Let's face it, no sport would be fun without some baseless speculation between friends and colleagues, and we at GosuGamers figured that the same should follow for e-sports. In light of this, we've decided to do predictions for the final rounds of the Razer Global Challenge, starting this week, in order to fulfill our duty as troll baiters and hype merchants.
Take these predictions for what they are: the big-headed ramblings of some nobody "pundit" whom you can disregard and ridicule should you disagree with the opinions expressed. Just treat it like you would one of those hokey World Cup prediction articles.
DTS vs 
Mski.Infinity (Friday) DTS are currently in scintillating form, and our pick for top western team for good reason: one would have to look all the way back to ESWC Paris to remember a time when they didn't completely outclass their opponents. The Ukrainians (feat. LightofHeaven, Dread, NS) have been winning in style lately and have earned themselves a great deal of fame worldwide as a result. DTS simply possess a level of sophistication in their play that puts them amongst the truly world-class teams in DotA.
Mineski.Infinity are one of the strongest teams in the Phillipines and have achieved great results against top SEA teams. They have even notably taken a few games from Chinese opposition. However, the relative obscurity of the SEA scene for a lot of GG.net users will make Mineski seem like greater underdogs than they actually are.
Players to look for: Watch for DTS|Artstyle as he is often the unknown quantity in his team. The DTS captain can be seen handling all of the team's unorthodox picks himself, and will be at the center of anything non-standard from DTS in this match-up.
For Mineski, strong performances from Fox, Mineski's primary solo, and SILVA (aka BG01), Mineski's primary ganker/semi-carry will be required for them to take the series. SILVA has shown to be an excellent initiation player in recent games (one would recall his Puck against TLDR) and Fox is a very stable mid-solo player that Mineski can count on to carry them through midgame
GosuBet: The betting odds will skew in DTS' favour more than it likely should, and this will lead to a situation where a small bet against DTS could have a pay-off that outweighs the effective risk.
Prediction: The determining factors in this series will be a combination of teamplay, strategy, good overall decision-making, and current form, as both teams will suffer considerable delay on a neutral host and won't be able to rely much on individual skill. Mineski should not be seen as a team possessing a lower skill level than DTS, yet considering DTS's form, their experience, and the momentum they have on their side, it is hard to see them losing against any team in this competition.
Mineski have the potential to win, but ultimately GosuGamers doesn't see them upsetting DTS on the latter's current form.
DTS > Mineski (2-1)
ex-Tribal.fr vs 
LGD.sGty (Saturday)LGD.sGty are perhaps the most famous Chinese team behind EHOME and certainly one of the most feared teams -- if not the most feared team -- in the world. The Chinese powerhouse boasts some of the brightest talents on the scene today and a very flexible and innovative style. These guys can be largely credited for today's metagame and will be looked upon to shape tomorrow's metagame as well. However, the departure of 2009 has seen the team go through something of a rough patch, with a series of uneven results to show for their recent efforts. This in addition to China's poor internet makes LGD's overall prospects for winning the tournament somewhat poor.
ex-Tribal.fr are a somewhat low-profile team on the European scene, but definitely one of the strongest in France. They've shown themselves to be capable of competing in Europe, and they even put forward a valiant effort at ESWC; however they have yet to be convincing at the top level, and against a team of LGD's pedigree the prospect of ex-Tribal.fr pulling off an upset is a long-shot at best.
Players to look for: LGD's YYF and beNz/Sharingan are two of the most talented players in China, and thus the world; they make all the action happen for LGD. The former plays the "action" semi-carries for the team, while the latter is an all-round player that handles high pressure precision-based heroes such as Enigma, Kunkka, and ES. LGD need YYF to dominate his lane and Sharingan to win them team-fights.
Tribal.fr's primary solo and carry players Ph0eNiiX and Combal will need to give stellar performances if they are to take take games from LGD. Between the two, high-impact heroes like Lion, Necrolyte, Drow, Morphling will be covered. If these gifted players can win their lanes, they will lay the foundation for their team's success.
GosuBet: Odds will favour LGD greatly due to Tribal being such an underdog and LGD being such a renowned team; however, due to the nature of Chinese internet, going all-in on LGD would not be wise. Bet LGD, but don't go all-in -- save some tangos for other bets.
Prediction: We primarily see this match-up as LGD's battle against latency. Ex-Tribal have not shown to be capable of beating the very top tier of teams, and LGD have shown to be consistently at the pinnacle of modern DotA. Additionally, LGD have been very adept at defeating mid-tier competition in RGC thus far and ex-Tribal.fr are exactly that.
Barring technological difficulties, LGD should take this series handily.
