The International 2012 - East

The story of DK's dominance in DotA is a story that echoes throughout both the South East Asian and the European scene. The match up between Na`Vi and DK at last year's World DotA Championships was also a feast for the eyes for fans on both sides, and both games. As a team which has not seen a roster change in nine months, it is safe to say that these players are basically one another, and the million dollars is also theirs to win together as a team.

Compared to other Chinese teams like World Elite and EHOME, DK made the switch to Dota 2 late - 'too late' perhaps, is a call reserved for September 2nd, when all is revealed after two months of intense preparation.

Already netting four wins against Absolute Legends since their foray into Dota 2, it seems as if DK's formidable team play and coordination - which were, by no means, defined as 'farm oriented' back in DotA compared to their counterparts - is transferring smoothly into Valve's integrated mechanics.

Out of the four invited Chinese teams, DK carry the most potential to take down Na`Vi (if anyone in China can) at this year's The International. Mark these words.

Never discredit a team with as legendary a name as EHOME - this was the lesson taught to teams at last year's event just as fans were favoring the more stable Chinese teams like iG and LGD. EHOME, who had since lost their carry Burning and KingJ to DK and were performing sub-par at best in Chinese DotA, were suddenly primed to take the championship away from Na`Vi in the grand finals.

The set-up, however, was too good to be true and EHOME never really found a way to crack the Ukrainian defense as the latter defeated them in a grand finals again in Paris, France for ESWC'11 months later. It was a finals that was, in Dendi's words, surprisingly easy compared to the group stage and playoff matches that the team had to play to meet EHOME.

As EHOME slowly lost its members with the retirement of 820 and the loss of sponsorship interest, it soon became evident that the team was falling apart. But the sudden revitalization of EHOME with the addition of ex-EHOME trio KingJ, 357 and Dai meant that the team was back in its groove. With members PCT and Lamn, EHOME will hopefully linger on a little while longer at this year's event - they are, after all, the kings of DotA (at least three of them were).

Coming straight from DotA, iG's switch to Dota 2 was met barely weeks later with their invitation to the game's most prestigious event of the year. It was almost as if they had earned their ticket on pure DotA achievements alone and zero Dota 2 merit.

While this may be the case, iG is a team of five talented players who demonstrated that DK are not the only powerhouse in China at last year's SMM, a tournament which was, to most, a walk in the park for Invictus Gaming. With only thirteen games played, the team has a lot of catching up to do - and we mean, a lot - if they want to compete internationally but on the back of Zhou's captaining and Chuan's roar, that feat may just be possible.

LGD have performed surprisingly well since they entered Dota 2, netting wins against EHOME, iG, Orange and MUFC. As another team with a legendary name, the LGD of 2012 may not be the LGD with ZSMJ that we all know, but they are definitely a team that should not be taken lightly.

The upside of having virtually no experience playing against most of the invitees is that most of the invitees literally do not know what to expect. The separation of East and West has always left the clash an anticipated and much discussed one, and even with the improved servers and matchmaking ease that Valve has brought with Dota 2, these two regions have rarely met each other online, let alone offline.

Expect LGD to bring classic Chinese strategy into play, and watch how Europe, with their current lead in the metagame, reacts. Our bet is the latter will pull ahead.

Roster and sponsor instability could not stop Zenith (or MYM) from dominating South East Asian teams, so what more could be said of a team polished with the presence of the great Loda? When two talented personalities collide, the pair of hyhy and Loda can either spell conflict or it can spell success beyond one's wildest imagination.

Metaphorical speech aside, the addition of Loda means South East Asian Dota 2 with a tinge of European flair. Adding the best of both worlds saw Zenith take apart teams from the region (AL, EHOME and MUFC) in an easy swipe even as the team fought to make sense of the players that were coming and going. Zenith will be a strong contender for a podium finish this year - no doubt.

Lauded as the team with the most competitive experience in South East Asia, Orange has been anywhere and everywhere. Their roster carries an almost all-star, legendary status - the combination of Yamateh and Mushi is enough to guarantee spectators that they are in for a treat with the team competing at the very top this year.

Against MUFC, the team has also proven themselves as the better of the two with an excellent track record to solidify their place at the peak of Malaysian Dota 2. With The International looming ahead, it will be up to these six talented minds and Mushi's aim to defeat Na`Vi this year that will drive them on to the world stage and hopefully settle for the podium finish that their trophy cabinet so sorely deserves.

MUFC have always been 'that other Malaysian DotA team'. Constantly overshadowed by the big names that their counterpart Orange featured, MUFC nevertheless managed to pull ahead in terms of wins and eventually capture respectable titles both online (jD Masters) and offline (e-Club Evo Challenge).

As players, MUFC know better than anyone else the meaning of resilience and fighting to hold their place at the top rungs of Malaysian Dota 2, so while The International 2012 will feature two invited Malaysian teams, the 'successful verdict' for the country will mostly likely be carried on either one of these two teams, but not both.