Dota Pro Circuit Tour 1 Week 2 Results – NA, WEU, EEU

The 2^nd week of Dota Pro Circuit 2021 – 2022 is over and it’s becoming more and more obvious that some of the legendary teams will have a bad year. In North America, Evil Geniuses lost what should have been an easy match against BnY, while in Western Europe Nigma is now 0 W – 2 L. Other regions, such as Eastern Europe, are also in disarray, with teams like Virtus.pro and Natus Vincere playing much worse than what the fans expected. Clearly, roster changes are not always a good idea in esports.

North America

It was obvious from the start that the battle in North America was going to take place, just like last season, between 3 teams: Evil Geniuses, Quincy Crew, and Team Undying. But while QC and Undying have delivered so far, getting 3 victories in their first 3 matches, Evil Geniuses seems to be struggling a bit. And this is a huge problem, because in North America there are only 2 tickets available for the Majors. Because of this defeat, EG will now need to defeat either Undying or Quincy Crew and hope for the best.

Based on what we saw last season, it’s clear that if EG loses one more match, the team will miss the first Major. Its current score is 1 W – 1 L and next week it will have 2 easy matches. One against Wildcard Gaming and one against Simply TOOBASED.

Western Europe

In Western Europe, it seems that Liquid’s decision to bring in MATUMBAMAN was an inspired one. The team is currently ranked 1^st in the region with 3 wins and 0 losses and there are only 2 strong opponents left to face: Secret and Tundra. If Liquid manages to win at least one of these matches, it will most likely win the tournament and secure a Playoffs spot for the upcoming Major.

The partial results in this region are the following:

• 1^st place: Team Liquid: 3 W – 0 L
• 2^nd place: Team Tickles: 2 W – 1 L
• 3^rd place: Tundra Esports: 2 W – 1 L
• 4^th place: Team Secret: 2 W – 1 L
• 5^th place: OG: 1 W – 1 L
• 6^th place: Alliance: 0 W – 2 L
• 7^th place: Coolguys: 0 W – 2 L
• 8^th place: Nigma Galaxy: 0 W – 2 L

As you can see, Alliance’s new roster is much weaker than the previous one. The experience of s4, fng, and even Limmp is quite difficult to replace.

Another big disappointment in this region is Nigma. KuroKy’s team has been struggling for quite some time now and although the members of his crew are obviously good friends with each other, maintaining the roster unchanged will likely lead to poor results. Unless of course, Kuro succeeds in motivating everyone and in finding a winning formula. He’s done it before, but injuries and other personal issues keep plaguing his roster.

Eastern Europe

VP’s management must be angry right now. The decision to bench Save- and sell Nightfall to Evil Geniuses is proving to be costly. The team lost the first match against HellRaisers and is obviously struggling to find success with its new lineup. Natus Vincere is in a similar position, even though the players it signed are all legendary. Solo is an extraordinary captain and No[o]ne- really knows how to play mid. But the synergy is lacking, at least for now.

The partial results in this region look like this:

• 1^st place: PuckChamp: 3 W – 1 L
• 2^nd place: Team Spirit: 2 W – 0 L
• 3^rd place: HellRaisers: 2 W – 0 L
• 4^th place: Natus Vincere: 1 W – 1 L
• 5^th place: Virtus.pro: 1 W – 1 L
• 6^th place: AS Monaco Gambit: 1 W – 2 L
• 7^th place: Team Unique: 0 W – 2 L
• 8^th place: Team Empire: 0 W – 3 L

The strongest teams in this region seem to be Team Spirit and PuckChamp, but we’ll have to see if they are capable of maintaining their lead. Spirit will almost certainly win the race, being the TI10 champion. But the battle for 2^nd and 3^rd place is open. Normally, you would expect Na’Vi and VP to occupy these places. But based on what we’ve seen so far, nothing is guaranteed.

 

Photo credit: Valve