Group A

Virtus.pro (Virtus)
redbear (rB)
Team eJaKulate (JaK)
k23 (k23)
Mizencrononith ([M]zEn)

Cubswin: Virtus.Pro should not have any problems winning this group. They are one of the top dota teams in the world, and have a legitimate chance to win this MYM tournament. The better question is who will come out second in this group. Team JaK is mostly made up of US West players, many of who were on team DXD, they have solid individual skill but can their team work hold up? The French team, RedBear, is very capable of an upset if teams do not take them seriously. They have very solid teamwork and should not be underestimated. But, the second place team in this group is going to be Mizencrononith. They are arguably the best Asian team made up of the top teams Micronology and Zenith. They have yet to prove themselves in the international scene but I think this tournament will be their “breakout”

1. Virtus.Pro
2. Mizencrononith

PinkPriestess: Virtus.Pro has been on fire lately. Not only did Russia just win Prime Nations lead mostly by VP members, but they also recently won the ASUS cup. I expect them to dominate this group and I wouldn't be surprised if they win the entire tournament. Unlike cubs, I'm not too sure about his second place prediction. Zenith and Micronology were promising teams, but do they have chemistry? I think it's a close battle between them and RedBear for second place. For now I'm going to have to go with RedBear. RedBear is mostly members of Dimension 4, who has proven to be an excellent team. They lost Rwar to eMg but added former pandemic player, Third_Child.

1. Virtus.Pro
2. RedBear

Group B

MYM.DotA (MYM)
ieS Virtual Gaming (ieS)
exponential (eXp)
Move (mOve)
Sadistic Kaiser (SK)

Cubswin: MYM is the obvious favorite in this group. They have been a top dota team pretty much, since their creation. MYM|Merlini has re-joined the team and they are looking to show the community why they are considered a top team. Exponential has been a team on the rise. They had a solid win of xLo and are looking to prove themselves this tournament. eXp has the best chance to upset MYM for the number one spot in this group. The German team, ieS has gone under the radar this tournament. They are defiantly going into this group as an underdog but if a team could upset eXp or MYM it would be ieS. They are one of the strongest German teams and are looking to uphold their reputation.

1. MYM
2. eXponential

PinkPriestess: I don't think it's needed to discuss first place for this group. However, I'm torn for second place. Exponential has definitely proven themselves in HTGN but I don't know how well they will perform on an international scale. Their strongest player is Gosu, compared to him a few of the member's are extremely different in skill. Though individual skill doesn't always matter, eXp has proven they have excellent teamwork and interesting strategies. Right now I'd say ieS is one of the underdog teams for this tournament. I've watched a few of their replays and I think they have potential to come in second for this group. I honestly wouldn't be shocked if eXp took second either, I think it's a close match.

1. MYM
2. ieS

Group C

sP[Palit] (sP)
vicious and evil (vae)
eMazing Gaming (eMg)
The Simpsons (tS)
True Killing Style (TKS)

Cubswin: sP[Palit] is one of the strongest teams in the entire dota community. It would be a shock if they placed anything less than first place. The real question in this group is who will take second. eMazing Gaming, aka Verge, has had its struggles in the international competitive team. They are a strong North American team but have not proved themselves to the rest of the world. They have a very solid roster and great lane control, but they do need to work on their teamwork. If they have been practicing they should be able to take second place.

1. sP[Palit]
2. eMg

PinkPriestess: I agree with Cubs fully on this one. sP[Palit] has been competing neck to neck with VP in the last few ASUS cups and have proven to be one of Russia's top teams. I think eMg want to finally prove to the DotA community that they can excel at an international scale. With roster changes and constant practice, they have to potential of improving in this tournament.

1. sP[Palit]
2. eMg

Group D

SK-Gaming (SK)
defective gaming (dG)
Team Sloth (tS)
YamatO (YO)
wasi (W4s|)

Cubswin: The powerful Sweden team, SK-Gaming, is one of the forerunners for winning the entire tournament. They have proven themselves countless times, placing second in dreamhack and won MYM-5. Most of Sk’s roster placed on the Sweden national team that was the runner-up in MYM Nations, losing to Russia in the final round. It was be shocking if Sk did not come out first in this group. Team Sloth is a recently formed team consisting of many ihcs players from around the world. I do not think they will have the same teamwork as team XSK does, but team sloth should not have a problem taking second place in this group.

1. SK-Gaming
2. Team Sloth

PinkPriestess: SK should have no problem taking first place in this group, even without Loda. This team has proven that you should not rely solely on individual skill, rather teamwork. Team Sloth looks promising to perform well in the group stage, however I don't think they will go much further than that. If they practice enough and take the tournament seriously then they have a lot of potential.

1. SK-Gaming
2. Team Sloth