StarLadder ImbaTV Dota 2 Minor Season 2 Preview

Dota 2
June 6, 2019
Radu Muresan

StarLadder ImbaTV Dota 2 Minor is the last Dota Pro Circuit Minor of the season. It’s also the tournament that will decide who else will go to EPICENTER 2019 Major. Fourteen of the sixteen spots are already occupied and StarLadder ImbaTV Dota 2 Minor will decide who the final two participants will be. In this regard, the event has huge importance for all of the eight teams taking part in it, perhaps with the exception of NiP. And that’s because they’re already qualified for The International 2019.

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© StarLadder

StarLadder ImbaTV Dota 2 Minor Participants

StarLadder ImbaTV Dota 2 Minor brings together eight teams. Some of them are very good, but most are outsiders at this level and stand little chance of getting a Grand Final participation.

  • Ninjas in Pyjamas
  • Alliance
  • Complexity Gaming
  • Team Anvorgesa
  • Winstrike Team
  • Mineski
  • EHOME
  • Team Sirius

Of these eight teams, NiP, Alliance and Mineski are the clear favorites. The Chinese squads may also turn out to be strong, but we haven’t seen them in action all that much. EHOME has been disappointing over the last few months while Team Sirius is an unknown quantity here. Chances are, they’re not stronger than the strongest two competitors in the race, so their chances are minimal.

StarLadder ImbaTV Dota 2 Minor Favorites

NiP

NiP is by far the strongest competitor at this tournament, at least in theory. It’s very likely that ppd and his squad will prevail over any opponent and grab one of the two tickets. However, the team is already qualified to TI 9, so there’s very little at stake for them apart from the chance to test their skills again on the latest patch and earn some money at the Major.

Alliance

Alliance is in a rough spot right now. With only one Major left to go, they have 279 qualification points and would need at least around 400 more to get a direct invite to The International 2019. This is not very plausible, but that doesn’t mean they won’t even get a chance to compete at the Major. At the competitive level of StarLadder ImbaTV Dota 2 Minor, Alliance might just be the 2nd best team in the race.

Mineski

Mineski has everything to fight for. They are currently sitting at number 16 in the DPC rankings with 246 points. Much like Alliance, they would need a miracle at EPICENTER in order to succeed without having to go through regional qualifiers.