Alliance and Team Liquid fought each other in what appeared to be a classic duel. The exciting series eventually ended with the former becoming the first European team to head to China for the Dota 2 MDL Chengdu Major.
Despite their campaign in the recent competitive season, Alliance proved to their fans and critics why they are the Kings of the North. Alliance defeated Team Liquid after a 2-1 win, although the latter will still live to fight another day.
Considering the fact that there is a bunch of heavyweight teams (e.g. OG, Secret, etc.) that joined the tournament, it is interesting to see how other European teams managed to find a way to conquer the challenge. Keep in mind that being able to secure some valuable Dota Pro Circuit points is one of the many ways to make a difference in either gaining an invite to The International 2020 or having to play through the qualifiers again.
Liquid and Alliance are two of the Dota 2 teams in the scene that decided to undergo some massive roster changes before entering the season. KuroKy’s departure from Liquid meant that the team lost its captain of four years, not to mention the fact that the entire team had to be rebuilt to fill the massive gaps on the roster. Eventually, Liquid signed the entire Alliance roster, spearheaded by Aydin “iNSaNiA” Sarkohi. This move prompted Alliance to reform their own squad. Now Adrian “Fata” Trinks plays the captain role for Alliance.
The absence of European juggernauts only suggested that both of the aforementioned Dota 2 pro teams are conquerors of their respective groups. As such, they were able to easily grab a spot in the qualifier playoffs. Also, they both proceeded to demolish their opponents—Ninjas in Pyjamas and Team Singularity. And mind you, they did it in such a dominating fashion.
Since Europe only received two qualifying places for the Major, the playoff bracket appeared to be quite unusual. For instance, teams in China, Southeast Asia, and North America were only required to win one series in order to qualify. With this format, Alliance and Team Liquid had to battle each other with the winner earning the spot to Chengdu.
