There are 17 players who could become DOUBLE TI winners this week
If you know your Dota 2 history you should be aware that there are 25 former TI winners, and at TI6 this week, 17 of them could become the first to do the double. So who are the 17 players?
17 would-be record breakers are in the TI6 main event
With Invictus Gaming the only TI winning organisation NOT to be at TI6, it means the chances of a double TI champion are not that impossible. Of course players have moved around, and with LGD coach Wang 'Banana' Jiao forced to step in to replace Xue 'September' Zhichuan due to visa issues, another former TI winner was added to the list of competitors.
There are a total of 17 former TI winners competing at the main event in Seattle, playing for six different teams. Several players have gone on record stating their interest in becoming double TI champions, including Clement 'Puppey' Ivanov and Jonathan 'Loda' Berg, and this year both have a shot.
How does it compare to last year?
At TI5 last summer only 13 former TI winners competed, with Zhang 'xiao8' Ning coming the closest to two TI titles after finishing in 3rd place with LGD Gaming.
Four of the former TI winners to play this year that missed out last year are from Alliance. At TI5 only Gustav 's4' Magnusson of the TI3 winning Alliance competed in Seattle, after the Swede received a direct invite as part of Team Secret, while his former team-mates were unable to make it through the tough EU Regional Qualifiers with their respective teams.
Who are the 17 former champs in Seattle this year?
Here at TI6 they are strong favourites to at least place top 3, and considering six months ago both Hao and Chuan looked like their Dota 2 careers might be winding down, success here in Seattle would be indisputable proof of their ability to survive. Chuan, Hao and Mu are already in the winners-bracket of TI6 thanks to a 3rd place in the groupstages. Of the trio, Chuan would definitely be a fitting record breaker considering his first TI was back in 2012.
The Alliance are the only organisation to be playing at TI6 with the exact same roster that won them their first International. The TI3 winning Alliance roster were forced apart after results dried up in 2014, but a decision to bring Gustav 's4' Magnusson and Jerry 'EGM' Lundkvist to the team last December proved to be a insightful one. Victories at WCA 2015 and Starladder came swiftly but after a disappointing Shanghai Major (7-8th) in March, the Swedes have not found their groove.
They have however, hit the ground running at TI6 and after being tied for 3rd with Wings, progressed to the upper-bracket of the main event. The 2-0 victory over a roaring Evil Geniuses in group A was a clear indication they are a serious contender, but the TI3 winners must now face the team of the moment, EHOME in the upper-bracket. If Alliance became double TI winners it would be a victory for friendship and they will have no shortage of fans supporting them to make it happen. It would also be a double TI win with the exact same roster! (Thanks Bomber12).
17 would-be record breakers are in the TI6 main event
With Invictus Gaming the only TI winning organisation NOT to be at TI6, it means the chances of a double TI champion are not that impossible. Of course players have moved around, and with LGD coach Wang 'Banana' Jiao forced to step in to replace Xue 'September' Zhichuan due to visa issues, another former TI winner was added to the list of competitors.
There are a total of 17 former TI winners competing at the main event in Seattle, playing for six different teams. Several players have gone on record stating their interest in becoming double TI champions, including Clement 'Puppey' Ivanov and Jonathan 'Loda' Berg, and this year both have a shot.
How does it compare to last year?
At TI5 last summer only 13 former TI winners competed, with Zhang 'xiao8' Ning coming the closest to two TI titles after finishing in 3rd place with LGD Gaming.
Four of the former TI winners to play this year that missed out last year are from Alliance. At TI5 only Gustav 's4' Magnusson of the TI3 winning Alliance competed in Seattle, after the Swede received a direct invite as part of Team Secret, while his former team-mates were unable to make it through the tough EU Regional Qualifiers with their respective teams.
Who are the 17 former champs in Seattle this year?
Clement 'Puppey' Ivanov is the only former TI winner riding solo for this year's $20 million+ competition. His TI win was at the first-ever International held in Germany while playing for ua Natus Vincere. Last year his Team Secret with Zai and Arteezy were tipped to take the title but after being knocked down to the lower-bracket by Fan 'rOtk' Bai's EHOME eventually succumbed to Virtus Pro in what was a terrific contest.
Puppey is the only former TI winner in Team Secret this year (Image:@Dota2)
Puppey placed 7-8th last year with Secret, and based on the groupstages here at TI6, they may not have enough to pull off a run through the lower-bracket to reach the Grand Finals. Considering Secret had a last-minute roster change -and as consequence went through the Open and Regional Qualifiers - TI has come a bit too early for a team that is still finding its rythm. Team Secret would have to go up at least two gears for Puppey to make history as the first-ever double TI winner.
