

If you read the first article ever posted on our site TeamWiped! (which is also very boring to read as i had just started the page) i talk about how in the future, EG and its new lineup could improve and become beast in 2017. Don’t get me wrong, EG has always been a top tier team, EG is not only a tier 1 team, they are also Ti champions and have 2 master minds behind all of the players, Clinton “Fear” Loomis takes the coaching role on the field, and Peter “PPD” Dagger takes a leading role becoming CEO of EG in December this past year. But with every new lineup and players, changes and lots of practice needs to happen before a team can truly show their colors. Not only that but this is the first time, we see Cr1t taking a leading role as captain. In this article i talk about how Cr1t can improve as captain, in other conversations i’ve even gone to the extent of saying  “Cr1t has something to prove, not only to the viewers and fans, but to his old teammates” and i think this is the moment he finally proved that he is not only captain material, he proved that he can be a top tier captain, and what better way of proving that, than beating your old teammates and captain, in the Dotapit finals.

A 2-0 Knockout To The Lower Bracket:

EG’s first encounter with OG was in the upper bracket finals, not only has the team and its captain(cr1t) improved tremendously. It seems that Cr1t’s drafting has improved as well. Breaking the meta and drafting around OG’s defenses and not letting OG predict their drafting. Game 1 shifted to OG during the mid game, but it wasn’t until the late game, when EG found its rhythm and took the first game, with an amazing performance by RTZ on Lone Druid. Moving up to the second one, EG seemed more prepared, they dominated the lanes and took the first 10 minutes of the game in a complete advantage, going 7-0 in the first 10 minutes of the game, pushing the mid barracks at minute 15 and focusing on OG’s own Notail, to completely destroy the team, knocking them down the lower brackets and moving to the finals.

Boosting Morale:

What one win can do to the team is incredible, not only did EG played calm and collective against OG, slowly breaking down their defenses and founding a rhythm that OG could not predict. But winning against OG in those upper bracket finals must have been great for EG’s members. Building that confidence heading into the finals is something that could have helped EG secure that 3-2 win against OG. With this lan under their belts and winning against EG’s kryptonite, this could bring huge confidence to everyone in the team, including EG’s new captain Cr1t.

The Final Score:

In the finals both teams played a great game, with every game shifting in either direction. But it was EG in the end who took the trophy home, after winning 3-2 in the finals. Beating OG is no easy feat. But EG demonstrated how much they have improved and how much the players have grown under the past months, with this series final.

Final Look at the growth of EG

Comparing EG’s performance last night, prior to the Boston Major upper bracket finals (EG vs OG Boston Major B03 Upper Bracket Finals) EG has improved in a fantastic way, the players seem to have more chemistry than before as well. OG in the Boston Major won against EG in a 18-4 lead and took the second game in a 7-23 lead. Comparing those stats to this final, the first game of the night which OG took, was only a 19-16 lead in favor of OG, a huge difference when compared to last year. EG taking the second game 17-37 against OG, can only prove this further. In the end it was EG who took the pit by storm.

The Curse Has Been Broken(final thoughts)

With this win EG can finally put to rest this “curse”, but this isn’t the last time we see this rivalry. EG and OG are fantastic teams, and i can only smile when thinking that these two teams might collide in the future again. EG finally beat it’s Kryptonite, but OG is not far gone, and like i said on my first article, i hope to see Cr1t leading EG as captain, for the years to come.

By. IceCoqui

Don’t Call It A Comeback

Cloud 9 has not been active in the Dota 2 scene for almost 2 years, but that changed this year. Around 2 days ago. The North American organization, has picked and signed the players from Danish Bears, The bears are now part of the Cloud 9 roster. A History Lesson:

For all new fans of the Dota 2 competitive scene, the name Cloud 9 might not mean nothing, because the organization went inactive in the Dota 2 scene in 2015. But back in the day Cloud 9 had an active Dota team, a team that also made way for big names in the scene today. Cloud 9 has housed players like Notail who is now a triple major winner along with his own team OG and EternalEnvy who was not only part of the fan favorite Team Secret, but now plays with his new team, Team NP(shout outs to them for the love <3). But unfortunately Cloud 9, was never a T1 team and the organization struggled to land top 8’s and top 4’s at major events.

