As we move further into the year, the tournaments are coming thick and fast. Next up is the StarLadder season 3 LAN finals held in the Shanghai International Gymnastics Center. StarLadder will take place February 23rd – 26th and will showcase some of the best teams in the world.
StarLadder Prize Pool
The prize pool is $300,000 USD, split as follows:
| Place | $ USD | Team |
|---|---|---|
 | $135,000 |  TBD |
 2nd | $60,000 | TBD |
 3rd | $37,500 | TBD |
 4th | $22,500 | TBD |
| place 5 to 8 | ||
| 5th-6th | $15,000 | TBD |
| TBD | ||
| 7th-8th | $7,500 | TBD |
| TBD | ||
Courtesy of http://wiki.teamliquid.net/dota2/StarLadder/i-League_StarSeries/Season_3
StarLadder Format
The teams will be split into two groups, each containing four teams. The group stage will contain a double-elimination bracket with the top two teams advancing to bracket play. Bracket play will be a four team single-elimination bracket, with the semifinals being best of threes, and the final a best of five.
The Teams
Wings Gaming – Direct Invite
Roster:
Position 1 (Carry) – Shadow
Position 2 (Mid) – Blink
Position 3 (Offlane) – Faith_bian
Position 4 (Support) – y’
Position 5 (Support) – iceice
—
Wings have been missing from the competitive scene since ESL One Genting. After facing troubles with visas, they missed out on Dota Pit, meaning they have had very few games on the new patch. Since winning TI, Wings have not reached the heights that were expected by many fans.
Wings will be hoping to put in a good performance to try and secure an invite to Kiev. Considering the talent on show at StarLadder, Wings have a tough task ahead of them.
Prediction – 5th / 6th
Wings placement will rely heavily on the group that they are placed in. However, they have failed to impress since TI and will struggle to make it out of the group stages. They will be hoping to kick start their year with a decent performance to give them some momentum heading into the Kiev Major.
OG – Direct Invite
Roster:
Position 1 (Carry) – Notail
Position 2 (Mid) – Ana
Position 3 (Offlane) – s4
Position 4 (Support) – JerAx
Position 5 (Support) – Fly
—
For some reason there seems to always be questions surrounding the ability of this OG team. Having proved at both Boston and DotaPit that they are one of the best, if not the best, team in the world, they will be hoping to impress at StarLadder. As winners of the Boston Major, they are guaranteed an invite to Kiev, so they hope to silence the critics once again with an emphatic display.
Predictions – 1st Place
OG have the pedigree and ability to win this tournament. Coming off the back of a second place finish at DotaPit, OG will be looking to step it up a level and finish first. Also, as EG are missing from the event, OG will feel confident with their chances.
Team Liquid – European Qualifier #1
Roster:
Position 1 (Carry) – MATUMBAMAN
Position 2 (Mid) – Miracle-
Position 3 (Offlane) – MinD_ContRoL
Position 4 (Support) – GH
Position 5 (Support) – KuroKy
—
StarLadder will be the LAN debut for the new Team Liquid and they hope to start it off with a victory. Liquid will be coming into the tournament on the back of an impressive 12 game win streak. They hope that an impressive performance at StarLadder can secure them a direct invite to the upcoming Kiev Major.
Prediction – 2nd Place
Liquid are on an upward trend, however they will eventually cross paths with OG. Taking the W against Fly and the rest of OG may be a step too far for Liquid, but it will be good for the team to get some LAN experience together.
Team Secret – European Qualifier #2
Roster:
Position 1 (Carry) – MP
Position 2 (Mid) – MidOne
Position 3 (Offlane) – Khezu
Position 4 (Support) – Puppey
Position 5 (Support) – pieliedie
—
This is the second major tournament that the new look Secret have competed in as a team. The first, DotaPit, did not go as planned. Secret ended up finishing in a disappointing 5th / 6th. Having displayed good promise early in the tournament by beating DC, they eventually fell in the losers bracket. Secret hope to prove that they can still be one of the best teams in the world. StarLadder provides them with teams they should beat 70% of the time.
