Ever since March, the Alliance Dota 2 Roster has been suffering from inner turmoil. Back then, when releasing “33″ and “Fata”, the teams resigned former player of “s4”. Since then, Artiom “fng” Barshack signed on loan – now they’ve decided to sign him permanently.
Accordingly, such a signing is no surprise. However, the roster is glad to finally cement a starting line-up. So, let’s take a closer look at Artiom “fng” Barshak and his past achievements with Gambit:
3rd at ONE Esports Dota 2 World Pro Invitational Singapore
Since on loan with Alliance, the team achieved a fourth-place finish at the OMEGA League: Europe Immortal Division. Just like that, the Alliance Dota 2 Roster decided to cement itself in order to allow for progress.
Therefore, the following is the current active roster:
Nikolay “Nikobaby” Nikolov
Linus “Limmp” Blomdin
Gustav “s4″ Magnusson
Simon “Handsken” Haag
Artiom “fng” Barshack
Is this the right way forward for the roster? Finding respectable success after teaming for only a month or so is definitely a sign that this roster has potential. By signing “fng” the roster can now reliably build strategies and stronger chemistry.
Indeed, leading up to the event, we did predict that Team Secret would come out on top. However, with the OMEGA League: Europe Immortal Division inviting the very best from the region, their dominance is shocking. Read on as we cover their untouchable performance from the event!
Congratulations to @teamsecret, the winners of the first season of Omega League!
We'd like to thank all of the teams that took part in this event.
Thanks to everyone involved in making it happenz
Omega League will return for the 2nd Season later this year. #OmegaDota
Running from August 14th to September 6th, the event served as a slight replacement to The International. With $500,000, the Tier 1 event played out like a regular Major in an online setting. A total of 12 teams made it into the event either by invite or qualification. Here they are, assorted by their concluding ranks in the Group Stage:
Group A
Team Nigma (4-1)
Evil Geniuses (3-2)
Virtus.pro (3-2)
Alliance (2-3)
5men (2-3)
Natus Vincere (1-4)
Group B
Team Secret (5-0)
OG (3-2)
Vikin.gg (3-2)
Team Liquid (2-3)
FlyToMoon (1-4)
Ninjas in Pyjamas (1-4)
Right off the bat at the OMEGA League: Europe Immortal event, Team Secret went flawless in groups, dropping only a single map. This display would continue in the bracket:
OMEGA League: Europe Immortal Winners – Team Secret On Top of Europe
One of their greatest competitors in Evil Geniuses were playing with a stand-inplayer. Regardless, nobody showed much of a fight as Team Secret went on to secure the win with a total of 2 map losses – shocking.
It’s safe to say that Team Secret are on top of European Dota 2 right now.
As of late, a tonne of criticism has been thrown the way of Valve. Accordingly, while other esports enjoy an online reformation, the Dota Pro Circuit sits quietly in the corner. Finally, the community has received a response from Valve. Read on to learn about how Valve Updating Dota 2 can fix this.
Up until March, events were running well. As soon as the switch hit, The International 2020 was indefinitely postponed and Dota Pro Circuit frozen. In their original press release, they offer a complete story. Valve justifies its decisions at every step of the way, apologizing frequently. Here’s a snippet:
As we approached the middle of the summer, the volatility of the pandemic had grown significantly and we became very concerned about the impact it would have on future DPC events and The International.
Valve
Photo by Andrzej Grygiel / PAP / AFP) / Poland OUT / EASTNEWS OUT
So, how is Valve Updating Dota 2 for the future?
Here’s a list of all the comforting changes for next season:
At least four third party events and leagues in EU/CIS regions – three confirmed for China
Valve has started reaching out to more organizers
First season of the DPC league will start beginning of 2021
Recently, we’ve covered plenty of roster changes. Now, as uncertainty hangs over competitive Dota 2, the PSG LGD Dota 2 Roster is officially releasing two players. Accordingly, this isn’t due to poor performance, but the expiration of contracts. Here’s a breakdown!
Indeed, “Somnus” and “fy” have been fundamental components of the roster. The historic duo has enjoyed an incredible amount of success and consistent The International placements.
Tweets thrown out for both players celebrate their performances. Below is the one forXu “fy” Linsen:
Accordingly, “fy” joined all the way back in 2017. Meanwhile, “Somnus” signed in 2015. Here’s everything they’ve achieved on the roster together since:
EPICENTER XL – 1st place
MDL Changsha Major – 1st place
The International 2018 – 2nd place
The International 2019 – 3rd place
An incredible array of placings. However, although impressive, both players still have not achieved a win at The International. Hence, that’s a potential reason that contracts were not renewed.
With this year’s The International uncertain, the PSG LGD Dota 2 Roster has decided to make this change. Both of these players are incredibly talented and they’ll definitely land new rosters shortly. The question is – will they stick together?
The International 10 has just reached a new height in its prize pool, as it has set $34,363,103 as its new prize pool record.
