The western Dota season is upon us again, and we are proud to bring you coverage of The Defense Season 3, starting now. In this tournament preview, you will bget to know the teams you will be spending the next few weeks of Dota with. TheEmulator previews them all so you know who's who.
As usual, we also have some features for you. With so many new teams on the scene these days, judging who to watch and who to skip can be hard. Never fear though! In this TD S3 preview, TL writer kupon3ss resurrects an old playdota thread, and reminds us that there is a way to score teams based on the names of their players. Finally, our statman shostakovich is back again with a Number Crunch. This time, he talks about picks and bans.
That's what we have for you right now! Be sure you stay with us through The Defense S3, as we will be bringing you coverage all the way. Watching the games today? Stop by our Live Report thread, or say hi to us on IRC!
Team Previews
By TheEmulator
It's not just about these guys, you know.
Group A
compLexity Gaming The reigning champions of The Defense, and one of the stronger North American Dota 2 teams, compLexity Gaming will of course be looking to defend their title. Recently, compLexity have been performing well, managing a win at the ECAL Americas, and having a close semi-final loss to Team Empire at the JD Special Masters 2. They have had a few setbacks (specifically the loss of Jeyo to Evil Geniuses) which made them an inactive squad for a short period, but with Bulba and Korok filling in as temporary players, they are now as strong as ever.
Mousesports Mousesports has just recently re-signed Team Zero into their roster. On the other hand, they have also seen the departure of SexyBamboe and SingSing. This league will be a test of how consistent they can be, and if they can perform like they once did. Black^ has been playing like a monster lately so there is no doubt that they will do well in the upcoming months.
Pulse Esports Pulse Esports, known mostly for some great Wisp games, is a team that has yet to accomplish anything major in the Dota 2 scene. Although, with players like Wagamama and Mini, they always do have a chance, no matter what tournament they are in.
iCCup iCCup recently released the news that they would be partnering with Vladimir ‘PGG’ Anosov to create a new Dota 2 team. After bad attempts with his recent teams, especially “The Retry”, who were booted from SL3, he has decided to give it another go with iCCup. It will be interesting to see if they can overcome the negative hype that has surrounded their entry into the scene.
Virtus.pro Virtus.pro is a team based out of Russia, and is fairly well known for also having a Women’s lineup. Lately, their performance has been a little stale. They have been finishing in the middle of most tournaments they attend, not getting knocked out too early, but not winning either. They are of course a very experienced and established team that could do great things this time around.
CNB-Gaming CNB-Gaming is an unknown squad from Brazil. We have not seen too much from them, so it is hard to say anything about their current skill, but hopefully they can impress us at their first major showing in The Defense 3.
Group B
Team Empire Team Empire is one of the scariest teams in group B, and is probably the main team to look out for in this league. Recently they have been performing extremely well, with wins at both the JD Special Masters II and the Raidcall Dota 2 league. Like always, you can expect Empire to do great during the online portion, and during the LAN, well, they are usually just as strong there, so you will definitely need to keep an eye out for them. If they can keep their full lineup together for the next few months, they will certainly be one of the favourites to win the entire tournament.
Team Dignitas Team Dignitas, a North American team that have been gaining popularity over the last few months, is starting to shape up and look very strong. Lately, they have been performing well, albeit not exceptionally well, and yet we expect something good from them very soon. They performed at the Raidcall Dota 2 league, bagging a 3rd place there. If their key player AUI2000 can adjust to the new Meta-game, and the rest keep improving, they will certainly be one of the top teams in The Defense.
mTw mTw have recently undergone major changes in their lineup, with the addition of Matrim, Dutch_Freak, Tulex, and Warlog. Before these changes they were a force to be reckoned with, winning major tournaments such as Dreamhack Summer 2012 against none other than Na`Vi. We have seen very little of them since these roster changes, and we really don't know if they are as relevant today as they were six months ago. In short, we'll just have to wait and see how they do!
Kaipi Kaipi is a decent team that is a bit unknown. They have performed well in a few tournaments, and managed a 2nd place in Gosuleague Season 4. All in all they have some great individual players, so they definitely have the capabilities to do well in The Defense.
NEXT.kz NEXT.kz came into the scene in August of 2011, and quickly became a force to be contended with during the ASUS Summer 2011 tournament, where they went undefeated until the finals before losing to Na`Vi. In early 2012 they did well again in a few more tournaments, but lately they have been in the shadows a little bit. We will see if they can rekindle their fire once again in this league.
