Dendi 5 man coil vs. xGame @ StarLadder Season 10

Having bought the DotaTV ticket for StarLadder X I have a vested interest in this event. I purchased the ticket for $9.99 and I am not disappointed! The games have been great so far though some of that may be attributed to how well Na'Vi is playing. As it stands now the top four teams are Na'Vi, TeamTinker, Virtus.Pro, and Alliance. Cloud9 had a shakey start but seam to have settled down. Keep in mind most teams have only played one or two games and Fnatic and Empire have yet to play. I have a feeling one of those teams will be knocking back VP. For a full recap check out GosuGamers.



Na'Vi have been playing very well with the new lineup. Each game they seem to be ironing out the misplays and getting a feel for each other's play sense. I really like the aggressive style that they have been playing, and they are finally drafting heroes that match their play style. I am concerned that there may be a lack of leadership but that may come with more play time together. And of course, Dendi is still playing at peek performance as this video shows!

On the NA side of the house things are quiet as there have been only a handful of games. Today there are three games including Na'Vi.US and EG. I should be on DotaTV for those games so look for Kruppe!

How do you feel StarLadder X is going so far?

D2CL starts soon!

Dota 2 Champions League starts today with two really good matches, Na'Vi v Alliance (el clasico!) and Team Tinker v Empire. This should be a good day to watch these matches as we get to see the new lineups in action against each other.

This starts the European division which will be followed with American and Chinese regional qualifiers. You can watch the games through DotaTV for $9.99 including a courier. Kind of disappointed as I just bought Starladder X ticket and can't justify buying two at the same time. But I will watch the games on twitch!

Top Four Predictions in no order:

TeamTinker, Na'Vi, Cloud9, Alliance

As long as I get to watch these games I will post an update on my thoughts. Anyone else going to watch? What is your prediction for the top four?

Interloper Gameplay Video | Basics

One of the things they I plan on doing here in the near future at Dota Dad is to discuss why I created this site in the first place. Until then just know that I love playing competitive games but at a casual pace. Which is why the following preview video really excites me!

Check out the game on Greenlight.

Are you guys interested?

Na'Vi playing in WEC!

According to this article, Na'Vi will be replacing Team Secret as the western teams that will be competing against the top four teams in China. This may be Na'Vi's chance to really prove themselves against all top tier teams. While they are currently doing well in Starladder X the competition is far from equals. I am excited to see what will happen as I am starting to think that they are legit since the roster change.

What do you guys think, do they have what it takes to compete?

BattleArena Pre-Talk

For some reason, post Internationals I feel drained when it comes to Dota. I tend to take a step back and move to other things. This includes watching as well as playing. And the recent shake up in roosters for both my favorite teams, EG and Na'Vi furthered my disinterest.

But the just announced Battle Arena may be the spark that pulls me back. The appeal is for two reasons. First is the small size of the event, two days and four teams. This is a more manageable schedule to fit into my week. While I probably will not be able to catch many games live, I should be able to have the replays playing in the background at work.

Secondly are the teams that are competing, EG, Na'Vi, Cloud9, and Virtus.pro. I am excited to see Fear returning on EG and is sure  do well. And then I am nervous to watch Na'Vi play. I will probably make a post later but they were the team that got me following esports and I am a bit torn now that the team has changed. Be being a fan of Na'Vi had more to do with the players than the organization and I am wondering how I will feel with the change in the lineup. As for the other two teams Cloud9 always put on a good show and VP is always a fun team to cheer for as the typical underdog.

My predictions:

1. EG 2. C9 3. VP 4. Na'Vi (EG and C9 I am pretty confident about but the last two is totally up in the air)

The event is organized by the team of Dota 2 ChampionsLeague and StarLadderTV so I expect the casting to be pretty good. And while the prize pool of $15,000 is nothing too exciting, for a small event it is a decent pot. The English casting will be done by Tobiwan on Joindota, who is probably within my top three list of caster. This may be the event that gets me excited after the TI4 emotion dump. Check out the video here.

You guys excited for the event? What are your predictions?

Kruppe