The International 10 now has the LARGEST PRIZE POOL for any single tournament in the history of esports. It surpasses the record previously held by The International 9 at $34.33 Million. #TI10#Dota2pic.twitter.com/KtEB0pMty5
This is big news mainly because this is a continuous showing of how esports is growing every single day. It is certainly satisfying to see new players supporting Dota 2’s The International prize pool. Alongside this news, The international 10 is now considered as an event with the highest prize pool in the history of esports.
Credits: Dota 2 Prize Tracker
How do players contribute to The International 10 prize pool?
If you’re not aware of how the prize pool contribution system goes about, this is how it works. Basically all players that purchase the battle pass give a percentage of what they pay. Which is to both Valve and to the TI prize pool. 25% of the battle pass purchases going to the prize pool whereas the rest of the 75% goes to Valve.
Credits: Valve
The International 10 prize pool continues to grow every single day, and with no official date regarding when TI 10 will be commencing, we can expect that the TI 10 prize pool will be much larger by the time it is finally announced to start.
Make sure you don’t miss out on any important esports news by keeping yourself updated on www.esportsguide.com!
T1 announce Sam_H as new 5th for Dota 2 team – Who is Sam_H?
25 year old Samson “Sam_H” Hidalgo is a Filipino professional Dota 2 player who has been playing since early 2015. He has played under numerous teams and organizations, some of them being: TNC Pro Team, DeToNator, Lowkey Esports, and most recently, Neon Esports (As a Trial). Sam_H has an approximate total of $509,518 in esports earnings, and is looking to increase that number under the T1 banner.
T1 will be playing in the ESL One Thailand 2020: Asia tomorrow, alongside other top teams. It will definitely be challenging for them due to their limited practice with their recent roster change. However we will just have to hope that T1 adapts quickly to their newest addition in the offlaner role in order for them to get solid results.
For more esports news make sure you keep yourself updated with www.esportsguide.com!
WePlay! Esports have disqualified team Linger from their OMEGA League: Asia Divine Division due to match-fixing allegations. Here is their statement:
Statement about the match-fixing allegations and suspension of team Linger. Unfortunately, today we will have only one match of the Asia Divine Division.
— WePlay! Dota2 | #WePlayOMEGA (@WePlayDota2_) August 13, 2020
Here are the players that were disqualified:
Yeo ”TigerCat” Chun Kiat
Wang “大猪” Jie
Law “眼高手低” Chee Hoong
Liew “Bee” Wei Hang
Hao “76561198125784995″ Zeng
Their ban for match fixing means that they will not be able to participate in any tournaments or events hosted by WePlay! Esports until the 13th of August 2021.
Lead Esports Manager at WePlay! Esports, Vitaliy “Nexius” Bozhko, had this to say about team LING ER’s match fixing:
“We’ve looked at the match between Linger and DeMonster ourselves and asked for opinions and any data from analysts, players, and representatives of betting companies. The evidence we have and the subjective opinions we heard are consistent that Linger lost the second game of the series intentionally.”
Match-fixing continues to be an issue in esports, which impacts competitive integrity and sportsmanship. Thankfully we don’t see similar issues in top tier esports within the best teams, however teams like LING ER, think they might get away with it since they’re a much less popular squad. Hopefully with these penalizations they learn their mistakes and give a message to all that are interested in match-fixing any time soon.
Make sure you don’t miss any important esports news by keeping yourself updated on www.esportsguide.com!
As we head into the OMEGA League: Europe as discussed earlier, many are listing Evil Geniuses as the favourite. Indeed, the Dota 2 community is ecstatic over the event. However, news has it that a major change to the Evil Geniuses Dota 2 roster has been made days before the event. Read on for more!
Accordingly, as one of the ten invited teams, Evil Geniuses is fighting to win it. With $500,000, the event a ‘replacement’ for the cancelled The International this year. Heading into the event, the Evil Geniuses Dota 2 Roster looked like this:
Artour “Arteezy” Babaev
Abed “Abed” Yusop
Roman “RAMZES666″ Kushnarev
Andreas “Cr1t-” Nielsen
Tal “Fly” Aizik
Unfortunately, in a recent announcement, the player of “Abed” is being forced to opt out of the competition. Indeed, this is due to internet issues.
Gpk will play for @EvilGeniuses at OMEGA League on short-term loan basis. It was a mutual agreement and we believe that Danil will greatly benefit from this experience. GL & HF ✊#GambitDota2pic.twitter.com/FHuT2Slxeo
Evidently, Danil “gpk” Skutin is being loaned from Gambit Esports for the event. In the past, the player has stood-in for Team Spirit. The player, transitioning from Tier 2 to Tier 1 competition, has an array of solid placings in multiple competitions.
Though, will “gpk” fully replace “Abed”?
Sadly, I’m afraid not many could answer with confidence. All those weeks of practice heading into the event have all been for nothing. Due to this, I wouldn’t consider Evil Geniusesto be a favourite for the event any longer.
