Frankfurt Major Overview: Europe

By Skim on Nov 11, 2015 17:15 UTC

As the last part of the series, we take a look at the European teams for the Frankfurt Fall Major. Europe and CIS are fielding the most contestants this time around and will find themselves in somewhat of a hometurf situation as the event is located in the heart of Europe - Frankfurt.

Team Secret

Secret was probably the fan favorite throughout the past year, boasting a star studded line-up. Despite changing four players, that fanbase has not necessarily diminished - if anything, the likes of EternalEnvy and MiSeRy- brought their own with them. But more persists than just their fanbase; the pre-TI5 success continues with this team as well. Out of the three LAN events the team attended post-TI5 (ESL NY, MLG Dallas, NYC), they’ve made it to all three finals, winning two of them as well, leading to a whopping 27-14 game record.

Secret can rely on a lot of niche picks that force opponents to honor ban early on. The famous w33ha Meepo comes to mind, but even pieliedie's Bounty Hunter or MiSeRy-'s Slardar. The team tends to draft a very physical DPS heavy line-up, amplifying the damage output on every hero by picking up Slardar or Dazzle in combination with Windranger.Secret tends to put a lot of focus on their two, often times very farm orientated, cores, maximizing and pushing their greed to the limit.

The team consists of decorated veterans such as Puppey and MiSeRy-, alongside experienced captain’s and players pieliedie and EternaLEnvy. Together with "pubstar" w33ha, the team has a very good mix of experience and new blood. Parts of the community were doubtful regarding w33ha's capability to play competitively after previous stints did not work out. Especially when stories broke that the team initially tried to acquire OG's Miracle-, the public was not certain whether w33ha could meet the necessary requirements to be on such a potent line-up. He exceeded the expectations and developed into a stellar player, turning into an acquisition that was probably a better fit than Miracle- potentially could've been. With him, Secret seems to be clicking, the team has found its synergy quite fast and seems as dangerous as ever.

Vega Squadron

Vega Squadon's choice to keep a stable roster despite disappointment in The International qualifiers has worked out for the CIS boys as the'vey become progressively stronger. They even took the ESL NY title over Secret. With seventy percent of their games won in 6.85, the squad is definitely amongst the top teams. Their winrate is even higher than Secret's, albeit with many games against a less competitive regional field.

The team likes playing aggressively but knows when to slow down the pace in order to maximize their farm and efficiency. Unlike most teams, they play greedy on four positiond by moving in and out of the lane, rotating carry and support players to avenues of farm. Solo often utilizes this rotation to grab an early level 6, crucial on many of his signature heroes including Io or Ancient Apparition. Usually, Vega focuses on two core farmers, with the offlane applying pressure to create space.

Much like Secret, they have niche picks that give them an edge in the drafting stage. Mag's Broodmother was one of the stronger weapons to secure them the ESL NY victory, all the while Solo's Wisp still remains one of the top bans against Vega. It becomes even more irritating to draft against Vega, as both of their first two position cores are able to fully utilize the Ember Spirit without any drop in quality, giving them the flexibility to pick it up early on. In order to allow their cores to play as aggressively as they like, especially with heroes such as Ember Spirit, you'll often see Vega pick up a very defensive support that carries TPs early on. Thus, Dazzle, Disruptor and Vengeful Spirit are amongst their top 10 most picked heroes, usually played be the less greedy part of the support duo, CeMaTheSlayeR

Much like Secret, they have niche picks that give them an edge in the drafting stage. Mag's Broodmother was one of the stronger weapons to secure them the ESL NY victory, all the while Solo's Io still remains one of the top bans against Vega. As though drafting against Vega weren't hard enough, both of their cores are able to fully utilize Ember Spirit without a second thought. This allows them to draft it early without giving away their lanes to opponents. 9pashaebashu may be the unsung hero of the team. A reliable carry that is actually rather flexible in what he plays, having played six different heroes in his last six games.

