DotA Gamers Club: GEST: Tournament

GEST: GoDz predicts GIGABYTE E-Sport Tournament group stage
by Patrik 'Raistlin' Hellstrand

GosuGamers broadcaster and show host for GIGABYTE E-Sports Tournament International DotA Cup 2012 predicts this weekend's group stage.

"Former champions MSI-EvoGT, Invasion-Red who took down Mineski last month in the group stage, and newcomers Badburn all will be looking to make their mark," says David "GoDz" Parker.

GEST MAY/ GROUP A

Redspade (Brunei)

SkyNet (Vietnam)

Invasion reD (Malaysia)

MSIEvo GT (Philippines)

Badburn (Philippines)

Badburn have a very good chance to cause upsets"
This group sees some serious talent and dark-horses present. Former champions MSI-EvoGT, Invasion-Red who took down Mineski last month in the group stage, and newcomers Badburn all will be looking to make their mark. A struggling Red Spade and SkyNet who have seen players bounce around to other teams for DotA/Dota 2 will probably struggle to compete with these three teams. Coming through the qualifier, I'd say Badburn, the recent GMPGL champions, have a very good chance to cause some upsets, and Inv-red/MSI-EvoGT had better watch out - because they could be the first to see an early exit.

GEST MAY/ GROUP B

iZone 125 (Philippines)

Starsboba (Vietnam)

eNcy (Indonesia)

Neolution (Thailand)

Fire (Vietnam)

"We may see StarsBoba repeat their form from February"
Probably one of the hardest groups for me to predict - a couple of months ago Neolution would have been an easy pick to get out of their group (like they did back in February); but today: they are in mediocre form and I think will struggle - although they may find some beatable opponents in Fire and eNcy - but even those are tought contendors. I expect iZone125 (despite not having the strongest results against fellow PH teams lately) will emerge in the top 2 position. With this group, I expect we may see StarsBoba once again emerging and looking to repeat their form from February where they were the runner-up to Mineski.

GEST MAY/ GROUP C

Mineski (Philippines)

Deperruku (Indonesia)

Orange (Malaysia)

G7 (Myanmar)

Pacific.UST (Philippines)

"Mineski vs. Orange - Most anticipated and exciting game of the group stage"
When I think of GEST IDC, two big teams pop into my mind: Mineski and Orange. They will be going head-to-head in what I imagine will be the most anticipated and exciting game of the group stage (fingers crossed). Their fellow group-mates are in for a challenge if they are to escape, they have to cause an upset against one of the two teams. With that said, deperruku (ex-Velocy Hyper) have caused upsets in the past, overthrowing Mineski and getting to the players, and G7 are an always-consistent team that never have bad showings. Pacific.UST, only getting in through a rematch in the qualifiers against uG, will find some great practice, but something tells me they won't go past Saturday.

GEST MAY/ GROUP D

Ritter-ART (Indonesia)

Dreamz (Philippines)

Pcfc (Philippines)

iDeal (Thailand)

Tt.How (Thailand)

"Pinoy dominance will continue this month - a gambler would suggest otherwise"
Will the Pinoy dominance this month continue? I think so. And you'd have to be quite the gambler to suggest otherwise. Pcfc are always a top contender, with playoff-finishes, and Dreamz, with newly added Julz, could be a contendor as well. With that said, iDeal and Tt.How, the two Thai teams, have had some decent results lately, getting 1-1 draws against some top Thai teams such as Neolution and MiTh.Trust, so maybe expect a surprise finish. Finally, Ritter-ART have proven they are no walkovers as well in the past. We may see one of these teams preventing Dreamz from qualifying, but Pcfc should make it through with relative ease.

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