Five of the six regions have finished their respective matches for the Upper Division. That means we now have an idea of which Dota 2 teams are taking part in the upcoming Singapore Major. The only region left is China, which extended its schedule due to the Lunar New Year holiday.
The Singapore Major is the first major of the new Dota 2 esports season. It’s being organized by ONE Esports and PGL and as a Tier 1 tournament, offers a prize pool of $500,000 and 2,700 DPC Points. A total of 18 teams are expected to take part and it’s going to have a different format, unlike the previous tournaments. The Singapore Major takes place from March 27 to April 4.
Wild Card
The tournament is divided into three main phases. The first is the Wild Card where six teams go head-to-head in a single round-robin format with all matches in the Best of Two. The top two teams will go to the Group Stage with the rest being eliminated.
Looking at the teams so far, you know we’re in for a wild ride indeed. The teams are:
- Team Nigma (Europe)
- Team Liquid (Europe)
- AS Monaco Gambit (CIS)
- T1 (Southeast Asia)
- TBD (China)
- TBD (China)
Group Stage
In the Group Stage, there are now eight teams also going through a single round-robin format with matches in Bo2. The top two teams will move to the Upper Bracket in the Playoffs with the next four teams going to the Lower Bracket. The remaining two teams are eliminated.
The teams that have qualified so far are:
- Alliance (Europe)
- Neon Esports (Southeast Asia)
- Natus Vincere (CIS)
- Quincy Crew (North America)
- Thunder Predator (South America)
- TBD (China)
- TBD (Wildcard)
- TBD (Wildcard)
Playoffs
Finally, we have the Playoffs. The tournament format says that it’s double elimination and it appears that all matches are in Bo3, with exception of the final which is in Bo5. The teams so far are:
- Team Secret (Europe)
- Virtus.pro (CIS)
- Evil Geniuses (North America)
- beastcoast (South America)
- Fnatic (Southeast Asia)
- TBD (China)
- TBD (Group Stage)
- TBD (Group Stage)
- TBD (Group Stage)
- TBD (Group Stage)
- TBD (Group Stage)
- TBD (Group Stage)
Notable Absences
It’s interesting to note that OG won’t be joining the tournament. Their spot got taken by Liquid that managed to get it through tie-breakers. TNC Predator also won’t make it due to a not-so-excellent performance in the Upper Division. Both teams, however, retain their positions in the Upper Division.
China Update
So far, it’s Invictus gaming leading at 5–0, followed by Vici Gaming and Team Aster at 4–1. Like in the other regions, it’s still too close to call. Hopefully, we’ll get a better look once this week’s set of matches are done.
What about you? Did your favorite team make it?
