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Semi-Finals Preview

By Kupon3ss and rabidch



Ice Ice Bear

By riptide



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AMD Proleague S1

Semi-Finals Preview

Schedule

Tuesday, May 14 11:00am GMT (GMT+00:00) - RisingStars vs Tongfu



Tuesday, May 14 2:00pm GMT (GMT+00:00) - Zenith vs MUFC





Wednesday, May 15 10:00am GMT (GMT+00:00) - 3rd Place Match



Wednesday, May 15 12:00pm GMT (GMT+00:00) - Grand Finals



Semi-Finals Preview By kupon3ss and rabidch

RisingStars vs Tongfu





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Equally heated is the battle between the two Chinese teams on the other side of the bracket. Not just a week ago TongFu challenged their qualifier rivals of Rattlesnake, RisingStars, and VG to a series of showmatches. TongFu's victories, including a thorough 2-0 thrashing of RisingStars, may have been pivotal in the team's ascension to the role of invitee. RisingStars is likely none too happy about being used as a stepping stone for TongFu and is itching for a chance for revenge. Having overcome Orange in the Quarterfinals, will the team of upsets claim another victim? Or will TongFu assert its role as one of the top teams in the Asian scene?



As far as styles go, TongFu plays an aggressive, dual-core game based on strong laning and midgame teamfights. With Hao and Mu being supported by some of the most experienced veterans in the scene, the team's recent condition has been superb, taking games off the big 3 and looking invincible against the weaker teams. In comparison, RisingStars is perhaps the least "Chinese" team in China, preferring a level of discordant chaos that most of its compatriots frown upon. QoP, Storm, and Wisp are exceedingly common picks and the entire style is more reminiscent of the SEA scene rather than a team made of of Chinese veterans. Since both teams prefer the midgame, the game will likely be decided there.



Overall TongFu has a large edge. On top of having swept RisingStars 2-0 not a week ago, the fact that much of the game will be decided in the laning and midgame fighting phase means that TongFu's superiority in individual skill and experience will give them a noticeable advantage. Even if TongFu ends up behind early, the experience and more tempered style will likely allow them to overcome deficits with the solid play that Chinese Dota is known for.

MUFC vs Zenith





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With Orange's upset elimination at the hands of RisingStars in the Quarterfinals, SEA's representation in the Semi-Finals has been whittled down to the other two teams of the region's elite triumvirate: Zenith and MUFC. As the favorites of their side of the bracket they have performed up to expectation, knocking out the whimsical teams Rattlesnake and Mineski. But now, as the brackets have decided, these teams must face each other for a spot in the Grand Finals against the winner of RisingStars and Tongfu.



So what to expect in these matches? Judging from past matches, MUFC, led by the WinteR on support, will not falter from their usual style. They will try to stymie Zenith's mid-lane as early as possible with mid and support heroes such as QoP and Shadow Demon, as well as ensure that HONTRASHPLAYER's (aka dabeliuteef) lane has farm to control the mid to later stages of the game. They will only offensively trilane if they are absolutely sure they can win it. In the past, Zenith has countered this style by playing their supports defensively and using the mid-late game strengths of their signature heroes to their utmost proficiency.



Based upon the one game these two teams have played recently and Zenith's strong support duo of xFreedom and Ice performing well now, Zenith is likely to take this series. On the other hand, if MUFC can disrupt Zenith's early to mid game enough, they have a good chance of breaking through into the Grand Finals.

Ice Ice Bear By riptide



Daryl "iceiceice" Koh Pei Xiang is always ready to save the day with a 'no bans' draft.

(Picture via Daryl "iceiceice" Koh Pei Xiang is always ready to save the day with a 'no bans' draft.(Picture via It's Gosu

How do you guys come up with your drafts and overall strategies? For example, where did your no-ban draft vs iG come from?

xFreedom normally does the drafting and strategies alone. If he starts to flop, I take over and rescue the team with stuff like no bans.

What do you think about the Armlet on Lone Druid's bear bug? Should the item be banned on the bear until it is fixed, or is it OK as it is right now? How mad do you think the bear will be when the bug is fixed?