4 Friends + Chrillee This team is really unknown and it is hard to really say anything about them. They recently participated in DreamHack Winter. They did decently for a new team, going 1-2 but not advancing to the playoffs. It seems they will not be too big of a force in The Defense Season 3, but won't be surprised if they make some ripples!
Group C
Fnatic.NA In August of this year Fnatic announced their North American squad, and so far they have not lived up to the success that their European counterparts have achieved. One good thing is that they should be getting comfortable with each other by now, so maybe their first big tournament win is soon to come.
dd.dota(ex MYM) MYM has recently been acquired by dd.dota, an older team that used to be known as MonkeyBusiness. They qualified for the offline finals in SL3, but got crushed very convincingly. Having said that, dd.dota is a team that should never be counted out, as they have shown in the past that that they have the ability to take games off of any top team.
We haz Asian We haz Asian is very new in the pro scene, and so far are performing fairly well. They recently played in DreamHack Winter 2012 and ended up advancing to the playoff round. Even though they looked very strong there, they could not advance further. It will be nice to see how well they do in a major league style tournament.
No Tidehunter No Tidehunter is a strong contender for this title. Coming straight off a blistering Dreamhack Winter 2012 championship run, the team is in tip-top shape and will likely do well in the tournament. With their fan base increasing exponentially after their recent DH win, there's also no doubt that there are many people who would love to see them go all the way.
Evil Geniuses Evil Geniuses are a lot like their SC2 counterparts. Sometimes they are amazing, and sometimes they aren’t, but at all times they are certainly the center of attention due to the interesting and somewhat controversial personalities of each of their team members. With great strategies such as the knight strategy, and their great wisp play, Evil Geniuses certainly has the ability to do well in The Defense this time around.
Svenhunterz Svenhunterz are relatively unkown, and have not played in very many major tournaments as of yet. It is hard to say how well they will do, but don’t expect anything amazing from them just yet, especially since the competition at The Defense is quite tough. One thing to note is that they are a fused team, a combination of FUBAR and Evo, two teams that qualified for this tournament and then merged.
Group D
Natus Vincere Na`Vi, everybody’s favourite team, is looking so strong these days, with recent wins at SL3, and the Electronic Sports World Cup 2012. Also, don’t forget their great 2nd place finish at The International 2012. Even though they are not as strong in online play, Na`Vi are still the favourite for any tournament they compete in. It is almost a given that they will make at least top 3 in The Defense this time.
Fnatic.EU Fnatic.EU is the better half of the two teams run by this organization, and are definitely a tough team to beat. Recently they have been doing well, winning DreamHack Valencia, and performing well at other various events. We wouldn’t say they are a favourite at The Defense, but they should certainly not be counted out.
Absolute Legends AL recently added SexyBamboe to their lineup, which is a huge plus for them. Lately, their performance has been on the decline, and this could be the boost that will bring them back to form.
Team 3DMAX 3DMAX, once known as Gamer University, are a new team that has not really participated in anything major yet. It is probably safe to say that they will not do very well at The Defense. Then again, you never know - this is Dota, and anything can happen.
ROOT Gaming The formation of ROOT Gamin was announced in May of 2012, but due to unforeseen circumstances, they were not heard from for around two months. Late October a new lineup led by notable members KoReYa- and –ddx was established. They have not competed in anything major yet, but they have a strong lineup that is very capable of winning games against anyone.
Baguette Baguette is another relatively unknown team that is not expected to do that great. Their lineup is decent individually, but as a team they are not quite at the level of the top teams in The Defense.
The Open Qualifier
The final stage of the Defense qualifier concluded recently, with 515 teams battling it out for a top eight spot which guarantees their qualification into the group stage. After three days of tough competition, the top eight teams that move on are:
Romy and the rest QWERT12345 Artyk Gaming paiN Gaming XX5 Gaming HWA Bitches Love Cake Vlad's First
What’s in a Name?
By Kupon3ss
With the Defense looming and its qualifiers over, we now know the 32 teams we can expect to see duking it out. Just as one encounters innumerable players over a typical day of play, it seemed as though one would have to wade through endless players on a vast assemblage of teams during the 512-man qualifiers. The old methodologies of watching a team play and evaluating that play would seem quite impossible under those circumstances. We were in desperate need of some new metric by which we can evaluate new teams.
