posted by SuperCletis,
North America? Europe? China? Korea? Who are these teams and what will they bring to Kiev? We've laid it all out clear as day for you to catch up on the player roles, their favourite heroes and also some trends from the online stage of the Starladder. With the finals upon us, make sure you know your stuff!


Groups



Team Players, Roles and Most Played Heroes


(Heroes shown are each player's top four most-played heroes during 6.80)


ru

Team Empire


Empire is 94-30 since Valve released the 6.80 patch, giving them an incredible 76% win rate, by far the best out of all teams with more than 100 matches under their belt, and only sitting behind EG's 80% win rate out of teams with more than 40 games experience.

Carry - ru Airat "Silent" Gaziev
:d2_luna: :d2_gyro: :d2_naix: :d2_potm:
Solo Mid - ua Roman "Resolut1on" Fominok
:d2_invoker: :d2_storm: :d2_puck: :d2_potm:
Offlane - ua Andrey "Mag" Chipenko
:d2_cw: :d2_bat: :d2_doom: :d2_nyx:
Support - ru Ivan "Vanskor" Skorokhod
:d2_rubick: :d2_dazzle: :d2_silencer: :d2_chen:
Support - ua Andrey "alwayswannafly" Bondarenko
:d2_visage: :d2_aa: :d2_bane: :d2_lesh:


cn

Team DK


DK barely qualified for the Chinese group playoff, but then went on to thoroughly handle IG, as well as the rest of the Chinese competition to easily claim first place coming out of the Chinese draw. Their 69% win rate in 6.80 Dota may be from a small sample size (29 games) compared to their NA and EU counterparts, it must be noted that that impressive success rate has come against the likes of cn IG, cn LGD.cn, cn Vici Gaming, and cn Newbee (among others). None of the Western teams will be taking DK lightly.

Carry - cn Xu "BurNing" Zhilei
:d2_luna: :d2_naix: :d2_gyro: :d2_weaver:
Solo Mid - my Chai "Mushi" Yee Fung
:d2_od: :d2_puck: :d2_dk: :d2_nyx:
Offlane - sg Daryl "iceiceice" Koh Pei Xiang
:d2_cw: :d2_timbersaw: :d2_np: :d2_et:
Support - cn Zhi "LaNm" Cheng Zhang
:d2_naga: :d2_chen: :d2_ench: :d2_es:
Support - cn Lei "X!!" Zengrong
:d2_visage: :d2_rubick: :d2_io: :d2_cm:

us

Evil Geniuses


EG's 80% win rate in 95 matches (since the 6.80 patch arrived) is ridiculously impressive. Yes, the majority of those wins came against inferior North American opponents, but the consistency of their play against top teams such as world Cloud 9, world Fnatic.EU and us liquid has them coming into Kiev on a hot streak.

Those who have watched EG play in recent weeks may have noticed us Mason "Mason" Venne standing in for Old Man Dota himself, us Clinton "Fear" Loomis. With Fear still on hiatus from Dota, ca Jacky "EternaLEnVy" Mao will be playing the carry role for Evil Geniuses.

Carry - ca Jacky "EternaLEnVy" Mao
:d2_luna: :d2_weaver: :d2_naix: :d2_gyro:
Solo Mid - ca Artour "Arteezy" Babaev
:d2_sf: :d2_od: :d2_naga: :d2_tinker:
Offlane - us Saahil "Universe" Arora
:d2_ds: :d2_cw: :d2_np: :d2_bh:
Support - se Ludwig "Zai" Wahlberg
:d2_visage: :d2_cw: :d2_timbersaw: :d2_bane:
Support - us Peter "ppd" Dager
:d2_cm: :d2_bane: :d2_roof: :d2_visage:


cn

Invictus Gaming


With a very respectable 27-13 record (68% win rate) in the 6.80 patch, and considering the average quality of opponent, IG comes into the SL Final as well-prepared as perhaps any team. Even though DK defeated them soundly to take the top spot coming out of the Chinese group, IG went 7-0 through the group stage and seem unperturbed by that hiccup against their Chinese rival.

Carry - cn Yinqi "Luo" Luo
:d2_invoker: :d2_sf: :d2_potm: :d2_lycan:
Solo Mid - cn Luo "Ferrari_430" Feichi
:d2_dk: :d2_puck: :d2_storm: :d2_kka:
Offlane - cn Jiang "YYF" Cen
:d2_np: :d2_cw: :d2_et: :d2_timbersaw:
Support - my Wong "Chuan" Hock Chuan
:d2_rubick: :d2_sk: :d2_aa: :d2_potm:
Support - cn Zeng "Faith" Hongda
:d2_rubick: :d2_visage: :d2_sd: :d2_rhasta:


ua

Natus Vincere


Na'Vi is 38-30 in the current 6.80 patch, giving them a 56% win percentage since Valve's last big change to the Dota client. Fans may be surprised by such a low win-rate, but the Ukrainian juggernaut has been holding on to that 55-60% win range for most of the last year (56% during 6.78 and 60% during 6.79). They'll need to win more than three-fifths of their matches this weekend if they want to take home the largest StarLadder grand prize ever.

