Forward Gaming
Region: North America
Closed Qualifier Result: 7W-0L
Forward Gaming, the new kids on the block. They haven’t made much of a splash as of yet, but perhaps that will change with the EPICENTER Major. They’ve struggled to break the top 8 at minor tournaments, struggling to break top 10 at majors, sometimes even failing to qualify. However, recently they have acquired CCnC, Sneyking, and Pieliedie, very skilled veteran players. These veterans have completely changed the face of this team, they have become real contenders. This was shown in the North American Closed Qualifiers for the EPICENTER Major. Forward Gaming beat out Evil Geniuses, the North American powerhouse, and 6 other teams to finish 7 wins to 0 losses, qualifying for the major straight from the group stage. Forward Gaming could be the next North American powerhouse in Dota 2.
OG
Region: Europe
Closed Qualifier Result: 5W-2L, 1W-2L vs Liquid, 2W-0L vs NiP,
2W-1L vs Alliance
OG, the reigning TI champions. Ever since winning TI, they have not been finding much success, even failing to qualify for multiple major tournaments. Because of this under-performance, they have been the butt of a very funny but unfortunate joke”OG fluked TI”, referring to how they won TI, but now seem like they can’t win anything. Much of this could be blamed on the roster issues they have faced, as their position one player, ana, took a break from competitive Dota 2. They have failed to find a player to replace ana. The players that they have found, did not suit their style of play very well. However now with ana back in their lineup, they may just be able to find the magic that made them TI champions once again. There’s no doubt that OG has the ability to be a world-class team, they proved so with their beautiful underdog story at TI8. This is the team to watch if you want to see a struggling team, find their identity once again.
(Also watch OG if you want to see the most amazing, high-level, Big Daddy n0tail Abaddon gameplay.)
Team Secret
Region: Europe
Closed Qualifier Result: 6W-1L
Team Secret is looking unbeatable. Since TI8, they have come in first at ESL One Hamburg, The Chongqing Major, ESL One Katowice, MDL Disneyland Paris, nearly missing out at DreamLeague Season 11, and The Kuala Lampur Major. They’ve won almost everything, and they have done so while dominating every team that steps in their way. On their way to win MDL Disneyland Paris, they utterly destroyed OG, the TI8 champions, and Liquid, two very strong teams. They managed a 6W-1L record in the closed qualifiers for EPICENTER, qualifying directly from the group stage. Backed by Puppey, also known as the best captain in the world, there really is not much one can critique this team on. Forget the EPICENTER Major, Team Secret is looking like the favourite for TI9. If you want to see some utter domination, this is the team to watch.