As the DPC (2021-22) Tour 2 draws to an end soon, multiple tiebreaker scenarios could potentially play out. These are crucial tiebreakers, which determine which candidate qualifiers for the Stockholm Major 2022.
Hence, the last week at DPC Tour 2 is arguably the most stressful period for many powerhouses aching to debut their first LAN Major for this season.
The major trophy is right here
The Western Europe scene is easily among the most anticipated, more so when its Eastern counterpart is nonexistent because of the Ukraine-Russia crisis.
Anyways, perhaps the more terrifying news in the WEU scene is the odds of Team Secret missing out on Stockholm Major. Currently, the top three major slots have been occupied, namely by Gaimin Gladiators, OG, and Team Liquid.
Team Secret has to wait it out on whether they qualify for the fourth place. They have no matches anymore, and it’s up to Tundra, Brame, and Entity to decide the tiebreaker scenarios. For instance, if Brame defeats Tundra Esports, this would even out the scores with the latter and Team Secret, forcing a three-way tiebreaker. Then, there’s Entity who could join the line-up to make it a four-way tiebreaker if they miraculously beat OG.
With so much at stake, Secret has only themselves to blame for their careless performance after losing to a terrible Nigma Galaxy. Nigma, which has already been relegated by now, will be playing the Division 2 during Tour 3, which ultimately means that Nigma only has the International 11 (TI11) regional qualifiers to bet on.
Meanwhile, the Southeast Asia region has a relatively similar tiebreaker scenario as well, with T1 finding themselves in a difficult situation. Unlike Team Secret, T1 still has one lifeline to break out of the tiebreaker scenario if they defeat Fnatic. Winning against the latter would put them in the top three, but wouldn’t change the outcome of Fnatic’s qualification into Stockholm Major. Nevertheless, the 2nd-3rd place tiebreaker between Fnatic and T1 will still be crucial as the difference in DPC points reward is immense.
Otherwise, T1 will play a gruesome tiebreaker with Polaris Esports for the third-place finish (and major slot). Considering Polaris won indisputably during their previous encounter, T1 might not be confident in defeating the superior opponent.
Another candidate that could potentially make this third-place tiebreaker into a three-way is Team SMG if they beat BOOM Esports. However, BOOM is at the top of their game right now, making it unforeseeable for them to lose a round.
Both WEU and SEA Dota Pro Circuits have one thing in common, having one prominent candidate in the top seed. However, the NA DPC Tour 2 is more volatile, especially with the recent uprising of TeamSoloMid.
TSM, formerly known as Team Undying, won the DPC NA Regional Finals last Tour, establishing them as the new NA powerhouse. EG and Quincy Crew are the closest rivals that could give them a run for their money. In most cases, we would have put EG as a formidable rival, but TSM proved its worth by surpassing EG. Hence, it’s up to Quincy Crew to one-up TSM, forcing a three-way tiebreaker for the top-two finishes.
Of course, that is assuming EG beats Team DogChamp, which shouldn’t be of concern for a team of such calibre.
The competitive scene has longed for a worthy SA rival to play in the DPC Tour 2. After the fiasco of poor showing by SA teams during TI10, there’s high pressure for SA to produce strong opponents. Fortunately, Thunder Awaken fits that role and wasn’t part of the line-ups that participated in TI10. Hence, making TA somewhat of a rising star, eager to debut in Stockholm Major.
TA has already secured their spot, so kudos to the talented squad. However, beastcoast and Hokori will brawl it out for the remaining second-place finish. Beastcoast, which features the SA roster that won the most prize pool in TI, is certainly a fan favorite. However, we didn’t expect Hokori to be this close to qualifying for their first Major.
For the tiebreaker to occur, beastcoast will have to lose to TA, which is very likely, considering TA’s overwhelming strength.
Last but not least, DPC China Tour 2 has arguably the fiercest competition among the top candidates. Of course, excluding PSG.LGD, other considerably strong teams include Royal Never Give Up, Xtreme Gaming, and Team Aster.
These teams have a very high likelihood of sparking a tiebreaker for the top four finishes, so it would be exhilarating to witness the action unfold this week. Since there are still approximately eight matches, the tiebreaker scenarios are still unpredictable but expect a high possibility of it. After all, these are teams of high-profile players who have gone neck-to-neck for ages, some veterans, others recent prodigies, that make the DPC China Tour 2 the most contested among other regions.
With this many upcoming tiebreakers and outcomes to foresee, only one prediction is for certain. The Stockholm Major 2022 will have some of the best-in-class participants we have witnessed since TI10. And that’s excluding the champions themselves, Team Spirit, which Valve has yet to announce what’s in store for DPC Eastern Europe.
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