Having looked at some of the team names and players at some point in the past, any new metric I come up with will obviously be unnecessarily be tainted by my subconscious picking metrics that correspond to teams that I believe will do well, thus skewing the validity of the metrics chosen.
To avoid all pretence of bias, I will reach back into hallowed antiquity to the days of dota-allstars.com [insert obligatory Pendragon hate here I suppose, but only if you want to] to find "a revolutionary team & player ranking system."
Welcome to my guide! I made this guide to enlighten. The information presented within will be neither biased nor inaccurate, so please carefully heed my words. My guide may infuriate, humor, or confound you. I ask that you keep an open mind.
The relevant scoring metrics are reproduced below in their original format. Much as our editors felt compelled to alter them, we have instructed them that to do so might interfere with the ritual and compromise their accuracy: + Show Spoiler +
~3. Scoring
We can categorize players intelligence based upon their names, to determine the kinds of people favorable to a game, and the kinds not. Eventually, you can just take a glance at a player to determine their skill level. That's what I call power. Look at a player's name, then find the sum of the appropriate positive and negative attributes listed below.
• If a player's total "charge" is negative, my personal recommendation is to immediately boot them, unless you know that they will stay.
" + Scores "
• Player's name contains equal to or less than 6 alpha numeric characters, then he's a keeper. [Excludes clan tags.] + 2 Point. [Example: Nexis, Kol Nex.is]
• Player's name contains a "." or "-" or "_" then that's a bonus. [Do not count as characters.] + 1 Point. [Examples: Kill.bot, Je-Je]
• Player's name contains a capital letter at the beginning of every or most words. + 1 Point. [Examples: Excell, RunThruMe]
• Player's name contains a clan tag. + 1 Point. [Example: PD-Killa]
" - Scores "
• Player's name contains a an obvious reference to pop culture. - 1 Point / - 2 if referencing animez. [Example: Jamielynn, Sasukeboy23.] -Use discretion people.
• Player's name contains no capitals. - 1 Point. [Example: greatdud4]
• Player's name contains erratic capital patterns. [Cancels + 1 bonus for capitalized letter at beginning of sentence.] - 1 Point. [Example: GrEaTdUd]
• Player's name contains all capitals. [Cancels + 1 bonus for capitalized letter at beginning of sentence.] - 1 Point. [Example: GENERALDEATH]
• Player's name contains a number at the end. - 1 Point / - 2 if referencing a number that has significant meaning. [Example: Firestarter42, Wheezey420.]
• Player's name contains anything dealing with race. - 3 Points. [Examples: Blackpeople, AZN23]
• Player's name contains profanity. - 1 Point. [Example: C*MGOBBLER]
• Player's name contains random letter combination. - 2 Points. [Example: qweljselrj]
• Player's name contains internet lingo. - 1 Point. [Example: Pro42, NewbieLOL, ROFLCOPTER, LMAOATTACK, WTFL33T@SS.]
• Player's name contains the word "Leaver or Feed" or a different form of it. - 3 Point. [Examples: Ileaveonstart, Iwillfeed]
• Player's name contains 3 or more "." or "-" or "_". - 1 Point. [Example: F_L_I_P.L.O.L]
• Player's name contains redundancy. - 1 Point. [Examples: Ooooo00oo, Lolololrofl] -If name has X's at the beginning and the end, - 1. Reasoning: Shows redundancy and that the name was already taken. [Example: XXJOHNYXX]
• Player's name contains intercourse, alcohol, or a drug reference.- 1 Point. [Example: Weedsmoka, Sofaded, UrGFmycouch.]
" Other "
• Teams - Yes, you can combine the entire charge of a team, and calculate what your chances are. Try and balance the team's charges. If you don't have the time to do this, kick all of the negative players in the game until the game is filled with positives. This insures the best playing experience.
• Teamstackers - Teamstackers are combined into one ionic charge, just like teams. Take all of their names, combine them, and if their overall net charge is negative, kick them. Otherwise, leave them be. Special rules apply to teamstackers.
• Spammers/Flamers/Racists - People who join the game, and start spurring racism, spamming, or just being an ass in general have a tendency to leave. Boot them on sight. If they lack the respect towards people to say such profanities in the first place, what makes you think they respect you, your DotA game, or anyone in general?
