The Dota 2 Pro Circuit 2021 is underway, and Week 1 is already behind us. Check out who took the lead in each of the regions!
We finally have it. Competitive Dota 2 all day, every day. It might seem like a lot, but in reality, teams are just playing one series per week (sometimes two). The first week is done and here are the results from the Upper Division!
Europe
The big winners in Europe are no other than Team Nigma. Kuro “Kuroky” Takhasomi’s return to active play after the hand injury has definitely made things better for the team. Nigma defeated Alliance and Team Liquid and are currently on top of the charts. OG and Team Secret are tied for second place after victories over High Coast Esports (Chicken Fighters) and mudgolems respectively.
Nigma’s performance in the past few months was shaky but the start of the DPC might mean a new era for the team. Still, it’d be interesting to see how they’ll fair up against Secret and OG. Something we won’t see until February.
CIS
Natus Vincere took the lead in the CIS. The team scored two victories, one over Team Unique and another versus NoTechies. In second place we have not one, not two, but three teams – Virtus.pro, Team Spirit and Live to Win. This leaves EXTREMUM, Empire, Unique tied for the fifth and NoTechies at the very bottom.
Many fans had high expectations for NoTechies, as the team features former VP players like Alexey "Solo" Berezin and Bakyt "Zayac" Emilzhanov.
SEA
Moving to Southeast Asia we see that Neon Esports are already 2:0. Their first triumph was versus BOOM Esports, followed with a victory against 496 Gaming. Much like Neon, 496 Gaming also played two series this week and they’ve won one against Vice Esports. Neon weren’t even directly invited to the event but they’re already making a name for themselves at the highest level of competitive Dota 2.
Fnatic defeated T1 and we also saw the surprising defeat of TNC at the hands of Execration.
China
China was the most contested region in the first week and we saw some big twists. PSG.LGD and Elephant were among the top favorites for China but that might no longer be the case. Elephant lost a series to Invictus Gaming and Team Aster managed to take down PSG.LGD. EHOME and Vici Gaming scored victories over Team MagMa and LBZS respectively with a clean 2:0 sweep.
With the exception of LBZS and MagMa it feels like any of the other six teams can make it to the top.
North America
Evil Geniuses made their return to the region clear by winning both series in the first week. They brought down 4 Zoomers and Sadboys. This was EG's first tournament since September 2020 and Daryl Koh "iceiceice" Pei Xiang's first event with the team since he joined. On the opposite end of the spectrum, we have 5ManMidas as they’ve already lost two – one against Quincy Crew and another versus Black N Yellow.
A lot can still happen in the region, but we doubt EG will be dethroned from their lead anytime soon.
South America
Things have gone south for some in SA. For others like beastcoast it was an excellent week with victories against EgoBoys and Team Unknown. Following close by are Infamous, Latam Defenders, and SG e-sports each with a single victory. Everyone else already suffered a loss and EgoBoys are at the very bottom with two.
Matches in the Upper Division will resume tomorrow, January 26.
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