The 2021 DPC competition for Dota 2 begins in less than two weeks. Already a lot of teams are scrambling to get a chance to be part of their region’s Upper Division. Under the new format, only teams in the Upper Division have a chance to join the Majors.
There are, however, teams that no longer need to go through qualifiers because of direct invites. Today, we take a look at these teams and give you our thoughts on them.
Europe
Let’s get this out of the way and start with the region that has some of the game’s top and best teams. For Europe, direct invites went to:
- OG
- Team Nigma
- Team Secret
- Team Liquid
Our Take
It’s quite obvious when it comes to this region who get direct invites. OG, for example, despite the roster changes, is still the two-time TI champion. Nigma is a team composed of TI champions as well. Secret is also given considering it’s one of the top teams in Europe.
Liquid getting a direct invite is quite a surprise, though this is not to say they don’t deserve it.
CIS
Moving over to the CIS region we have:
- Virtus.pro
- Natus Vincere
- Team Spirit
- Live to Win
Our Take
This is one of two regions that had issues when Valve canceled DPC events. VP and Na’Vi, even with new rosters, are sure to get direct invites because of their performance in 2020. It’s no surprise that Team Spirit got an invite as well. While the team did have roster issues last year, they managed to sign the entire roster of Yellow Submarine, thus sealing the invite.
Finally, there’s Live to Win. Despite being established only in October of last year, it’s the roster composed of players from other performing teams led to the invite. If only based on the current roster, we would have expected HellRaisers to get the last direct invite.
North America
Moving over to North America and the teams with direct invites, which are:
- Evil Geniuses
- Quincy Crew
- 4 Zoomers
- Sadboys
Our take
This is also not a wonder mainly because these teams are currently the most active in the region. What is remarkable is that EG made the choice to go back to NA after trying out Europe. Chances are, whichever the other four teams make up the Upper Division, these four are expected to fight for the spots in the Majors.
South America
This is one of the somewhat “problematic” regions when it comes to direct invites. You can read some of that here. Anyway, the direct invites were given to:
- SG e-sports
- Thunder Predator
- Infamous
- beastcoast
Our take
Issues aside, while there are more active teams in SA compared to NA, the top performers remain the same teams. But one team composed of veterans needs to go through the qualifiers. It would be exciting to see what happens to the Upper Division if that team manages to get in.
China
Even with no Valve-sponsored tournaments, China has managed to do well and have its own tournaments. There has been exciting roster moves a while back, which you can learn more about here. There’s even a team that’s been banned from participating.
That said, here are the teams that got a direct invite:
- PSG.LGD
- EHOME
- Vici Gaming
- Elephant
Our take
The first three teams are pretty much what you would expect from this region. You’re probably wondering who is Elephant? If you’ve read the article we mentioned earlier, they’re part of the reason. It’s a good roster though, so it would be exciting to see how they fare against the rest.
Southeast Asia
Then there’s Southeast Asia, the other region, along with CIS, that was having problems with no Valve-sponsored tournaments. The teams with direct invites are:
- TNC Predator
- Fnatic
- BOOM Esports
- T1
Our take
A bit predictable with the choices. We say a bit because of T1. If Geek Fam didn’t call it quits, they’d likely be the one to get the invite. It’s also a surprise that Motivate.Trust Gaming wasn’t chosen. Probably because of the roster changes and the fact that it appears incomplete.
Our Final Take
With the way things are going, teams from each region going to the Majors are likely the ones you would assume. Yet it would be a fun surprise if a new team makes the cut. We’ll give you our predictions once the teams participating in the Upper Divisions are complete.
