The post-TI3 Roster Shuffle thread - Page 11

Funnik and Xboct departing seems more likely than Xboct/Dendi, though just Kuroky departing is most likely of all. An amazing player, brilliant DOTA mind, but it's hard to be the core of a russian team without speaking the language, and funnik/xboct were visibly strained by the situation at TI.

Massive shuffles/disbands leading to an allstar NA gamble from EG seems likely (Fear/Universe/Brax/1437/Fogged would be my recipe for success), though I worry there's no strong leader to manage them. It seems to me weak mindsets continue to hamstring USA talent, and I'm not sure if anyone knows how to cure or overcome that, yet. A roster of veterans who all manage themselves and get along might just be the way.

IG have lost their magic, though I think they'll have a Na'vi style shuffle rather than a complete reform. I'll make a fool of myself and say it's Chuan & Zhou who go - pure outsider perspective, but whatever.

Lgd are in a similar boat. .int disbands and ddc retires are my (conservative) calls. Beyond that anything could happen - role shuffles, back-and-forth player changes, but I think the other 4 stick around one way or another.

I could see lgd.int being rebooted/restructured as an SEA team, with Ice3 at the helm. This could be the way meracle and others reach their potential, though I'm not sure if Ice3's yet the type to mature talent and make them tournament winners. It didn't work for zenith this ti, no matter how well they did in scrims. Seems like a cool idea, but I don't really have faith in it working out.

The rise of a couple CIS teams seems inevitable. I'd bet on Empire's current core as the base for one, as their growth even with standins stood out to me. Goblak and Silent may join that bunch. No idea whether the other will be VP's core with some changes, or this new 'Astara Dragons' project. I'm hoping that it's Iccup who come out strong, but really I don't know. All my esports dollars are on vanskor if he gets a new team.

Looking at the rest of SEA, MUFC disbanding and Zenith rebooting seems likely. There's a ton of talent around, but not many people who can turn that talent into a tournament-winning team. Mushi's the only guy who delivered this year. Honestly, anything could happen - Orange could split in two (again), and maybe come out with two teams who perform when it counts this time, or the First Departure's of the world could step up. I see a second team being as strong as Orange, on LAN, in a year, however it happens.

DK and TF stay (more-or-less) the same. Whatever else happens in China is an enigma to me. Honestly, I predict the lack of top3 ti finisher to hurt the scene more than anyone realises, with much less crowd interest/support/growth as a result. I see that continuing on to TI4, with an even weaker chinese presence. They need an Alliance-style success story to avoid stagnation, and Rattlesnake/VG aren't on track for it. I expect their best (cty, fy, lanm) to get plopped on top teams, and I think China needs to do more than that. New core teams need to be nurtured, not just individual talents, and I get the feeling the managers/veterans disagree. I hope they're right.

There's great potential in the upcoming NA scene, but who knows what will happen. The return of Brax/1437 gives more hope than ever, as these two have looked so god damn good, and grown so much, in lgd.int. As far as leaders go, I don't know if there are better. They could just as easily go elsewhere, however. Others are tipping Dignitas to disband, and the matured core (fogged/universe) going elsewhere makes sense to me, so interesting things could come of that. The Korok/liquid split is believable, but I'm not sure where he'll go. He's in Fear's situation: he's incredibly good and has a clear vision of the game, but his mentality/style isn't that of a leader. Maybe he'll do what Fear couldn't, maybe he'll wind up on the NA dreamteam with the old man, maybe we'll see multiple teams with a more even split of old and young. It's a cop out, but who knows, really?

Much like the USA, non-CIS Europe's a big confusing mess where a lot could happen. I want fnatic to stay together, but the world seems to be catching up to them, and I'm not sure their younger guys will keep waiting for their elders. Synderen's going to be teamless (again), and mouz is going to shuffle like nobody's business (again), unless they get complacent. Who knows what'll happen to kaipi - they could be the next Alliance, or they could fall apart after Arteezy gets booted for school, as the raw personalities clash. Alliance is going to stay together, but I'm not sold on maintaining their performance; I don't think money/'fame' is going to affect EGM/S4, but life could get to the other three. QPAD/El' Pride/all the others could make something good, but it'll take a lot of unpredictable change, and I'd wager anything great is built around the Kaipi core (mainly pieliedie).