LGD > ex-Tribal.fr (2-0)
Nirvana.my vs 
cG|DPP (Sunday)Nirvana.my are an elite SEA team that require no introduction. The team in its current incarnation is as strong as it’s ever been, as can be seen in their performances in the MSI tournament and against SEA and Chinese opposition in ADC. Nirvana have shown vulnerabilities in RGC like their SEA brethren – a dropped game against mid-tier international team diXi – likely partially due to the same lag and delay issues all Asian teams seem to suffer in these online tournaments.
cG|DPP are a lesser known German team that have shown in the past a capacity to compete with top European teams. Notably they defeated TeG a few months ago in EMS VI and handily defeated Tribal.int to make their way to this round of RGC. GosuGamers considers cG|DPP the clear underdog in this match-up, a position we’re sure they’re familiar with by now.
Players to look for: Nirvana.my have two of the most recognizable players in world DotA: Mushi and Yamateh. Not much needs to be said about these luminaries; they handle the most important heroes in their team’s lineup and one of them is guaranteed to handle the solo lane in any given game; just watch them dominate their lane no matter who they play against and give playing lessons for whatever hero they use.
DPP have a very talented player in Panda, their semi-carry/carry who specializes in intelligence heroes. He can be seen handling DPP’s solo lane in most games and will usually control the hero at the focal point of the team’s strategy.
GosuBet: Odds will skew sharply in Nirvana.my’s favour. As with these Asia/EU battles, the Asian teams generally suffer more due to poor internet, so don’t go all-in too eagerly. Bet Nirvana, but better to save some tangos for another bet.
Prediction: Nirvana.my have shown to be too strong for a mid-tier team like cG|DPP to handle. Both teams will lag on a neutral host, and Nirvana.my will likely suffer a greater amount of delay, however, the vast experience and class of their players will allow them to overcome DPP’s challenge.
We see Nirvana winning the series handily.
Nirvana.my > cG|DPP (2-0)
Druidz vs 
Meet Your Makers (Friday) There is likely no tag in DotA more recognizable than MYM. These guys have been at it for years, and have shown a remarkable ability to remain consistently at the top of competitive DotA. The Danes are a top-tier European team that we expect will go very far in this competition, as they have the potential to beat any team in the tournament. The team’s core consist of living legends – some of the most iconic and stable players on the scene, and true innovators in their own right. How could GosuGamers not secretly be fanboys of this team? MYM are the favourites in this match-up.
Druidz are one of the top Swedish teams on the scene, known for their aggressive, gank-heavy play-style. These guys are not quite among the top European teams, but have shown the potential to upset stronger teams in their match-ups. We do not see Druidz winning this match-up, but they may have a few tricks up their sleeves that can tip the scales a little bit in their favour.
Players to look for: Watch for Mania and Playmate from MYM, the team’s initiator and solo/carry respectively. Both players are veterans of the game and possess near super-human reflexes. Keep your camera on the legendary ganker if you don’t want to miss a single team fight in the game, and follow Playmate for the kind of refined play typical of pros of his pedigree.
On the Swedish team's side, look for Drz.Sierrar to play the most important heroes. He's a top player who's been performing consistently since the days of Tt and this will be a good chance for him to make a name for himself and his team.
GosuBet: Bet MYM. Druidz will get better odds than they should due to the patriotism of a certain GosuBet admin, so bet MYM to take advantage of this.
Prediction: MYM should take this series without much of a problem, although Druidz are certainly capable of putting the Danes off their game with unorthodox picks and a hyper-aggressive approach. GosuGamers thinks Druidz have a good chance of taking one game.
MYM > Druidz (2-1)
LOST.eu vs Nirvana.cn (Sunday)LOST.eu must certainly stand beside DTS as favourites to win the tournament, as they’ve shown nothing but impressive performance after impressive performance since their reformation after ESWC. The current LOST.eu, like its previous iterations, is characterized by a great competitive drive and a propensity for alienating some fans and competitors. There is no need to comment on the immense individual talent this team possesses; the only thing LOST needs to prove is if they're stable enough to be the best team in Europe.
One of the strongest teams in the world, Nirvana.cn are the S-class team with the sexiest play style in China. Like their Chinese compatriots LGD, they are rightly feared by every team in the tournament for their refined play and exceptional skill level. The team has not looked its most stable as of late; this perception mainly comes from their lack of concrete accomplishments in recent events, and uneven play as exhibited during MYM Prime Defending (though like LGD, they have also been victims of China’s notoriously poor internet). We consider Nirvana to be a poor prospect in this match-up due to the strength of LOST.eu and the fact that Chinese teams seem to suffer the most in matters of lag and delay in online tournaments.
Players to look for: Misery and Vigoss will be the players to watch on LOST. The former is an all-round player that possesses a supernatural ability to never be outplayed, and the latter is Vigoss, a young man responsible for half the world’s sins of idolatry, otherwise known as He of the Nice POTM. LOST’s game hinges on these two players’ hyper-aggressive play style and exceptional talent to carry them through the early-to-mid phase of the game.