If it's a bug it should be banned, but if Valve isn't doing anything about it then it should be abused till they do. How mad? As mad as EternalEnvy and Idra.

If you could summon the Spirit Bear IRL, how helpful do you think he would be on a daily basis?

I think having the ability to summon Luna would be more useful (Nova... Nooovaaaa), but if I could summon a spirit bear, I guess I can send it to rob a bank or collect honey.

You were one of the few teams to take games off iG in the G-1 East Qualifiers. What is your secret? What is the best way to beat iG?

It is a secret, and it shall remain a secret.

Analyse your AMDPL Quarter-Finals series against Rattlesnake. Are you happy with Zenith's play?

I felt that we could have won the first game but lost to the over-aggressive Rattlesnake way of playing the game. We watched the replay and saw that we had a decent lead in our solo lanes early game. We got used to them for the second and third game.



Happy? Before those 2 wins we hadn't won a single game in practice for a while!

What do you make of your AMDPL Semi-Finals matchup against MUFC? Do you expect to win?

I can't be expecting to lose so yeah I'm definitely expecting to win. Well, like Rattlesnake, I'm pretty sure they will come up with some weird strategy against us.

If you get to the finals, what team would you like to face there, and why?

If I get to the finals, I don't care what team I would face. I'm in the finals!

What would you say are the main differences between Chinese and SEA teams at the moment?

The Chinese teams are very stable in their picks and the way they play the game. Look at VG and Rattlesnake, they might be doing "Wisp + CK" or "Alchemist/Clockwerk solomid", but they are still being stable in what they are picking. You won't see a random Treant if they did not prepare for it whereas the SEA teams might just pick what is best in the moment.

If you had to compare the SEA Dota 2 scene to a movie, what would you compare it to? If the SEA Dota 2 scene had a theme song, what would it be?

Idiocracy (2006) and The Rains of Castamere - The National.

Looking forward, what are Zenith's goals for TI3? What sort of training regimen are you guys looking at as you prepare for the event? Will you play without pants at TI3?

The same thing every year, try to win TI! Training regimen wise, I'm being a big ass tryhard in pub games so I'll be focused every game. Haven't really sorted out any team LAN training as I'm still currently trying to find a place to rent for that. Not thought about that too much. I'm really looking forward to the weather in Seattle with a nice cup of coffee tho.

Who do you think will make it through the TI3 Western Quals / Eastern Quals?

Mouz and EG, Rattlesnake and VG. Why no LGD? Because LongDD = LGD!

Recently we have seen Slark and Skywrath Mage being experimented with in the Western scene. What is your take on these heroes?

There seems to be a lot of potential for Slark in every single lane except the jungle. Skywrath lacks mana as a support if it doesn't do well early game, and is way too squishy at mid and in the mid game if you don't get the right items.

On a scale of 1 - Magnus, how much do you like Lone Druid?

I hate Lone Druid and I will never play 500 games of it.

Who is the most undervalued hero in the proscene at the moment?

Terrorblade and Techies: so undervalued that they ain't even released.

You can make one balance change to Dota 2. What do you do?

I would ban myself from playing Dota 2 as that would be the most balanced change of all time.

Writers: kupon3ss, riptide

Guest writers: rabidch

Gfx: Hawaiianpig, riptide

Editors: Firebolt145



While SEA tournament can sometimes slip under the radar, the AMD Proleague Season 1 most certainly didn't. With some of the best teams in the region going head to head in pursuit of a $5000 first place prize, the three-week long league has drawn its fair share of viewers.We go into the Semi-Finals this week, with Zenith taking on MUFC and RisingStars taking on Tongfu. This guarantees that the SEA vs China storyline of the tournament will culminate in a Grand Finals showdown between the two regions, and with the TI3 Eastern Qualifiers coming up soon, for many teams it will be a chance to show the world what they have to offer.We begin this AMDPL update with a preview of the Semi-Finals matchups , and then bring you face to face with Daryl "iceiceice" Koh Pei Xiang , the face of Zenith, and in many ways, the figurehead of SEA Dota 2. See what Daryl has to say about Slark, the Spirit Bear and his team's drafting strategy.Finally, here are the games, so you don't miss any of them!