The dust has barely settled on the Dota 2 DreamLeague Leipzig Major qualifiers and the WePlay! Bukovel Minor 2020 qualifiers have already gotten underway. All eight teams from the different regions have been confirmed to battle it out in January 2020. To be held in Bukovel, Ukraine, the tournament offers prize pool of $300,000 with 660 total DPC points up for grabs. However, a more important reward is a seed to the Leipzig Major.
That said, let's take a look at the teams that made the cut.
Gambit Esports
While this Russian team is mainly known for its League of Legends, Gambit Esports has slowly made its presence felt in Dota 2. The team had second place finishes during the ELS One Katowice 2019 and ESL One Hamburg 2019. Despite leading the Group Stage during the Leipzig Major qualifiers, the team dropped to the lower bracket thanks to a loss to Virtus.pro and was later eliminated by Natus Vincere.
Gambit didn't face any problems during the qualifiers for the Bukovel Minor 2020, as the team obtained the first spot easily.
Team Spirit
Spirit initially disbanded its roster back in August before signing on the roster of Positive Guys. During the Leipzig Major qualifiers, Team Spirit faced the same fate as Gambit. The team was dropped to the lower bracket by Virtus.pro and then dropped from the tournament by Na'Vi.
At the Bukovel Minor qualifiers, its biggest competition was Gambit. That said, the team was almost eliminated by HellRaisers before going the distance and getting the second spot.
Ninjas in Pyjamas
Despite ranking high during the 2018-2019 DPC Season, NiP was eliminated after the Group Stage of The International 2019. The team had a strong showing during the Leipzig Major, but was eliminated first by Chaos Esports Club and then Evil Geniuses.
During the Bukovel Minor qualifiers, NiP managed to beat Team Xolotl 2-0 and then later J.Storm 2-1 to secure a seat.
Fighting PandaS
All eyes are one this team as this is the latest endeavor coming from Jacky "EternaLEnVy" Mao. After a stint with TEAM TEAM and beastcoast, EternalEnvy hopes that this team will be the place for him. Fighting PandaS had a strong chance to get a spot at the Leipzig Major. However the Fighting PandaS had no answer for Chaos and EG as it lost 0-2 to both teams. While the team was dropped to the Lower Bracket during the Bukovel Minor qualifiers by J.Storm, the PandaS managed to sweep J.Storm in the Lower Bracket Finals.
Nigma
Composed of former Team Liquid players, there were a lot of expectation when Kuro "KuroKy" Salehi Takhasomi announced the new team. During the Leipzig Major qualifiers, the team was initially showing the performance that Dota 2 fans remembers. Despite the Europe region getting three spots, Nigma failed to get one, being swept and eliminated by Alliance.
However, Nigma would not be denied as it dominated the Europe qualifiers for the Bukovel Minor.
Royal Never Give Up
RNG had a tough time, with the China Region playing home to a lot of good teams. There were a ton of surprises during the qualifiers for the Major, with powerhouse team PSG.LGD being eliminated during the open qualifiers. During the closed qualifiers, RNG beat Newbee 2-0 to get a chance at the Bukovel Minor qualifiers.
At the Bukovel Minor qualifiers, RNG had to go the long route, so to speak. The team was dropped by EHOME to the Lower Bracket. RNG then beat Look for Smile 2-0 in fairly short matches. In the next match, RNG again faced EHOME, but this time the results were different, with RNG winning 2-0. During the Finals, RNG easily beat CDEC Gaming in the first two games of their match. While the third game went the distance, RNG managed to hold on.
FURIA Esports
Furia announced that it was forming a Dota 2 team back in June. Since then, the organization has not fared well, being eliminated during the qualifiers for TI9 and the qualifier of the MDL Chengdu Major as well. During the Bukovel Minor qualifiers, FURIA swept all opponents to get the lone spot.
Geek Fam
With TNC showing strong performance, the pressure is indeed on for former members Marc Polo Luis "Raven" Fausto and Carlo "Kuku" Palad. At the qualifiers for the Bukovel Minor 2020, the experience of the team members more than guaranteed the team getting the spot as it dominated the qualifiers.
What about you? Who do you think is going to enter the Major?