It's tough to pick an outstanding performer in Vega because their teamwork is so vital to their success. If there were an MVP, Mag's Broodmother is probably the selection; this pick has brought them repeated victory. The Ukrainian offlaner is amongst the more experienced in his team. No[o]ne- is also a dominant mid player, securing early leads for his teams with aggressive adventures on either the aforementioned Ember Spirit or his signature Queen of Pain. 9pashaebashu may yet be the unsung hero of the team, a rare statement to make about the farming carry. His reliability and flexibility give Vega a hearty trunk to lean on. He's even played six different heroes in his last six games.

As fearsome as Vega might've been up until now though, it should be noted that it appears as if they've recently at least tried out to switch positions, where you'd see Solo play a core hero and 9pashaebashu play either support or offlane. This may have been been a temporary fix for ping-related concerns or could be the future for Vega Squadron going into this Major. Flexibility doesn't have to be a negative, not at all. Historically speaking however, role and positional swaps prior to LAN events have rarely yielded success.

Alliance

Alliance is back! Quite literally. The Swedes can yet again call themselves a powerhouse after a year of mediocre performances. With the addition of former captain s4 and MyNuts, the team has returned to the top performers of Europe. They came ahead in the qualifiers for WCA and fought their way through the Frankfurt Major Qualifiers. With a 63% winrate in 6.85, Alliance is ready to contest for titles yet again.

The Swedes were one of the first teams in pro Dota 2 that warranted consistent honor bans. AdmiralBulldog is the not so secret weapon of the team, that is capable to play Lone Druid and Nature's Prophet at an extremely high level, even with these heroes lacking favor in the current meta. This is certainly nothing new, but add to the threat that Alliance already is. When the team was still known as NoTidehunter, and back then featured EternalEnvy, it introduced the very greedy and farm oriented playstyle that maximized stacks and camp efficiency, something that is still very suited towards players such as Bulldog or Loda. Their offlane position is however not the only weapon the team has. S4 himself has brought Batrider to the competitive scene again, sitting at a 62% winrate within 16 games. Few if any players outside of Alliance considered Batrider viable, but Alliance has made him a devastating weapon. With so many signature heroes (and still some yet unlisted), one is bound to slip through the bans. Alliance still has Wisp banned against them in almost every game: 23 Bans in 6.85 alone.

To this day, Alliance love to splitpush and play greedily. They still sometimes pick up three farm-orientated cores, a style which has fallen out of favor since the rise of aggression with CDEC's success in The International. How do they balance that out? By leaving Akke deep at the bottom of the farm chart. With an average GPM of 258, he has the least typical farm of any player attending this major.

Their preferred draft style still seems to be a two-core line-up with a playmaker on s4. Alliance likes to take towers early and consistently, often either relying on sieging heroes for Bulldog or drafting a hero for s4 who poses an initiation threat to deter opponents from defending towers. Examples include Reverse Polarity ( Magnus) or Flaming Lasso ( Batrider), or even Primal Split ( Brewmaster). If they are cornered, you'll often see Alliance retreat, farm up crucial items on either Bulldog or Loda first and then resort to well coordinated teamfights to take back the lead.

Alliance is certainly a team through and through. Their biggest strength during their era of dominance around TI3 was the team cohesion and level of understanding of one another, which enabled them to execute anything they wanted almost flawlessly. They seem to be on the right track to return to that level of synergy.

Virtus.pro

Virtus.pro is a household name in the eSports scene and finally fields a roster that lives up to the reputation. Their run during TI5 was impressive to say the least, and staying together was supposed to solidify that performance, turning VP into a consistent title contender.Unfortunately for VP fans, the team has struggled with consistency this fall. In 6.85, they are at a 51% winrate, which pales in comparison to that of their competition. Due to their solid TI5 run and the fact that they kept their roster, VP was invited to attend events directly, but was unable to live up to the expectations. They were eliminated at ESL NY in the first round and only placed 5th/6th during the Nanyang Championships.

