With the matches in the China region all done, we now know what teams are taking part in the upcoming Dota 2 Singapore Major. A total of 18 teams will participate and unlike previous tournaments, it follows a different format. As a Major, the tournament offers a prize pool of $500,000 and 2,700 DPC points.
The competition starts March 27 with the Grand Final scheduled for April 4, and it’s divided into three different phases. The first is the Wild Card which has six teams going through a single-round robin, with the top two moving to the next round.
The Group Stage also follows a single-round robin with eight teams taking part. The top two will move to the Upper Bracket of the Playoffs with the next four teams going to the Lower Bracket. The bottom two teams are eliminated.
Wild Card
For the Wild Card, the teams are:
- Team Nigma
- Team Liquid
- Vici Gaming
- PSG.LGD
- T1
- AS Monaco Gambit
Our Prediction:
Based on previous performances, one of the spots may be going to VG. Except for the small issue on Nuengnara “23savage” Teeramahanon, they’ve had a good showing and the roster is somewhat stable. Thus, it would be exciting to see VG facing T1, which recently signed 23savage.
The second spot is likely to go to Nigma and we say this because they are, after all, former TI champions. Given the pressure that the Wild Card offers, they can likely make it through.
If there’s a “dark horse,” we’re giving it to T1 considering their skills and experience.
Group Stage
For the Group Stage, the teams so far are:
- Alliance
- Team Aster
- Neon Esports
- Natus Vincere
- Quincy Crew
- Thunder Predator
- Wild Card
- Wild Card
Our Prediction:
In the Group Stage, the top two teams go to the Playoffs. If VG makes it, we’re giving it to two Chinese teams, which means the other one is Aster. If VG doesn’t make it, it’s going to be Aster and Na’Vi. Despite being a relatively new team, Na’Vi is hungry to prove themselves.
One of the teams that’s likely to be eliminated is Thunder Predator. While South America is a growing region when it comes to Dota 2, they’re still far off than other regions. The second is probably Neon Esports. While the team members do have the skills, they don’t have much tournament experience, especially big ones like the Major.
Playoffs
For the Playoffs, the teams are:
- Upper Bracket
- Team Secret
- Invictus Gaming
- Fnatic
- Virtus.pro
- Evil Geniuses
- beastcoast
- Group Stage
- Group Stage
- Lower Bracket
- Group Stage
- Group Stage
- Group Stage
- Group Stage
Our Prediction:
We actually can’t really predict considering we don’t know what the pairings are. However, we are confident enough to say that the teams to beat would be Secret, iG, and EG.
Which team are you rooting for?
