League play abounded with storylines. Firstly, we saw EG becoming once again a full 5-man team with the recruitment of Jeyo and Bdiz. Not dropping any series in the groupstage, EG wants so bad to win this league that even got James Bond to standin in some matches, and the 007 delivered.The league saw Team Empire replacing the now disbanded Counter Logic Gaming team and continue to annex new territories and collect victories, stopping only to few teams, becoming a real contender for the first place in the playoffs as the second best qualified team.

We saw the birth, transformation and demise of several teams: We saw the birth of Dignitas' Dota 2 team whose echoes were quickly heard in the tournament as they won matches, earning them a spot on the playoffs as the third best qualified team; Skånes Elit replaced team Pulse and despite not being able to qualify for the playoffs, it gave Empire's spear a dent with a 2-1 victory on their meeting; mousesports became Team Zero and while they're now playing without singsing and SexyBamboe, still managed to qualify as the fourth team; we saw Fnatic.EU continue to mature as a Dota 2 team, but not being able to qualify for the finals; we saw the demise of team Quantic, which unfortunately is on the bottom of the standings with We Haz Asian.

We also saw the transition of version 6.74 to 6.76. Everything changed, but everything remained the same. Now the league reaches its decisive moment. Before they were 8, now they are 4. Surely all the four survivors are polishing their armors and readying their weapons in anticipation of the imminent combat, because, in the end, there can be only one.

The teams that will participate in the D2L Finals are -

Team Empire

Zero

Evil Geniuses

Team Dignitas

My prediction for the D2L finals is that Empire takes it. So far the league statistics have shown us that EG are the strongest team, going 7-0 so far and displaying fairly solid play throughout. However, Team Empire are still one of the strongest European teams in Dota 2, and probably the strongest team when it comes to playing in online finals. Just last week we saw them crush Na`Vi in the finals for the JD Masters Special II. If Team Empire can focus completely and display their true power, they have a great chance of winning D2L.

The team we can expect to come in second place will be Evil Geniuses. They are looking better than ever, especially with their most recent additions of Bdiz and Jeyo to the lineup. The only possible downfall is if their new lineup proves to be unstable, but they look very cohesive so far.

Between the last two teams, Zero and Dignitas, my prediction is that Dignitas will take third place. Team Dignitas is a very solid team which even has the potential to upset the other two if they don’t play solid Dota. On the other hand, Zero barely made the finals this time, and have struggled throughout. They don’t seem like the most stable team as of yet, especially when compared to the other three in the finals.

In the end, anything can happen in these finals. Dota 2 is a game where it is very important for your team to be spiritually ready and cohesive, and whichever team can accomplish this has a great chance of becoming the D2L champions. Will Evil geniuses continue their reign of terror? Do we see Team Empire solidify their spot as the strongest online team in Western Dota? You will have to watch and find out.

It's interesting to see how EG doesn't value Lycanthrope as much as the other teams. He's only the 11th most banned hero by EG, and the geniuses have a 66% winrate against Lycanthrope according to Dota-academy. EG picks Omniknight, who can be a deadly hero if he's allowed to get experience and some farm. Dignitas go for teamfight control plus massive physical damage. Slardar and Lycanthrope can quickly demolish Roshan if allowed.

As the knight party assembles, Dignitas tries to snipe Roshan at lvl1. Even with only four heroes, EG contest it. Despite the numerical advantage, both teams only exchange courtesies.

Omni vs CM + Slardar top; Lycan woods
DK vs Enigma Mid
Lesh + CK vs Tide bot; Chen woods

EG does a better job at controlling their lanes. The creep equilibrium on all lanes favors them, allowing Omniknight to get experience and farm near the tower, enabling the first-blood on Enigma at the mid lane and keeping Tidehunter from getting experience and farm. The superior lane control allows EG to build a so necessary farm and experience advantage, considering that Omniknight craves for experience. On Dignitas side, Lycanthrope, Enigma and Slardar are getting the farm, but Tidehunter is only lvl3 at the six minute mark. The pressure on the bottom lane prompts Dignitas to rotate Enigma there in order to countergank, but EG escapes unharmed. The game is going so wrong for Dignitas that even Slardar gets solo-killed by Omniknight.


Because of the bad early game from Dignitas and the combination of Elder Dragon Form and Diabolic Edict, EG gets to the mid game with a solid tower advantage (3 to 1), and Dignitas can't even trade towers without losing heroes in the process.

