The Dota 2 Pro Circuit 2021 is about to begin later this month. The invited teams were revealed and the rest are already clashing in qualifiers. Who’ll make it?
It has been a long time since we last saw an official Valve Dota 2 event but that’s all about to change in 2021. The regional leagues are set and four teams from each region were already directly invited to the Upper Division. The remaining four will soon be determined by qualifiers.
Which teams have what it takes to earn a spot? Let’s take a look.
North America
Upper bracket direct invitations:
- Evil Geniuses
- Quincy Crew
- Sadboys
- 4 Zoomers
Looking at the invitees it’s clear that there are barely any organizations with a Dota 2 team in NA. In fact, EG is the only one out of the four. In the closed qualifiers, we find eight stacks of players. Only two of the teams in question have some well-known pro players and those are Black N Yellow (Ryoya;FrancisLee) and Undying. The latter should have no problem taking first place with names like Timado, Bryle, SabeRLight-, Moonmeander, and Dubu.
This leaves two more slots to the other teams and your guess there is as good as ours.
South America
Omega Gaming and Team Unknown already earned a spot thanks to their excellent performance in the group stage. The remaining two teams will be decided in the playoffs. It’ll be a tough fight for the two slots between Incubus Club, Infinity Esports and EgoBoys.
China
China has a lot of good teams in 2021. PSG.LGD, EHOME, VG and Elephant already got a direct invitation to the Upper Bracket. This left Team Aster, RNGU, IG and Sparking Arrow Gaming in the closed qualifiers. Aster and RNGU will probably have no trouble getting there but for the remaining two slots it’s uncertain.
Either Team MagMa or LBZS will be taking the third slot and IG will have to go against SAG in the lower bracket.
SEA
The list for SEA is already clear:
- TNC Predator
- Fnatic
- T1
- BOOM Esports
- Neon Esports
- 496 Gaming
- Execration
- Vice Esports
Congrats to the teams that qualified to the Upper Division of the DPC South East Asia Season 1 League. #DPC #Dota2 pic.twitter.com/t8q7Lpgb92
— Wykrhm Reddy (@wykrhm) January 7, 2021
Europe
Europe is without a doubt one of the toughest regions to play in. The direct invitations to the Upper Division included:
- Team Secret
- Team Liquid
- Team Nigma
- OG
The qualifiers are a wild mix of tier 1 and tier 2 teams. Alliance, Vikin.gg, and mudgolems are the top candidates to take three of the slots. The fourth one might go to Chicken Fighters or Spider Pigzs.
CIS
Direct invitations in the CIS Upper Division feature:
- Virtus.pro
- Natus Vincere
- Team Spirit
- Live to Win
Gambit Esports, Winstrike Team, EXTREMUM, HellRaisers, Team Empire, B8, NoPangolier, and NoTechies are in the closed qualifiers. There isn’t a single team with unknown players. NoPangolier and Empire are already in one of the finals of the upper bracket.Danil “Dendi” Ishutin’s new B8 is truly diverse with most of the roster coming all the way from Brazil. Maybe it’s time they start winning? NoTechies is another team to look out for with the likes of Solo, Zayac, and Crystallize in it.
Which region is the most competitive in 2021? Share your thoughts on our Facebook page or Discord server!
- READ MORE: Febby Captains TNC, Sccc Out of EHOME
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