Shanghai Major: A Bird’s Eye View
Expect high-octane matches and next-level drafting from Shanghai.
By Aileen “chaos” Cerrudo and Earl Carlo “Dreambreak” Guevarra
The Shanghai Major, co-organized by Valve and Perfect World, is one step closer to the much-awaited The International. The teams are ready for battle and it’s only a matter of time before another team will be hailed as champions.
The Mystic Staff destined to the victors of The Shanghai Major. Photo from Dota 2 Blog
Valve’s second Dota 2 Major Main Event will take place from March 3-6 while the Group Stage kick-off on February 25 at the Mercedes-Benz Arena in Shanghai, China. Similar to the previous Major in Frankfurt, 16 teams will duke it out for a lion’s share of the $3 million (Php 142 million) purse as well as the honor of becoming the first team to lift the Mystic Staff.
The format will be done in a double-elimination group stage, with all matches to be played in a best-of-three (Bo3) format. The first two teams from each group will go to the Upper Bracket, while the bottom two will drop to the Lower Bracket with the first two rounds held in a best-of-one (Bo1) format. The succeeding rounds will be best-of-three all the way to the Grand Finals. Similar to the previous Major, the Grand Final will follow a best-of-five (Bo5) format without an Upper Bracket advantage.
As the group stage begins, the teams are at the ready to give even just a slight glimpse of what they can do in the tournament. They might have a few strategies kept hidden but the teams still have their innate prowess which comes from the talent of their respective players.
What should be expected from this Major?
All eyes are looking at Alliance, the Swedish team that made a huge comeback in the scene. They experienced a huge slump last year and had constant roster changes. Their ranks lowered and some even claimed that they became one of the tier 2 teams in the scene.
The Alliance are b[A]ck! Photo from Dota 2 SLTV
But, as the previous major proved, there would be a lot of surprises in store. During the Frankfurt Major, most fans expected EG to win especially after the return of Artour “Arteezy” Babaev. Arteezy and Syed “Sumail” Hassan, playing under one banner got a lot of curiosity and a lot of fans hoped that their favorite team would bag the Eaglesong.
Others rooted for Team Secret. Also with their new lineup, fans had high expectations for the team. But the hailed champions was a team that people least expected.
Coming from the lower bracket, OG has been the first team to lift the lift the Eaglesong back in Frankfurt. They have a very strong lineup that are both skilled and all riled up for action. OG is still making a name for themselves, previously named as (monkey) business, and they got their big break after defeating the giants, EG and Secret.
The Shanghai Major is another chance for EG and Team Secret to redeem themselves from the loss. EG still need to win a title under their new roster and Secret has to regain their momentum after a series of underwhelming performances during their previous months. For the past two months, Secret has a 7:3:11 win-draw-loss ratio and they would really need to step up their game before The International.
EHOME winning the Battle Fury. Photo from gamek.vn
One more team to watch out for is EHOME, the Chinese powerhouse that is currently on a winning streak. They took away another winning title for EG and won the MarsTV Dota 2 League Winter 2015. Based on their current performance, this team is on fire. They have the highest chance in grabbing the championship if they continue their pace.
However, the rest of the participating teams will not back down without a fight. Fans should still get ready for more surprises since new teams are participating in the Shanghai Major. Team Archon snatched the opportunity make it to the Group Stage from Digital Chaos during the American Main Qualifiers. Get ready to see a lot of action from this team as they make their way to the Main Event.
The Europeans, Team Spirit is on the same situation as OG during the past major. They have the talent and is still waiting for their big break to up their ranks. Like OG, they advanced to the Group Stage after making it in the European Qualifier.
Overall, this Major will feature 16 of the best teams in the world. Each team already proven, in one way or the other, that they are among Dota’s topflight teams at the moment and teams will do their utmost in order to be able to go deep into this tournament.
Expect high-octane matches and next-level drafting from Shanghai!
How will the latest patch affect the tempo of the games?
Some dubbed the current patch as the ‘Alliance-Patch’ with the meta focusing more on aggression. Jungling heroes like Lone Druid are also becoming more viable because of the Iron Talon. Invoker is also one of the popular heroes in the patch along with Gyrocopter.
Typically, games should finish below the 30-minute mark; however, it is completely possible to see games go beyond the 40-minute mark due to the presence of good late-game carries in this patch.
Here is the schedule of the matches in the group stage:
Group A: February 25
EHOME vs. MVP.Phoenix
Secret vs. CDEC
Group B: February 26
Alliance vs. Team Spirit
Vici Gaming vs. Fnatic
Group C: February 27
OG vs. Archon
LGD vs. Newbee
Group D: February 28
Evil Geniuses vs. Complexity
Virtus.Pro vs. Liquid
Matches will be watched live at https://www.twitch.tv/dotamajor, with the official Philippine coverage at https://www.twitch.tv/mineskitv
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