Although we are still days away from Spring, the Moon Studio Spring Trophy kicked off early. The event gathers formidable Dota Pro Circuit 2021 (DPC 2021) participants in the second regional battle between SEA and China this season.
Hopes are high that a SEA team can claim the trophy this time around and equalize the score between both regions.
The Moon Studio Spring Trophy group stage is divided into two groups. One is reserved for all SE Asia teams and the other for the Chinese teams. Each group is comprised of five teams, where they play single round-robin best-of-three matches. The top two seeds proceed to the upper bracket of playoffs, while third and fourth-place teams get a second chance at the lower bracket.
Speaking of teams, the SEA representatives consist of Execration, Army Geniuses, Lilgun, Omega Esports, and team SMG. China, on the other side, has Aster.Aries, Dragon, Crocodile, Xtreme Gaming and LBZS.
The line-up is similar to what we say a month earlier at the Moon Studio New Year Showdown.
Keep note that the group stage and match schedule thus far hints toward a joined round robin stage between both regions instead of each group playing individually. The scheduled matchups are pitting SEA and China teams in matches in the Group Stage already. The organizer is yet to clarify the specific format.
Perhaps the two most notable teams in the Moon Studio Spring Trophy are Execration and LBZS, primarily due to their DPC 2021 standings and status. While just being in the Dota Pro Circuit is no achievement to brag about, they are still overall decent teams.
Team LBZS was initially depicted as a potential dark horse at the China Upper Division at DPC 2021, they fell out of their league when they lost most matches. In fact, LBZS is probably more concerned about their DPC journey since they have been demoted to the Lower Division next season.
As for Execration, they were fortunate enough to barely survive elimination in their DPC region. During their debut, Execration delivered an unexpected showing but immediately fell off to prominent opponents, such as Fnatic and T1. The team is still fiddling around with the their roster change, and swapping their carry players’ roles around. We expect both teams to come ahead in their groups and move on into Playoffs with ease. An added bonus is the absence of NEON Esports who are headed to the Singapore Major 2021.
Led by renowned Malaysian players, Chai “Mushi” Yee Fung and Tue “ah fu” Soon Chuan, team SMG had a rather unfortunate qualifier run during the first season of DPC 2021. The team had high expectations, but missed their best shot at giving the SEA powerhouses a run for their money. Nevertheless, they head into the Moon Studio Spring Trophy as a menacing threat to other participants. SMG already played the previous Moon Studio event final against LBZS a month ago. This time around, they seek revenge and redemption.
Their upcoming matches are against Aster.Aries and Dragon. While not necessarily strong opponents, Aries and Dragon will undoubtedly show where team SMG stands among their Chinese counterparts. As far as odds go, SMG is the favorite in both matches but the odds dont reflect it making them the ideal candidate for Dota 2 betting.
Moon Studio Spring Trophy only serves as a warmup for the larger China vs SEA battle coming to us at the Singapore Major 2021 in two weeks’ time.
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