This weekend, the eyes of the Dota world will be focusing on New Orleans, with the Major League Gaming (MLG) World finals taking place there from the 16th to the 18th of October. Eight of the best teams from across the world have been invited to compete for a winner’s purse of at least $100 000. In an earlier article, we detailed the teams from Group A. Now we turn our eyes to the four teams competing in Group B – CDEC Gaming, Cloud9, Team Secret, and MVP Phoenix.
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CDEC Gaming
CDEC Gaming were the biggest surprise of The International 5 for many in the Dota community, myself included. Their hyper-aggressive style of play, centring around early movements of their carry, Sun ‘Aggressif’ Zheng, caught many teams off-guard. They managed to claim second place, losing only to Evil Geniuses.
Like Evil Geniuses, CDEC have not played many recorded matches, only competing in the ESL One New York playoffs. They managed to overcome Team Archon, but were thwarted by Team Secret. Thus, we have yet to see the true capabilities of CDEC in 6.85. The MLG World Finals may well be the place where we see CDEC set the Dota world aflame once more.
CDEC Gaming’s roster is as follows:
Sun ‘Agressif’ Zheng
Huang ‘Shiki’ Jiwei
XZ-TheAnswer
Zhang ‘Q-HHH’ Yi
Liu ‘Garder’ Xinzhou
Cloud9
Unlike CDEC, Cloud9 have been very busy since The International, playing an impressive 20 recorded matches since the tournament. What is even more impressive is the fact that Cloud9 have only lost two of these matches (to Digital Chaos in the ESL One New York North America qualifiers and to Elite Wolves in the Frankfurt Major Americas qualifiers).
Cloud9 have shown a creative flair to their drafting and play, outmanoeuvring their opponents and claiming more value out of the map. Whilst Cloud9 may only have played against American teams in 6.85 up until this point, they have shown that they deserve to be the second-best American team behind Evil Geniuses, and the MLG World Finals could be the place where Cloud9 show their current strength on the world stage.
Cloud9’s roster is as follows:
Danger7-Ritsu
Braxton ‘Brax’ Paulson
Arif ‘MojoStormStout’ Anwar
SVG
Theeban ‘1437’ Siva
Image from sgamer.com
Team Secret
Since the team’s inception, Team Secret has been a team of all-star players banding together to fight against the rest of the world. Since The International 5, Team Secret has undergone major roster changes, with Clement ‘Puppey’ Imanov the sole survivor from the roster that placed in the top 8 at The International.
The Team Secret roster is filled with players known for being emotional and explosive, such as Jacky ‘EternalEnvy’ Mao and Aliwi ‘w33haaa’ Omar. However, with Puppey’s cool head at the helm, the new Team Secret has managed to hold on to their number 1 ranking, putting in several dominant performances in 6.85. While Team Secret have only played 7 matches with their new roster, they have managed to win 5 of them. This weekend, Team Secret will be truly tested against some of the best teams in the world. The Dota community will be waiting with baited breath to see if they will be up to the challenge.
Team Secret’s roster is as follows:
Clement ‘Puppey’ Imanov
Johan ‘pieliedie’ Astrom
Rasmus ‘MiSeRy-’ Filipsen
Aliwi ‘w33haa’ Omar
Jacky ‘EternaLEnvy’ Mao
Image from NoobFromUA's YouTube
MVP Phoenix
While the Korean gaming community may be far more centred around League of Legends and Starcraft 2, MVP Phoenix have shown for an extended period of time that Korean Dota is world-class as well. MVP Phoenix managed to place in the top 8 at The International 5, showing that they are capable of competing with the rest of the world.
Sadly, the time since The International 5 has not been very kind for MVP Phoenix. They have put in some mixed performances, and have yet to show the resolve they showed at The International. The most heart-breaking aspect of the period since The International is likely the fact that MVP Phoenix failed to receive a direct invite or qualify for the upcoming Frankfurt Major. However, like their namesake, MVP Phoenix have the talent to rise from the ashes of defeat, and shine brightly once more at the MLG World Finals.
MVP Phoenix’s roster is as follows:
Sun ‘QO’ Kim
Taewon ‘March’ Park
Yongmin ‘febby-dieu’ Kim
Seung Gon ‘Heen’ Lee
Noah ‘MentalProtector’ Pyo
As with Group A, Group B is filled with star-studded line-ups from across the globe. The MLG World Finals are sure to be three days filled with top-class Dota. The teams will be hungry for victory and eager to explore the malleable metagame of 6.85. Do not miss a moment of what will undoubtedly be an action-packed tournament.
