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Last weekend, Jönköping hosted the ROG DreamLeague Season 8 Finals for eight of the best Dota 2 teams in the world. They battled for a share of a massive $1 million prize pool and the additional bonus of 1,500 Dota Pro Circuit points.
The double-bracket elimination format meant teams had to lose two games to be eliminated. Each match was best-of-three, and the final was best-of-five.
The eight teams competing comprised four qualifiers from Europe and CIS and one qualifier each from China, Southeast Asia, North America and South America.
How the tournament progressed
In the quarterfinal stage, the three European qualifiers, Virtus.pro, Team Liquid, and Team Secret, won their games. Newbee made for the only exception. That left those four teams contesting the winners semis. Team Liquid and Team Secret then progressed into the winners final.
Team Secret overcame their opponents 2-1 in that final to earn the first spot in the grand final. That said, Team Liquid weren’t too disappointed. They dropped into the losers final where they faced Evil Geniuses. It was a quick road back to the top: Team Liquid came through in a 2-0 sweep.
Team Secret stood as clear favorites to win the whole event, having dropped just one game on the way to the grand final. There were no surprises. Team Secret took the title with a comprehensive 3-0 victory over Liquid to earn a $500,000 top prize and 750 Dota Pro Circuit points.
Dota Pro Circuit standings
After the ROG Dream League Season 8, the current standings are as follows:
| Pos | Team Name | Points |
| 1 | Team Secret | 3690 |
| 2 | Team Loquid | 2700 |
| 3 | Virtus.pro | 2295 |
| 4 | Newbee | 1035 |
| 5 | Evil Geniuses | 765 |
| 6 | Mineski | 720 |
| 7 | Vici Gaming | 540 |
| 8 | Natus Vincere | 225 |
| 9 | LGD Gaming | 202.5 |
| 10= | compLexity Gaming | 135 |
| 10= | LGD Forever Young | 135 |
| 12 | Immortals | 90 |
The two finalists from this tournament have now leapfrogged former table leaders Virtus.pro to occupy the top two spaces. Team Secret stand at almost 1,000 points at the top of the table. Team Liquid hold a slender 400-point lead over Virtus.pro in third.
With only six events in the bag, there’s still plenty of time for any team listed, including those with no points, to make their mark and qualify for The International 2018.
MDL Macau is the next shot at DPC points
The next event to carry qualifying points for the Dota Pro Circuit is the MDL Macau tournament. It takes place this weekend and will feature nine teams. They are:
- Virtus.pro
- LGD Gaming
- EHOME
- LGD Forever Young
- TNC Pro Team
- VGJ Storm
- Infamous
- OG
- Natus Vincere
The tournament is sponsored by Mars Media and will be held the Macau University Music Hall. There’s a total prize pool of £300,000 up for grabs, plus 300 Dota Pro Circuit points for the winner.
With an odd number of teams competing in the event, the first round will be a single-match round-robin qualifier. Each team will play the other eight in winner-take-all, best-of-one games in the league stages. The games are organized into two sessions across two days.
After the group stage, the top four teams progress into the semifinals. At this stage, each match becomes best-of-three and straight-elimination going into the finals. The winner claims 150 Dota Pro Circuit points, plus 90 for the second-place team, and 30 each for third and fourth.
MDL Macau betting
Head on over to Betway for some top-quality betting on MDL Macau. If you fancy a pre-tournament bet on the outright winner, Virtus.pro are the current 51/20 favorites. LGD Forever Young are the 7/2 second favorites, with OG a 15/4 shot, and LGD Gaming a 19/4 chance.
Outside of these four teams, odds grow longer. TNC Pro Team are 7/1, EHOME at 9/1 chance, and Natus Vincere at 10/1. The two outsiders for the tournament by a considerable margin are VGJ Storm at 44/1 and Infamous at 79/1.