Let’s face it, everyone is watching Yaphets when Nirvana.cn play: Nirvana’s primary solo and semi-carry player, famous the world around for a Shadowfiend so stronk it could put three razes and a requiem on anything in God’s green earth. The player has cemented his autoDL status with performances against the best teams in the world, one such performance being the memorable double divine (“so intense”) game against StarsBoba.
GosuBet: This game will probably be the best candidate for an all-in bet. We say go all-in LOST.eu as Nv.cn's odds will be inflated from hopeful fans who believe the Chinese team can overcome the latency issues that plagued them in MYM Pride.
Prediction: One needs only look a few weeks back to get a glimpse of how this match-up will play out. Unless Nirvana have been seriously preparing for playing in the kind of lag they’ll undoubtedly encounter, there’s not much reason to believe the result will be any different this time around. LOST will perhaps drop a game this time as Nirvana will know better what they're facing.
LOST > Nirvana.cn (2-1)
EDTN vs XctN (Sunday)XctN are another top team from the Philippines, though not as well-known outside the country as their compatriots Mineski.Infinity and Happyfeet. We don’t know much about XctN but we were impressed by their recent performance against XtC.
EDTN are well-known mid-tier German team, formerly known as Competo. This team has been around for quite a long time and thus has a great deal of experience – they’re likely the strongest of the so-called mid-tier teams in the competition.
Players to look for: EDTN|neNo- is the stand-out player in his squad. He normally handles EDTN’s support and roaming heroes and has performed very impressively in the games we’ve seen.
We must apologize for knowing very little about XctN, but from the games we’ve seen, XctN.Beho stood out as the team’s solo and carry player, and played a very impressive Invoker against XtC.
GosuBet: Hard to say what the bet will look like. Filipino fans will inflate XctN’s odds while European fans will inflate EDTN’s. A small bet on the team with lower odds could pay dividends as it’s unlikely the average GG.net user has a good handle on this series.
Prediction: We’re completely in the dark on this match-up. We give it to the EDTN due to our greater familiarity with the team, and the technical disadvantage XtcN will suffer due to their country’s internet, though we expect it to be close nonetheless.
EDTN > XctN (2-1)
New World Order vs 
Earth (Sunday)NWO are the clear favourites to take this series. The team consists of all-star players with Ks.int pedigree, and though they’ve only played together for a short time, they’ve already shown to be a top-tier team. It is unclear to GosuGamers how much training NWO have done since their show-match against DTS, but even then they had already proved capable of taking a game, convincingly, against the European top dogs – should they not have improved at all since then, they would still be a top contender for this tournament.
Earth are a lesser-known Russian team, though one of the top teams in their country. Gosugamers has seen them defeat the Brazilian team Pain Gaming in a convincing manner in RGC, however they were also out-classed by the Swedish team Druidz in their group stage matches. The prospect of Earth taking even a single game from NWO seems very poor.
Players to look for: NWO’s Kuroky is the kind of talent that stands out in every game he plays. The DotA prodigy of Mouz and Ks.int fame very rarely fails to shine with his heroes (which are often “action” semi-carries/carries) though it still needs to be seen whether he can flourish in this new environment. Keep an eye on Kuroky’s hero to witness one of DotA’s brightest and most singular talents in action. Also watch for NWO’s Pajkatt, as the hyper-talented player solo/carry player will be looking to make a name for himself with his new team.
Earth’s players to look for are a carry player named GodKILLTHEMALL, an old-school Russian player from St. Petersburg, and justErroR, a 15-year-old talent and team captain. The gifted players will make all the action happen, as they will be counted on to lead their team to, if not victory, a display they can take pride in.
GosuBet: Bet on NWO, but save tangos for another bet as this one won’t be too profitable.
Prediction: NWO have a greater chance of being picked up by AEON than they have of losing this game. This should be a routine victory for the European giants.
NWO > EARTH (2-0)
Sky vs Nordic *(Sunday)It needs to be noted that
Sky will be playing against Nordic this Sunday, and youBoat will have to wait for their match against the winner of the series. This match should have taken place last week but due to scheduling conflicts, presumably, between the two teams, the match will take place a week later than originally planned. The winner of this match-up will face youBoat in the upcoming week, and this series will be the true RGC round 2 series.
For those interested in betting on Sky vs Nordic, we predict Nordic will take the series 2-0 with Mileystrangby leading the way (perhaps an appearance from his famous Kunkka even).
The winner of this match-up will likely lose against youBoat, as they are arguably the strongest Swedish team on the scene, boasting talents like Wall-eater and Archimedes. Look for a 2-0 or 2-1 finish in the youBoat vs TBA game.
Wrapping up:
Well that's it for this week's predictions. Please let us know what your predictions are, and feel free to give feedback on the article. We'll be doing this for each week of the final rounds of RGC, so make sure you drop by GosuGamers.net this time next week for more of the same.
Don't forget to check the GosuBet section and Dota-League.com for a precise match-ticker as streams will be available for all games.
Links
DotA-League - Your source for news and match times for RGC
GosuBet - Our own match-ticker and betting system
