New Teams are often the target of experience teams in The International, but not with these three teams. Team Serenity, paiN Gaming, and Winstrike are part of the beginner teams at The International 8 DOTA 2. But be careful, dealing with these teams can make tears drip, especially if you dream of becoming The International Champion.
Each has a different story, some are really white papers but are able to capture the world spotlight by qualifying for open qualifiers, there is also a collection of exiles, and also local champions. Then who will the most enjoy The International stage later?
Team Serenity
Only 9 months of Serenity team age, and if you are shocked by this Chinese contestant, your curiosity might not be answered because of lack of info even on Liquipedia. With three players, among them just feeling the sensation of competition in 2016, Serenity hasn’t even attended LAN tournaments together. Their efforts penetrated the prestigious tournaments in ESL One Hamburg and China DOTA 2 Super Major failed miserably. But they stretch the tradition and continue the dream of a group of young people from the middle of nowhere like CDEC in 2015, and Wings Gaming in 2016.
If you don’t believe in superstitious things, let’s look at the potential of Serenity. Zhizhizhi currently ranks second in the Chinese leaderboard, in fact he became one of the first Chinese players to reach 9000 MMR. As a pubstomper, he is often portrayed as a sensitive person and unable to play loose in high intensity matches, so that is often the reason for his lack of glance at the big team. However, Serenity’s success in translating into TI8 is proof of its change.
The main key to the game from Serenity is creativity and innovation. They offer something new, because they cannot pit the strategy even the skills of the superior team play the event later. But things that are beyond reason have so far become the hallmark of Serenity. The offlaner, xinQ shows it in qualifier, double blink dagger from Queen of Pain. Not enough with the blink skill, he bought another Blink to fold his mobility.
From drafting, Serenity glorifies the ‘greedy’ composition with three cores that need attention. Sometimes it combines dual midlane heroes or duo-carry, but their selection pattern is quite consistent in some Chinese qualifying records. Stick to Faceless Void, Storm Spirit, Windranger, and the most dangerous thing is that Silencer can transition into extra carry. They have a different approach in each match up, but are firm in choosing a hero so as not to change the style of play.
As a result, the Serenity team rarely wins fast, and usually in a normal duration of 30 minutes or playing late maneuvers.
paiN Gaming
The biggest eSports organizations in Brazil and South America have the opportunity to prove themselves through South American qualification rations and compete with the world’s best teams in the upcoming event. Unlike the previous representatives who often only become bonus round teams, Gaming players have the potential to be dangerous. The reason? The arrival of W33 fills the position of the midlaner.
There is no doubt that the ability of W33 is one of the best in the world. Appreciative, he actually deserves to join a stronger team, but with paiN Gaming, W33 is reborn. How trusting Brazilian colleagues are for w33 to create space and beautiful games, so it’s hard to get when playing in a big team because they have to compromise with other players, curb their imaginary freedom.
The proof was when he strengthened Secret, despite having won several prestigious titles such as the Shanghai Major, but when he entered IT he was sluggish. The pressure to play well in each match weighs on him so that his team is scattered in the 7-8 final standings. Unlike the story of the following year, with the title underdog with Digital Chaos, he shot even almost the championship trophy if Wings Gaming did not go beyond W33’s creativity.
But it is a big mistake to judge paiN Gaming only just w33. The carry hFn who has a dream to become a soccer player like other Brazilian children, is very mechanically talented. The W33 that you watch out for will provide space for hFn farming quickly and win matches easily using its flagship Morphling or Luna hero. Tavo that often make changes in the situation of the games, both Sand and Enigma should be watched out.
But what ensures paiN Gaming can play according to direction is the captain’s heart and lightness, Kingrd. His relaxed, open and passionate character is the fuel to pump up the fighting spirit of the Brazilian troops at the event later.
Winstrike
The outcast players have a verification mission in playing the event later. Formed on the basis of despair the previous team has squandered, Iceberg as the originator of Winstrike, at that time was still called FlytoMoon trying to take advantage of the rest of the competition this year with the last struggle to follow The International 8. Looking for affluent friends, who felt bitter was not just one – two teams. Having visited 10 to 16 teams throughout their career, now the dream team from Iceberg has found its composition.
Iceberg, who is an expert in boxing, will literally fight his way to prove himself worthy of respect. Undaunted by the big names and trophies in the opponent’s closet, he proved that FlytoMoon was not an ordinary challenger. Starladder debut has awarded them 5-6 positions, continues to shine on Epicenter XL, then topple paiN Gaming and OG, even the most powerful team at present Virtus.pro. It took a tight fight from Liquid team to stop their steps in the top three Epicenter XL.
This success attracted the interest of Russian eSports organizations, Winstrike which now houses Iceberg and friends to International. CIS always has a familiar pattern, namely explosive midlaner, playing style tends to be arrogant and aggressive, no different from Winstrike. Iceberg as a midlaner is like that, but intimidation is always balanced with skills that are truly stunning. His expertise is supported by the experience of Alwayswannafly, a CIS veteran who spawned Roman Fominok’s or Resolut1on after young Reso asked him to make a mentor with the requirement to become a drinking-taking boy during Alwayswannafly’s competition.
Not to mention the legendary carry, Silent. Even though he had to pull out for 10 months from being competitive because of illness, he was back and became a winning star from Winstrike. Don’t forget the role of captain Nofear, who, as the name implies, is not afraid to exchange blows despite the weakest control of the hero, all for the opportunity for his colleagues to get bigger profits.
Storm Spirit, Luna, Bane, Doom are some of the mainstays of Winstrike. They don’t have the odd elements in drafting, just adjust to the opponent and fight appropriately. Their main strength lies in the aggressiveness and dynamics of the game.
