Five more teams join Invictus Gaming in the list of invited teams for The International 3, as Valve released the next wave of invites for the biggest DOTA 2 tournament of the year. While we wait in anticipation for the rest of the invites, let us take a quick look at the five top teams for this wave of invites.
LGD.cn
This Chinese powerhouse made an impact in last year’s International by being undefeated from the group stages until they lost to Natus Vincere in the Upper Bracket Finals and then against Invictus Gaming at the Lower Bracket Finals. While it hasn’t been smooth sailing for the team these past few months, LGD.cn still performed on a level that’s on par with other top tier Chinese teams today. Will we see a repeat of last year’s undefeated streak?
Current Roster:
Zhang “xiao8†Ning
Leong “DDC†Fatmeng
Lio “Sylar†Jiajun
Yao “Yao†Zhengzheng
Xiang “LongDD†Huang
Orange E-Sports
Orange is undoubtedly one of the best, if not the best team in South East Asia today. There have been several changes with the team after the departure of Litt-Binn “Winter†Chan, Chee Cai “Ice†Chua and Wei Poong “Yamateh†Ng. Many speculated about the effect of losing three great players, but as of late, the Malaysian team proved that they can stand against high-level adversaries with their new six-man roster. It is no secret that Orange has been training harder than usual for quite some time now particularly in preparation for The International. Have we seen it all or are they still keeping something up their sleeve? How will the Malaysian team fare against the top teams of the world?
Current Roster:
Joel “XtiNcT†Chan
Yee Fung “Mushi†Chai
Kang Yang “ky.xy†Lee
Wai Pern “Net†Lim
Chong Xin “Ohaiyo†Khoo
Fadil “Kecik Imba†Bin Mohd Raziff
The Alliance Roster
Starting out as “No Tidehunterâ€, The Alliance is known for their out-of-the-ordinary picks and strategies. There has been quite the drama upon the “removal†of EternalEnvy, their former Captain and there were those who wondered if the all-Swedish team could perform on the level that they showed us when they won DreamHack Winter where one of their most notable tactics included the Nature’s Prophet Roshan bait on level 1. The Alliance silenced most, if not all doubts with their following performances by beating not only top EU teams, but also securing themselves top spots in tournaments including their win in the recently concluded DreamHack Dota 2 Invitational.
Current Roster:
Gustav “s4†Magnusson
Jonathan “Loda†Berg
Joakim “Akke†Akterhall
Henrik “AdmiralBulldog†Ahnberg
Jerry “EGM†Lundkvist
Fnatic.EU Roster
If one talks about European powerhouses, Fnatic.EU should definitely be in the list, which is why it is no surprise that the mixed European team has earned themselves a spot at The International 2013. Among other things, Fnatic.EU is known for their great strategies, unpredictable tactics and unusual hero picks. They also have a very impressive track record when it comes to team accomplishments including winning the Thor Open 2012 and the Dota Hut invitational to name a few.
Current Roster:
Tai “Fly†Aizik
Johan “n0tail†Sundstein
Kalle “Trixi†Saarinen
Adrian “Era†Kryeziu
Kai “H4nn1†Hanbueckers
Team Liquid Roster
Formed mostly from the previous members of Team Complexity, Team Liquid has been making themselves known by faring impressively against North American and European teams. One of the notable traits of Team Liquid is that they have members who are able to play different roles or positions, which allow for more possible strategies and, to an extent, add a factor of unpredictability. Â Team Liquid also has their own way of seeing through small gaps and details, leading to their advantage and, eventually a win.
Current Roster:
Brian “FLUFFNSTUFF†Lee
Tyler “TC†Cook
Michael “ixmike88†Ghannam
Sam “BuLba†Sosale
Steven “Korok†Ashworth
Source: DOTA 2 Blog