5/16 Was the score:

Cloud 9 had bad luck in major tournaments, securing first places in qualifiers was one thing, but securing the first place in main events was another story. In fact the last time we heard of them, they had lost 0-1 in the lower brackets of the FrankFurt Major(2015) against Alliance, after this, the organization announced they would be retiring from the Dota 2 scene, up until 2 days ago when they announced their return to the Dota 2 Pro scene.

The Bears:

Cloud 9 picked up the players from Danish Bears, with this statement “young talent that I believe, if supported correctly, can establish themselves as a solid team” With the players equally eager to be part of the Cloud 9 family, stating that even if they have a lot of things to improve on, they will do the best they can to not only qualify for major events but also “a good placement on TI” says Cloud 9’s new player BabyKnight.

What does this mean for the NA scene:

Like i said in an earlier article, the NA scene has been blooming during this Spring Shuffle, and 2017 for North American fans looks great. We got a lot to see in the future, from EG’s amazing performance this last couple of months, too new teams joining and representing NA like Team Np and Team Onyx, and now coming this way, we have North American organization Cloud 9 picking up a team.  Team Np have already shown amazing performances and growing players this last year, with Team Onyx making headlines and top websites reporting, that they will be a top contender this Kiev Major. We have a really good year for the NA scene.

My Personal Opinion:

Cloud 9 was never a team that i looked up too, they were never the team people expected to be top contenders in major events, but this new roster marks a new era for Cloud 9. It’s a risky move, but picking up young players from smaller teams can lead to a big payoff. These players are hungry, they want to improve, they want to show the world they can be top players if they were given the opportunity and i think Cloud 9 saw this. Cloud 9 gave these players an opportunity they can really take, from here they can only improve and get better, and i think thats priority number 1 for the players of Cloud 9. We are glad to see Cloud 9 on the Dota 2 scene again, and we are looking forward to see what Cloud 9 and it’s players can accomplished this year. I think under the right administration the bears can be a team to be feared, if Cloud 9 can take advantage of this, they have a really good year ahead of them.

By IceCoqui

Peter Dagger: From the field, To the desk

The name Peter Dagger in the Dota 2 competitive scene is heard often when referring to the success of Evil Geniuses. EG’s former team captain and 5th position player, is recognized as one of the best drafters in the competitive scene. But now Peter Dagger has taken a different role in EG, becoming CEO of the organization this past December 2016, along with Clinton “Fear” Loomis, who is now coaching EG’s Dota 2 team.

Out drafting, the drafters:

Peter’s exceptional drafting skills has earned him the title of one of Dota’s best drafters. Rarely getting out drafted by other teams, following the meta in his own creative way and baiting other Team Captains from enemy teams to pick blindly. Peter has quickly earn a reputation, and quickly climbed the ranks in the competitive scene, with Team Evil Geniuses.

From player, To CEO:

Peter “PPD” Dagger decided to leave competitive dota after The International 6. Peter took a more managerial role within Evil Geniuses, and later in December 12, 2016, Peter Dagger was named Evil Geniuses new CEO, after Evil Geniuses and sister organization Alliance, became independent player-owned organizations.

New team, comeback from retirement:

Peter released a video on his youtube channel in January 2, 2017, where he announced his new “hobby” team WanteD, with players like QO and Chessie. In this video he makes clear that he is still CEO of Evil Geniuses and that EG is his number one responsability. He has been upfront with everyone in the team and has explained that this in no way is him setting down from EG, “this is a hobby team”. But they do plan to qualify for the next major if its posible. He goes into further explanation on this decision and explains his feelings on moving from a player to a spectator in the crowd, but we suggest you watch the video, to fully understand his position in all of this.