Danil 'Dendi' Ishutin and Ivan 'Artstyle' Antonov who both won the first TI with Navi were reunited as part of Navi's restructing at the beginning of this year. It is easy to forget, but Dendi has in fact been involved in 3 of the 5 Grand Finals at the International. Dendi won TI1 with Navi and then was a finalist in both TI2 and TI3. He is perhaps the most deserving given his track record. He is also the only player to play at all of the Internationals with the same team.
Art-Style and Dendi's Navi were one of six direct invites to TI6 but finished 6th in Group A. Mistakes were made to drop crucial points to both Escape Gaming and TNC Pro Team, ending the group with 6-8 instead of 8-6, which would have been enough to tie with the 3rd and 4th in the group. They've unfortunately been drawn with Team Liquid in the first round of the lower-bracket, and Dendi will be well aware of the dangers of an early exit as Navi were eliminated by Vici Gaming in a similar scenario last year at TI5.
Newbee's return to form began around March, following the reshuffle which saw the addition of TI2 winner Wong Hock 'Chuan' Chuan. Chuan won The International 2 with Invictus Gaming and joined TI4 winners Chen 'Hao' Zhihao and Zhang 'Mu' Pan in a new and invigorated Newbee. Over the course of the last three months the trio placed 2nd at the EPICENTER, 3rd at the Manila Major and won the Nanyang Championships Season 2.
TI2 winner Chuan and TI4 winners Hao and Mu could make history this week (Image: @Dota2)
Here at TI6 they are strong favourites to at least place top 3, and considering six months ago both Hao and Chuan looked like their Dota 2 careers might be winding down, success here in Seattle would be indisputable proof of their ability to survive. Chuan, Hao and Mu are already in the winners-bracket of TI6 thanks to a 3rd place in the groupstages. Of the trio, Chuan would definitely be a fitting record breaker considering his first TI was back in 2012.
The Alliance are the only organisation to be playing at TI6 with the exact same roster that won them their first International. The TI3 winning Alliance roster were forced apart after results dried up in 2014, but a decision to bring Gustav 's4' Magnusson and Jerry 'EGM' Lundkvist to the team last December proved to be a insightful one. Victories at WCA 2015 and Starladder came swiftly but after a disappointing Shanghai Major (7-8th) in March, the Swedes have not found their groove.
THe TI3 winning Alliance roster is back together and in the upper-bracket (Image: @Dota2)
They have however, hit the ground running at TI6 and after being tied for 3rd with Wings, progressed to the upper-bracket of the main event. The 2-0 victory over a roaring Evil Geniuses in group A was a clear indication they are a serious contender, but the TI3 winners must now face the team of the moment, EHOME in the upper-bracket. If Alliance became double TI winners it would be a victory for friendship and they will have no shortage of fans supporting them to make it happen. It would also be a double TI win with the exact same roster! (Thanks Bomber12).
Xiao8 made his third return to LGD's active roster in the last reshuffle, and his team received what was considered a fairly shaky direct invite to TI6. Xue 'September' Zhichuan's visa issues meant the LGD coach Banana would be forced to step in, and not just any coach, a former TI4 winner himself with Newbee. The duo both have a chance to become double TI champions, but their former Newbee team-mates Hao and Mu have better odds.
LGD Gaming's xiao8 is among the 17 players who could become a double TI winner
LGD Gaming's groupstage was underwhelming, despite Zhang 'Zrd / Faith Bian' Ruida of Wings sharing with joinDOTA that they had done exceptionally well in scrims. LGD Gaming finished 7th in Group A with a 5-9 record, but if anyone knows how to grind results when he needs to, it's Xiao8. LGD Gaming may have bombed in the groupstage but points against OG and EG hints at Xiao8 and Banana having better chances of winning TI than Puppey, Dendi or Art-Style.
Four of the Evil Geniuses' roster here at TI6 could become not only double TI winners, but also back-to-back winners. The roster who defeated CDEC in the Grand Finals last year is almost all present after EG made the risque decision to bring back Saahil 'Universe' Arora, despite it meaning they would have to go through Open and then Regional Qualifiers. However, Evil Geniuses not only won the Open Qualifiers but also the Regionals AND to top it off were 1st place in Group A here in Seattle.
Universe's return to EG for TI6 means they have four of the five TI5 winners (Image: @Dota2)
Much like Alliance the TI5 winners have found that tinkering too much with a winning formula does no pay dividends, and they along with Newbee's Chuan, Hao and Mu, are probably the players most likely to become double TI champions. PPD, Fear, Universe and Sumail have reassembled, and victory this week would be a triumph for NA Dota after a period of unrest.
Source: joindota.com
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