Dota 2 teams are gearing up for a number of Major Championships throughout the fall. ESL One Hamburg takes place at the end of October. Then, in November, the DreamLeague Season 8 takes centerstage.
Qualification for the latter event has now begun in earnest. Two teams have claimed their places in November’s $1,000,000 tournament: Infamous from the South American group and Newbee from the Chinese group.
During the next few weeks, teams in the CIS and European qualifiers will also be battling for one of the four places available.
Tournament structure
The tournament has been arranged into a simple one-league affair featuring eight teams. Here’s the breakdown: three direct invite teams each from CIS and Europe, plus one team from a CIS Open Qualifier, and another from a European Open Qualifier.
The teams competing in the DreamLeague Season 8 CIS/Europe Qualifier are:
- Team Liquid – EU Direct Invite
- OG – EU Direct Invite
- Team Secret – EU Direct Invite
- MidOrFeed – EU Open Qualifier
- pro – CIS Direct Invite
- Team Empire – CIS Direct Invite
- Vega Squadron – CIS Direct Invite
- Natus Vincere – CIS Open Qualifier
Each team will play the other team in its group once in a best-of-two matchup. This means games can finish in 1-1 draws, as well as 2-0 wins.
The first set of matches were played in the group last week. They did not include any games for Team Secret or Team Liquid, who were unable to play due to other commitments. They will play their games over the remaining weeks of the qualifying process.
The results from last week’s games were:
- Team Empire 0-2 Virtus.pro
- Team Empire 1-1 MidOrFeed
- Team Empire 0-2 OG
- pro 1-1 OG
- Vega Squadron 0-2 Natus Vincere
- Vega Squadron 1-1 OG
- Team Empire 2-0 Vega Squadron
- pro 2-0 Vega Squadron
This means that the current league table standings are as follows:
| Pos | Team | Record |
| 1 | Virtus.pro | 5-1 |
| 2 | OG | 4-2 |
| 3 | Team Empire | 3-5 |
| 4 | Natus Vincere | 2-0 |
| 5 | MidOrFeed | 1-1 |
| 6 | Vega Squadron | 1-7 |
| 7 | Team Liquid | 0-0 |
| 8 | Team Secret | 0-0 |
Of course, with some teams having played over half their games already and others yet to start their qualification process, it is difficult to judge the table at the moment. We do know it’s unlikely Vega Squadron will be making the trip to Jönköping, Sweden to play in the final after a disastrous opening week.
The next set of fixtures in this qualifier are due to take place Nov. 6-10. Then, there will be another three days of games from Nov. 14-16, after which we should have a much better idea of which teams will join the already determined qualifiers.
EPICENTER 2017 wildcards will be decided before next weekend
One of the biggest CS:GO events of the year is set to take place in St. Petersburg next week: the EPICENTER 2017.
Last year, Team Dignitas walked away with the $250,000 top prize after they beat Virtus.pro in the final. This year, the venue has shifted to the northernmost big city in the world. There is another $500,000 prize pool on offer.
However, before the finals can get underway, the final two qualifiers must be decided. Oct. 23 will mark a special wild card event, featuring four of the best CS:GO teams not to make it directly into the finals.
Four teams from the Americas, CIS, Europe, and China have been invited to participate:
- Team Liquid (Americas)
- Vega Squadron (CIS)
- FaZe Clan (Europe)
- TyLoo (China)
The draw has pitted Team Liquid against Vega Squadron. Then, FaZe Clan, fresh from their big win last weekend at the ELEAGUE CS:GO Premier, takes on TyLoo.
The teams having already earned their spots are:
- Astralis
- G2 Esports
- Gambit Esports
- North
- SK Gaming
- pro
After the wild cards are known, the eight teams will be drawn into two groups of four. They will play each of the other teams in their group once. The group winners will earn direct qualification into the semifinals. The teams finishing in second and third in the groups qualify for the quarterfinals.
In the quarterfinals, the No. 2 seed from one group will take on the No. 3 from the other. The winners move on to play the group winners in the semis. From there, the two winners head to the finals. All matches in the playoff stages are best-of-three.
With both of these events still in the qualification stage, Bet365 hasn’t started offering odds on the tournament.