On another note:

Peter Dagger has been busy this winter, and has released a statement on the official EG website, citing the new changes. Evil Geniuses has disbanded their Star Craft 2 team, stating that the players have gone inactive, and EG made changes to the fighting team as well, removing PrBalrog, Jwong and ChocoBlanka from their fighting team. With EG reviving their Call of Duty team this past 2016, and Peter stating that he wants to expand the EG brand, we are looking forward to see EG’s plans in the future, maybe a team in Overwatch? CS:GO? Who knows.

Cr1t:

In the first article i ever wrote on this blog, i stated that no one is more perfect to replace PPD as captain than Cr1t. Cr1t has demonstrated amazing performance this last couple of months, he has grown a lot with the players since becoming part of EG in 2016, and he can only get better from here. He still has a long way to go, but it looks like he is headed in the right way, his amazing performance and stability is one that not only fans have noticed, but EG and Peter have noticed as well, we hope to see more of Cr1t in the future!

Final Thoughts:

Peter Dagger is making headlines with all the decisions he has taken on EG and his new team alike. We believe taking that role on EG and rebranding in 2017 is vital to EG’s survival and Peter understands this.  We believe he will continue to be a great CEO and hopefully he will take the necessary steps in bringing EG to the top. As for his new team, it’s great to see ppd on the scene, he’s always been one of my favorite captains on the scene, but Peter… with great power, comes great responsibility(cheesy quote). Thank you all for supporting this new blog and good luck to Peter in this 2017! We hope to write more about you in the future!!!

By IceCoqui

Team Onyx, Hard as Rock

Earlier today Team Onyx was announced by Jimmy “DeMoN” Ho’s official Facebook page, and the team is already making headlines in blog’s, websites and forums. There’s a reason behind this, so sit down, get comfy, because this is going to be a long one.

TnC, Jimmy proves he’s captain material and Fnatic:

Jimmy has been around the pro scene since for some years now, he made headlines after joining Evil Geniuses back in 2011, but in Ti6 him and Filipino team TNC Gaming made even bigger headlines when TNC manage to not only defeat, but eliminate fan favorites OG in the lower brackets, with Jimmy acting as the captain for TNC, it was proven that Jimmy is not only a great player, but a great captain with potential, potential that Fnatic saw. In September of 2016 Jimmy was drafted into Fnatic, alongside some players from TNC, but that did not last long, in November of the same year Jimmy left the team, and for a month remained as a free agent until the Spring Shuffle.

Is Team Onyx steady as a rock?

The team behind Team Onyx still remains a mystery, we know so little about it. But the team is hungry, and analyst on the scene are already predicting, this team will be a top contender at the Keiv Major coming this year, Valve’s second and last Major before the International 7. The team will be representing the NA(North American) scene and even though they are still missing a player, Team Onyx looks strong and ready too take on the pro scene. But why do analyst on the scene think this way?

The Players and Profiles:

Starting with Jimmy “DeMoN” Ho, who’s career has been great this year, the team is off to a great start, as Jimmy will most likely be the team’s new captain. On the other hand with him on the support role playing 5th position we have Kim “DuBu” Doo-young who became one of the best known support players this year. Kanishka “Bulba” Sosale drafted from Team Liquid will be taking the 3rd position in the team and finishing off with Mason Venne returning to the pro scene after two years of keeping a low profile and playing for smaller teams in the scene.

The Return Of Mason:

Mason’s return to professional Dota has been long waited for several people in the scene, after replacing Clinton “Fear” Loomis in Evil Geniuses for the 2014 season, and helping the team make top 3 in The International 4. Mason was removed from EG the same year, following the return of Fear to the professional scene after recovering from his arm injury back in 2014. Mason was inactive until 2015, and then started playing for small teams like Shazam in 2016. Even though Mason has stayed active since 2015, it wasn’t until now, early 2017, when his name will resonate in the pro scene with such power, following him being pick off, by Jimmy himself, for Team Onyx.

