The first American finals in the Dota 2 StarLadder i-League StarSeries will take place this weekend in sunny Los Angeles, California, and will be hosted by Beyond the Summit. With a mere $300,000 prize pool, it's a smaller LAN at a time when all eyes are on next month's big prize: The International 6, the gleaming diamond in 2016's Dota 2 esports crown.
The StarLadder finals, though, might end up being an extremely important tournament for those eyeing the Aegis, TI's highly coveted trophy. Despite a smaller prize pool than TI6 in Seattle, events like StarLadder and last week's The Summit 5 are seen as a proving ground, and many eyes will be scrutinizing the attending teams to see if they are TI-ready.
The favorites among the participants are Evil Geniuses and Team Secret, two lineups that recently underwent major roster swaps and a long gantlet run through the TI Open Qualifiers. While both teams handily cleared the bar to make it to The International, they won't be competing against random teams from the NA and EU servers this weekend; instead, they'll be competing at a higher level against teams that were invited or have already been vetted through a regional qualifier. A StarLadder win would be a major landmark for these teams' progress over the last few weeks.
There are formidable challengers for the StarLadder title, however: Fnatic, the Southeast Asian champs who had a similar tough run through the Qualifiers, and Natus Vincere, who are fresh off a fourth-place finish at The Summit. The former will be looking to get some more experience against unfamiliar opponents, especially among the lower-tier American squads. Na'Vi, for its part, could use a shot of confidence after getting snubbed by Team Liquid at The Summit; this is a team that was directly invited to StarLadder and TI6, yet it's had trouble asserting itself as a force to be reckoned with.
The next two teams came up through the qualifiers for both StarLadder and TI6. Digital Chaos and Complexity will be seeking some redemption against EG, after losing to the reformed-and-renewed boys in blue during the North American Qualifiers. DC certainly has the right players in the right positions, but needs to show some stability and consistency this weekend to keep hopes high for TI6. Complexity has otherwise been in a slump, after a rough finish at the Manila Major, and could use any experience and hands-on learning it can get before facing down its upcoming Wild Card run in Seattle.
Finally, there's always room for the unexpected. Any upsets this week will likely come from F.R.I.E.N.D.S., an unfamiliar team name which belies a roster with a couple of familiar players. Ilya "ALOHADANCE" Korobkin and Andrey "ALWAYSWANNAFLY" Bondarenko are no strangers to the game of Dota, and could easily catch an unwary team at the right moment to get some quality wins on their belts. CDEC.Youth are also an intimidating opponent; while it wasn't able to qualify for TI6, this team has been able to take matches off the topmost teams in China, and that's intimidating for any team in Los Angeles. Expect CDEC.Youth to be the hammer and anvil for the TI-bound teams, either sharpening and honing their play, or breaking them against the steel.