The first Major of the 2016-2017 Dota 2season is upon us! Taking place in Boston, the event will boast a hearty $3,000,000 prize pool, with the winner taking home $1,000,000. There have been plenty of exciting storylines heading into the event, with exciting new rosters from the recent off-season, visa troubles, and surprising performers.
In preparation for the next week of action, we’ve ranked all the teams and explained what it would take for them to win, or lose, the Boston Major.
1. Wings Gaming
Background: Wings Gaming, the reigning international champions, were one of few teams to change no players from their roster for the new competitive season.
Why They’ll Win: Exceptional talent, teamplay, and experience. They’re the odds-on favorite to win in Boston.
Why They Won’t: It’s pretty common for teams to have a post-TI win letdown, especially young squads. Their recent 4th place finish at the Summit 6 may be a sign of a sophomore slump. If they can’t right the ship, they might get thrown overboard.
2. Virtus.pro
Background: Virtus.pro isa dream-team combination of the best young CIS-region talent mixed with experienced and proven support players.
Why They’ll Win: They’re red-hot right now, fresh off of a 1st place finish at the Summit 6 where they dropped only 2 matches and won the grand finals 3-0.
Why They Won’t: Teams underestimated VP going into the Summit 6, but no longer. Opponents will have had 2 weeks to watch vods from the Summit and prepare for their style.
3. OG
Background: A fan-favorite squad, OG is anchored by long-time pros Fly and n0tail. The team made several changes in the off-season and is looking to replicate a 2015-2016 season that saw them win 2 Majors before an underwhelming 9-12th place finish at TI6.
Why They’ll Win: OG has looked very promising with their new roster, taking 2nd place at the Summit 6 and being one of only two teams to take a game off VP. If they can finally nail down their chemistry, they have the talent to beat anyone.
Why They Won’t: A historically streaky team, OG could potentially struggle early on in the event. Additionally, few believe OG came out better than they entered during the recent free-agency period.
4. Evil Geniuses
Background: The International 2015 winners are recovering from an underwhelming 2015-2016 season that saw the constant shuffling of star core player Arteezy between EG and Team Secret. He’s settled with EG for now and Cr1t- was brought on as the new captain in the off-season, replacing ppd.
Why They’ll Win: Few teams can claim to have the exceptional individual talent EG posseses. All of their players are arguably the best in the world at their position; they have no “weak links.”
Why They Won’t: The impact of losing ppd’s leadership has yet to be fully seen. Managing such talented and potentially selfish core superstars has been an issue for them in the past, and it could be their undoing this tournament.
5. Newbee
Background: Newbee is an interesting Chinese squad made up of outstanding young talents and anchored by experienced players like Faith, a 5-time International veteran and 2012 champion.
Why They’ll Win: Newbee has been playing exceptionally well in online tournament play this season, taking first in four different events (three being qualifiers).
Why They Won’t: A particularly tough preliminary group may doom them before they get started.
6. Digital Chaos
Background: The most surprising team of The International 2016, DC is a largely European team based in America. The only roster change for them was replacing offlaner Moo with MoonMeander.
Why They’ll Win: As seen at TI6, DC thrives when they have sufficient time to bootcamp and excel in a LAN environment.
Why They Won’t: Their performance this season has been less than exceptional, taking 5-6th at the Summit 6.
7. Team NP
Background: The best majority Canadian team to ever grace the virtual battlefield of Dota, Team NP is a grouping of NA talents with a drive to prove themselves.
Why They’ll Win: Friendship, anime, and hot sauce.
Why They Won’t: Good chemistry and tons of LAN experience can’t make up for the fact that Team NP is lacking superstar talent in a couple of roles.
8. Team Faceless
Background: The heir apparent for the throne of SEA, Team Faceless is home to veteran fan favorites iceiceice and Black^.
Why They’ll Win: An undefeated run in the SEA qualifiers for the Major asserted their dominance. If they can recreate that rhythm, they’ll be a scary team.
