The group stages of the Summit 2 have ended, and the bracket seeding has been determined. Team Cloud 9 and Team Secret have secured their places in the semifinals, Vici Gaming facing Team Tinker and Evil Geniuses facing off against Not Today in the quarterfinals in a single-elimination bracket.

The Summit 2 has been a showcase of player talents interacting with the production talents behind tournaments. Casters and production crew have had their share of camera time on the main stream www.twitch.tv/beyondthesummit, with player-casters on the main couch as well.

The relaxed overall attitudes of the casts were more entertaining than informative, which really captured the feel of the tournament: A well-organized, cozy tournament which didn’t concern itself overtly with professional production values or showmanship.

The feature of The Summit has always been the people, and tuning in has never been more enjoyable than, as said by BigDaddyn0tail, “being with friends.”

 

The Teams

Having a legacy of second place finishes this year, (ASUS ROG DreamLeague Season 1 and 2, World Cyber Arena 2014, World E-sport Championships 2014, Dreamhack Bucharest Invitational, Dota 2 Champions League Season 2 and join DOTA League Season 1 and the Monster Energy Invitational).

It looks like Cloud 9 is primed to win this tournament, dropping their only game to Vici Gaming during the group stages. In Starladder 10, Cloud 9 finished 3rd, eliminated by Evil Geniuses in the semi-finals of the competition, 2-1.

Team Secret has undoubtedly been enigmatic, living up to their name regarding the circumstances of their formation as well as their own sponsors. Puppey is the leader and drafter for the team, and on reddit he has said that they “will revolutionize how sponsorship is looked at in esports”.

They look really solid and their teamwork is top-notch for a newly formed team. Look for them to topple even the most stable teams (EG and VG) in important matches.

Also known more commonly as EG, the returning champions have had a good year as a dominant western team.

Their most recent notable victory was returning against Team Secret after being knocked down (2:0) into the loser’s bracket in Star Ladder Season 10, winning it 3:2. ppd, the drafter for EG also admitted that they would not have won if they didn’t play the BO3 beforehand.

Their newfound rivalry looks set to be tested once again if both Teams make it to the Grand Finals.

This Chinese team has been looking strong even though their leader, rOtK, had retired after The International 4 and Sylar transferring to LGD. fy now leads the team, and with new members iceiceice (from Singapore) and Black^ (from Germany).

Vici starts the quaterfinals against Team Tinker, with Vici heavily favored to win – having finished 3-2 after the group stages to Tinker’s 1-4. If Vici can go to the semi-finals, there is little that can stop them from winning the whole thing.

A new name in the international scene, these guys from Peru are not kidding around at all. With an unorthodox style of playing, Not Today has the potential to take games off anyone even at the international level.

Even though they finished 1-4 at the end of the group stages, they have proven their ability by simply managing to qualify for The Summit 2. The most notable player on the team is SmAsh, their position 2 who often makes the plays that makes or breaks the game for his team.

They are undoubtedly the underdogs of this competition.

There is nothing for them to lose, and this makes them all the more dangerous.

This team is a wildcard. Made from players from professional teams; Singsing from Cloud 9, Pajkatt from Mousesports, EGM from Alliance, BuLba from Na’Vi NA and qojqva from Team Liquid, Team Tinker is definitely a collection of players who have proven themselves already.

As with all team games though, they still lack cohesion necessary to make them a competitive threat. Team Tinker underperformed in the Summit 2 I feel, but they have been sorely lacking ever since their strong performance at the Dota 2 Champions League Season 4.

Chen Yiji
The Gaming Ground

More by Chen Yiji:

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Tags: Defense of the Ancients 2, DOTA2, G2A, Summit 2, The Summit 2, The Summit 2 Exposure piece