As the group matches of the Dota Pit League draw to a close, we take a look at the current standings, analyze performances and speculate the future prospects of various teams.
It has been more than a month since the group matches of Dota Pit League began and it continues to run strong. The tournament has had a smooth sail ever since some of the replacements issues were handled. First, Alliance replaced Fnatic in Group A which was of coruse, after Alliance had initially pulled out of the tournament and given their slot to 4 Anchors. Later, in Group B, Navi.US pulled out of the tournament after some poor performances and roster instability and were replaced by the upcoming team mYinsanity.Sensei. No issues have come since, and the group stages are finally close to the end.
While some of the qualifiers are already confirmed, the remaning matches cannot be discounted as dead rubbers as they can affect the standings of the teams. As per the rules:
- Rank 1 of each group advance straight to semi finals.
- Rank 2 of each group advance straight to quarter finals.
- Rank 3 plays rank 4 of the other group in the 1/8 finals, winners advance to quarters.
Matches Completed: 50/56
Teams Confirmed: Evil Genuises, Virtus.Pro, Team Tinker, Complexity Gaming
Teams Eliminated: Moscow 5, Power Rangers, 4 Anchors, Alliance
Surprises: Alliance
Even with six matches remaining, the qualifiers from Group A are all but confirmed. Evil Genuises continued with their good form and ended the group stage with a 11-3 record. They are assured of a top two finish no matter what the result of the remaining matches are. They are followed by Virtus.Pro and Team Tinker both having completed twelve matches and sitting at 9-3 and 8-4 respectively. While Virtus.Pro dropped 2 matches to Evil Geniuses and one to 4 Anchors, Team Tinker recently picked up two 2-0 wins over Complexity Gaming and Moscow 5 to reach this position of comfort from a dicey 4-4 scoreline. The two teams will play each other soon which will determine the fate of the top three teams.
On the 4th position is Complexity Gaming who started off very strong but lost some fizz midway but have still have finished at 8-6 and will find themselves moving to the finals. Alliance, Moscow 5, 4 Anchors and Power Rangers all find themselves in the bottom half of the table. The biggest surprise here is probably Alliance, who one would have expected to perform better even with the roster issues. Inheriting a 2-2 score from Fnatic, Alliance were only able to add one win (against CLG) to their tally. Power Rangers have also failed to impress and could not carry over their purple patch from The Summit 2 where they reached the regional playoffs for Europe region.
Matches Completed: 50/56
Teams Confirmed: Secret Team, Virtus-Pro.Polar, Denial.eu
Teams Eliminated: Sneaky Nyx Assassins
Surprises: Denial.eu, Team Empire
Secret Team have maintained their performance consistent to other ongoing tournaments and sit atop the table with a 8-2 score. While they have the least losses till now, they still have to play two strong teams in Cloud9 and VP.Polar to determine where they finish in the table. They are followed by Virtus-Pro.Polar who, in a story similar to Team Tinker's, recently won two Best-of-2's against Cloud9 and mYinsanity and now stand at 8-4. In 3rd position, we have, arguably, the biggest surprise of the tournament with Denial at a 7-7 score. The team which started off sluggish and unsteady seems to have finally come together and now have a guaranteed slot in the playoffs.
They are followed by Cloud9 with a 6-4 score. The three teams below Cloud9 i.e Empire, HellRaisers and mYinsanity are all at a 6-8 score, which basically implies that Cloud9 will fail to qualify in only one clowny condition where they drop all the 4 matches they have remanining, two against Secret Team and two against Sneaky Nyx Assassins. The bottom of the table can still hope for a miracle but unfortunately, all doors have closed for Sneaky Nyx Assassins who are at a 3-9 score with two matches to go. Watch out for the Secret Team versus VP.Polar game which begins in a few hours. You can watch or bet on the match here.
Headline Image: Team Tinker at DreamHack Bucharest.