Unlike many other teams, Virtus.pro 's cores are very flexible in how they interpret their roles. Their hardcarry Illidan is capable of playing utility cores such as Silencer or Venomancer at a very high level, which almost warrants niche bans against him. While God traditionally plays rather aggressively, farm intensive carries in the mid, such as Templar Assassin or Shadow Fiend, he is still a very capable space creator with heroes like Queen of Pain. Not to be forgotten, DkPhobos is less of a farmer, more of a space creator. He is a former midplayer after all. His deep hero pool ranges from Broodmother to Spirit Breaker, and he knows how to play most heroes while pushing their potential to the limit.

In contrast to many other teams, VP does not put as much focus on their two supports. Lil may play the greedier support, but in comparison to other greedy supports, he is not as farmed. The exception? When he plays Visage, he turns into a secondary core. With fng's farm being sacrificed as well, the team plays a lot around their cores. Crucial to their success is an early peak for at least one, then heavy aggression to create space for the third and final core. God typically acts as a pacemaker and playmaker to the team, setting this strategy off with a bang.

OG

Formerly known as Monkey Business, OG is set out to make news. Not only because they have approached a new way to organize an eSports team, but also because they as a team are here to stay. When the roster formed, some people were doubtful, some very excited. Not only would crowd favorite BigDaddy-n0Tail reunite with his former Fnatic and Secret teammate fly, it was also pubstar Miracle's first appearance in the competitive scene. The team started out strong, especially Miracle- seemed to be living up to his reputation after all. A rocky transition into the new patch however stole some of their momentum, losing 8 out of their first 16 games. The team came back stronger than ever however, pulling through in the Frankfurt Major Qualifier and now establishing them at the top of the scene. Under the new banner, they are sitting at a 79% winrate.

Considering their high winrate latel, it's difficult to pinpoint certain heroes that stand out a lot in regards to winrate. Dazzle and Gyrocopter are amongst their most popular heroes, both of which boast an over 80% winrate. Similarly to Vega, OG makes sure to always draft at least one defensive support hero to protect their cores. Their cores swap around positions and heroes a lot. Most of the time, the team adapts to wha Miracle- plays best, signature heroes such as Shadow Fiend or Anti-Mage. They can do that because of BigDaddy-n0tail's versatility. Out of his last 18 games, he's played 11 different heroes, each with a different level of farm dependency. Additionally, there's always the threat of him playing Meepo, which makes their drafts so much more versatile.

When OG started out as Monkey Business, they deployed a very classic 4-protect-1 strategy in which they made sure that Miracle- would carry them in the end. They may still put emphasis on him, sacrificing a lot of farm on MoonMeander and BigDaddy-n0tail in return, but it's not as clearcut anymore. On the other end of the map, MoonMeander and fly often play in a dual-lane situation, while cr1t ensures his carry's safety. The team excels at team fighting and playing around their heroes' power levels. Even if they're behind, they know when to find their timings and fight themselves back into the game, which is often complimented by their drafts.

All the focus is obviously on Miracle-, the pubstar and the carry of the team. But the team is so much more than just him. MoonMeander has developed into one of the more stellar offlaners in the scene, a very dependable performer. OG certainly works as a team and has quickly found themselves in a position to be crowd favored. Three of their players have years of experience on their own, but the experience as a team on LAN is still not comparable to that of the competition. Their biggest challenge will be to make up for that experience gap and play as they've done so far online, or even better.

Image Sources: Valve & ESL | Robert Paul

Esports Opinion

wapsλ

11/11/2015

No mention of Cr1t's jakiro?

cachorro

the first guy is Wesley Safadão.. BR players will understand tho

Dan

Cr1t's jakiro is the best lmao

LG.Arox

FNG is Wesley Safadão! Please, search in google!!

Boundless Strike in Gaben...

hmm i actually prefer the name monkey business to OG....OG is like everywhere...in every single team game there is bound to be an OG

OG is Old Gangsta

Wolver1ne

Alliance is Black TriHard

Raderry

Alliance is Black

Paranoia

The Vega write-up has a lot of typos and accidental repetitions. Nice informative article other than that.

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