posted by Malystryx.GDS,
CDEC are undefeated in the main event, and now they are in the Grand Final - @Dota2The wildcard winners are generally not expected to do well. Last year Team Liquid came close, finishing 7th in the groupstage but were eliminated in phase 3 by LGD Gaming forcing them to accept a 9-10th place finish. CDEC is a completely different story.
CDEC have never won a LAN, and more importantly have only ever competed on LAN once outside of China, the D2L back in January where they were eliminated after two consecutive defeats (1-2 to VP.P and 0-2 to EG). To the Western world they are an unknown factor, if they are not competing in international tournaments many people just wrote them off.
Capitalist was the only Western caster on the Chinese scene who featured in my predictions for TI5 piece who expected CDEC to do well, and in fact predicted the final standings of the qualifiers perfectly.
"CDEC making it out alongside HGT," said Capitalist "Now I believe people are underestimating CDEC ever since they lost Maybe, but I think they will shine in the qualifiers upsetting HGT for the 2nd place slot while EHOME secure 1st."
CDEC did finish second in the qualifiers, before going onto win the wildcard and finish in the top 4 of the groupstage defeating the likes of Vici Gaming and Newbee. However, despite all the success Agressif did not believe it was down to skill, infact he believed his opponents were better.
Agressif has been a key player in CDEC's success - @Dota2"I think they were stronger than us, and this time we just played better than we used to do," Agressif told us after the groupstages. "And I just think in the TI groupstage mental state plays an important role; for some teams, if their mental state is good, they will keep on getting better. However, for some teams, even though they are strong, if their mental state is not good they will lose the game, because basically every team is good, it is not about skill it is about having the right frame of mind when the match starts."
It was something that the analyst panel touched upon, with Wagamama and Merlini agreeing that for the wildcard and qualifier teams, simply making it to the event was the real challenge. Anything else was a bonus. March mentioned something similar in his post-match interview after eliminating Team Empire 2-0, and Agressiv also said the same when I asked him about it after the groupstage. Did they feel nervous?
"No. In the qualifier we were nervous, because our goal is to reach the main event; once we reached that goal, we feel relaxed, we're not nervous at all," said Agressif. When you match an opponent under enormous pressure to perform like Empire or C9 with an enemy unafraid of defeat, this is the moment mental state comes into play.
EG also suffered defeat to the hands of CDEC - @Dota2Much like Complexity, EHOME and MVP Phoenix, these teams have nothing to lose, they've already exceeded the expectations of the public and possibly even their own. March said after their win over Empire that they were just here to play good Dota, and the smiles on their faces going into their matches were a stark contrast to the stern expressions on the faces of Cloud9 and Empire.
"I don't think its a battle between East and West," said Agressif. "But I have to admit it does sometimes feel better to defeat western opponents." Before the main event Agressiv was aiming for a top 8, but now his team could very well finish 1st, especially after the way
Fu 'HHH / Q' Bin completely outdrafted PPD by bringing back the old school offlane Bounty Hunter, with the EG captain expected a roaming mid Bounty Hunter which has featured so often in TI5 so far. Even PPD could admit when he had been outsmarted.This Q guys a genius. Gonna be a hard fight for another shot at CdEc GGs
— Peter Dager (@ppdDota) August 7, 2015As for CDEC's Gyrocopter, it has left teams completely confused. "Our team like to pick Gyrocopter, and if our enemie sknow we’re good at it they should ban the hero because we are really good at that hero," said Agressif. However, for teams it is not that simple. By banning the Gyro it opens up space for other heroes, for example the Undying and Tusk combo that crushed EG in the winner bracket finals. Damned if you do, damned if you don't.
My joinDOTA colleague woodshrew summed it up quite beautifully: "They'd rather take the poison pill than take the bullet. The lesser of two evils. They'd rather face a dangerous threat than certain death from an unknown force."
By being forced into dealing with CDEC's draft, the opposing teams have no room to play their own game, CDEC are controlling the pace, and with their all-out aggression their opponents have to prepare for the storm. For me this TI is not about the disappointing results of the Western teams, but about the incredible results of the fledling teams, and with the Dota 2 majors just a few months away, this is definitely a great sign for the health of our scene as a whole.
Will Xiao8 have the opportunity to face CDEC? - @Dota2Our obsession and perhaps blind focus on the likes of Team Secret, Team EG and Vici Gaming has allowed stronger forces to gather in the shadows away from the spotlight, and this is definitely a good thing. We finally have opened our eyes and witnessed that a formula for a great team is not just a collection of stars. Friendship before success is what has driven Complexity, EHOME, CDEC and MVP.Phoenix to stardom this TI, and let this be a message to us to widen our gaze on which teams we support.
Tomorrow CDEC will either face LGD or Team EG, they will come into possession of either $6.6 million or $2.8 million. Whether it be a Gyro genocide or Tusk/Undying balling, CDEC have made this a competition to remember. The question is whether they can go all the way or can PPD and Xiao8 find the answer to the CDEC riddle?
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