Both teams meet again in the Roshan pit to re-enact the fight at the beginning of the game, and things escalate quickly against Dignitas despite a four-man Ravage. The heals coming from Chen and Omniknight allows EG to win the fight without problems.

The GG is called at a surprising 13 minutes. It's uncommon for me to see Dignitas losing like this.




Tidehunter vs Brewmaster + Rubick + Earthshaker top
DK vs Morphling mid
Nevermore + Venomancer vs AA bot, Chen woods

This time, Dignitas performs solid in the early game, controlling their easy lane and first-blooding Ancient Apparition, allowing Shadow Fiend a good start. Tidehunter is getting levels faster than AA. But Morphling is winning the mid lane against Dragon Knight, which evens the game for EG. After trading some blows, Dignitas destroy three towers from EG, building a 2000 gold advantage in the 10 minute mark, while EG has a small experience advantage.

A sucessful countergank on the top lane widens Dignitas gold advantage, but EG is still close. The game is slow paced, with both teams engaging into small skirmishes and exchanging blows all the time. Rubick were able to steal Ravage and use it in two of these skirmishes, scoring a kill on Shadow Fiend and keeping the game even.

The small skirmishes end when a Dignitas ward on the middle lane spots EG using Smoke of Deceit near the 23 minute mark. Dignitas react with a counter Smoke of Deceit. Hell breaks loose in the Roshan spot, and EG wins by a slight margin. Brewmaster was able to dodge the Ravage; because it was a lvl1 Ravage, it didn't had enough range to stun Morphling, and the combination of Echo Slam and Ice Blast exploded Chen before he could pop all his spells. At the same time, Chen couldn't esnare an escaping Brewmaster and Dragon Knight could stun him even within range, having full mana and in Elder Dragon Form. Because of this, EG is able to win the fight 3-5, with Morphling and Brewmaster escaping with only a few HP. No one is able to claim Roshan's life.

Second round at Roshan explodes, and Dignitas is able to explode Morphling with Requiem of Souls thanks to Dragon Knight stun. EG keeps trying to claim Roshan, but it's too hard: Dignitas still have the first tier mid tower up, with gives them excellent conditions to move in and contest it. Morphling ends dying one more time after getting caught offguard by Dragon Knight. Only Ancient Apparition escapes with life at the subsequent fight, leaving Dignitas with the Aegis and considerable lead on gold.

Dignitas is able to win more small skirmishes and destroy the third tier top tower, threatening to destroy the barracks. With the help of Force Staff, Dignitas can quickly thrust Dragon Knight forward to stun Brewmaster and kill him before he can use Primal Split, winning the exchange for Dignitas, destroying two sets of barracks and getting near-decisive advantages in the game. After killing Roshan one more time, Dignitas groups his five heroes on the bottom lane, destroying the last set of barracks and getting the win, tieing the series.


Windrunner vs Shadow Shaman, Shadow Demon and DK top
Rubick vs Invoker mid
Antimage, Venomancer, Tidehunter vs Bounty Hunter bot

Bounty Hunter escapes from what could've been first blood with only 60 HP. And Dignitas build a decent experience advantage in the early game because of the creep pulls in the top lane. At the 3 minute mark, Windrunner is still level one, while Bounty Hunter is level four. At the same time, because EG blew Sentry Wards trying to kill Bounty Hunter and because they fail to deward their pull camp on the bottom lane, they're disallowed from harrassing Bounty Hunter (who can simply escape with Shadow Walk) and pull the camps, leaving Tidehunter and Venomancer both at level one, while Shadow Shaman and Shadow Demon are on two and three respectively. Even though Dignitas is ahead right now, EG manages to draw first blood, with a level one Windrunner killing a level five Invoker, easing EG's disadvantage. If Dignitas had rotated not only Shadow Demon, but also Shadow Shaman (who kept pulling even when Windrunner wasn't on the lane), the exchange on the mid would've been favorable to them.

But Dignitas is still ahead on experience, and Bounty Hunter got a very early track. With Elder Dragon Form, they take down two towers on the top lane, starting to build a gold advantage. And EG helped it with Venomancer giving a free track kill by getting stuck in the woods. Dignitas take the control of the map, stealing neutral creep stacks on EG jungle and getting more Track kills. As Dignitas starts pushing towers down, EG decides to not defend their towers, but to exchange theirs with Dignitas'.


Venomancer blunders and get stuck by himself into enemy territory

As Dignitas tries to take Roshan and EG tries to contest it, the consequent clashes goes in favor of Dignitas as they benefit more from the exchanges because of the Track kills. Dignitas returns to kill the Roshan, but everything goes horribly wrong for them EG steals the Aegis thanks to a clutch Ravage and win the teamfight. At this point, Antimage already have his Battlefury and is starting to flashfarm his inventory.

