The International 2016 – Predicted Winners

The International 2016 has begun! As we all sate our love of competitive Dota 2, I decided to do a mini breakdown of who I see, statistically, as favorites for this year’s The International. This year we have seen some interesting roster changes, and some new, emerging players and teams on the top tier level. This year’s main event will be the most interesting tournament, to date. There are so many narratives that are intriguing and make the dynamics of the tournament very complex. There are more contenders to viably contest for the championship than ever before. At the very least, this year’s The International is going to be one for the books and one that will be talked about for years to come. Will the reigning champions from last year make a run through the gauntlet and keep the crown? Or, will OG continue their recent dominance and usher in a new era of competitive Dota 2? In any case, there is going to be some stellar games and highlights to consume!

The Favorite: OG

With their performances in the past few tournaments and always appearing to strategically be one step ahead of their opponents, OG is the clear favorite leading into TI6. To get a clear idea about how dominant they have been this past year, OG has won The Frankfurt Major, The Manila Major, and ESL ONE Frankfurt. They have been in shockingly dominant form and are more ready than ever to prove that they belong in the top ranks of Dota 2. If OG win TI6, and continue in like fashion afterwards, then this roster might just be the most dominant roster ever. They do not have the highest stats line for all teams entering the tournament, and that is solely because of starting a bit sluggish in some of the group stages of tourneys.

The Contender: LGD

They experienced roster changes prior to the Shanghai Major and have recovered beautifully since then. The management and team have always been top contenders in the past and that does not appear to be changing any time soon. The only question I have is whether this roster will be the first iteration that doesn’t experience choke on the big stage. They have all the components to win it all. LGD is also the best team, statistically, at this year’s event. The only drawback that I have is that LGD has a stand-in this tournament. But, xiao8 is on this team and can carry that extra weight.

The Dark Horse: Liquid

I am quite doubtful that Liquid place anywhere above 5th place. This is a team that statistically doesn’t show anything impressive and also has not shown great performances in tournaments. When I watch their games and analyze their data, there is nothing that stands out as impressive or to indicate why they have a clear chance of winning. Another drawback is that Liquid doesn’t have an individual player that they can rely on to carry them through a match when other players are hitting tough times. Though, Liquid can’t be counted out because they are always towards the top in their major tournament performances.

X-Factor: Secret & Evil Geniuses

I am smashing these two teams together because they have swapped around their rosters and are coming in looking fresh. The roster changes could be a huge boon or bane. There is no data to back up these changes and thus makes me wonder how they will perform. Team Secret in the past has had issues with choking when they got into the latter stages of a tournament. They did win the Shanghai Major and showed grit, but that was the old roster. The saving grace for Secret is the dynamic combat that Arteezy and EternalEnvy can create.

In regards to Evil Geniuses, they can never be left out of the mix. The reigning champs are back and looking to retain their aegis. PPD has always outsmarted and outperformed against the majority of his opponents during the big tournaments. This won’t be any different. If EG doesn’t win, then you can be assured that they will finish in the top 5.

TI6 has begun, the hype is real!