Get your mouse fingers warmed up and your sleep schedules totally ruined. The regional qualifiers have formally wrapped up, the mud has settled, and we lastly have the whole checklist of the 16 groups packing their luggage for Shanghai, China.
From August 13 to August 23, the Oriental Sports activities Middle goes to rework right into a gladiatorial area for the largest Dota 2 occasion of the yr. Valve is placing a cool $1.6 million on the road, and whereas the teams and precise brackets are nonetheless shrouded in thriller, the workforce sheet alone is already promising pure, unadulterated chaos.
The VIP Lounge: The Seven Direct Invitations
Valve checked out seven particular squads this yr and determined they didn’t must sweat by way of the qualifier trenches. These groups bought the golden tickets handed proper to them primarily based on sheer dominance.
First up, we’ve got Crew Liquid and Crew Falcons, two heavyweights that completely no person needs to see on their facet of the draft. Becoming a member of them from the invite checklist are Aurora Gaming, BoomBoys, 1w Crew, Xtreme Gaming, and Crew Yandex.
Having Xtreme Gaming enjoying on house turf in China goes to convey an electrical environment to the gang. These seven groups have had the posh of kicking again, watching the qualifiers, and analyzing everybody else’s methods, which is an enormous benefit when the event kicks off.
The European Massacre Qualifiers
If you wish to discuss stress, look no additional than the Western and Japanese European qualifiers. Europe was granted 4 slots, and watching these matches was a masterclass in high-stakes Dota.
Crew Spirit cruised by way of to lock down their spot, which ought to shock precisely nobody given their legendary standing. They’re joined by Crew Imaginative and prescient, a squad that has been turning loads of heads recently.
The true drama got here right down to the ultimate weekend, the place Nigma Galaxy reminded everybody why you’ll be able to by no means depend them out, securing a slot alongside the fierce opponents of Huligani. This European contingent appears to be like completely terrifying this yr.
Across the World in Eighty Chronospheres
The remainder of the world needed to struggle tooth and nail for a really restricted variety of golden tickets, resulting in some good underdog tales and regional clashes.
In China, the house crowd can have two extra groups to cheer for alongside Xtreme. Crew Resilience and Vici Gaming fought by way of the native brackets to make sure the hometown followers have loads of native banners to wave. Over in Southeast Asia, OG managed to navigate a treacherous path to assert the only real consultant spot for the area.
In the meantime, the Americas had a wild trip. In North America, GamerLegion fully dominated the qualifier ultimate to grab the lonely single ticket allotted to the area. Down in South America, LGD Gaming pulled off their very own magic trick to lock down the ultimate spot on the event checklist.
The Warmup Earlier than the Storm
Whereas August appears like it’s proper across the nook, the professional groups even have an enormous pitstop to make first. Earlier than anybody steps foot in Shanghai, a bunch of those squads are heading over to Paris, France, for the Esports World Cup taking place between July 7 and July 19.
Consider it as the last word high-stakes rehearsal. Groups are going to point out off their new methods, take a look at out the newest meta modifications, and inevitably attempt to conceal their finest draft secrets and techniques so that they don’t give away the sport earlier than The Worldwide even begins.
It’ll be a wild summer season of Dota 2, so refill on vitality drinks and prepare for some world-class gaming.
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