Final thoughts, NA scene is on fire:

The NA scene has never been happier, with team NP representing North America and now Team Onyx joining in, it feels like Christmas for Americans in the Dota 2 scene(at least it feels that way too me) But i believe is Team Onyx who will be the greatest contender in the North America scene, right behind Evil Geniuses. With a powerhouse of players, and still one more player remaining to be picked off by Onyx, Team Onyx is looking powerful and hungry, let’s hope they stay that way, i want to see more of this team in the future. Best of luck to Team Onyx in 2017, welcome!!!

By IceCoqui

Natus Vincere Roster Changes: Is this the end of Na’Vi? Or a Fresh Start?

It seems Na’Vi has had quite the cast change since the last time we saw them. With many of the old members gone from last season with only General and Dendi left leaves a lot more questions than answers. What happened between the other team members to cause such a switch? With still very vague answers here we have the new Na’Vi with Pajkatt as the most experienced player of the new bloods being in teams like Alliance and Evil Geniuses. We also have both rmN- and Biver as the newest members who both are fairly new.

But with new blood comes both solutions… and issues.

 With the current claim to fame from many “twitch stars” and “pub prodigies”  seeing people in a roster who have experience in the pro scene is a good choice by the management of Natus but this at the same time brings worries.  At the moment not many players who have been in the game with lots of experience want to join a different team or feel comfortable at their current team of choice maybe being the main reason why we are seeing Biver and rmN- in the first place. Also the way they presented the new players was very underwhelming at best showing off that rmN- might need to pick a profile picture with better resolution next time. Besides that point many videos of the players that are online at the moment reveal the new cast still need time to handle the changes of 7.00 like Biver using Rubick blinking into a neutral camp in a location that usually should not have one. It is too early too say if this is the end of Na’Vi like many of the playerbase proclaim we must give the new players time to adjust to each other's play-style before we can judge any of the changes or choices of Natus Vincere. At best we might have the new competitive line up we wanted from this team at worst it will just be another disband time will tell. Hopefully Dendi and General can hold on the dream of TI for the time being.

  Well ladies and gentlefolk A closing statement by a cast member of TeamWiped,

On a more personal note I still feel like Sonneiko ex.Na’Vi member and a valuable support player leaving the team was very conflicting. If statements are true that he is a player that is “difficult to play with” and has “issues of character” why isn't it more talked about in the Dota2 community? Maybe the real reason of him leaving is more of a personal issue that we have not been told about Or revealed to us. But that is just speculation hopefully Sonneiko can find a team where he feels more comfortable at or if statements are true, be able to find a way to better himself as a player.  On that note let’s keep the Na’Vi spirit alive and like Gor “caff” Sydorenko – Manager of Natus Vincere said in his own words: “GO GO NAVI!”

Vici.Shuffle, the Linsanity of the situation:

In the upcoming days we will hear all about roster changes and new players on the dota scene, as it always happens when the winter Major is over and the Spring Shuffle starts. We have already heard from Teams like EG and Navi(one of our writers will have the full report on Navi later on in the week) but one team that surprised us was VG.J with two new players on the scene. You may not really know who VG.J which are part of the Vici Gaming organization and are relatively new to the scene, but the name Jeremy Lin, may sound familiar.

Basketball player and Dota 2 Fan, Jeremy Lin, reached an agreement with Esports organization Vici Gaming on September 17th 2016, to endorse a new team for the organization, and thus VG.J was born, not only did he endorse the team, but he now stands as a honorary captain of the team. It’s amazing to see other sports and it’s players taking an interest on Esports, but i have a feeling i’ll write a blog on the matter some time in the future.

Back to the Shuffle:

VG.J announced earlier this week, that Wang “NoNo” Xin will leave the team and Xu "Hym" Zhi will be switching teams, rejoining Vici’s own original team. Liu “Freeze” Chang and Xu “Fy” Linsen will replace both players, Fy who has been part of Vici Gaming for years, has jumped from the organizations own teams, Vici Gaming(original squad) and Vici Reborn, now making his way into VG.J for the first time.

