MDL Chengdu Major Preview: what to expect from this Dota Pro Circuit event
MDL Chengdu Major will be the first Major of the current Dota Pro Circuit. The event offers one million dollars in prizes, features 16 teams and is scheduled to take place in China, between November 16th – 24th.
Being one of the most important esports tournaments of the season, MDL Chengdu Major offers numerous esports betting opportunities for those who like to bet on Dota 2. In our Dota 2 betting predictions, we will give you a better understanding of who the favorites are and what you can expect from this event.
[cta-box postid=”13694″]MDL Chengdu Major Teams
MDL Chengdu Major features 16 of the world’s best teams. With one exception, all of these teams are already known. They come from the six official regions of the Dota Pro Circuit:
- Europe: Alliance, Team Liquid
- China: Vici Gaming, Team Aster, EHOME
- CIS: Gambit Esports, Team Spirit
- Southeast Asia: Fnatic, TNC Predator, Team Adroit
- North America: Evil Geniuses, Fighting PandaS, J.Storm
- South America: beastcoast, Team Unknown
As you can see, a lot of these teams are not your usual suspects. Almost all of the big names are missing from this tournament, either because they declined to participate in the qualifiers or because they made a lot of roster changes and failed to qualify as a result of becoming much weaker than before. The list includes PSG.LGD, Team Secret, OG, ex-Team Liquid, and Virtus.pro.
With many of the giants missing from MDL Chengdu Major, the big question is: who should you bet on?
MDL Chengdu Major Favorites
The strongest teams at MDL Chengdu Major seem to be the following:
- Vici Gaming
- Team Aster
- Evil Geniuses
- TNC Predator
These four teams are much stronger than the rest and as a result, one of them is expected to win the tournament. Which one, we’ll have to find out. Here’s a brief analysis of the best two of them.
Vici Gaming
Last season they won two Majors and were consistently good throughout the competitive year. However, due to the fact that they only finished 5th – 6th at Dota 2 TI 2019, Fade, the team’s captain quit the team and eventually joined Team Aster.
As a result, Vici Gaming lost a bit of their former strength and is now learning how to play in a new formula. However, their results in the Chinese Qualifiers for this tournament clearly suggest that they’re still one of the best teams in the world. Going into MDL Chengdu Major, I expect them to finish in the top four.
Evil Geniuses
EG is currently playing with two new players. At the end of last season, SumaiL and s4 were replaced by RAMZES and Abed and as a result, a new roster was forged. Fly will no doubt have a lot of work to do to make his team of superstars play as a unit and communicate effectively.
Individually, this is one of the best teams in the world and probably the strongest at this event. But their ability to work together is still in question. Going into MDL Chengdu Major, I expect EG to finish in the top three.
Images courtesy of Mars Media