Why They Won’t: Their most recent results have been cause for concern, with a last place finish at The Summit 6 and a surprising 5-6th in the Regional SEA Kappa Invitational.
9. EHOME
Background: A scrappy team with a lot of talent and experience, EHOME is looking to build on a solid 5-6th performance at TI6. Adding three-time Top 3 TI finisher Sylar could be just what they need.
Why They’ll Win: EHOME has always had the talent to win tournaments- they’ve just always fallen just short. If their new player pickups gel with the “old” crew, they could surprise many.
Why They Won’t: Post free-agent period results have been meh, with a last-place finish at the Summit 6.
10. LGD Gaming
Background: LGD snuck their way into the tournament as a result of Execration being forced to drop out. The current roster is led by star player Maybe.
Why They’ll Win: The team is full of potential, with several players from a talented CDEC Youth squad and Xz from TI5 standout team CDEC. They’ve performed well post-TI6 in stacked Chinese online events.
Why They Won’t: Lack of LAN experience as a full squad could doom them.
11. Ad Finem
Background:The all-Greek Ad Finem is a fantastic success story of players sticking together through thick and thin. Keeping a stable roster for the last year, they’ve risen from near-obscurity to a top contender.
Why They’ll Win: A team this familiar with each other has an advantage over the teams at Boston that are still working on chemistry issues with new rosters. If they can back that up with great play, they could make a run.
Why They Won’t: Unfortunately, the team is unfamiliar with the big stage. They have performed only passably at large events and lack experience against foreign teams.
12. MVP Phoenix
Background: The most successful Korean Dota 2 squad, MVP saw some volatility in the offseason, with MP and Forev leaving to join Team Secret before Forev returned just 2 months later.
Why They’ll Win: MVP has always been formidable on LANs. Their aggressive style wears down the most talented of teams and QO always plays best on the big stage.
Why They Won’t: They have performed surprisingly poorly in online qualifier play since a solid finish at TI6, making them look very shaky.
13. LGD.ForeverYoung
Background:With LGD.ForeverYoung, Xiao8 is back for another round, this time with some young upstarts, as well as his best friend Yao and Veteran mid-laner Super.
Why They’ll Win: Xiao8 is a legendary team captain. If anyone can lead an underrated team to a surprise finish, it’s the Director.
Why They Won’t: Both of their young talents, Monet and lpc, were denied visas to enter America. Teams rarely perform well when having to replace players days before an event.
14. compLexity
Background: The team of brothers saw the Swedish pair and their offlaner leave in the off-season, leaving the Freedman brothers to rebuild a team that flirted with greatness in early 2016.
Why They’ll Win: compLexity is better than most at LAN preparation. They have some of the best mindsets and competitive drives in the scene.
Why They Won’t: The new roster hasn’t looked particularly promising, and unless something major has changed during bootcamp, it simply won’t be enough considering the competition.
15. iG.Vitality
Background: A team of upstarts led by veteran super,iG.Vitality is looking to break through in a crowded Chinese scene.
Why They’ll Win: Their carry player Yuno is a very individually skilled player. This event could be his rise to stardom.
Why They Won’t: The visa bug has afflicted iG.Vitality as well. Captain super, as well as his support partner dogf1ghts, won’t make the event. Playing without your captain is almost always cause for concern.
16. WarriorsGaming.Unity
Background: A band of Malaysian players who made a name for themselves through string online cup performances in the Fall, WG.U is looking to play spoiler.
Why They’ll Win: SEA teams are commonly the most overlooked teams. If their opponents haven’t given them the credit and research they deserve, they could be in for a surprise.
Why They Won’t: The team has never traveled for an event outside of SE Asia. They have no experience against foreign teams, and the team looked disappointing in their most recent online appearance.
Keep up with all the action in Boston with the Dota 2 Wiki.
Pairing a love of DOTA 2 with traditional sports statistics, Bryan previously worked as a statsman for internationally renowned gaming tournaments. He then joined the Beyond the Summit crew to help design and develop several features for the game, such as Teamfight Recap. Now, he lives in Alabama with his wife and works as a freelance production assistant and writer.