• Player's name is a sentence. 0 point / - 1 if the sentence is demeaning or dumb in nature. [Examples: Danceswithwolves (0), Iwillfeed (-1), 2cool4school (-1).]
• People with ALL numbers - These people WILL leave. I'm not sure if they're even people to begin with. [Example: 239482348]
• People containing the word "Dota" in their name. - As soon as they realize that they aren't good just because they contain "Dota" in their name, they typically leave. Better to kick on sight than to risk letting them play. [Example: GreatDotaPlyr]
• People with names that closely or identically resemble Dota heroes - I'm cautioning you. Sometimes, people on the enemy team will pick that player's named hero, and will result in him leaving. (A player named Gondar is on your team. The enemy picks Gondar, and thus as a result, the player named Gondar leaves the game.)
• People with self-boasting names - I would be very weary of them. Sometimes, they can be so full of themselves that dying once can be groundbreaking. They generally leave after being killed. [Example: Hottie488, Superflydude, Iownyouall]
• Players name sounds sophisticated vs immature - Be weary of the player name before you decide to ultimately boot them. If the name doesn't sound incredibly dumb, and they're only a -1 or -2, I would advise against kicking. On the other hand, if they're a +1/+2 and their name is like Fart.Master, I would probably kick.
We will now proceed to attempt to apply this metric to the seven most unfamiliar invited teams, picked because I glanced at a name and thought, "Hmm who are these guys again?"
The team score will be determined by the total of its members’ scores added together + 2*(scoring of the team name with the same metrics).
It is assumed that all teams will b.e five-man stacks and tagged up, so neither bonus will apply (or feel free to give all teams +8 if so inclined)
(Team rosters are taken from The Defense Season 3 team list. If a team has more/less players than listed, the lineup will be taken form the most recently played game.)
From these cold, hard numbers, we can gather that 3DMAX, ROOT gaming, and eVo are likely to do well, while CNB, Kaipi, FUBAC, and 4FC will suffer. It is still questionable that this metric, devised by an ancient civilisation and brought to us by the ineffable arcana of the Wayback Machine, will be able to survive the crucible of the Defense, but its teachings may be invaluable for your pub play.
Picks and Bans
By Shostakovich
The changes in the recent patch transformed Dota quite a bit. Not only did balance changes for some heroes make them go from being instant bans to situational picks, the tweaks made to the ban phase mechanics (going from six bans to four bans in the first ban phase) changed the dynamics of the game a lot.
Let's use The International II as an example of the old 6.74 patch. The top six bans (I'm using top six because the first ban phase had a total of six bans) of that tournament were, in order: Lycanthrope (banned 134 times), Naga Siren (133), Dark Seer 116, Nature's Prophet (90), Chen (84) and Broodmother (79). Heroes like Bounty Hunter and Templar Assassin rarely touched in the ban stage.
On the other hand, a quick look at the history of post-6.75 Dota already reveals many differences. Firstly, we can't talk about six bans anymore, as the first phase only has four. The top four bans of recent history are: Dark Seer (banned 164 times), Templar Assassin (138), Batrider (115) and Rubick (113). Heroes who never showed up in the ban stage started appearing as well - Undying (81 bans) and Bounty Hunter (68) not only became popular bans, but were also now first ban phase material. As teams get more and more convinced about how strong he is, Magnus, the Magnoceros, will no doubt join these heroes as a first ban phase hero.
Having two less bans in the first ban phase doesn't only change the list of popular bans. It has far reaching impacts on gameplay and other game dynamics as well. The teams have less space to maneuver and avoid heroes. If you hate dealing with Dark Seer, Batrider or Templar Assassin because of their power in the laning stage, you're in trouble; you can only eliminate two of them in the game. In the minds of captains, Batrider and Templar Assassin live in the "Will at least win one lane" hero tier and thus are top4 both in first and second bans. This creates problems for teams with the second-pick: If you allow the enemy to have Batrider or Templar Assassin, chances are you're getting outpicked. This makes some captains feel like they're forced to ban these heroes if they're second-pickers, especially because the first picker has the flexibility to ban strong second-pick heroes (#4 - #6 first-ban heroes are Rubick, Undying and Wisp, respectively) and grab heroes like Dark Seer.
