1. They are still the best foreigner team, as we can still clearly see from TI2. Yeah, sometimes they lose 0-2 to Quantic and POTM Bottom, but when push comes to shove, look what happens. Top 4 at the $1,600,000 event.
2. They have a consistent roster (as consistent as u can get in the dota scene lol, they only changed 1 player since TI1)
3. They are by far the most handsome team on the scene. Period.
4. "Born to win" and trademark bright yellow uniforms - great attractor.
5. They play a fun style that doesn't revolve around letting morph or sylla farm for 30 minutes.
China has only just relatively recently taken Dota2 seriously. There were only really a couple of teams playing regularly and the SEA tournaments werent covered by Tobi till recently so doesnt get such a wide western audience. Unless you watched Godz and Triumphs streams you wouldnt have seen many chinese games at all this year. Then the TI2 invites started coming out Valve made sure they all had laptops they could use to play the game and they started playing Dota2 a lot more in preparation.
Also Dendi streams and you shouldnt underestimate this. Players can get extremely popular despite less skill if they are popular to watch, you get to know that person more and have more affinity with them. This is why Synderen and SingSing are arguably more popular than they should be. But NaVi have been the European team to beat all year pretty much and they were last years champions.
TLO got very popular for very similar reasons. Its the way it works, people like personalities and fun play/tactics. Dendi has this in spades.
He's like the Larry Bird of DotA. Westerners want a western hero to cheer for. I'm sure the longer the scene develops people will get to know the chinese players but atm it's easier for the average TL'er to identify with someone like Dendi
On September 02 2012 13:53 yotcarter wrote: @OP... I'm new to the forums - I've read the rules regarding conduct & such - but you're full of it. Not only was most of the content in your OP misleading and extremely inaccurate ; but then you claim you've watched plenty of tournaments?
I play DotA since 2003, before Guinsoo's Allstars version. I watch DotA since 2004 - I saw the 1st IGS tournaments ; the 1st WDC featuring DotA in Singapore etc. So based on what you said... Since I've seen far more tournaments than you probably have and have been in the competitive scene & top inhouses since 2005... I'm right and you're wrong? Doesn't quite work that way man.
A lot of what you said was wrong, and a lot of what was right happened too long ago for new comers to really care. The game has changed. Zhou will never play Pugna mid again. People are entitled to like a certain player or team for the right or wrong reasons - "just because" holds no grounds. Not everyone has the same point of view.
Yea im in the same boat you are, I found the 3 years thing pretty funny because its not long at all.
Valve hosted the international last year, which had more money than any dota tournament before by a large margin. Na'vi won that international, so they have the fame.
In the same way that you talk about ZSMJ, PIS and Zhou because they are the ones that get the kills and make the plays, everybody talks about Dendi because his pudge destroyed EHOME to win last year. You didn't mention 820's support when quoting chinese teams. Why is that? Because he doesn't get the attention that the carry heroes do.
Personally I'm a dendi fan because of how ballsy he can be. There was a game where he picked sandking, epicenter blink borrowed into the forest behind the sentinel first tower to kill a hero and missed the whole combo, only to kill him with sandstorm. The balls to the wall dendi thread we have here comes to mind. There are better players than him, and hes certainly not the flash/boxer of dota, but he is very popular because of how much exposure he gets and the way he plays. Also the gangnam dance at the end of the game today was hilarious, especially since vilat was asking for it at the end of the game.
Everyone remembers Dendi the same way everyone remembers Burning; they're the most memorable people on their respective teams. The other people on their teams are of equal importance, but Dendi and Burning pull photogenic plays and get the most screentime because of it.
Plus they have rather different playstyle from most players. Dendi's remembered because he generally takes big risks to make amazing plays, Burning because he generally kills everyone after twenty minutes of ricing.
and same with their playstyles, passive-farm games aren't very exciting. Yes their execution will cause people to notice their ability but they aren't going to wow people and gain a huge fanbase after another 50 minute game of 4-protect-1.
This ^^ and
They do different things like let the two most auto-ban heroes in the entire tournament go to their opponent and rape them. i.e.