Prediction – 4th Place
With Wings and DC both looking fragile, Secret have a real chance at finishing strong in this event. However, with the likes of Liquid and OG also competing, a top three finish may be just out of reach. This will be the chance for Secret to gain some momentum heading into the Kiev Major qualifiers.
Team VG.J – China Qualifier #1
Roster:
Position 1 (Carry) – Agressif
Position 2 (Mid) – Freeze
Position 3 (Offlane) – rOtk
Position 4 (Support) – fy
Position 5 (Support) – Fenrir
—
This will be VG.J’s first venture into international competition. The squad is stacked with some of the best players in China and will be expected to perform well on home soil. Mid player Liu “Freeze” Change is a relative unknown in the international scene and hopes to put his name on the map at StarLadder.
Prediction – 3rd
VG.J posses some of the best talent in Chinese Dota currently, and with Wings misfiring and Newbee not at the event, VG.J are China’s only hope. With four veterans of Dota, this team has the makings of a world beater. The only question is whether they can realize their potential or fall by the side.
iG Vitality – China Qualifier #2
Roster:
Position 1 (Carry) – Paparazi
Position 2 (Mid) – Sakata
Position 3 (Offlane) – InJuly
Position 4 (Support) – Super
Position 5 (Support) – dogf1ghts
—
iG.V are a small fish surrounded by blood thirsty sharks. Similar to Elements Pro Gaming at Dota Pit, they are slightly out of place. As they have been playing together for nearly a year, they hope to possess an advantage over some of the newly formed teams. Having failed at Boston, they have been relatively quiet. This is also their first appearance on the international scene.
Prediction – 7th / 8th
Dota games are not played on paper. This is the thing iG.V will be relying on heading in to the tournament. They are on home soil and will be hoping that the crowd can push them to victory. However, they are against several strong teams and will be hard pressed to mount any serious challenge.
Digital Chaos – America Qualifier
Roster:
Position 1 (Carry) – Resolution
Position 2 (Mid) – w33
Position 3 (Offlane) – MoonMeander
Position 4 (Support) – MiSeRy
Position 5 (Support) – Saksa
—
In the last six weeks we have seen the two sides of DC. To go from dominating the field at ESL One Genting to finishing last at DotaPit is not good enough. DC are coming into the event in a weird place. They managed to qualify for the event beating NP in a playoff. However, a few weeks later they failed to qualify for DAC, losing to NP in the finals. They hope to make a comeback and put in a solid performance at StarLadder to secure an invite to Kiev.
Prediction – 5th / 6th
DC look out of sorts since ESL One Genting. The nature of the victory may have lead them to slack a bit heading into DotaPit. However, it is nearly time for the direct invites to Kiev to be announced. DC hope that they can reignite the fire of ESL One and put in a solid performance for the tournament.
TNC Pro Team
Roster:
Position 1 (Carry) – Raven
Position 2 (Mid) – Kuku
Position 3 (Offlane) – Sam_H
Position 4 (Support) – Tims
Position 5 (Support) – ryOyr
—
TNC are used to being the underdogs, so this time around will be no different. They are the second best team in SEA, after Faceless, so this will be a tough challenge for TNC. With Faceless likely to receive a direct invite to Kiev, TNC will be able to use the tournament as a warm-up for the Kiev Qualifiers. TNC hope to catch a few teams off-guard using their unpredictable play style.
Prediction – 7th / 8th
TNC are a difficult team to predict, considering the unpredictable nature of their play. They will be hoping to use this to their advantage and upset a few teams and achieve a decent finish.
StarLadder Final Thoughts
Team Liquid makes their return to international competition at StarLadder, and hope to return with a bang. Standing in their way is OG, the silent assassins that know how to win and win often. OG look to be the favorites for the event, but Liquid have the potential to win. Looking through the rest of the teams, VG.J and Secret have the potential to challenge in the later stages of the tournament. TNC and iG Vitality look to be the weakest of the teams, and will be hoping that they can cause a few upsets and end up with a decent position.
Overall Predictions:
1st Place – OG
2nd Place – Team Liquid
3rd Place – Team VG.J
4th Place – Team Secret
5th / 6th Place – Digital Chaos / Wings Gaming
7th / 8th Place – iG Vitality / TNC Pro Team
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