Epic Esports Events are the organizers of the Epicenter Major, the last Dota 2 premier tournament before The International 9. The vent will be taking place at the CSKA arena in Moscow Russia, kicking off on the 22nd until 30th June. Sixteen top esports teams will be participating at the Epicenter Major, for their highest winning share from a total prize pool of $1 million as well as 15K of Dota Pro Circuit points up for grabs for the qualification to TI9.
History of the Epicenter
Epic Esports Events have made the EPICENTER, an annual tournament many esports fans look forward to following. The series began with the Epicenter 2016 that took place in Moscow Russia, where eight dota teams competed for a prize pool of $500K. The finalists were Team Liquid who dominated the Upper Brackets beating the likes of EG and OG, while Newbee took over the Lower Brackets defeating Alliance, Complexity and OG. The Grand Finals featured TL win the first of the intense half-hour battle; however, Newbee did not give up without a fight and won the next two games. At that moment, Newbee in the lead thought they could win the final. However, Team Liquid saw a window of opportunity in the vulnerability of their opponents and won the next two games to seal their winning fate.
The second epic dota tournament of the series was Epicenter 2017. Dota fans saw EG go through to the playoffs and in the Semifinals to beat Team Secret 2-0. On the other hand, Team Liquid an all too familiar dota squad beat VP and LGD. Forever Young on their way to the finals. The grand final match featured the best units battle it out to a draw in the first two games. Then TL dominated for the next the two games to win the game with an unbeatable score of 3-1, taking home the highest prize of $250K.
The EPICENTER XL was the first major that formed part of the Dota Pro Circuit in preparation for The International 8. The tournament broke the record as the second most viewed Dota 2 tournament in 2018. In the upper brackets, PSG.LGD won over Virtus.Pro on their way to the Grand Final to battle Team Liquid. From the very beginning, PSG.LGD seemed unstoppable and managed to stop Team Liquid in their winning tracks, taking the Epicenter XL title to claim their prize of $500K.
Epicenter Major Tournament Format
To participate in the Epicenter Major, 14 dota teams qualified through the regional qualifying matches. Invitations to participate went to two teams from each region from CIS, Asia, North and South America. Another three teams from Europe and three from China confirmed their attendance for the Epicenter Major. Two more units still have to qualify through the Starladder ImbaTV Minor S2 for the place into the main event.
The tournament will kick off with the Group stage with four teams in four groups each competing between the 22nd and 23rd June. The top two from each group will get to proceed to the Playoffs, and the bottom two continue to the Lower Brackets. The playoffs will be over the span of three days, held in front of a live audience who will cheer for their favourite team who compete in best of three matches and finishing off with Grand Final in a best of five games.
Top Favourites at the EPICENTER Major
PSG.LGD
PSG.LGD is the second best Chinese dota team at present. They may be one of the oldest esports teams that remain consistent in their gameplay. Their notable achievements over the past few months include second place at The International 2018, placing third at the Megafon Winter Clash.
Other impressive records worth noting on behalf of PSG.LGD was at The Chongqing Major and the MDL Disneyland Paris Major, both ranking in fourth place. The Chinese squad are the fifth in the Dota Pro Circuit standings which means they earned their spot at The International 2019. Do you think that PSG.LGD will advance past the Semifinals?
Vici Gaming
Another of China best Dota teams is Vici Gaming. The Chinese players have kept up their mission to attend and watch as many dota 2 tournaments to understand their future opponents, to hopefully conquer the dota scene globally. Some of Vici’s accomplishments include finishing second at the ESL One Hamburg 2018 and winning the Dota 2 Professional League Season 6 by defeating EHOME with an incredible record of 3-0.
In 2019, Vici Gaming won the StarLadder ImbaTV Dota 2 Minor Season 1, an easy win against Gambit Esports with an unbeatable score 3-0, taking the championship title and a prize of $125K. Add to this, VG won the DreamLeague Season 11 against VP with a close score 3-2, taking home an amazing cash reward of $350K. Does VG have the potential to be in the Epicenter Grand Finals?
Evil Geniuses
Ever since the Evil Geniuses won TI5, they reigned the North American Dota scene for the past few years. Although the players are not all American, they compete for the American region winning a few prestigious tournaments. EG’s notable win was finishing third at The International taking home an incredible $2.6 million cash prize. The Dota Geniuses have finished in third at The Kuala Lumpur Major, The Chongqing Major, and the MDL Disneyland Paris. This team generally reach the Semifinals in the majority of esports events. Do you think EG has what it takes to win the Epicenter Major?
Virtus.Pro
VP is the best Russia has to offer in the dota scene. The Russian players are the second top squad in the Dota Pro Circuit rankings. Here is an overview of their winning statistics since TI8; placing third at ESL One Hamburg 2018 and MDL Macau 2019; second place at The Chongqing Major and DreamLeague Season 11. Virtus. Pro has won prestigious tournaments like Maincast Autumn Brawl Minor and The Kuala Lumpur Major. VP have improved their gameplay over the past few years and with the new coach ArsZeeqq they will continue to reap good results in the following dota tournaments
Team Secret
Leading Team Secret is the legendary player Puppey who together with his teammates have shown the will to succeed and dominate the world’s dota scene. Over the past few months, Secret have kept up their winning streak since TI8. They aim to continue their great performances in the upcoming TI9 and in future events. Their spectacular winning streaks have proven their skilful gaming skills at the PVP Esports Championship, ESL One Hamburg 2018, The Chongqing Major, ESL one Katowice 2019 and the MDL Disneyland Paris Major. As the leading team in the Dota Pro Circuit, reaching the Grand Finals could be an expectation unless they make a mistake, which tends to happen to the best esports teams occasionally.
