Dota 2: TI10 Power Rank – Who will lift the Aegis in Bucharest?

It is finally time for The International again. After last year’s cancellation and another delay and relocation this year, we finally have the best of the Dota 2 world assembled to determine the successor to the Aegis of Champions.

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Which team has the best chance to clinch that elusive title? Here is the esports.com Power Rank:

18th-16th: “TI Vacation” 2021 Edition – Undying, Thunder Predator & SG esports

No need to beat around the bush for these teams. While their qualification is commendable, there really isn’t much hope for them in Bucharest. Especially as recent results (albeit on a different patch and meta) are not a source of confidence for them. Thunder Predator had a strong performance back in March, but have since fallen off a cliff. With SG esports and Undying barely doing any better.

Expect those three to place bottom of the groups and struggle to make it further than the first round of the Lower Bracket.

15th-11th Low Expectations – Fnatic, beastcoast, Quincy Crew, Alliance & Team Aster

Fnatic has had a very rough 2021 season and find themselves towards the bottom end of the power rank here. While they did well in the first regular season, the Singapore Major saw them bomb out and they only secured their place in Bucharest by the skin of their teeth in the Southeast Asian Qualifiers. So while the players on the roster are certainly capable, you should not have too high hopes for them.

Beastcoast, Quincy Crew, Alliance and Aster share a similar story of strong domestic results with disappointing international results. Their only ray of hope comes from their results in non-DPC events, but even there their performance has been a mixed bag.

While it feels wrong to see Western Europe’s nominal second seed this far down the pole, Alliance’s track record this year makes them a very uninspired representative of one of the strongest regions in Dota 2. While they can consistently beat their fellow European competition, their record against teams from other regions is plain abysmal.

The same can be said of Aster, who have looked extremely strong as long as they faced other Chinese teams. As soon as they have battle against other regions they seem to just implode. Their only international series win being a 2-0 over Alliance at the Singapore Major. Not exactly a confidence-inspiring history.

10th-8th The Struggle is Real – Virtus.Pro, Elephant & Team Spirit

On 10th we find CIS’ Virtus.Pro, whose season has been similar to China’s Aster or EU’s Alliance, but at least they have results in non-DPC events to fall back on. During ESL One Summer and Fall they made Top 4 and have shown that they are in fact competitive against the best if they are in form.

Team Elephant’s story has been a constant struggle. From the drama surroundingthe formation of the team to the sobering results after the first weeks of the “Superteam”, 2021 has not been kind to the Chinese superstar squad. Missing out on both Majors throughout the season you would not be at fault for writing off this team as yet another collection of stars that did not work out. Especially considering that they are a blank page in terms of interregional competition. But their recent domestic non-DPC results, coupled with the pedigree of the players on the squad warrant an optimistic 9th place on our ranking.

Poking their head into the Top 8 are the young firebrands of Team Spirit. Emerging only towards the tail end of the regular season as a strong contender the CIS squad clinched their TI ticket at the qualifiers for Eastern Europe after an inspired Top 8 finish at the AniMajor. Until then their results were not much to write home about. So what exactly puts them at 8th? Simply their second place finish during the last non-DPC tournament before TI, OGA Dota Pit Invitational. While their run was not the most impressive, it still included wins against top European team Tundra Esports as well as T1, the kings of SEA as of now. In the finals they got manhandled by PSG.LGD (with xiao8 as stand-in) but that just solidifies their ranking as 8th.

 

7th-3rd Any Dark Horses around? – T1, OG, Team Secret, iG & Vici Gaming

As we break past the top 8 we are finally drawing closer to the top. In this twilight zone from 7th to 3rd we find a wild mixture of teams, which could on good days all challenge for the Aegis. Let’s start off with T1, kings of SEA Dota.

Also read: Dota 2 – Why SEA has a Real Shot at The International 10 

Their journey in the 2021 season was one of constant improvement, resulting in a third place finish at the AniMajor, securing their TI ticket. After the DPC went into hibernation before TI, they still racked up strong results with a championship at ESL One Summer and three straight Top 4s in the remaining non-DPC tournaments. SEA has always been one of Dota’s strongest regions and T1 has the potential to finally prove a worthy successor to the legendary Orange squad that finished third at TI3.

