Title image courtesy of PSG.LGD
The playoff bracket is now etched in stone as today marked the conclusion of the group stage with few surprises to draw upon.
In the aftermath of a tremendous day of Dota 2, the dust settled, and four additional teams seeded into the upper bracket were revealed. Team Liquid, Ninjas in Pyjamas, PSG.LGD and OG will round out the teams initiating the playoff stage in the upper bracket. They join Virtus.pro, Team Secret, Vici Gaming and Evil Geniuses who earned the achievement yesterday.
So, what have we learned from this event thus far? Apparently, it’s not to expect too many surprises at the MDL Disneyland Paris Major. Day two offered just one full, three game series. Let’s delve into the day as it unfolded.
Group A
The newly constructed beastcoast, formerly known as Team Team, started the day against eighth ranked Keen Gaming. For beastcoast, it was a sad state of affairs. The team was handled and dispatched relatively easy. Neither game of the two managed to reach beyond 30 minutes. The newly minted NA squad will begin in the lower bracket, but they will compete against a familiar opponent in compLexity Gaming.
Keen Gaming was impressive in the first series, but the real test was in front of them. Team Liquid previously notched a win against Keen Gaming earlier in the group stage. The first game proved to be competitive as both teams thundered away at each other. Keen Gaming were thirsty for revenge, but Team Liquid had plans of their own. A full team wipe in favor of the Europeans catapulted them towards victory in game one. The next game was all Team Liquid as they swept the series.
Team Liquid will face off with Evil Geniuses in the first round of the upper bracket.
Group B
Ninjas in Pyjamas dropped a series to Chaos Esports Club yesterday and consequently played against Empire in today’s loser’s match. Ninjas in Pyjamas had a relatively slow start to the tournament considering they qualified to the event by winning the Dota PIT Minor. They turned things around in a hurry. The first game proved that right off the bat. NiP was in control and never looked back from beginning to end. However, game two posed a greater challenge. After letting an early lead slip through their fingers, NiP was trending in the wrong direction. An ill-advised and disjointed fight from Empire resulted in a full team wipe and NiP escaped the game and potential series by the skin of their teeth.
As mentioned, NiP dropped the previous series against Chaos Esports Club but this was now an opportunity for retribution. In a highly unusual occurrence for today’s Dota 2 meta, NiP drafted an Antimage in back-to-back games. What’s even more unusual is that they won both games with the longest only reaching a little over 30 minutes of play. In fact, Antimage is yet to drop a single game at the Major.
NiP’s hot streak has earned them a date with Vici Gaming in the first round of the upper bracket.
Group C
Mineski and paiN Gaming have struggled during the current DPC season. However, the good news is that one of them will have a chance to play for the upper bracket. This series was an interesting spectacle to watch. PaiN Gaming dropped a marathon game one while holding a near 10K net worth lead at the end of the game. Ultimately, the series appeared to come down to difference in experience. PaiN Gaming was able to hang around, but Mineski capitalized on the enemy’s mistakes to take the series.
Perhaps the chaos of the earlier series took its toll on Mineski because PSG.LGD appeared in control at every point in the series, even without the lead. PSG.LGD has been quiet in recent history, but the squad has the potential to turn things up at a moment’s notice. This was on full display, albeit against a struggling Mineski. PSG.LGD rolled the dice with two extremely greedy drafts and came up money in each game.
PSG.LGD managed to reach the upper bracket by defeating Mineski twice. Nevertheless, they will need to rediscover the x-factor which made them a dominant force as they are scheduled to play Team Secret.
Group D
In the dwindling moments of the group stage, we found our first real upset of the event. CompLexity struggled immensely against Evil Geniuses but reimagined the possible against fifth ranked Fnatic. CompLexity was devastated in the first game with a Broodmother strategy gone horribly awry. Things did not look good for the North American squad. Fnatic fell by the wayside in game two as a perceivable out draft evened the series. In one of the strangest endings to a series the world may ever see, eight heroes died in an engagement which left CompLexity’s carry Morphling alive. Fnatic’s lone survivor was unable to deter the carry as he destroyed the throne which was still protected by backdoor protection.
After a series like that, one might hope for additional magic to come out from the NA underdogs against OG. It just wasn’t in the cards today. Anathan ‘ana’ Pham and the rest of OG throttled compLexity. The North American hopefuls appeared completely outclassed. This is no insult to compLexity as much as it is a compliment to OG as they look on the verge of tier one status once more with the return of their carry.
OG will be tested against number one ranked Virtus.pro in the first round of the playoffs.
The playoffs are scheduled to begin tomorrow, May 6th at 10:00 CEST. Pressure is now mounting as eliminations will begin.
MDL Disneyland Paris Major Format
- Group Stage - May 4th - May 5th
- Sixteen teams are divided into four GSL groups of four teams each
- The top two teams advance to the upper bracket of the playoffs
- The bottom two teams advance to the lower bracket of the playoffs
- All games are Bo3
- Playoffs - May 6th - May 12th
- Sixteen teams play in a double-elimination format, with the final four days being in front of a live crowd
- Eight teams begin in the upper bracket, eight in the lower bracket
- All games except Grand Finals and Lower Bracket Round 1 are Bo3
- Lower Bracket Round 1 are Bo1
- Grand Finals is Bo5
MDL Disneyland Paris Major Prize Pool Distribution:
The total prize pool for the event is $1,000,000 split between all 16 teams. In addition to the handsome financial reward, teams will be awarded DPC points as well.
1st place: $TBD + 4,950 DPC points
2nd place: $TBD + 3,000 DPC points
3rd place: $TBD + 2,100 DPC points
4th place: $TBD + 1,350 DPC points
5-6th place: $TBD + 900 DPC points
7-8th place: $TBD + 450 DPC points
9-12th place: $TBD + 150 DPC points
13-16th place: $TBD + 75 DPC points
