Wings Gaming Are The International 2016 Champions
With a 3-1 victory over Digital Chaos, Wings Gaming became this year’s TI champions. This year’s prize pool broke records once again. Second place finishers DC will take home $3.4 million, while Wings Gaming will take the grand prize of the Aegis and $9.1 million.
The final day of TI6 began with the lower bracket finals between two NA teams, EG and DC (though DC has a diversity of players, the organization is based in North America). It was a bout between the former TI5 champions and a team who surprised many, including its own captain, Misery, who told TI host, Kaci, that he hoped his team would reach at least top 8.
Lower Bracket Finals: Evil Geniuses vs. Digital Chaos
In this series, Digital Chaos had managed to take advantage of Evil Geniuses drafts by leveraging their early and middle game advantage before EG’s cores could gain any momentum. Though EG got their Void for Universe, who was undefeated on the hero in the main event, they weren’t able to stabilize their lineup to buy time for Fear’s Luna. Misery’s Naga was able to sleep-counter any Chronosphere initation, while w33’s Mirana created the tempo DC needed through the midgame. A timely Blink+Ravage at EG’s ancients netted a 4-0 fight in DC’s favor and sealed the win.
In game 2, EG’s Beastmaster pick was crucial in extending the midgame for their Mirana and Sven. It has been routine for EG to surrender many of their towers early on, as was the case in their previous series against Wings, but the hawk vision allowed EG to outmaneuver DC. A whiffed Chronosphere that caught only ppd’s Dazzle narrowed the window DC had to capitalize in the mid game. They only made matters worse when later trying to focus Medusa in another Chronosphere, but Sumail got Stone Gaze off and EG turned the fight with a Shallow Grave save.
While the previous 2 games ended in convincing victories, game 3 was a nail biter until the end. Brewmaster is a sound counter to DC’s Ursa pick, but not when Ursa solo kills Brewmaster twice in the early game. Eventually, DC’s three core lineup eventually gained ground on Fear’s farmed Terrorblade. EG didn’t have the mobility nor the catch in their draft to track down Slark and a split-pushing Beastmaster from Moo, who capitalized on every chance to peck away at EG’s raxes. It finally reached a point where EG went for an all-in push down the mid lane, expending multiple buy-backs. DC were able to hold the line, while getting mega creeps at the same time.
Grand Finals: Wings Gaming vs. Digital Chaos
Wings have only lost twice on the main stage. Both times with a Pudge, and both times against Digital Chaos. They have won with Pudge before (twice in Nanyang) but the pick proved ineffective in the opening game of the series. He was relegated as a defensive support, hooking teammates out of Chronospheres with an unreliable skill. DC had also changed their pace by moving Skywrath Mage to midlane in the hands of w33, who has terrorized pubs with Skywrath over the past years. He had a great start on his Skywrath, who has a natural advantage over Storm in the lane, which was also compounded by Misery’s Ogre Magi zoning. W33 ended the game with a KDA of 16/4/10 and participating in 96% of DC’s kills.
Wings went on to win the next three games in convincing fashion, while displaying the kind of cleverness and depth to their drafts that had dominated the main event. In their final three games, they used 13 different heroes (out of a possible 15). Their winning lineup of Elder Titan, Batrider, Keeper of The Light, Anti-Mage, and Axe were all heroes they hadn’t picked yet this series. At the same time, DC tended to revert back to their comfort heroes, like Mirana on w33, Timbersaw on Moo, and Misery on Naga.
More than their draft, it was Wings’ execution that punished DC. Even in DC’s best chance to comeback in game 4, when they were able to find some early game momentum with their Nightstalker, shadow on his Anti-Mage was still leading the net worth charts, despite two early deaths.
At 25 minutes DC held a 5k networth lead, but it wasn’t enough to stall AM’s farm.
DC’s hopeful moments always seemed to end in futility. In game 3, it looked like DC was able to turn a disastrous start around when Resolut1ion’s Clinkz came online with Desolator, BKB, and a later Daedalus. A few pickoffs on Wings’ backline cut their 14k gold lead to 4.5k. But that brief success was entirely dependent on Resolut1ion being able to hover on the edges of the fight and find any straggling heroes. Shadow eventually put an end to it by finding and killing Resolut1ion’s Clinkz in two consecutive Chronospheres. Shadow ended that game with a K/D/A of 20/0/16.
After the award ceremony, analysts Black and Winter proposed that Wings Gaming may not only be the best Dota team they’ve seen at TI, but the best Dota team ever.
“You can’t reach perfection, but they are so close,” Black said.
It could be part recency bias, but also part truth. For a meta that was wide open, with the greatest percentage of heroes picked out of any TI, Wings Gaming squeezed every ounce of opportunity available.
Congratulations Wings !
2nd, Wooh asian dota
3rd YOLO WINGS MAH MAN!
DC.w3322haa
congrats wings,,
congrats on placing 2nd even though u did a last resort team lock..wp guys
best TI ever !!!!!
WINGS GAMING ALL THE WAY. Asian dota dominance
I really wished that DC wins TI6, but very well played Wings (the team i never thought could make it to finals) R.I.P OG and old era of Dota Gaming, Welcome to the new teams
THE WINGS GAMING !!
they are the meta right now :)
when people say asia, eastern, it gives an impression that the whole asia has been winning the TIs but actually it's only china
China doto best doto.. blink, innocence. U are MVP. gratz sabun colek 😊
Well played, Wings, well played.
eastern doto > western doto
Why all the Mirana/Timber??? They blew it. That's called choking in any other sport.
level: Asian
DC kept picking Mirana even though it wasn't working for them. They ended up losing solely on that reason.
"Shadow demon is literally replaced by Eul's Scepter." Pfft, he was one of the top 5 both picked and banned. His pick rate has jumped almost 5%. That has got to say something.
Congratz Wings, also DC dont be sad cause you are prove it more than other team
Good job Wings!
Wings players have large hero-pool, any of their opponents can't do decent bans. I think thats their key of success.
DC kept picking Moo Timbersaw thats why they lost
I hope Icefrog realizes that he has made a very stable patch. The most stable since 6.74 . Only minimal tweaks should be made henceforth
cn doto best doto
w3322 indeed, so bold the last game
Weeeeeeewwww, zzzzzzz