Nouns defeated Tundra Esports, the International defending champions in a clean 2-0 sweep during the group stage’s Phase Two. That ultimately led to Tundra getting a bad start into the TI12 Playoffs’ Lower Bracket, where they are at the brim of elimination.
Now they meet China’s star studded super team (Azure Ray) in the Upper Bracket. Can Nouns upset the bracket once again and secure a historic Top 6 finish?
TI12 Upper Bracket Playoffs Match Preview: nouns vs Azure Ray
Nouns vs Azure Ray
With Tundra out of the picture, nouns’ next opponent is none other than Azure Ray, the Chinese all-star squad. Frankly, nouns is still the underdog in this match, considering the general perception on the typical NA team is underwhelming. Right after nouns’ victory, the official page came out to “introduce” themselves.
Wondering how a team you’ve never heard of is in the #TI12 upper bracket?
This is our story ⌐◨-◨pic.twitter.com/Ju8hUqFIAw
— Nouns Esports ⌐◨-◨ (@nounsesports) October 16, 2023
To which, the most reasonable reaction to that would be that we always knew who the guys in nouns were, but we didn’t expect them to be this good.
As for Azure Ray, the former remnants of TI8 PSG.LGD is arguably the most fitting title to refer the players. Lu “Somnus” Yao, Yang “Chalice” Shenyi and Xu “fy” Linsen were household names during their prime TI8-TI9 tenure, so it’s reasonable that many fans still hold Azure in high regard.
Read also: The International 2023 Playoffs Predictions: Matchup Analysis
Nouns TI12 Hero Picks and Cheesing the Meta
Now then, if there’s anything for nouns to call home about, it’s their drafts and good use of the current meta. Their Chaos Knight pick, played by Héctor “K1” Rodríguez, is the spotlight in the decisive game 2 versus Tundra. CK isn’t heavily contested, much thanks to better carry options in TI12, such as Spectre and Morphling.
However, it all synergizes well with an unlikely ally, Ogre Magi. The combo resolves around Ogre using Bloodlust on CK and his illusions, making it not just a powerful threat to heroes, but also for sieging buildings. Up to this extent, it wasn’t enough to bring down Tundra, so this combo is further amplified with Brewmaster.
Brewmaster is a heavily-contested hero, being banned more than it’s ever picked for good reasons. However, nouns leveraged on Ogre’s same buff for Brewmaster’s Spirit Pandas. These summons deal decent damage, especially during Ogre’s attack speed buff. Considering this is quite a broken draft, Azure Ray will be foolish to let nouns re-enact this draft in their match. Perhaps banning Brewmaster, as he’s already among the most banned heroes in TI12.
K1 the farmer
Héctor “K1” Rodríguez
Despite that, nouns can still rely on K1 to win the game. K1 is a hard carry player who can truly make the most out of AFK farming. Given enough space, any hard carry pick in K1’s hands will surely be monstrous.
This is also possible thanks to the rest of nouns, who understand their assignment. Playing 4v5 during the entire midgame duration lets K1 reach his peak without compromising his time by sticking with the team.
This is far cry from what beastcoast had K1’s role during his tenure in his former team. As most SA teams revolved around early initiatives through team fights and impact, the NA squad played around letting K1 farm instead.
Other Cheese Picks in TI12
In terms of cheese picks, there aren’t many, considering these are often first bans to begin with. After all, there aren’t any typical respect bans that the two teams have to sacrifice on any player. Nevertheless, heroes that contribute to AOE-based team fight damage seem to be the cheese picks of TI12. Heroes, such as Kunkka’s Torrent Storm skill, Earth Spirit, Primal Beast, Spirit Breaker and Brewmaster fit the description.
Azure Ray’s early movements
Although not as chaotic as SA playstyles, China shares a similar objective behind their playstyle. Early rotations with midgame-effective heroes is what put Azure Ray in the forefront to overwhelm opponents before the game gets out of hand.
We see Somnus play around skill-based mid-heroes that can contribute effectively in fights. Alongside were heroes that have more than one initiation method to jump the unsuspecting opponents, such as Clockwerk. As such, it could be a rat race for Azure Ray to come out on top of fights while keeping tabs on K1’s farming.
Who will win between nouns and Azure Ray?
It’s not often we see a NA team performing this well into the TI Playoffs, so we have to go with nouns for the win. Their unorthodox drafts make them a more exciting team to root for, while we get tenacity from Azure Ray’s playstyle.
Frankly, tenacity in a relatively new Dota 2 update will surely hit a roadblock if they can’t surprise their opponents anymore. If nouns actually win this upper bracket quarterfinal round, they will secure a guaranteed top-six finish at TI12, an achievement that no NA team has reached since Evil Geniuses won TI5.
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