Final Thoughts:

With Team captain rOtk, who has been on the scene for years now, and even placed second in The International back in 2014, it’s safe to assume the team is in good hands, picking up players like Fy and Freeze means a good change of pace for the team, but does that mean they can be a Tier 1 team in 2017, is highly debatable. We will have to wait and see, what 2017 brings.

By IceCoqui

The True, True sight, of EG’s Boston Major Results

EG, love by many, hated by others, EG was at the top of their game going into the Boston Major, and even though they placed 3rd-4th on the event, some still think EG could have been Boston Major champions, then why is that? let's take a look at the reason, EG could have taken the trophy home.

If you watch enough competitive dota you would understand the reason why EG the team with the biggest potential, going into the Boston Major lost, first of all EG is never a team that exceeds on upper brackets, they learn from mistakes and adjust later on, they have always suffer from first game loses; If u watch any major tournament you will notice what im saying, including TI5 which was the year EG won, they lost to CDEC got to lower bracket, adjusted their gameplay and cameback to defeat CDEC 3-1 in the finals. Making this Major a single elimination one, not only was it shorter and boring(in my opinion anyways) but it gave other teams that adapt faster a huge advantage, leaving EG in a tight position going into this Boston Major.

Another thing that was of major disadvantage was Cr1t, now hear me out, Cr1t is an amazing captain, he fits into EG perfectly and he will only get stronger and better from here on now, im happy he is staying in EG for this next season, for some reason i can not find anyone more perfect than Cr1t to replace ppd, but they lost against OG 2-0. Cr1t was part of OG and because of this its easier for OG to predict him, his picks/bans and his amazing level of gameplay, OG has a huge advantage over this, and if u think im making some kind of excuse or trying to defend EG way too much than you are wrong, im just some guy on the internet, analysing a game of dota way too much. But, like i was saying, if you think im lying about this, go watch episode one i believe(Of the True Sight series), when EG could not win over NP because SVG knew how to play against EG, since SVG was coach of EG, they even go to the extent of saying "we cant use X strat because SVG was our coach when we came up with it" that shows you how much difference and advantage OG had vs EG.

It’s easy to see, that EG not only suffered from this single elimination format, but going against OG was the final nail in the coffin. Finally putting EG’s 2-0 wins to rest, and EG leaving the Boston Major in 3rd place.

About OG:

OG is a fantastic team, hell Notail has been one of my favorite players ever since he was in Liquid, but its obvious how easy was for them to win this major, single elimination does not work and having a huge advantage over one of the scariest teams going into the Boston Major was definetly a refreshing state of mind for OG.

Speaking of OG, i have a small bone to pick with them, Ana's performance was... meh. He is a good player indeed, but i believe he is still having problems to adjusting to certain situations, and thus other OG members look twice as better performance wise compared to the OG rookie, Ana. S4's and jerax performance on this Major was top notch, S4 looks better here than he ever did last season with alliance, now there is a lot of reasons for that, but i'll get into those some time in the future. Compared to rookies on the scene, like Miracle and Sumail when they started, Ana is off to a slower start than the players i just mentioned.

Back to where we started:

Going back into EG, and the main topic of this Analysis. What's next for EG? Going into the 2017 season EG has stated that they will have no roster changes, meaning That the team will not only stay with EG originals like Universe,Sumail,Zai and Arteezy, but with Team Captain Cr1t and former EG player, champion and coach of EG Clinton "Fear" Loomis. I am happy with this, and judging from the comments on their announcement, Fans seem quite happy of the roster as well, EG is a power house of a team, Demonstrating amazing performance, stable players with good quemistry and an amazing coach who is not only a former champion, but also took part in what is arguably the best game in Dota 2's history(EG vs EHOMe TI6 main event, game 1) the future looks bright, intriguing and Exciting for EG and all of their players.

By: IceCoqui

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