A Non DPC Event. 8 Teams. 4 of which are still actively in this round of the DPC. WePlay! Dota 2 Tug of War: Mad Moon will be a proving ground for those booted from the DPC this season. It may help weave the meta for the upcoming minor. Or simply practise for those DPC contenders with a comfy paycheck to boot. No matter the outcomes, the games will be wild.
Watch here starting at 12:00 CET Feb 19-23
TEAM SECRET
Arguably the best team in Europe when not competing in a tournament called the International. Team Secret performing quite well off of the last major win. Puppey’s decision to swap out MidOne for MATUMBAMAN has proven not to diminish their performance through out the season. Team Secret was the team with the most DPC points last season. Easily the favorite going into this tournament.
PREDICTION: TEAM SECRET PLACE AS AN EVEN NUMBER [2,4,6,8]
GAMBIT ESPORTS
The favored CIS representative from the previous minor, and again another qualification for the next minor. Gambit was the first to go out in the playoffs of the previous minor, and again will expect a lot of opposition from Europe opponent Nigma.
PREDICTION: GAMBIT ESPORTS IS ELIMINATED BY A CIS REGION REPRESENTATIVE
NIGMA
The first of the teams not still in the DPC mentioned in this article, Nigma suffered from the highest skilled qualifier seen in the DPC within the European region. The finals of the minor qualifier had over 55k viewers just on the English stream, of which they lost to Alliance. A roster completely mechanically capable of winning this event, if they can maintain an upper hand within the meta that develops.
PREDICTION: NIGMA WILL NOT WIN A SINGLE GAME AGAINST TEAM SECRET
VIRTUS.PRO
A roster that is struggling outside its region, gets to play on home court. Though its still quite unknown if this roster can compete at the same level the legacy of follows, the talent within the roster should be able to support a winning run through an event like this. This could easily be the breakout tournament for this roster.
PREDICTION: VIRTUS.PRO WILL WIN 3 LOWER BRACKET SETS
NINJAS IN PYJAMAS
Honestly, I don’t know. The team is playing musical chairs trying to find a roster that clicks in both qualifiers and live events. Maintaining a spot in the DPC every round, with a sudden and unexpected direct qualification to the Major from the European qualifier. This team may very well be the best thing to come out of Europe, then American, then back to Europe, that we have ever seen in the DPC.
PREDICTION: NINJAS IN PYJAMAS WILL BE TOP OF THEIR GROUP BUT WILL NOT MAKE IT TO THE GRAND FINALS
B8
Top 8, easy.
Gottem!
I love this team, and they have shown some magic when given some time to prepare. They will get out of their group, and change everyone's mind on their competitive forte.
PREDICTION: B8 WILL WIN THEIR QUARTERFINALS MATCH, LOSE THE SEMIFINALS MATCH, THEN LOSE TO THE EVENTUAL WINNER.
INFAMOUS
My boy Timado is their position 1, who I think was a great player in 2017. But this isn’t a syndereN stack, and there needs to be a team at the bottom of the group. I hope I’m proven wrong.
PREDICTION: INFAMOUS WILL PLACE LAST IN THEIR GROUP.
AGGRESSIVE MODE
A 5-man stack that was one set to qualifying to the major this round, only to fall so far to not qualifying for the minor. Most known for their position 4 Lil, who is outspoken to say the least.
PREDICTION: AGGRESSIVE MODE WILL BE ELIMINATED BY A EUROPEAN TEAM. LIL WILL TWEET ABOUT IT.