Dota 2 Champions League 2021 (D2CL) Season 2 returns to deliver exciting matches before the next big championship. While we endure the long wait until the International 10 (TI10), we had to give a shout-out to tournament organizers for taking the effort of hosting tournaments.
The D2CL is the second iteration of the Dota 2 Champions League, which is the brainchild of Epic Esports Events alongside the Russian Esports Federation. With a $250,000 total prize pool, it’s an excellent investment into the CIS Dota 2 scene.
The Dota 2 Champions League 2021 Season 2 will feature a group stage consisting of single round-robin best-of-three matches. The top eight teams advance to the Playoffs after the group stage concludes, while the others face elimination. In the playoffs, there will be single-elimination best-of-three matches, except for the grand finals being a best-of-five.
Speaking of teams, there are nine invited teams, and one slot reserved for the open qualifier winner. We do not have the complete list of teams just yet, but PuckChamp, Winstrike Team, Team Unique, Nemiga Gaming, and AS Monaco Gambit make up the current candidates.
PuckChamp stands out as one of the more promising teams in the D2CL Season 2. Notably for the fact that they finished fourth place in the TI10 Eastern Europe Qualifier. Furthermore, Team Spirit and Empire, the only opponents they failed to defeat, aren’t attending the tournament.
Nevertheless, PuckChamp’s debut into the scene was depicted as a rags-to-riches story as they were once a nobody team. They secured top seeds in the Lower Division and eventually fifth place in the Upper Division.
Then, there’s AS Monaco Gambit, a team with overwhelming potential after debuting in both Dota Pro Circuit 2021 (DPC 2021) majors. Unfortunately, the team’s success was held back by a blatant case of player poaching in the CIS scene. Gambit was, more often than not, playing with a handicap of stand-ins because their players decided to leave for another team.
Occasionally, Gambit fans look back at the powerhouse and how it could have been a top-notch team. Yet, all that’s left is a subpar stack of players who had to restart their team building and synergy again.
With four empty slots available, perhaps we can consider the potential candidates to make it into this list. First off, Natus Vincere, a powerhouse brand that many would have anticipated to appear at TI10. Unfortunately, Navi didn’t make the cut after losing to Team Empire at the TI10 EEU Qualifiers.
The roster spots many familiar faces in the CIS scene, such as Roman “RAMZES666” Kushnarev, Vladimir “RodjER” Nikogosian, and Vladimir “No[o]ne” Minenko. These former remnants of Virtus.pro were finding it difficult to establish themselves after their TI9 upset. Even so, it seems like banding back together did not pay off for the season. Well, the silver lining of the fiasco is that it’s no better time to reform under a new brand, Navi, at the D2CL Season 2 and perhaps, TI11.
Team Empire was a team that shocked the player base with their underdog run at TI10 EEU Qualifiers. For a team that barely made any impact during the entire DPC 2021, they could reach the finals of the qualifiers. Furthermore, it was a hard-fought battle between Team Spirit and the lather that concluded with a 2-3 loss.
While the invites list remains subjected to change, we shouldn’t count out the likelihood of TI10 invitees willing to participate. Whether Virtus.pro or Team Spirit actually makes an appearance, rest assured that the D2CL Season 2 will be a frenzy for Dota 2 betting.
Looking to familiarize yourself with the knick-knacks of Esports betting? Well, on top of the helpful guide, we also got you covered on trustworthy Esports bookmakers and bonuses to start.
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