1st - The International @ Gamescom, Cologne (2011) - $1,000,000 1st - Electronic Sports World Cup, Paris (2011) - $12,000 2nd - Star Championship, Kiev (2011) - $5,000 1st - The Defense (2012) - €6,000 1st - The Premier League (2012) - $5,000 1st - Star Ladder: Star Series #1, Kiev (2012) - $6,000 2nd - Dreamhack Summer, Sweden (2012) - €5,400 1st - The Premier League, season 2 (2012) - $5,000 1st - Star Ladder: Star Series #2, Kiev (2012) - $6,000 1st - joinDota Masters Special (2012) - €1,000
Well I can't speak for anyone else, but I can explain why I personally am such a fan of Na'Vi.
I have been playing dota for a long, long time (8ish years---I don't really remember when I started) and in that time I have just played the game for fun and did not follow the competitive scene at all. Then last year, I stumbled upon The Invitational having no idea that there were any plans on making dota a standalone game.
Needless to say I was fascinated, not only with the idea of having dota with an actually matchmaking system and a good engine, but by dota as a competitive game. I ended up watching pretty much the whole tourney, and as I knew nothing about the teams I picked my favorite (early on I might add) based entirely on their play style: Na'Vi. Coming from a background of dota pub games, seeing a well coordinated team just push early and smash face was so refreshing from the muck I spent years playing (you know what pubs are like), that I couldn't help but root for them. When Na'Vi kept winning that merely sealed the deal.
Na'Vi was the team that got me interested in dota2 (though I still haven't been able to play yet), and in dota as an esport, and as a result I'll be cheering for them as they win TI2.
I've watched like 6 games of Dota2, I find the game to be mostly boring from a spectator perspective. I don't know why and the more games I watch the more this idea cements itself for me. I still enjoy playing occassionally, and I think it's a great game, but I just don't think MOBA in general lends itself especially well to making good fan viewing.
Now, "why the hell is he just bashing DOTA2," you may be asking. Well I'm not really, I'm just saying I don't like watching, but I do have a point. With all the hype of TL beginning to cover DOTA2 and TI2 happening I thought I would give it a chance again. I mean the amount that Valve has pumped into this event is great and all the pomp and production around the event has been really cool to see and frankly just really impressive. So obviously it holds some sort of strong attraction to the people watching this, so I gave it another chance.
These last few days I think I've watched an additionally 6 to 7 games. Aaaaaaaaaaand after the first 4 or so games my perspective remain unchanged and my opinion that Dota2 is just not a good spectator sport held true. Then I watched Na'vi play IG I think, some super power Chinese team that the commentators were just lauding before the matches. Oh nvm, just Liquipediad it, it was DK. The first game lasted something like 25 minutes, and Na'vi smashed them 21-7. And the game was freakin' exciting.
After watching several 45-60 minute snore fests where one team would slowly, inevitably pull ahead of the other team until they were untouchable and then spend another 20 minutes bleeding them out, this was like I was watching a different game. It's probably unfair to attribute this entirely to Na'vi and Dendi I think they were two of the forces that made the game ridiculously exciting. The aggressive, gank happy playstyles were exciting. Even though it still felt like the was a a sort of mild grasp on game flow and disparate elements, it still made for a fairly exciting game because the action was centralized and non stop.
The two parties in question, Na'vi and Dendi, attract a lot of excitement because they exude that excitement in every fiber of their being. It's shoved in down the other teams throat in game, and out of game its always evident in the way they carry and conduct themselves. I may be a veritable noob as far as the Dota2 proscene goes, but I can recognize excitement when I see it, and I see it here. I think with my less than receptive demeanor and my general lack of familiarity with the players and teams it's even more poignant to see them raise a response like that in me.
Watching all these teams, and all the games, no players, or teams really stuck out to me, or even really interested me until I watched Na'vi. Their games, like the ones I've seen up until now, were magnetic.
TLDR I haven't like watching any of these TI2 games and dota2 in general, but Na'vi's games have excited me. Their team and players have a flare and magnetism that is undeniable.
On September 02 2012 15:47 Kupon3ss wrote: there are a lot of dendi/na'vi fanboys because they're the only team with white people that are able to compete
Because he is for western Dota 2 a bit like IdrA was for western BW. One of, if not the best in that scene, and able to compete with the Chinese/Koreans. And he's also awesome.
On September 02 2012 13:25 Tevinhead wrote: Dendi is a player that likes to make stuff happen. He isn't afraid to do things that others would be. And when it pays off he makes really amazing plays, when it doesn't, well not as much notice is taken. However Dendi does deserve the hype in my opinion. His reaction times and consistency just speak of someone with a lot of natural talent. This is a player who was accused by the community in DOTA 1 for using macros and scripts because apparently no one can invoke with such speed and accuracy. Dendi responded by posting a video of himself in wtf mode with invoker and proceeding to cast every single spell in very quick succession whilst you can see his fingers. His fingers looked like that of a BW pro.