Next up on the list are the two-time defending champions OG. After a disastrous season that saw them almost relegated to the lower division in Europe, few would have counted on their return to the grand stage. In true OG fashion they did just that. Picking up SumaiL for their midlane, they qualified through the bloodbath of the EU region and are now back for the unthinkable third consecutive title. It is hard to say how strong they will be in Bucharest as for the majority of the season they looked far out of depth, but underestimating OG at TI is simply something you should never do.

The next Western European representative is a weird case as well. Checking in at fifth, Team Secret’s strength is currently hard to grasp. At the beginning of the year they looked untouchable and like the best team in the world. They were among the first to qualify for TI10 as well, but then the much-memed “TI form” Secret turned up much sooner than expected and Secret bombed out of the AniMajor in the Wild Cards. Their drop off the cliff continued with a straight elimination at ESL One Summer. Since then Secret has not played any officials. It is difficult to say which Secret we will get to see in Bucharest, but if it is the one from the first half of the season, Puppey might just be on track for his second Aegis.

Also read: Dota 2 teams complain about bad practice rooms for The International 10

Similar to Secret, iG also had a strong start into the season as they won the Singapore Major. While Emo’s infamous “?” during the Singapore Major was typed out for very different reasons, the question mark is still a good way to describe the current iG. While they also bombed out at the AniMajor, they did prove that they could still strike hard at the most recent non-DPC tournaments that saw them finish third twice. Are iG title contenders? If they can find their form from the first half of the season again, then for sure.

Vici Gaming is somewhat stuck between a rock and a hard place. Although they have been placing well enough in the highly competitive Chinese region their season lacked a true breakthrough moment until AniMajor. Running the gauntlet almost all the way from the wild cards they finished in fourth place, barely losing out to EG in the lower bracket. VG then went on to take 2 runner-ups at i-league in China before taking the trip to Romania. Vici Gaming may not have had the most spectacular year but they are a force to be reckoned with.

 

2nd-1st The Big Boys are in Town – EG & PSG.LGD

Without a doubt the two favourites going into TI, EG and PSG.LGD have both shown impressive consistency throughout the season. Both teams never finished outside of the Top 4 in tournaments they attended and EG were even the first team to qualify for TI10 by virtue of dominating their regional league. So why is EG only ranked second?

Much of their dominance stems from the fact that EG are simply big fish in a small pond in terms of regions. Another important distinction to make is the fact that for all their prowess and skill the Arteezy curse is still alive and well. Neither in Singapore nor in Kyiv for the AniMajor could EG break the jinx and finally get Artour his long-awaited first Major trophy. Instead they had to contend with second place. Can they break the curse in Bucharest? To do so they would have to beat the current best team in the world: PSG.LGD

PSG.LGD are the complete package. Be it drafts, individual skill or strategic depth, they have it all. Seeing them play reminds you of Team Wings from TI6. Untouchable and simply on another level. With y` and faith_bian playing a huge part of their success it is maybe not that surprising. Then again PSG.LGD do not even need their full five to present a challenge to most teams as we could see from the OGA Dota Pit Invitational, when coach xiao8 stood in for NothingToSay and the Chinese team still took the championship.

After three consecutive Western TI-champions, the time seems ripe for the pendulum to swing back and crown another Eastern champion. Who could be a better successor to TI6’s Wings than PSG.LGD, who have proven to be worthy heirs to what was one of the greatest teams of all time.

The Full Power Rank

1. PSG.LGD
2. Evil Geniuses
3. Vici Gaming
4. Invictus Gaming
5. Team Secret
6. OG
7. T1
8. Team Spirit
9. Team Elephant
10. Virtus.Pro
11. Team Aster
12. Alliance
13. Quincy Crew
14. Beastcoast
15. Fnatic
16. SG Esports
17. Thunder Predator
18. Team Undying

 

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Image Credits: Valve