On May 13 2014 13:22 rigwarl_bb wrote: So, CIS need to lose against Newbee for DK to advance in ECL?
Not exactly. DK are in a good position right now, they'll advance unless CIS wins both their remaining games (Nb and Speed). In that case, there would be a 3-way tie between DK, LGD and CIS which should force tiebreakers.
I'm wondering what fellow DK fans (or anyone, really) think about DK not qualifying for ESL One will mean for the team, specifically in regards to preparing for TI4?
At first I was disappointed, DK is imo the best team in the world so of course I'd like to see them at premier events playing the other best teams in the world. But the more I started to think about it I think, in the end, it will be a net benefit for the team.
Assuming they qualified for ESL One, and assuming they returned to China between The Summit and ESL One, they would be flying roughly 24,000 mi/38,000 km in the span of a little over one month. In addition to the travel, adjusting to the difference in time zones and general lack of stability in regimented practice, and showing their strats to both Eastern teams they scrim with prior to the events and Western teams they face at the events, I feel that missing ESL One affords DK with the best chance to show up to TI4 in the best shape.
Does that make sense or am I just making up reasons to feel good about DK losing to DT in the first round of the ESL qualifiers?
On May 13 2014 15:39 Omigawa wrote: I'm wondering what fellow DK fans (or anyone, really) think about DK not qualifying for ESL One will mean for the team, specifically in regards to preparing for TI4?
At first I was disappointed, DK is imo the best team in the world so of course I'd like to see them at premier events playing the other best teams in the world. But the more I started to think about it I think, in the end, it will be a net benefit for the team.
Assuming they qualified for ESL One, and assuming they returned to China between The Summit and ESL One, they would be flying roughly 24,000 mi/38,000 km in the span of a little over one month. In addition to the travel, adjusting to the difference in time zones and general lack of stability in regimented practice, and showing their strats to both Eastern teams they scrim with prior to the events and Western teams they face at the events, I feel that missing ESL One affords DK with the best chance to show up to TI4 in the best shape.
Does that make sense or am I just making up reasons to feel good about DK losing to DT in the first round of the ESL qualifiers?
No, I was thinking this too. A LAN in China, America and Europe in a month seems like a tall order, especially when the biggest tournament of the year is just around the corner. Although it would have been nice to see them clinch all three, I think a strong showing in two + some rest in between is a great alternative. In WPC, they get to play the best in China, and in The Summit they get to play a cross-section of the world. Good LAN practice just before TI4, and as you say, not too much of it to tire them out.
I'd rather they play the games though. What we saw out of Alliance last year was that they played in every single thing (and won nearly every single thing). If I'm not imagining anything, I seem to recall an interview Loda gave wherein he said that tournaments are scrims with meaning and that in order to keep their momentum, they preferred playing tournaments instead of just hiding strats and scrimming. This is the age-old argument of momentum vs preparation/rest. I am personally in favor of momentum for DK, since they win by outplaying pretty often instead of outdrafting/outthinking.
Caladbolg, I disagree. It's not that I don't think that DK is mechanically superior to most teams, but I think when they're most dominant is when they, for lack of a better term, "get" the meta better than most teams, and this usually happens when DK are able to focus on training (at least from an outsiders perspective).
On May 12 2014 07:12 Kraznaya wrote: lanms the best player on this team fanboys need to recognize
I would wholeheartedly agree on that, lanm does wonderful plays and he's not even in a farming role. My favourite DK player (and they fill 5 of my 6 fav slots)
Although it's still very close since everyone is so skilled. Even MMY, which i felt had poor visibility on such a high-skilled team, simply exploded my mind with his Io and Meepo plays.
I think DK drafts in a way that they care more about winning than not losing. They're willing to their limits and go outside their comfort zones if they think if that draft is gonna win them the game. It fails sometimes, but they get away from that game with learning something new and discovering what works for their team.That's why they lost at random groupstages and win at Lan Grand Finals.
On May 12 2014 07:12 Kraznaya wrote: lanms the best player on this team fanboys need to recognize
I would wholeheartedly agree on that, lanm does wonderful plays and he's not even in a farming role. My favourite DK player (and they fill 5 of my 6 fav slots)
Although it's still very close since everyone is so skilled. Even MMY, which i felt had poor visibility on such a high-skilled team, simply exploded my mind with his Io and Meepo plays.
DK doto best doto
I think it takes away from the team aspect when we make claims on who the best player is.
Mushi has long been the most outstanding SEA player, both in terms of individual laning skill and overall gameplay. However, in TI3 he made a case for being the best in the world. Now that he's on DK, he's no less skilled - but because everyone else on the team can make the plays he used to be known for, he normally doesn't shine as much. In fact, Mushi often appears to be the least flashy on the team (him or Burning) but that simply means he can achieve what he used to achieve with less effort because his teammates are equally talented.
Burning is a legendary carry (THE legendary carry) and has shown multiple times how brilliant he is on the position. But again, in a team like this, he doesn't have to carry as much. If you compare TI3 DK to current DK, you'll see that Burning has mostly abandoned the "farm like mad and 1v5" strategies of old DK (which is why he doesn't play AM anymore) and has mostly played fighting carries like Lifestealer, Clinkz, Pugna, Luna, Morph, LD, FV, Weaver, Tiny, instead of the more traditional flash farmers into lategame dominance like AM, PL, Spectre, Gyro (although Gyro is also a fighting carry that's fallen out of favor). He often foregoes farm, giving his lane to Lanm or MMY, in order to gank (especially with Clinkz and LS). Thus he doesn't have the same aura of "OMG LOOK AT THEM ITEMS" that he used to have, but he's been more active and involved and, I think, become a better carry because of that. It's neck and neck IMO between him and Sylar as best carry right now.
Iceiceice is, I realize only now, possibly the most skilled player in Dota right now. It's amazing to watch him play Invoker, Timbersaw, Centaur, Bat - pretty much any hero that requires a high degree of playmaking and finesse. It's strange to me that he's shone even more nowadays on DK. In my mind, he's probably the true best player on this team, but his playstyle will sometimes lead to feeding because he's just incredibly aggressive.
Lanm is often the "MVP" in single games, because of his clutch plays. But we have to take into account that he's often given a farming lane come midgame, which is why he gets the items needed to make those plays. In a way, Lanm is a hybrid 3 who supports early on like a 4 position but then shifts to farming during lulls. Comparably, I think this unique position allows him to make all those amazing plays, not to mention he has the mechanics required for any role (he can shift from pos 1-5 easily, having been a star player in nearly all those positions).
MMY used to disappoint me on DK, because I knew him more as X!, one of the greatest solo mids of Dota 1. But as with Iceiceice, his skill has blossomed playing with teammates this good. I guess having 4 other equally talented players behind your back allows you some room to be flashy, but MMY has probably been the "most improved" of all the DK squad ever since the shuffle. IMO, he's the player to watch on DK for those snazzy plays on Io, Meepo, etc.
Putting my points all together, I don't think it's fair to any of the 5 DK players to say that "oh hey <blank> is the best player on DK" when they all take turns in sacrificing those flashy moves to make each other's lives easier. It's kinda like the Lebron James argument (sorry NBA analogy). He's fully capable of scoring 35 points per game, but he's content with 25 so long as he's able to make the right play at the right time (which often involves a pass or a defensive rotation) and it doesn't show up that much on the stats, but it makes him and his team so much better/scarier to play against.
EPT