Puppey the hivemind, very very intelligent player, with deep game understanding.
Light Of Heaven the ever so consistent off-laner.
XBOCT the carry that seems to start carrying 15 minutes before other team's carry does.
Ars-art the secret carry, always linking with his team perfectly, creating kills and saving carries.
All of these players are amazing in their own right. But it's Dendi with that mechanical skill to pull off any idea he thinks of. The reaction time to dodge that which most couldn't and the balls to always try the improbable. And it's not just his skills, he's a funny guy, always likes to be a joker, always trolling. He's an entertainer in and out of the game as well as a very nice and mannered guy. Sort of like a cross between MC and White-Ra. Add all of this entertainment value and skill, then add the fact that he's in the most successful Dota 2 team, by far. And you have clear reasons for fanboyism.
OPA DENDI <3
Except if you compare Dendi's mid lane play to his counterparts on other teams, it's been arguably much less exceptional than Puppey or LoH.
The only reason it shines in the fans' eyes is because the 2nd position/mid lane role gets more attention, because it gets lots of kills.
Puppey/LOH have been carrying Na'vi the entire time. LOH in particular. Since they've made it into WB finals, LOH has been outperforming his team a vast majority of time.
Yup.
But apparently the fans love Dagon Puck more than immaculate hard lane play or some of the smartest drafting in the game.
just like basketball fans loved Jordan more than Stockton (not a fair comparison but you get the point)
On September 02 2012 12:27 writer22816 wrote: Tbh I find Navi fanboys to be a bit annoying too, but maybe that's because I'm a big fan of the Chinese teams. I guess it just bugs me when people think dota starts and ends with Navi. It seems to me like a lot of casters (like Ayesee and Tobi) are also huge Navi fanboys and aren't always successful at separating their bias from what's going on in the games.
I can understand the Na'Vi fanboying. It's actually more surprising that Dendi gets so much love when he's arguably much less outstanding than the other members of Na'Vi. Puppey is a much more exceptional captain, and LightOfHeaven a much more exceptional hard lane solo than Dendi is as a mid player. It's just that those roles get less recognition in general.
When I first started watching Dota 2, I thought Tobi was saying "LineOfHeaven". The first 5 or so games I saw of Na'Vi's all had LightOfHeaven as windrunner and I don't remember a single shackle into a fight that *didn't* latch onto two heroes including the carry. I was like "man, so that's why he's called line of heaven", lol.
Here's a fun thing iceiceice said in an interview. He was first asked who he thinks is the better invoker, him or dendi, and he settled that he is the best invoker in the world. Then, when asked what players would he choose for the perfect dota team; his instant first choice was Dendi.
Seeing as most people who occupy these forums, and the event being taken place in the US, it would be obvious that a lot of the audience is American/European.
I personally do think Dendi gets more credit than he deserves. I think Puppey, LightofHeaven, and AA are arguably more talented than Dendi and XBoct, but Dendi and XBoct happen to get the most attention. It seems that in the Western scene, having a personality to relate to, or a "fun" personality, is always more important than talent (much like the SC2 scene) while in the Eastern scene, talent is regarded as the epitome of a pro-gamer.
The same can be said about gameplay preference. A lot of people think it's enjoyable to watch a Na'Vi-style game where towers are pushed and game gets ended in 20ish minutes, but some others think that watching Chinese games display a certain form of perfected execution, positioning, and strategy is more enjoyable although it takes 40-60 minutes.
The reason for a lot of the blind fanboy-ism is that, in the end, it is still a lot easier to cheer/relate to a European team than it is a Chinese team, much like how in SC2, people ride the foreigner bandwagon a lot more than rooting for Korean players. Many Chinese players have equal if not greater skill than Na'Vi, but mostly go unrecognized.
People can have a million different reasons to get emotionally invested in something or someone. So you for instance, take skill as a measure. But it is more or less as arbitrary as everything else. Who should I root for in football. Barca or Real? Liverpool? Manu? Bayern? Should I always root for the latest Champions League winner and flip-flop like a flag in the wind every time the champion title changes hands?
"But X is better" is such a weak argument. It can be one reason.