Table of Contents

Intro
What's happening?

Teams
Who's there?

Bracket
Road to the finals

More on Liquipedia

What started out as a tournament promising to end the Post-TI qualifier drought by setting the stage as a massive proving ground for both Western and Eastern Teams has now turned to a largely Chinese affair. With Fnatic, EG and Secret all withdrawing due to visa issues or unsatisfactory information from the organisers, there are only 3 non-chinese teams left standing. As the organisers, the infamous KeyTV of the Shanghai Major, have become increasingly under scrutiny, let’s not forget that the second season of the Nanyang Dota 2 Championship kicks off the final stretch on the road to Seattle. With $100.000 awaiting the happy victors, this is most certainly not a small-stakes tournament, even with the reduced international presence and it serves as the first indicator of what we might expect during TI. With half of the teams attending Nanyang also having secured their spot in Seattle, be it Wild Card or Main Event, this tournament will be hotly contested and a way for us to see where they stand. Grab your snacks and drinks and get ready for some more Dota (hopefully without too many production issues…)!

Games begin in

The Chinese Favorites

Since their 3rd place finish in Manila, things have been a bit quiet for Newbee. Having only participated in the DPL, the WCA 2016 qualifiers, and the currently ongoing NEA, they have kept a low profile while taking the chance to recuperate. Their results in this period have not been as confident as one would have expected after being hailed Top 3 in the world. Dropping maps (and even games sometimes) to teams they should on paper beat handily (such as Tongfu, Newbee.Y or CDEC.A) makes not for the best impression as a favorite to take home the championship. Considering that those were fairly low profile games online, rumors of their weakness might be greatly exaggerated. Even the best teams experience slip ups as they rest between period of greatness. Newbee will still be the team to beat at Nanyang and if they are on point in Shanghai there is little hope for anyone else to challenge them.

Just like Newbee, LGD Gaming have also had a rather tranquil lull after Manila. The similarities do not even end there, as LGD have also performed shakily in their matches, dropping series to Newbee.Y and iG.Vitality: clearly not up to the standard of the 4th place finish they achieved in the last major. But on the bright side, the games they played have shown a wide variety of different heroes and strategies, making it very clear that The Director, xiao8, is consistently expanding his team’s versatility. If successful in their adaptation to the ever-evolving meta game, LGD have more than enough potential to make a deep run in Shanghai. Maybe their losses earlier were all just part of xiao8’s secret script...

Seekers of Redemption

Just before the Manila Major began, Wings Gaming were rated among the elite Chinese teams by many (including our very own power rank), but when push came to shove, they were eliminated at a devastating 13th-16th place, making them one of the biggest losers at the Mall of Asia besides EG and Secret. Tauntingly, they were called the one hit wonder who took ESL Manila on a new patch before slinking back into tier 2. Rather to risk it all by making hasty changes to their roster, Wings decided to ride out the storm and stick together, making their situation all the more rewarding as they managed to snag the direct qualification from the group over the likes of EHOME, VG and other staples of the Chinese Scene. Their way back to the top, however, has just begun as their results since Manila have been highly unstable (including losses to CDEC.Y, Newbee.Y and CDEC).To make truth out of their claim to be among China’s best, Nanyang will be the ideal place with few foreign teams attending and the other chinese TI-attendees present as well.

The Heirs Apparent

Due to EG withdrawing from the tournament at the last second, Digital Chaos will be the only attendee from the Americas. Having bested compLexity in the TI qualifiers in addition to their better placement at Manila over EG, one can be tempted to say that they might just be the strongest NA team right now. That makes EG’s withdrawal all the more infuriating as we still have yet to see more than a best-of-1 between these two since the shuffle. Nevertheless, since the addition of Misery and w33ha to the team DC has been on a steady climb and now the crown is within reach. A win at Nanyang would cement their position in the top tier and set an exclamation mark saying that there is more to NA Dota than just EG. Furthermore, the chance for sweet revenge against VG.R and how they suffered elimination at their hands in Manila will be extra motivation.

As the CIS scene devolves further into anarchy with disbands occurring all around, the Empire still holds out. Although they failed to qualify for Seattle by being eliminated during their region’s group phase, Empire has already proved they are more than capable of taking games off the best in Europe. With VP and Polarity disbanding there are not that many teams left in the CIS region (besides Na’Vi), who can pose a serious challenge to the tier 1 teams. A good showing by Empire can solidify their position in their region amidst the fallout of failed TI-campaigns and might just be enough to reestablish themselves just behind Na’Vi like in days past.

Vici Gaming.Reborn snuck into the tournament last second as Secret withdrew, making space for a third team out of the Chinese qualifier. Since they made their mark on the international scene in spring with their win in the Starladder Invitational VG.R have been stuck in somewhat of a rut. While they were certainly among the upper tiers of competition in China they always seemed just a step behind the likes of Newbee and LGD, while occasionally also slipping up against the other, considered weaker, domestic competition. Facing Newbee in the first round of the bracket is certainly not how you want to begin your tournament, but if VG.R want to challenge the throne it might just be the thing they had hoped for themselves. A championship at Nanyang could just let VG.R have the last laugh in what most thought would be a duel between Newbee and LGD.

The Unknown

It must be a very sombering experience for someone like CDEC.Y’s Xz to be counted among the “lesser” teams at a competition. Although it seems like just yesterday when Xz was all too close to finishing the fairy tale run of CDEC at TI5, time has not been good to him since CDEC reformed with a different squad. On CDEC.Y, the main issues were not whether or not a shot at the Aegis of TI6 might be possible but rather how to stay relevant in the competitive scene as CDEC.Y’s potential of newer players again and again failed to make it through qualifiers. Missing the few chances to prove themselves and failing to qualify for TI might have been the death knell for the squad, but with the last minute withdrawals of several teams, they have now been gifted the chance to show what they are made of. With Nanyang coming up now and their surprise qualification for Starladder later down the road, they could make a name for themselves before they will be forced to watch from the sidelines again during Seattle.

The greatest achievement for WarriorsGaming.Unity is undoubtedly qualifying for Nanyang in the first place. While they did came close to earning a Wild Card slot at Seattle they ultimately fell short, placing 4th in the regional qualifiers. Even their qualification is not so impressive in retrospect. Although they did beat MVP, it came at a time when MVP was struggling and because Fnatic was originally among the invited, they evaded facing them entirely. Nanyang could, of course, be the chance for WGU to score a breakthrough and put their name out there, but the chances for that happening seem very slim. The most likely best case is taking a map or two off the more established teams and to consider this tournament a learning experience. Expect them to be among the first to be eliminated, especially with LGD as first opponents in the bracket..


View all the information on Liquipedia