Photo Courtesy of Epic Esports Events
EPICENTER XL aspires to be bigger and better than previous EPICENTER iterations judging by the name alone. But how could it impact the Dota 2 Pro Circuit and why do fans need to tune in?
From April 27th to May 6th, Dota 2 fans should be glued to EPICENTER XL. The eighteenth event on the Dota 2 Pro Circuit (DPC), this Major has a $1,000,000 US prize pool and 1500 qualifying points to distribute to its top four teams. But there’s so much more to know about EPICENTER this year—at least, there’s so many more expectations to know about.
The Production
When discussing any EPICENTER event, it’s important to begin with the production of the event. Specifically, with Roshan. You might remember that Dota 2 Asia Championships 2018 had a remarkable Roshan statue holding up the Radiance-shaped trophy. It was a thing of beauty. However! The discerning viewer may have recalled there was an impressive predecessor:
That was the trophy that debuted during EPICENTER: Moscow, held in 2016. Memorable, distinctive, worthy of true Dota 2 champions, all tournament trophies should aspire to be as majestic.
But wait! Lest you think that’s the biggest, best Roshan that EPICENTER has offered, feast your eyes on the 2017 stage:
Maximum Roshan achieved. How will this year top it? We’ll have to tune in to find out. Future DPC events should take note though: Roshan is trending as a component of Major productions.
EPICENTER’s previous production values extend beyond Roshan. Epic Esports Events won a bronze European Best Event Award in 2016 for the first EPICENTER. The prize was granted based on creativity, execution, channel strategy and effectiveness, weighed against 275 other entries.
There was chatter after the first EPICENTER that the tournament organizers were deserving of one of Valve’s then-quite-limited Majors, so impressed were some viewers. Calling this year’s tournament EPICENTER XL, emphasis on the XL part, sets the expectation of bigger and better. What could be bigger or better than that stage though?
Supersized
Well, for starters, the prize pool has doubled from the previous two EPICENTERs, thanks to Valve’s sponsorship. The number of teams has increased from the ten at EPICENTER 2017 to twelve this year. And, perhaps most importantly, the tournament is a DPC event, which means qualifying points are awarded to the top four teams.
A win at EPICENTER could put a team without any previous points into as high as fifth place in the DPC standings. That’s well within the top eight who will receive a direct invitation to The International 8 (TI8). The catch is that the EPICENTER team lineup is a real mix in terms of current placement in the standings and eligibility for DPC points.
The Teams
As the most prominent CIS region team, Virtus.pro are bound to have a good chunk of the crowd in Moscow, Russia behind them. The team is guaranteed a direct invite to TI8 due to the number of points they’ve already acquired in the season, so there’s less on the line at this tournament for them than other teams.
Ranked in second and third place in the DPC, European region rivals Team Liquid and Team Secret are separated by only 24 points. While they’re both likely safe for direct invitation status, there should be bragging rights for placing higher in the Circuit’s debut season.
Sitting in fourth place, Mineski’s been impressing lately. They won Dota 2 Asia Championships 2018 three weeks ago, making them the first Southeast Asia team to win a Dota 2 Major.
Newbee’s last DPC tournament win was at the end of January, at ESL One Genting 2018. They dropped out of DAC early, but there’s no better time to start their rise heading into TI8 than now. Anyone who doesn’t want to see Newbee in top form at TI8 needs to re-watch the True Sight: The International 2017 Finals video by Valve, because theirs would be a spectacular storyline to follow.
PSG.LGD placed second at DAC, completing a trio of second-place finishes on the Circuit. First place at EPICENTER would be a grand way to kick-off the partnership between the Paris Saint-Germain football club and LGD Gaming. It would also go a long way to ensuring the team, currently in eighth place, remained in the top eight.
For fans of shake-ups, Natus Vincere and FlyToMoon are the teams to follow. Like VP, they’re both CIS region teams, so the live crowd should be supportive. More than that, Navi is an old favorite sitting two spots out of the invites, and that’s due to a roster swap right before the roster lock that put outspoken Ilya“Lil” Ilyuk on the team in place of Rodjer. Lil brought with him a substantial chunk of DPC points, giving Navi a needed boost, but the team’s best results have been shared third-fourth place finishes. A strong showing at EPICENTER would be a statement about how the team will close out the end of the season.
While Navi will appear at both ESL One Birmingham and the China Dota2 Supermajor, FlyToMoon has no more opportunities to pick up DPC points. If the team can finish first at EPICENTER and is very lucky regarding points distribution at the remaining events, they could squeak out a direct invite to TI8. It’s a long shot, but don’t we all love rooting for long shots?
The last four teams at EPICENTER are all ineligible for a direct invitation to TI8 due to roster changes after the roster lock. OG and compLexity Gaming both dropped players and haven't, at the time of publication, announced an official replacement. Team Empire will debut Aybek "Naive-" Tokaev on LAN, which should be exciting for the promising young player, but the team faces a tough group stage.
Meanwhile, paiN Gaming is now officially playing with Aliwi "w33" Omar. He’d stood in for the team at two tournaments, most recently the Bucharest Major, and while the team’s results weren’t spectacular, having a European player officially on a South American team is a notable development. While they won’t be eligible for DPC points, paiN come in as true underdogs, as SA teams haven’t had much success at DPC tournaments thus far.
Expectations Set
EPICENTER XL is going to be a ten-day whirlwind of Dota 2 action. With plenty of qualifying points on the line, and teams ramping up on the final leg of DPC tournaments before The International, the games should be entertaining and competitive. Similarly, the event itself has huge expectations to satisfy based on past iterations of EPICENTER.
The tournament already made the regional qualifiers a bigger affair than usual by hosting a casting contest, through which several of the talent attending the event won their spots. And attendees have started posting images to Twitter of the impressive and creative swag provided by the tournament organizers. The LAN hasn't even started, and the event's off to a memorable start.
Obviously, everyone wants to see the Pro Circuit season end on a high note. EPICENTER XL should set the bar high for the remaining events!
Check back daily for our coverage of EPICENTER XL!