The heroes that spearhead the list of most banned in the second ban phase are similar in some sense: Enigma, Tidehunter, Leshrac, Chen and Brewmaster are all very dominant at team-fights. Captains often ban most of them and pick the few that remain, leaving no good options for the opponent. In this case, first-pick once again has an advantage. However, second-pick does have the opportunity to last pick a hero while having perfect information about the bans picks to come before it. Shadow Fiend is the most popular fifth pick of the current version.
I was hoping you could dig something up about the peruvian team They are my favourite underdogs this tournament! Also about "metric" system. My guts say that CNB, Kaipi, Root will do well.
Dommk Australia. December 04 2012 19:26. Posts 4462
I wonder how NAVI will do, Puppey seems discontent with how the current version of dota is (though I think a lot of people disagree) and NAVI as a whole seem complacent lately. I'm sure they will kick it into gear like they always do but I have doubts that will happen before the Defense finals
Minor correction: dd.Dota is not the same MYM as the one who took 4th place at TI1. dd.Dota was better known as Monkeybusiness and their best achievement was 2nd place at the first DreamHack as SK Gaming.
On December 04 2012 19:26 Dommk wrote: I wonder how NAVI will do, Puppey seems discontent with how the current version of dota is (though I think a lot of people disagree) and NAVI as a whole seem complacent lately. I'm sure they will kick it into gear like they always do but I have doubts that will happen before the Defense finals
Defense is not the only tournament going on. Starladder finals are soon:
Short: +2 Capital letter at beginning: +1 Erratic capitals: -1 (-1)
Total should be 2 by my count.
But that doesn't take into account either the abomination of having a significant number (13), or the abomination of using numbers to replace letters, which I'd say could be taken as internet lingo.
Total score: either +1, 0, or -1 if you're feeling especially vindictive.
By.Sun or By.Rain, he always delivers
Weirdkid Singapore. December 04 2012 20:20. Posts 2110
On December 04 2012 19:34 Dattish wrote: Minor correction: dd.Dota is not the same MYM as the one who took 4th place at TI1. dd.Dota was better known as Monkeybusiness and their best achievement was 2nd place at the first DreamHack as SK Gaming.
yeah old mym at int 1 was maelk, demon, misery, mania and playmate.
On December 04 2012 20:45 Cirn9 wrote: I just want the ram, but I dunno if I want it 10$ much lol
I'll be rooting for Mouse as always though, even if they lack Singsing and Bambam
There will surely be someone who you can contact(provided you trust them enough) to buy the ticket+courier and then sell the courier to you. Or, ask around for the courier, there probably will be people who only want the ticket.
Park Ji Yeon/Ye Eun/Kang Min Kyung, T-ara/Wonder Girls/Davichi
Zephirdd Brazil. December 04 2012 20:53. Posts 4495
Short: +2 Capital letter at beginning: +1 Erratic capitals: -1 (-1)
Total should be 2 by my count.
But that doesn't take into account either the abomination of having a significant number (13), or the abomination of using numbers to replace letters, which I'd say could be taken as internet lingo.
Total score: either +1, 0, or -1 if you're feeling especially vindictive.
I was wondering the same. That name would go on my personal shitlist.
This team is really unknown and it is hard to really say anything about them. They recently participated in DreamHack Winter. They did decently for a new team, going 1-2 but not advancing to the playoffs. It seems they will not be too big of a force in The Defense Season 3, but won't be surprised if they make some ripples!
No thet are not really unknown. Played at DHS and DHW playing good. Also been in online tourneys doing good. Even on par with navi.
Store
![[image loading]](http://wiki.teamliquid.net/dota2/images/thumb/e/e0/NaVi_team.jpg/330px-NaVi_team.jpg)
![[image loading]](/staff/riptide/dota2/2012_12_04_whatsinaname.png)
![[image loading]](http://www.teamliquid.net/staff/shiroiusagi/dota/numbercrunch.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://wiki.teamliquid.net/dota2/images/5/5b/Magnus_large.png)
Implenia Austria. December 04 2012 19:24. Posts 1972
They are my favourite underdogs this tournament! 
Star Ladder Star Series/Season 4
Kipsate Netherlands. December 04 2012 20:28. Posts 17966
I guess that kind of counts as announced haha. Just curious coz the other sites that I visit are all using DD instead of MYM now.