Carry - ua Alexander "XBOCT" Dashkevich
:d2_naix: :d2_luna: :d2_gyro: :d2_weaver:
Solo Mid - ua Danil "Dendi" Ishutin
:d2_invoker: :d2_storm: :d2_puck: :d2_od:
Offlane - ua Gleb "Funn1k" Lipatnikov
:d2_cw: :d2_timbersaw: :d2_bh: :d2_np:
Support - de Kuro "KuroKy" Takhasomi
:d2_visage: :d2_rubick: :d2_io: :d2_wr:
Support - ee Clement "Puppey" Ivanov
:d2_chen: :d2_ench: :d2_enigma: :d2_cm:


se

Alliance


Alliance has a 41-29 record in the current patch. That 59% win rate pales in comparison to their 70% win rate during the previous 6.79 patch, so viewers will be curious how Alliance will perform on Dota 6.80's biggest stage yet.

Carry - se Jonathan "Loda" Berg
:d2_naix: :d2_weaver: :d2_jugg: :d2_luna:
Solo Mid - se Gustav "s4" Magnusson
:d2_bat: :d2_puck: :d2_magnus: :d2_dk:
Offlane - se Henrik "AdmiralBulldog" Ahnberg
:d2_np: :d2_bh: :d2_cw: :d2_ld:
Support - se Jerry "EGM" Lundkvist
:d2_io: :d2_wr: :d2_rubick: :d2_visage:
Support - se Joakim "Akke" Akterhall
:d2_chen: :d2_cm: :d2_ench: :d2_lich:


ru

rox.KIS


Rox.KIS is 58-47 in the current patch, resulting in a 54% win percentage since the arrival of 6.80 Dota, the lowest of all eight teams in the LAN final. Many were surprised that rox.KIS took the final EU spot away from the favored Cloud 9 squad. Along with the Korean squad, MVP Phoenix, the Russians will be taking on the underdog role and hoping to surprise many.

Carry - ru Stanislav "Bzz" Glushan
:d2_slardar: :d2_luna: :d2_naix: :d2_slark:
Solo Mid - ru Alexey "Solo" Berezin
:d2_ember: :d2_invoker: :d2_rubick: :d2_puck:
Offlane - ru Vadim "Sedoy" Musorin
:d2_np: :d2_et: :d2_potm: :d2_cw:
Support - ru Vladimir "Yol" Basov
:d2_dazzle: :d2_bane: :d2_veno: :d2_lich:
Support - ua Artur "Goblak" Kostenko
:d2_roof: :d2_loa: :d2_chen: :d2_bane:


kr

MVP Phoenix


As can be seen by their varied player-hero combinations, the Korean squad often changes up each player's role. Keep that in mind when watching how they approach these match-ups against the top teams in the world. Regardless of their lineups, many western and eastern viewers alike will be curious how the Korean squad will fare against the best teams in the world. Against mostly Korean squads, they have amassed a 60% win rate in the current patch, and will be hoping to impress given the grandness of the StarLadder stage.

Core/Support - kr Lee "Heen" Seung Gon
:d2_thrall: :d2_rhasta: :d2_potm: :d2_weaver:
Solo Mid - kr Kim "QO" Seon Yeob
:d2_lanaya: :d2_qop: :d2_storm: :d2_luna:
Core - kr Lee "Forev" Sang Doon
:d2_nyx: :d2_np: :d2_lich: :d2_slark:
Support - kr Lee "Reisen" Jun Yeong
:d2_visage: :d2_rubick: :d2_ench: :d2_cm:
Core - kr Park "March" Tae Won
:d2_cw: :d2_dp: :d2_bat: :d2_ns:



StarLadder Trends from online stage



Farm Rates = Win Rates in Starladder?



It is common to hear that numbers aren't everything, but with the top ten farmers (with at least 10 matches played) from the European Region averaging an impressive 65% win rate, some numbers don't lie.

The top ten farmers and their average GPM from the Regional stage:



631 GPM - Silent
627 GPM - Loda
615 GPM - XBOCT
593 GPM - Eternal Envy
538 GPM - Illidan
526 GPM - Resolution
526 GPM - Mantis
525 GPM - Dendi
521 GPM - Unicornxoxo
520 GPM - Era

Favorite Heroes in Starladder



Supports For the Win!



Of the eleven heroes with 30 or more appearances, Ember Spirit and Mirana are the only two carry-role heroes. Also, only four of those eleven have an average GPM above 400. That 400 number isn't an arbitrary cut-off either. Ember Spirit's average farm rate in his 35 SL appearances is 407.

The next highest farmer of those heroes who've been chosen more than 30 times? Batrider, with an average GPM of 362 in his 56 matches. That's a drop-off of over 10%. The highest farm rate amongst those chosen over thirty times was Mirana's 463, which isn't surprising given her role as a carry. Perhaps what is surprising is Mirana's top farm rate in light of some teams often playing Mirana in a support role. But Mirana in the support position may have gone the way of support Naga Siren.

Naga Siren: Carry or Support?



Speaking of Naga, among heroes chosen at least 15 times in StarLadder's ninth season, Naga has the 7th highest farm rate, with an average GPM of 513 in her 24 appearances. That is a long way from her previous successes as a support hero. During the 6.79 patch, Naga Siren averaged a paltry 292 GPM in her 220 appearances in professional matches. Compare that with her 471 rate in 226 appearances during the current 6.80 patch, and it becomes clear that professional teams now see, and play, her very differently. Will we see her at the Starladder LAN Finals?

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