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]]>The opening Major tournament of the 2019/20 Dota Pro Circuit season will kick off this Saturday in Chengdu, China, where we will see 16 elite Dota2 esports teams compete for the lion’s share of a US $1,000,000 prize pool and the largest chunk of 15,000 DPC points.
The lineup for the opening Major of the season was confirmed on Sunday, November 10, when Invictus Gaming won DOTA Summit 11 and claimed the final ticket leading to China. However, it was not until this Thursday that the group draw was finished and revealed to the public.
Group A
Team Unknown, TNC Predator, Fighting PandaS, EHOME
TNC Predator are by far the strongest team in Group A and should have an easy time advancing to the playoffs. The SEA juggernauts enter the Major fresh off their ESL One Hamburg title and will look to produce another big performance here.
While TNC look certain to progress, the second ticket for the playoffs is up for grabs among the remaining three teams. We can expect a fierce battle between EHOME and Fighting PandaS, who are seen as the most likely teams to join TNC in the second stage, while Team Unknown will have to produce something spectacular to join the race.
Group B
ViCi Gaming, Team Spirit, Fnatic, Alliance
Group B is regarded as the Group of Death as it features some of the strongest teams in the Dota 2 pro scene, including three of the top five favourites to win the Chengdu Major.
This group will force ViCi, Spirit, Fnatic and Alliance to find their form right from the start, as anything less could result in a premature exit from the tournament.
Whichever teams miss out on playoffs will curse their luck, as the title is anyone’s to win with OG, PSG.LGD and Team Secret skipping the trip to Chengdu.
Group C
Team Liquid, Team Aster, Evil Geniuses, Team Adroit
This will be an exciting group, as all teams possess plenty of potential. That said, it remains to be seen whether we see the best of these teams in the early stages of the tournament.
This is the official debut of the new-look Evil Geniuses, who will carry high expectations on their shoulders as the outright favourites. Team Liquid are in a similar situation, as their newly acquired roster has a lot to prove after making the switch from Alliance.
A lot can happen in Group C. If either EG or TL slip up, we can be sure Team Aster will take full advantage of the opportunity.
Group D
J.Storm, Invictus Gaming, Gambit Esports, beastcoast
The weakest group of the tournament might also be the most exciting, considering all four teams have a legitimate chance to advance to the playoffs.
A team that stands out here is Invictus Gaming, solely because they are entering the tournament fresh after winning the DOTA Summit 11 title. Gambit should not be ignored either, as the CIS powerhouse recently claimed a silver medal at ESL One Hamburg and will look to do some damage here as well.
Beastcoast, the former Infamous roster, turned heads with their impressive runs at The International 9, while J.Storm enter the Chengdu Major hungry for DPC points after missing out on TI9.
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]]>Just like previous Dota 2 Major tournaments, MDL Chengdu will feature 16 teams divided into four GSL groups for the group stage, followed by double-elimination playoffs. Most games will be played in best-of-three series (Bo3), with the only exceptions being the first round matches in the lower bracket playoffs (Bo1) and the grand finals (Bo5).
Now let’s take a look at favourites, their strengths, weaknesses, and the best Dota2 betting odds for the MDL Chengdu Major.
MDL Chengdu underdogs and darkhorses
To keep this preview short, we will jump over some of the tournament underdogs. Squads included under that category are Team Unknown (+6600), Team Adroit (+4000), J Storm (+4000), Fighting Pandas (+3300), Team Liquid (+2200), Team Spirit (+2200) and beastcoast (+2000). Out of those six teams, two deserve special attention.
While Fighting Pandas are huge underdogs compared to the top contenders at MDL Chengdu, they have the highly experienced Kurtis “Aui_2000” Ling in their ranks. He coached Quincy Crew, Forward Gaming and Newbee before he returned to the Dota 2 battlefield, where is now serving as player-captain of Fighting Pandas. They might not be a team that will claim the title, but they should not be underestimated.
With some of the biggest names in Dota 2 esports choosing to skip the Chengdu Major, this might be Team Liquid’s (+2200) time to shine. They are one of the few teams that have not made any roster changes after The International 9 (except for Jonathan “Loda” Berg, their former coach and owner). Playing under the Alliance banner last season, the team made waves by finishing fifth-sixth in the EPICENTER Major and winning DOTA Summit 10. However, underwhelming returns at DreamLeague Season 12 and ESL One Hamburg have cast some doubt over their chances in Chengdu.
MDL Chengu favourites and best bets
Invictus Gaming (+1800) bring excellent form lines to Chengdu. They topped Chinese qualifying for both ESL One Hamburg and DOTA Summit 11, going on to win the latter with a clean sweep of Chaos Esports Club in the final. IG were far and away the most accomplished team at the DOTA Summit, so it remains to be seen how they fare against much stronger opposition.
