The old and new Dota 2 regional contenders this fall

As we creep closer to year’s end, the fact that we will not witness the International 2020 unfold is still a hard pill to swallow. Nonetheless, the Dota 2 community can be grateful for all the regional tournaments held by third-party organizers around the globe.

Not only are they keeping the competitive scene well-fed, but they provide a platform for amateur and professional teams to shine. Back in 2019, we critiqued the competitive ecosystem and the trouble it created for third party organizers. This year, a solace from the whole global situation is that these organizers got to carry on with their business, and “carry” competitive Dota 2 on their backs.

Over the past few weeks, two different event series crowned champions across all major Dota 2 regions. Here’s a tally of all the fall season contenders.

© OGA PIT / BTS

Move aside, there’s a new captain in the SEA

The SE Asia pro scene has always been a treacherous sea for passionate players and teams to chase the dream. Unlike the much-celebrated Europe and CIS regions where tournament organizers generously pour prize pools up to 600,000 USD, the SEA region is much more modest. However, it’s still good money for the small rising teams in this hyper competitive region.

It’s time to meet Motivate.Trust Gaming, the victors of the BTS Pro Series S3: SEA.

The Thai squad has never been a flashy bunch, despite being around since late 2019. Over at BTS last week, the team went on a roll in the playoffs’ lower bracket, defeating every opponent on their way.

Eventually, they faced the strongest team in the competition, Among Us, and still came out on top. We expected BTS to be easy picking for Among Us, especially with Abed on board. But it was not meant to be. After beating the favorites, MTG went on and swept the floor with BOOM Esports too.

The unexpected victors have suddenly taken over the turf as the best in SEA. In fact, their first-place victory at BTS Pro Series S3 made up 50% of their total earnings to-date.

The Eight-Timer in Europe

At this point, we should be concerned whether Team Secret is bored of winning. As of the OGA Dota 2 PIT S3, Team Secret now holds a record-breaking 8-time streak in tournaments won. Their winning streak started all the way back with the WePlay! Pushka League. We already crowned em the Champions of 2020, and it seems we were right on point.

Of course, Puppey has got a lot to thank his reliable allies for. Especially Yazied “YapzOr” Jaradat and Ludwig “zai” Wåhlberg, who are indisputably the best duos in offlane. Offlanes are often considered the worst lane to play, for good reasons, as the enemy’s hard carry is in the same lane. Yet, the duo would more often than not, make it hell for the opposing carries.

The OGA Dota 2 PIT is yet another championship to pile up onto Team Secret’s bucket list.  Team Secret are the absolute favorites in the upcoming ESL One Germany 2020 as well.

We do have to mention VP.Prodigy exceeding all pre-tournament expectations, and reaching a solid runner-up spot.

North America belongs to Quincy Crew

It has never been a worse time to be a talented young prodigy, hoping to debut his pro career this year in North America. The Americas’ Dota 2 scene has not been in the best shape as of late.

While there are still tournaments held here, it certainly isn’t enough to go around, especially since it’s two regions, North and South Americas sharing it. Additionally, Quincy Crew have been a consistent champion in multiple tournaments that don’t feature much in terms of prize funds. Although Quincy Crew’s success story may sound like Team Secret’s at first glance, it really is nowhere close.

Despite having 7 tournament titles in the bag, Quincy Crew still does not have an official sponsor. Additionally, NA has always been EG’s domain. With the absence of the Geniuses, Quincy has taken over and that sums up the entire scene.  When the region’s best team does not have a sponsor, it really reveals how dire of a situation is. On a cheery note, Quincy Crew can be happy about their victory at BTS Pro Series S3: Americas, raking them a bountiful 21,000 USD of winnings. The other nine teams can fight over the remaining prize fund scraps.

During these trying times, regional tournaments contributed a hefty amount to sustain competitive Dota 2. In fact, regional leagues were initially part of Valve’s plan for the new Dota 2 Pro Circuit too but were halted due to the worsening pandemic. We might not expect a LAN tournament anytime soon, so the least we could do is cheer for all the third party organizers being the real heroes.

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