Recently, the Dota 2 community has gone through a small period of downtime following the cancellation of The International. Accordingly, Epic Esports Events and WePlay! Esports have come together to host an incredible event. Namely, the OMEGA League: Europe Immortal Division puts $500,000 up for grabs for the best European Dota 2 squads. Read on for details on How to Watch!
Hosting Tier A Dota 2 competition for the other regions of Americas and Asia, we’ll be focusing on Europe. OMEGA League: Europe is clearly the largest of the three regional events. By the same token, the European region is further split up into tiers. Accordingly, here they are:
Immortal
Divine
Closed Qualifier
Southeast EU
Northwest EU
Immortal is the highest division and the one we’ll be tackling.
Running from August 14th to September 6th, the entire event is set to run online entirely. Playing exclusively on patch 7.27c. the community is anxious to figure out the new meta. Overall, the event makes use of a familiar format. Firstly, let’s take a look at the teams involved:
Evidently, there are 10 invited teams besides the two teams earning a spot through closed qualification.
As a result, the 12 teams will be sorted into two groups of six. From here, a single round-robin will take place. Accordingly, BO3 matches will seed the teams as follows:
Top 2 – Upper Bracket R1 of Playoffs
Third – Lower Bracket R1 of Playoffs
Fourth and Fifth – Play-In Stage, from which they may end up Lower Bracket R1 of Playoffs or drop to Divine division
Sixth – drop to Upper Bracket R1 of Divine division
Group A – Alliance, Evil Geniuses, Natus Vincere, Team Nigma, Virtus.pro, 5men
Group B – FlyToMoon, Ninjas in Pyjamas, OG, Team Liquid, Team Secret, Vikin.gg
Groups will run-up to August 30th. Following which, Playoffs will take place from September 2nd-6th. Here, a BO3 double-elimination bracket should conclude the event. Altogether, it will all conclude through a BO5 Grand Final.
Schedule
A full schedule is available here. As an example, the following is how the first three days of competition look like from August 14-17th:
August 14th
Na’Vi vs 5men
OG vs Vikin.gg
VP vs Alliance
August 15th
NiP vs Vikin.gg
EG vs 5men
August 16th
OG vs NiP
Secret vs Liquid
VP vs Na’Vi
Roughly two to four games will take place on each day.
Streams
Without a doubt, the $500,000 will be streamed through a high-quality broadcast. Indeed, all the action will be streamed through multiple Twitch channels:
Watch the OMEGA League: Europe Immortal stream on esportsguide.com
You can also watch the OMEGA League: Europe live stream via our very own website. Providing an extensive list of the biggest esports together with streams for each esports match live today or upcoming matches.
Predictions
Naturally, although there is some serious talent in the qualifying teams, everyone looks to the invited top dogs for a champion.
Usually, when making such predictions, it’s wise to look to the most recent event where most competitors played previously. The best European teams of the continent competed at the BEYOND EPIC: Europe/CIS event. Here, the teams stacked up as follows:
1 – Team Secret
2 – Team Nigma
3 – Team Liquid
4 – FlyToMoon
5-6 – Virtus.pro
7-8 – Alliance and OG
9-10 – Ninjas in Pyjamas
What does mix all of this up is the addition of Evil Geniuses – the North American giants who haven’t faced the Europeans in a while. Also, since that last event was on a different patch, the results don’t hold as well. Placing third at the BTS Pro Series Season 2: Americas, Evil Geniuses still remain a threat.
Overall, my prediction has the majority of the $500,000 going to either Evil Geniuses and Team Secret with lower possibilities for the likes of Team Nigma and Team Liquid. In addition, the online environment doesn’t help with the predictions either – will Evil Geniuses playing from North America affect their gameplay?
Recently, the Dota 2 community has undergone some roster changes as we’ve covered. Beyond that, Valve has also prepared a new patch. Dota 2 Patch 7.27c may be minor, but once again shifts the balance. Read on to learn more!
As viewable in the original post, the following is a concise round-up of the changes:
Hero Changes
BLOODSEEKER: mixed patch with abilities nerfed and buffed. Ability of ‘BloodRage’ nerfed while ‘Thirst’ and ‘Blood Rite’ rescaled and increased.
BROODMOTHER: ‘Spawn Spiderlings’ have had magic resistance reduced and health increased.
CHAOS KNIGHT: small increase in base armor
CLINKZ: overall nerf as ‘Strafe’ and ‘Death Pact’ abilities nerfed. Otherwise, ‘Searing Arrows’ rescaled.
RAZOR: base stats of intelligence, agility and movement buffed. ‘Storm Surge’ speed increased accordingly.
SPECTRE: nerf to ability of ‘Desolate’
UNDERLORD: severe nerf as all abilities suffer – ‘Atrophy Aura’, ‘Pit of Malice’ and ‘Firestorm’
According to analytics, it seems that the nerf has allowed Strength Heroes to really take the spotlight. Below is a win infographic carried out by GOSU.AI since Dota 2 Patch 7.27c:
