The NA and EU DPC tiebreakers have come to an end. Team Liquid and Evil Geniuses won their respective tiebreakers, while A-team got relegated down to the lower division for Season 2.
Valve restarted the Dota Pro Circuit with the DPC Season 1 2021 after a prolonged break due to the pandemic. The DPC season has six regional competitions that serve as qualifiers to the next Dota 2 Major. The ONE Esports Singapore Major 2021 kicks off on March 27 and includes the best Dota 2 teams together in action for the first time in over a year.
The winners of each of the six regions qualify for the next Dota 2 Major playoffs. The runners-up earn a spot in the group stage. In addition, some regions have additional slots for the next best teams via the Wild Card Invites. After a rigorous few weeks of competition, Dota 2 fans have a better understanding of the best teams from each region.
The North American and European divisions saw intense competition leading to tie-breaker matches between some of their teams. Here is a quick overview of the DPC tiebreakers and which teams pulled ahead of their regional opponents.
North America: Evil Geniuses and Quincy Crew qualify to the Major
There were two tie-breakers in the North American region. The first tie-breaker saw Evil Geniuses, Undying and Quincy Crew compete for their chances to attend the next Major. The second tie-breaker was for the 4-7th place and would decide which teams would be relegated to the lower division in Season 2.
Tie-Breaker #1 - The Race to the Major
EG won both of its tie-breaker games to grab the top spot. Screengrab via Liquipedia.
The tie-breaker set of matches started with Evil Geniuses going off against Undying. EG was already on top of the standings but the team needed to cement its place via the tie-breaker matches.
The match was a one-sided affair with Abed and Arteezy going on a rampage. Abed’s Storm Spirit did not die a single time while Arteezy went 9-1 on his Phantom Lancer.
After winning its match against Undying, Evil Geniuses needed to secure its position with a win over Quincy Crew. The rematch between the two teams was one of the most-awaited rematches of the tie-breakers. Quincy Crew had already defeated Evil Geniuses in the group stage, but this tie-breaker match was a best-of-one affair. Unfortunately, Quincy Crew could not replicate its group stage performance.
Evil Geniuses won the series and secured its position in the Dota 2 Major playoffs. Similar to the first match, EG’s approach to this game was creating space for Arteezy. When an Alchemist is left unchecked, he runs on rampage and Arteezy went 15-0 in this match.
With Evil Geniuses having won both of its games, the battle was now between Quincy Crew and Team Undying. The winner of this match would qualify to the ONE Esports Dota 2 Major group stage.
Despite a gradual increase in Quincy Crew’s advantage, the match was significantly closer than statistics suggest. But eventually, Quincy Crew took the win and secured its position in the ONE Esports Singapore Major group stage.
Tie-Breaker #2: Which Team Gets Relegated?
The second tie-breaker was to determine the teams ranked 5-7th place. The team that finished seventh would be relegated to the lower division of Season 2.
Sadboys won against BlackNYellow and A-Team winning both games by a significant margin. Sadboys defeated BlackNYellow with a 40k net worth lead while its game against A-team ended with a 32k net worth lead.
BlackNYellow sent A-team down to relegation in Season 2 in a thirty-minute game that saw the team win its mid-lane and safe-lane pull ahead.
Europe - Team Liquid, OG and Tundra Battle for One Wild Card Slot
Europe is already one of the most competitive regions in Dota 2 with some of the biggest teams competing for their Major spot. Team Secret went undefeated through the group stage, ending with a 7-0 score. In what may have come as a major surprise to Dota 2 fans, Alliance secured the second spot ahead of several other big names.
Team Liquid, OG and Tundra esports were tied at 3-4 but the only team could secure a top-three placement. The 3rd and 4th ranked team receive wild-card invites to the next Dota 2 Major.
The first few matches saw each team win one match each. The stalemate between the three teams continued and necessitated a round 2.
Tundra Esports defeated Team Liquid while LIquid took down OG. Both games were one-sided with very little room for the losing teams to get back into the series.
Meanwhile, the match between OG and Tundra Esports was one of the best games in the DPC tiebreakers. The match went back and forth and both teams had many chances to secure the win.
Ultimately, OG took the match after great execution in the late game. Two consecutive fight wins and some poor decisions by Tundra saw OG win the match and stay alive in the tie-breakers.
EU DPC Tiebreakers #2: Here We Go Again!
The teams went for the second round and we had two similar results when Team Liquid defeated OG and OG in turn, took down Tundra Esports. As the casters and talents were worrying about yet another series of BO1 tiebreaker matches, Qojqva’s Storm Spirit went 17-0 after a great start in the mid-lane. An uncontrollable Storm Spirit with early item timings was too much for Tundra to handle. Team Liquid’s two wins in Tie-Breaker #2 helped it qualify for the Wild Card slot in the upcoming Dota 2 Major.
With the DPC tiebreakers done, Dota 2 fans know which of their favorite European and North American teams will compete at the upcoming Major. The ONE Esports Singapore Major takes place from March 27 to April 4, 2021. The tournament has a $500,000 prize pool with eighteen teams competing at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.
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