We are two days away from The International 3 and we still think it is good for the folks to know the competing teams a little better, merely not your love and feelings for the team but purely quantitative data. We pulled the drafts from their games from the 4th of June, the first day of 6.78 patch, until today and from there, we analyzed team patterns and their tendency to run certain heroes.

This article is the third part of a five-series article highlighting teams' playstyle.
 

  1. Europe
  2. South East Asia
  3. Wildcards
  4. North America
  5. China


In this article, we present the two competitors from North America, Team Liquid and Team Dignitas. The two teams were invited straight to The International 3, while their compatriots Evil Geniuses were disqualified after their defeat against Mousesports during the playoffs of the Western Qualifiers.

We also took enemy ban % against X team ban % to really highlight the sort of respect ban these teams were facing. The higher the % difference, the higher the % these heroes got respect banned. High numbers also mean how scared the opponents are against these heroes when facing a particular team.

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Team Liquid

Team Liquid after their victory against iG in G-1 League. Photo by GosuGamers PicksHeroesPicks % Treant34.8 Gyrocopter33.3 Crystal Maiden23.2 Naga Siren21.7 Rubick21.7 Dark Seer20.3 Dragon Knight17.4 Queen of Pain15.9 Puck14.5 Visage14.5 BansHeroesEnemy ban %Liquid's ban %Difference in % Treant39.54.334.9 Lifestealer30.57.223.3 Gyrocopter27.511.615.9 Ezalor161.414.6 Clockwerk17.44.313.1

 Queen of Pain

18.97.211.7 Storm Spirit14.57.27.3 Dragon Knight8.71.47.3 Weaver13.17.25,9 Antimage11.67.24.4

The easiest observation from the tables is Treant Protector topping both lists. Liquid base most of their strategies and early game plans on their supports - with ixmike88 and FLUFF protecting TC and Korok as much as needed - one of their favorite combinations is the Crystal Maiden/Treant Protector duo,  a pair that has a big global influence, providing kill potential for their lane as well. Queen of Pain, Puck, Dragon Knight and Dark Seer are also regular picks, helping Bulba, TC and Korok win their assigned solo lanes.

The frequency of the Treant Protector is an easily spotted characteristic of Liquid, selected both with Crystal Maiden and Nerubian Weaver - forcing the enemies to get rid of Rooftrellen and Weaver in order to disrupt Liquid's intentions. Shadow Demon, Visage and Ezalor are also regular picks for TL, with Keeper of the Light being probably the scariest support and one of the most usual bans against Liquid.

The list of Liquid's fearsome heroes is completed with certain strong solo mid heroes and snowball carries. Queen of Pain, Storm Spirit and Dragon Knight, with 11.7%, 7.3% and 7.3% consecutively, can be active during the early game and also have high late game potential - hence TC and Korok select them quite often. Lifestealer and Gyrocopter can shine both in trilane and solo lane scenarions, earning 23.3% and 15.9% respectively, fitting quite well in Liquid's playstyle. Antimage needs more protection early, but Korok has performed exceptionally well with the hero, making him undesirable to battle against. Last but not least, Clockwerk is quite high in the list with a percentage of 13.1%, thanks to Bulba's capabilities with the hero.  

Team Dignitas

Team Dignitas posing. Image by Creative Sverige.
  PicksHeroesPicks % Jakiro47.4 Dark Seer41.0 Lifestealer26.9 Leshrac24.4 Visage21.8 Nyx Assassin19.2 Furion17.9 Rubick17.9 Morphling17.9 Gyrocopter16.7 BansHeroesEnemy ban %Dignitas's ban %Difference in % Dark Seer35.96.429.5 Gyrocopter32.111.520.6 Wisp52.639.712.9 Doom11.5011.5 Lanaya14.12.611.5

 Lone Druid

26.916.710.2 Enchantress11.63.87.8 Jakiro17.910.37.6 Visage11.65.16.5 Naga Siren16.610.36.3

Dignitas is a team that favors AOE teamfight combinations, and sometimes uses greedy line-ups. On the other hand, Jakiro being the top pick for the team was mostly unexpected , with a percentage of  47.4%. Following in second place is Dark Seer (41.0%) where coupled with several other AOE heroes can wreak havoc on careless enemies. Though it is understandable that Dignitas are picking such line-ups to make sure they survive until late game, Lifestealer (26.9%) is not the most reliable hero for longer encounters. Therefore, Morphling (17.9%) and Gyrocopter (16.7%) also make the list.

Looking over to the ban table, one realises that Dark Seer is the opponents' top ban when they face Dignitas and this can be attributed to Universe's and Fogged's play on the versatile hero.

Unlike other teams, the frequent bans against Dignitas do not incude many solo-mid heroes. The bans of Doom and Templar Assassin with 11.5% each indicate that Sneyking has had some minor success with the heroes but they do not usually opt to shut down the middle lane during the drafting phase. Dignitas' opponents also do not seem to have much hate on the carry heroes apart from the Gyrocopter which is really a general ban.