Table of Contents

Intro
What's happening?

Teams
Who's there?

Groups
Road to the finals

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As per usual, after this year's International, the Dota scene went into hibernation. The shuffle season was full of surprises, as several veterans of the scene retired and unexpected changes were announced. The end result was several new rosters that are eager to prove themselves in Xiamen, China, at the MarsTV Dota 2 League, the first international LAN after TI6.

MDL will be the first real test for the new rosters in attendance. Vici Gaming (formerly Vici Gaming Reborn) remains fairly untouched, having only swapped one player out of their TI lineup; however, every other team has replaced multiple players. The roster swapping in the Dota 2 scene has historically provided us with some great stories, and this year is no different. In group A, QO and Febby, who chose to stay with MVP Phoenix, will go up against former teammates MP and Forev, now on Team Secret. Meanwhile in group B, OG's N0tail and Fly will have to fight against their former teammate Cr1t-, now playing for Evil Geniuses.

MDL will be the grand debut of Evil Geniuses' new squad. The reaction to their new roster was mixed, but no one can deny that this is one of the most talented lineups in Dota. The key to their success lies in one question: can Cr1t- unify the team behind his vision in the same way ppd did? Either way, MDL will start giving us some answers.

Games begin in

uuu9 | Sccc | kpii | Kaka | Faith

Newbee, like many of the big names, unseen in over a month, looks a bit different than their previous sighting. Gone are the old charter members of the the team - Hao on a seasonal break and Mu into retirement. Former TI champion Chuan has also departed for some time off, leaving sizable holes in the roster that have been filled in interesting ways.

Enter uuu9 and Faith: Two players who spent the last year together on TongFu. The narratives for both players come from different directions, with the new face of uuu9 looking to establish his name as a worthy successor to Hao’s carry role, as well as Faith’s search to reclaim his spot in the upper echelons of the Chinese scene by filling Chuan’s vacated support role. Both of their ambitions point upward, seeking to rebuild Newbee and capture the glory that the squad failed to seize last August.

Perhaps more exciting is their acquisition of Sccc from Newbee.Y. Along with Yuno from iG.Vitality and fellow teammate Kaka, Sccc has recently surpassed the 9000 MMR mark. While not an absolute measurement for success, having two players on the same team with extraordinarily high MMR is a promise of very high level play. The enduring members of the team, the aforementioned longtimer Kaka and standout Australian transplant kpii, round out the roster. With their run at TI6 soured by a poor showing on the main stage, redeeming the Newbee name with their new teammates will be a primary motivator in this coming Major season.

A combination of fresh blood and veteran talent has given some promising early results for Newbee in the second Shanghai Dota 2 Open. Victories over EHOME.X, iG, and TongFu secured them a spot in the playoffs. If they are able to carry this momentum into MDL, Newbee may once again emerge as a preeminent force in the global Dota scene.

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MP | MidOne | Forev | Puppey | pieliedie

Puppey has the innate talent of creating rosters that people want to watch. We’ve seen W33ha, Misery, Kuro, s4, EternalEnvy and Arteezy make appearances at one time or another. Now with Envy, Bulba, and Arteezy leaving the team we have a brand new Secret attending MDL that no one could have predicted. MidOne from Fnatic along with Forev and MP from MVP Phoenix have joined Se(a)cret to give them a very unique roster. Secret was a team that excelled at making it to the late game but struggled at executing when they got there. MidOne, MP, and Forev were all on teams that could dominate the early game so relentlessly that the late game rarely arrived. What blending these players together might do is anyone’s guess but we’re sure many will be watching MDL to see exactly what they can do together.

With so many new rosters facing off for the first time at MDL it will be a true test of the captains to take advantage of their new strengths and cover their weaknesses. Puppey is no stranger to bringing out the best in his teammates and with Pieliedie often giving his team the room they need to maneuver in the early game we could potentially see the strongest Team Secret yet. MidOne, Forev, and MP have all demonstrated what they are capable of when the early game goes in their favor. Add Puppey and Pieliedie’s strong cohesion as a support duo and you have a recipe for success.

