Phase 2 of the ongoing DreamLeague Season 2 is about to go underway and we single out 5 highlights to look forward to. From certain teams to the production, what can we expect from DreamLeague?

 

1. 4 Anchors - No Pressure

4 Anchors is probably the biggest surprise in the ongoing DreamLeague season. Eliminating hot favoriteTeam Secret in the EU qualifiers for the group stages, 4 Anchors looked to upset the EU West division and did so in full force. Benefitting from the struggling teams Fnatic and Alliance, 4 Anchors will attend its first major LAN together as a team. Considering the large amount of high quality competition, it's fair to say that the Finns are not considered to be amongst the favorites. However, with two top contenders in iGand LGD-Gaming dropping out, suddenly the competition doesn't seem as fierce. Surely, favorites such asEvil Geniuses and Cloud 9 remain, but the other teams don't look as scary anymore, especially not for a team such as 4ASC. 

There is only little to lose for the team: They are already in the money and the exposure and the experience they will get from this LAN is invaluable. While it certainly would be a true triumph to end up in the high ranks, the Finns have already accomplished quite a bit and will be able to just play - no presssure.

 

2. Production + Casting

Ever since the Kick-Off Season for DreamLeague last year, The GD Studio has been able to provide an entertaining show for the viewers at home. Be it with Tri-Casts or with just sheer production value, such as a live replay parser, the viewers were always in for a surprise. Not so much this season so far, as this installement has been overshadowed by a lot of drama surrounding admins, teams and schedules, thus taking out the fun of what should be just Dota. 

Now, The GD Studio is in control once more and with a bit of a break, the studio is expected to provide an entertaining show once more. With assisting personalities such as Shane and Sheever, the cast is set and multiple teams being there should provide a lot of content outside the games as well. What can we expect on the production side of things? We don't know, but that's what makes it so exciting. 

 

3. MVP.Phoenix - Rise from the ashes?

The Korean scene has been dominated by MVP.Phoenix for quite a while but lately the TI4 Wildcard contestant has not been as hot anymore, dropping to a 40% win streak in October. Rave has taken the dominating position and even their teammates Hot6 have been able to step it up a notch, giving Phoenix a run for their money. The Koreans have also recently attended the IeSF LAN event in Baku, Azerbaijan but were unfortunate enough to draw Newbee as their first and last opponent in the playoffs. 

MVP.Phoenix has already benefitted greatly from attending StarLadder Season 9 in Kiev and while they were unable to impress on the LAN itself, their performance afterwards was boosted immensely. Can they repeat that success and learn once more from clashing with the best in the world? 

 

4. EE-Sama's bleached hair

Cloud 9's EternalEnvy has promised to bleach his hair if the team won a LAN this year. The team will have only a few opportunities left, one of which being the upcoming DreamLeague Season 2 finals. While the team is certainly to be considered as a favorite in the tournament, they have not been able to secure any first place on LAN in the past year. They came as close as it could get during the WEC LAN in China, but lost two consecutive bo3s to EG, or even in the last iteration of the DreamLeague, as the team fell short 2-3 to Alliance.

The Europeans are often considered one of the most inconsistent teams in the scene, bouncing between great comeback victories and questionable throws. That is unlikely to change anytime soon, but maybe, just maybe the confidence boost from getting voted into The Summit 2 can push C9 to stronger performances. Leading the way will be carry EternalEnvy and maybe, just maybe, he will end the year with a new hair color.

 

5. Virtus.pro Polar - Slightly Messy

Virtus.pro Polar, formerly known as NVMI, started off as yet another one of Goblak's projects, and as always, the team was able to impress in the beginning with unconventional picks and strategies, such as the return of the support Spirit Breaker. Despite a good run, Goblak left the team and headed straight to Natus Vincere. Left without a captain and a support player, VPP quickly acquired the assistance of former Na'Vi player fng, although just as a stand-in for now. Together with former Team Empire player Mag, the team has been able to find its rhythm again.

Much like 4 Anchors, theres is little to lose for this team. VPP is in a phase trying to find itself, re-establishing themselves as a proper team and finding two new fixed members and both fng and Mag seem to fit the bill. The situation for the team is a bit confusing and a lot of things need to be settled. All the more reason to just focus on the game.

 

Source: gosugamers