The best Dota 2 teams from each competitive region are about to clash. The Dota Pro Circuit kicked off yesterday with the Lower Division and today the Upper Division joins the fight.
Valve got a lot of criticism for the current format of the Dota Pro Circuit. The competitive Dota 2 season started with the Lower Division yesterday. Today, the top teams in the world will start playing in the regional leagues. Depending on their placement by the end of the season, teams will earn DPC points. With enough of the latter, they’ll be able to earn a spot in the first Major Dota 2 tournament of 2021. Chances are it will be a LAN, but you never know these days.
- READ MORE: DPC 2021 Kicks Off in the Lower Division
Season 1 of DPC 2021 will span across January 18 and February 28 (March 14 for China) and the first Major will be between March 25 and April 1. Without further ado, let’s take a look at all the regions and the favorites in each of them.
China
- PSG.LGD
- Vici Gaming
- EHOME
- Elephant
- Team Aster
- Team MagMa
- LBZS
- Invictus Gaming
Royal Never Give Up and Sparking Arrow Gaming failed to make the cut here. Even without them, the region is still one of the toughest. PSG.LGD have swapped their entire roster just a few months back, but they’re still one of the top performers in China. Vici Gaming are worthy opponents and the superstar team of Elephant isn’t further back. EHOME also has a solid squad but will it be enough to take first place?
At the time of writing, VG are already facing LBZS and you can expect EHOME vs MagMa next. Catch the action on the official live stream.
SEA
- TNC Predator
- Fnatic
- T1
- BOOM Esports
- Neon Esports
- 496 Gaming
- Execration
- Vice Esports
TNC and Fnatic are the clear favorites in SEA but there’s plenty of space for twists and turns. T1 have a solid roster as they’ve recently acquired Carlo "Kuku" Palad and Matthew "Whitemon" Filemon. If the BTS Pro Series Season 4 is any indication they can definitely outclass Fnatic.Don’t expect any matches in SEA today as they’re scheduled for tomorrow, January 20.
CIS
- Virtus.pro
- Natus Vincere
- Team Spirit
- Live to Win
- Team Empire
- EXTREMUM
- Team Unique
- NoTechies
Virtus.pro and Natus Vincere have a good chance to take the lead in the CIS. Then again there are teams like Live to Win, NoTechies, and Team Unique. They all feature some of the best players in the region. Much like in SEA, we won’t be seeing any games today here.The first series in the CIS region is scheduled for this Thursday, January 21.
Europe
- OG
- Team Secret
- Team Liquid
- Team Nigma
- Alliance
- Vikin.gg
- mudgolems
- Chicken Fighters
Throughout 2020 Europe was considered the most competitive Dota 2 region. This hasn’t changed in 2021 as you can clearly see from the list of participants. It’s hard to say who’ll take the lead here as the last time we saw all those teams in action they were all burned out from the numerous events. Team Secret was the undisputed leader in the region for the better part of 2020, whether the new year will be as good for them remains to be seen.
North America
- Evil Geniuses
- Quincy Crew
- 4 Zoomers
- Sadboys
- Undying
- Black N Yellow
- A-Team
- 5ManMidas
The NA region was rather barren in 2020. While Evil Geniuses were absent Quincy Crew won every event there was. Now EG are back but will they have what it takes? Let’s not forget the freshly formed Sadboys. A team that features not one, but two TI winners with Peter “ppd” Dagger and Clinton “Fear” Loomis.Later today we’ll see the first series for the region with Evil Geniuses going up against 4 Zoomers.
- EG vs. 4 Zoomers – 00:00 AM CET (January 20 for some regions)
South America
- Infamous
- Thunder Predator
- SG e-sports
- beastcoast
- NoPing e-sports
- Team Unknown
- EgoBoys
- Latam Defenders
Thunder Predator had a good year in 2020. The SA team even won the BTS Pro Series Season 4: Americas. They have more experience playing against NA teams but now it’s just regional play. Infamous will probably challenge them for first place.Games in SA will kick off on January 20 with not one but two series.
- beastcoast vs. EgoBoys – 9:00 PM CET
- NoPing vs. SG – 00:00 AM CET (January 21 for some regions)
Only 18 teams will make it to the first Major tournament:
- Four teams each from Europe and China
- Three teams each from SEA and CIS
- Two teams each from North America and South America
The top team from each region will earn a spot directly into the playoffs. Which team are you rooting for in your region? Tell us on our Facebook page or Discord server!
- READ MORE: BTS Leak the Dota 2 Overwatch System
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