Aster, EHOME and Gambit Esports (all +1200) are priced close together by most esports bookmakers, and we can see why. While all three have flashes of quality, they will struggle to keep up with the big boys in Bo3 series and double-elimination brackets.
The Alliance (+1000) roster is built around Nikolay “Nikobaby” Nikolov, who impressed at TI9 when he played under Mineski. Nikobaby has since proved that his performances at The International were no fluke, helping Alliance win DreamLeague Season 12 and finish third at ESL One Hamburg 2019.
Fnatic (+800) are priced as the fourth favourite to win the first Dota2 Major of the season. Their new roster combines young talents with veteran players to produce a team that is made to leave a mark on every tournament they appear in. While Fnatic have not won a single event since December 2012, we can expect them to cause some upsets in China.
TNC Predator (+500) finished ninth-12th at TI9 and went on to win ESL One Hamburg in late October, so it seems the additions of Damien “kpii” Chok, Park “March” Tae-won and Kim “Gabbi” Villafuerte in September have had an immediate impact. TNC look as strong as ever and should feature prominently in the MDL Chengdu knockout rounds.
ViCi Gaming (+400) are one of the three strongest teams in terms of individual quality, but their form does not inspire much hope. At ESL One Hamburg, they dropped games against the likes of Gambit, beastcoast and IG Vitality. They will have the home crowd on their side, however, as they look to re-establish themselves as the alpha dogs in China.
Evil Geniuses (+350) are outright favourites to start the DPC 2019/20 season with a Major title. The North American organisation went undefeated throughout the qualifiers, dropping only one map against Quincy Crew (now Chaos Esports Club) en route to the MDL Chengdu. Abed “Abed” Yusop and Roman “RAMZES666” Kushnarev were spectacular in the qualifiers and should they continue playing with the same form, EG should have 4,850 DPC points and US $300,000 in the bag.
Prediction: Evil Geniuses to win – +350 at BetOnline
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]]>The MDL Chengdu Major Chinese closed qualifiers came to a close on Monday, October 7, unveiling ViCi Gaming, Team Aster and EHOME as the three Chinese teams who earned their spot at the first Major of 2019/20 Dota Pro Circuit season.
Far less successful in the qualifying event were Keen Gaming, who failed to stack up with RNG, Team Aster, Newbee and CDEC Gaming in Group B.
On day one, Keen fought their way to two 1-1 draws against CDEC and Newbee, to which they added an impressive 1-1 draw against RNG on day two. Unfortunately, they failed to capitalize on the momentum as they kneeled down to Aster (0-2) in the last game of the group stage.
Keen Gaming ended the group stage tied with CDEC at fourth place, meaning a tiebreaker was in place to decide which team will get one last shot at competing for the Major ticket. Unfortunately, CDEC proved to be the stronger side on that day, meaning Keen finished the group stage fifth with a 0-3-1 record.
However, the poor performance at the Chinese qualifiers is not the only thing Keen Gaming have on their mind, seeing how they are faced with a new issue. That is the announcement of Mushi he will be taking a break from the competitive play, leaving the Chinese outfit to continue the season without one of the most experienced players in the Dota 2 scene.
Mushi’s departure from the team comes off as a shock to some, considering he joined the roster on September 5, 2019, when he announced his decision to leave Geek Fam in order to join Keen with a heart-warming Facebook post.
“It��s with a heavy heart that I write this post, thinking that I will once again be leaving my beloved homeland, Malaysia,” the post read.
“Thanks to my fans who supported me through thick and thin, I��ll be back even stronger than ever.”
His decision to part ways with Keen Gaming was made public on Monday, October 14, ultimately meaning Mushi spent slightly over a month at Keen, suggesting the poor result of the Chinese outfit at the qualifiers did not go down well with the former Asian Champion.
It’s easy to see how Mushi’s departure will leave a huge void for Keen to fill and according to recent reports, the team have already found a replacement in Zhuang ��xiaofu�� Yongfu, who will arrive from KG.Luminous.
Xiaofu, who has spent over two years competing under the KG.Luminous flag, will reportedly take over the number four position, meaning Jiang �������� An will move down to the number five spot to replace Mushi.
Keen Gaming’s first test with their new-look roster will come at the VKGAME Battle of Dawn, where they have already lost the opening fixture and now wait for a rematch with CDEC Gaming on Wednesday, October 16.
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]]>MDL Chengdu Major Southeast Asia qualifiers concluded on Monday, October 7, unveiling the three teams who earned their spot at the first major of the season where a US $980,000 prize pool will be put up for grabs.
The first two teams to qualify were Fnatic and TNC Predator, who entered the qualifiers as two strong favourites and managed to live up to the expectations by steamrolling their way through the group stage.
Fnatic crushed SG Dragons (2-0), Team Jinesbrus (2-0) and Team Adroit (2-0), yet had to settle with a 1-1 record against BOOM Esports who proved to be no pushover. Nonetheless, their performance proved to be more than enough to earn a number one seed in Group A, ahead of Team Adroit (3-0-1).
TNC Predator, who fought their battles in Group B enjoyed a similar experience as Fnatic, seeing how they as well finished the group stage with a 3-1-0 record.
In their group stage venture, TNC Predator defeated Geek Fam (2-0), Alpha x Hashtag (2-0), Reality Rift (2-0) and had a much closer encounter with Cignal Ultra (1-1), who pushed TNC to their limits, yet still failed to prevent them from claiming number one seed.
In the playoffs, which took off on October 7, Fnatic got paired with Group B runners up Cignal Ultra, whereas TNC Predator met with Group A runners-up Team Adroit.
Fnatic clash with the Philippine outfit proved to be fairly one-sided, with Fnatic setting the pace and securing a dominant 2-0 series win. At the same time, a much closer fixture was taking place, featuring TNC Predator and Adroit, where the favourites faced a much tougher resistance.
Team Adroit won game one against TNC Predator in just over 29 minutes, which set them up nicely to win the ticket for Chengdu Major. But as soon as the teams entered game two, there was a drastic change of pace, which tipped the scale into TNC Predator’s favour, who went on to reverse sweep Team Adroit.
The third and final ticket for Chengdu Major was put on the table as two Philippine sides met to settle which of the two deserves to join Fnatic and TNC Predator in China in mid-November.
In the end, it was Team Adroit, who proved to be more disciplined, organized and showed more heart in the arena, where they crushed their compatriots 2-0 to earn the final spot on the plane heading to Chengdu.
The MDL Chengdu Major will be the first-ever major tournament for the young and talented Team Adroit, who entered the Dota2 pro scene in May, 2019. And while they are entering the tournament as huge underdogs, they have shown they have the heart and desire to compete at the top level.
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]]>Some of the absentees are taking a bit more time to recover from the gruelling battles that took place at The International 2019, while others have cited personal reasons.
The first team that decided to extend their vacation was PSG.LGD, who ended their TI9 campaign in third place following a painful 1-2 defeat against the eventual champions OG in the upper bracket finals and a 1-2 defeat to Team Liquid in the lower bracket finals.
The Chinese powerhouse made the announcement only a few days after TI9 finished, claiming they have decided to miss the first Dota 2 Major of the new season to give their players some more time to recover from another successful run at the world’s richest esports tournament.
PSG.LGD also revealed Linsen ��fy�� Xu is set to undergo eye surgery and will need three months to fully recover from the procedure, which is one more reason to miss out on the Chengdu Major.
The Chinese outfit did, however, reveal they will be attending ONE Esports Dota 2 World Pro Invitational Singapore in mid-December.
Joining them on extended holidays are the fourth-placed team at TI9, Team Secret, who made their decision public on September 26, 2019 on their official website.
“After an intense competitive year and a gruelling preparation for TI, our DotA 2 team will be taking some time off to rest and recover in advance of the upcoming season,” read the post.
“We have no changes to announce at this moment in time, and we will be skipping the first Major in Chengdu for the players to recuperate.”
The North American organization went on to mention they will, just like PSG.LGD, make their first LAN appearance at ONE Esports Dota 2 World Pro Invitational Singapore, which is set to take off on December 17, 2019.
Apart from the two teams, there are also several players who have opted to defer the start of the DPC campaign.
Michael ��ninjaboogie�� Ross, a former member of Mineski and a voice we will hear on English broadcasts for the Major qualifiers, revealed he will take a few months off to spend time with his loved ones and focus on some personal goals.
Martin ��Saksa�� Sazdov, who is the only remaining player of the old Ninjas in Pyjamas roster that saw major changes in late September, is also sitting out the start of the season.
Joining the two will be Lasse ��MATUMBAMAN�� Urpalainen, the Finnish superstar and member of Chaos Esports Club.
MATUMBAMAN had a tough end of the season as Chaos finished TI9 at a disappointing 17th-18th place with a 0-3-5 record, which could have contributed to his decision to take some time off.
Zakari ��Zfreek�� Freedman, Adam Erwann Shah ��Adam�� bin Akhtar Hussein and Topias ��Topson�� Taavitsainen will also skip MDL Chengdu Major.
Topson stated he needs some time to “think about his future”, whereas both Zfreek and Adammdid did not specify why they have decided to skip out on the upcoming Major.
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