Image courtesy of Perfect World
Just two days before the event kicks off, the 16 teams participating at the last and most important major of the season have been sorted into four groups.
No amount of hype for the China Dota 2 Super Major is enough, as the tournament is sure to be entertaining right from the start. Only a few days ago, it was announced that OpTic Gaming would get one last shot at securing an invite to The International 8 after they were awarded OG's spot at the event. The latter dropped out of the tournament following their roster swap with Evil Geniuses, who will still be competing at the major despite being ineligible for a direct invite.
It is evident right from the seedings that each of the groups will have some close match-ups and intense competition to offer. Keep in mind, that none of the teams will be eliminated in the group stages, giving them a fair chance in the playoffs if they under-perform here.
However, no team wants to grind it out in the lower brackets, where teams will have to play twice the number of rounds than those in the upper brackets.
The groups were drawn at complete random, with the teams relegated to tiers based on the DPC points they hold prior to the beginning of the major, to ensure fairness and balance within the sorting. One team was then added to each group from one of the four different tiers of teams through a blind poll.
Group Stage Format:
- Four groups of four teams each.
- Bo3 double-elimination (GSL) bracket.
- Top two teams from each group advance to the Upper Bracket of Main Event.
- Bottom two teams from each group advance to the Lower Bracket of Main Event.
Groups of China Super Major:
Group A | Group B |
Team Liquid | Virtus.pro |
Newbee | Vici Gaming |
Natus Vincere | Evil Geniuses |
Team Spirit | TNC Pro Team |
Group C | Group D |
Team Secret | PSG.LGD |
Mineski | VGJ.Thunder |
VGJ.Storm | OpTic Gaming |
The Final Tribe | Infamous |
Kicking off the group stages will be Team Liquid going against Team Spirit while Virtus.pro faces TNC Pro Team simultaneously on 2nd June, 10:00 (local time)/4:00 (CEST).