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Febby | QO | Velo | Reisen | DuBu

MVP is a success story in a country where Dota 2 had failed to take root. Roster changes have hit MVP Phoenix hard during the break as MP and Forev left for Team Secret. Replacing them will be former MVP Phoenix player Reisen, who played with the team for almost two full years, and Velo. To accommodate these changes Febby will be moving from support to mid and QO will be taking the safe lane position. Many of MVP’s old games revolved around giving QO a great start mid and using that advantage to unleash unbridled attacks on the opponent's side of the map. How things will work out with the new roster and positions will remain to be seen.

MVP has had the opportunity to play with their new roster before MDL. In the MPGL Southeast Asian Championships they came in 2nd behind Execration after defeating Fnatic and Mineski. While it may take a while for the new MVP Phoenix to be as comfortable with each other in team fights as their TI6 roster, the individual play during MPGL was on par with what you would expect from a team who regularly finishes top 8 at international events. Our hopes will be high that the team continues to find their groove as they move forward. MDL will be a chance for MVP to showcase their new strengths with a changed roster and let their new members shine.

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Monet | Super | Yao | Xiao8 | lpc

Originally, LGD Forever Young was not even invited to the qualifiers for the MarsTV Dota 2 League but after CDEC.Youth disbanded, Xiao8’s new team was given their spot. LGD Forever Young brings with it the reunification of Yao and Xiao8 and the additions of Monet, Super, and lpc. Due to Yao and Xiao8 being together again, Xiao8 will be moving to support with lpc in order to allow Yao to go to the offlane. Meanwhile Monet will be playing carry and Super will be mid. Xiao8’s squad ran into trouble early on in the qualifiers, losing in the first round of the upper bracket to CDEC 2-0 and leaving them in a perilous position in the loser’s bracket. Xiao8 used their predicament to his advantage, rallying his team as they defeated Tongfu, IG, EHOME, and VG.J to claim the second qualifier spot in the main event.

As one of the only teams that we have seen play in official matches, we can say that at times LGD Forever Young look a little lost, unsure of what they want to do at certain points in a match. It is very uncharacteristic of a team which includes Xiao8 to appear uncoordinated but with the team being so newly formed it is safe to assume they still need time to develop. They defeated VG.J in a very interesting game 2 draft where they picked up Sniper along with Chen and a Timbersaw to protect him during fights. Xiao8’s strategy paid off as they made short work of VG.J 2-0. LGD Forever Young went through the qualifier with many different strategies and hero picks making them difficult to predict as they head into the main event.

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Arteezy | Suma1L | UNiVeRsE | zai | Cr1t-

The EG heading into MDL 2016 is vastly different than anything we’ve seen in the past two and a half years. Roster changes have brought about massive restructuring for EG as PPD will no longer be at the helm. Long time veteran Fear has retired to coach the team after playing for nearly 6 years in blue. Cr1t and Arteezy will be taking over for those two monolithic figures as Cr1t moves into the role as captain. Sumail and Arteezy being together again will bring back memories of fantastic tournament runs for EG as the two of them finished third together in both the Frankfurt and Shanghai Majors. The big question for EG heading into MDL is how the team will perform without their long time captain and drafter PPD. Over the last 3 years we have seen EG go from a middling power so an international juggernaut with a consistency rarely seen anywhere.

It’s not a question of if EG has the talent needed to be a championship caliber team with their new roster. The only a question is how long before we see the players mesh and find a style that they feel comfortable playing. While Sumail and Arteezy have been faulted in the past for being too greedy and needing too much farm we have seen first hand that they can work together.
EG will be going up against the newly formed squads of MVP, Secret, OG, Newbee, and VG, all of which have some incredible star power on their line-ups. This will put a large amount of pressure on Cr1t as a new captain but hopefully, with the experience of Fear in his corner, EG will hit the ground running in Xiamen.