The game enters a farming period until a massive teamfight explodes in the 21 minute mark. Invoker catches Venomancer with Tornado, earning his team yet another Track kill. But EG comes to fight, propelling Tidehunter to the middle of Dignitas' squad with Force Staff, getting big Ravage, allowing Antimage to evaporate Invoker and Bounty Hunter with Mana Void. Dignitas buy back their theroes while Antimage receives a barrage of disables from Shadow Shaman, but is able to escape with 43 HP, leaving Tidehunter and Windrunner to die.

After another farming period, both teams tries starts dancing around the Roshan pit. Dignitas unleashes a smoke gang and triggers another exchange that they came out ahead because of Track. But still, Antimage is alive and continues to farm his inventory. With Manta Style, Black King Bar and Skull Basher, Antimage and his team are able to contest Dignitas' attempt at Roshan and grab the Aegis and win the teamfight. EG starts sieging Dignitas base, and even if they're defeated in the first attempt, they successfuly destroy two sets of barracks and win the series.

Birth

Just as the D2L tournament itself teeters between the realm of the living and the dead, so too does the fate of a man tied closer to the western DotA scene than perhaps any other. He was borne into the scene by Mouz, and very nearly ended his career there, but Kuroky managed to ignite team Zero just as its last embers dwindled.

Dendi may be hailed by many as the genius of contemporary DotA, yet Kuroky was certainly the prodigy of yesteryear. Kuroky flared onto the scene in 2008 at the age of sixteen, dazzling the world with heroes like Meepo, QoP, and Potm, shining brighter than the constellation of stars that had gathered around him in Mouz. At the time, Mouz was one of unforgettable pillars of Western DotA; Drayich, Levent, and Miracle were all legends in their own right, and they ushered in this latest of DotA’s stars. Emerging on the scene as a new titan, Mouz, SK, and MYM formed a triumvirate that dominated DotA.

It wouldn't be an overstatement to label Puppey the greatest captain in the world. Not only has Puppey been with countless teams through the ages of DotA, he has brought out the inner radiance of so many stars, tempering raw talent in the furnace of his game sense and experience. It seems almost fate that Puppey and Kuroky's paths should cross, just as Puppey would later come across Dendi as well.

With the retirement of Drayich due to marriage and an impinging real life, Mouz found itself paired with a rather odd stand-in from the now dilapidated KS.int, Puppey. Things started to fall into place, and before long the two teams merged to birth a new empire. Once stabilized, KS.int would overcome all. Even with the fading of Vigoss and the addition of Jolie, the bond between captain and team never faltered.

Apex

KS.int was a forerunner, the Na'Vi of its day, a team that combined talent, genius, and magic. It is difficult to describe the quintessence of the strongest team in the world, but perhaps this highlight will allow some of us to tread down memory lane and others to a glimpse of that special something.

Eclipse

Sadly, all good things had to come to an end and, as is so often the case, the most brilliant stars burn most briefly. The KS.int that reached the apogee of the game would burn itself away in that magnificent flash. Shuffling between MYM, Nirvana.int, NWO, and GGnet, Kuroky would be a star twinkling between brightness and dim, glorious at the highest level of play, but never again with the luminescence seen during his time on KS.int.

With GGnet's poor performance during the first international, the light dimmed one last time, and then went out.

Revival

Perhaps it was destiny that fated Mouz to bring Kuroky back into the scene, serendipity itself crafting the impossibility of a quiet ringer for what seemed to be a leisurely tour to Seattle. He was to be a substitute player, on a substitute team, at the second international. KGod once again appeared on the grand stage of DotA.


The event seemed to have rekindled a flame in Kuroky as he soon became a permanent member of Mouz. Through his trials and countless hours of experience, Kuroky has finally completed the transformation from the star player to the team captain. Instead of the mid, burning to avenge, he was now the reticent support, guiding eager and talented youths to victory, as Puppey had done for him.

Rebirth

There can be no such resurrection without a cost. In this case, the team has borne the loss of sponsorship, the loss of core members, and a loss of place. In spite of it all, Kuroky is now determined, the ZERO for which his team is named has come to be a cypher for the situation. Losing everything just means having to find a different avenue of return, a new route to the top.

We await ZERO, we await KGoD.

Sources cited:
Brave New World: (a blog post by Kuroky)
Chinese highlights/memoirs video of Kuroky