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End | ghost | Yang | fy | DDC

Vici Gaming Reborn’s members largely stayed the same through the shuffle. The only change made was replacing Nono with Ghost and being promoted to the main VG squad. While the last couple of months have been rough on the team, with multiple poor placements in tournaments, they are still the team that won the first four H-Cup series and Starladder I-League invitational. Vici Gaming has had some good results after their roster shuffle, going undefeated in their group for both the Shanghai Dota 2 Open #2 and the Nanyang Cruise Cup. They also currently stand on top of the group stage for DPL.

Fy being back on the main VG line-up brings back memories of their incredible TI4 run and 2015 year but he will have to work to build on his accomplishments and take full advantage of having a carry like END in his corner. It will be interesting to see what he can make of the newcomer Ghost in his mid role and how he can synergize with ddc in the upcoming weeks. Yang must also come alive in the offlane to take pressure off of Ghost at his first big lan event. While VG has been struggling lately we believe Fy can regain his confidence in his drafts and show the support play that immortalized his Rubick and Sand King. Should this come to pass, Vici Gaming could go back to being one of the top teams in the world.

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N0tail | ana | s4 | Jerax | Fly

As OG head into the new season with a fresh lineup, there is no doubt many will be curious to see what they can achieve after the roster changes. Considering that OG had announced their roster prior to the deadline for dropping players from teams, much earlier than many other teams, we can probably expect to see strong results. It is likely that they have been practising together longer than other teams.

Looking at their new lineup, it is pertinent to take notice of the fact that s4 will now be playing in the offlane while also leaving the responsibility of captaining and drafting to Fly. s4, being a widely respected captain brings an excellent asset to OG, as the input of both Fly and s4 should allow for some brilliant drafts. Being an incredibly talented player in his own right, there is little doubt that JerAx, bringing his arsenal of skills and selfless plays, could make an almost if not outright perfect replacement for Cr1t-. The very essence of OG, with n0tail and Fly, remains together this season, retaining their roles in core and support respectively.

The biggest change is the introduction of Australian-Chinese player ana, who, like kpii, played in China for awhile. Well known in China as a blooming young talent, he will fill the gaping hole that Miracle- left behind in the team and it will undoubtedly be a challenging task. Moving from being a sub for iG with only a couple of notable results under his belt, he will certainly be looking to make a name for himself in the same manner that players like Arteezy, SumaiL, and Miracle- have.

In the aftermath of the inevitable post-TI reshuffle, OG starts afresh and will be eager to prove themselves again as they stir up the dust at MDL as the dust from TI finally settles.

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Yuno | Sakata | InJuly | dogf1ghts | super

IG Vitality demolished their competition in the qualifier dropping only a single game to CDEC. Yuno, Sakata, InJuly, dogf1ghts, and the team’s captain super defeated TongFu, CDEC, and VG.J in order to make it to the finals. IG Vitality is one of the few teams that did not shuffle after TI6 and the benefits of that decision showed. They were clearly much more comfortable playing together than the teams that stood in their way. IG Vitality find themselves competing against what we can only assume will be the top teams in the world in Xiamen at their first lan event. As such, it will be unquestionably great experience for a team that is often just short of qualifying for events. Whether or not IG Vitality will be able to take advantage of their cohesion while other teams are still getting used to new line-ups remains to be seen but this might be the best chance they have to cause some big upsets.

In the months leading up to TI6 IG.V had started to gain momentum, coming 3rd at PGL 2016 and winning VPGame Pro League without dropping a single game in both the group stage and bracket stage. Winning the qualifiers for MDL is a continuation of their success and might be the beginning of yet another fresh group of faces in the Chinese scene making their debut. Seizing the opportunity will be up to how well super can lead a team that lacks experience at the highest level of competitive Dota and if he can keep their nerves in check.

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