Dota 2 One Esports Singapore Major Viewers Guide

PGL Dota 2 Singapore Major
The PGL Dota 2 Major is here, and with it comes the first LAN action in over 14 months for Dota 2.

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The Dota 2 Singapore Major is right around the corner, with the event being the first LAN experience in 14 months. Several teams are in Singapore, going through the self-isolation period with the majority testing negative for the event. With that said, most teams are fit and healthy for the event but are few that have had to drop out for COVID-19. So, let’s jump into the teams attending and what to expect.

What is the Singapore Major for Dota 2

For those new to Dota 2, We explain what the Dota 2 Major is. Perhaps you came by watching the new Dota 2 Netflix series or the New Player Experience update. If so, the Dota 2 Major is an event that brings some of the best teams from around the world to compete at high stakes LANs. Typically, there are a few Majors every year. But the focus of them being entirely offline with big stakes has meant Dota 2 Majors have been sidelined for the last year. The Singapore Dota 2 Major is the first of 2021, with another one to follow. It is best not to mistake Majors with The Invitational, which acts as Dota 2 biggest event of the year.

Who Qualified for the Singapore Major

Throughout the DPC online format, teams have fought to earn their spot at the first Major of 2021. By the end of the DPC throughout the world, we know the teams attending the event.

Wildcard – AS Monaco Gambit, PSG LGD, T1, Team Liquid, Team Nigma, Vici Gaming.

Groups – Alliance, Team Aster, Neon Esports, Quincy Crew, Thunder Predator, Natus Vincere.

Playoffs – Team Secret, Invictus Gaming, Fnatic, Virtus.pro, Evil Geniuses, beastcoastGG.

Singapore Major Schedule

Teams that qualified for the Singapore Major are separated into different stages of the event. The first up is the Wildcard, where the teams that scraped into the Singapore Major have to fight in a mini-tournament. Six teams will battle it out in a round-robin, using a best-of-two format.  The three best teams will then make it into the Group Stages, making it an eight-team race.

The Play-ins utilize a two-stream broadcast, with four teams competing on both streams. The event kicks off at 10 PM EST and 03:00 CET for Western fans on March 27, playing till the end of day on March 28. Team Liquid starts the A Stream broadcast, while T1 and AS Monaco Gambit battle it out on the second stream.

Moving on, the Group stage is scheduled for March 19, with the group matches not yet drawn by the tournament organizers. The Groups will eagerly await the advances of the Wildcard Stage to truly kick off the Singapore Major. The Group Stage of the event is set to be another two-day extravaganza, using three Broadcasts to rinse through the event. The top three teams head to the Playoffs, with positions four to seven placing in the Lower Bracket of the Playoffs. Sadly, this means the 8th place team is the only organization to exit the tournament in the groups.

Moving into the Playoffs, the main bulk of the action takes place, where five of the World’s best teams patiently await to compete. They’ll either meet other teams directly seeded into the Playoffs, wor the rising stars of the Group Stage. The bottom Four teams will then eagerly await the four losers of the Upper Bracket. The Playoffs take place starting on March 31, with the Finals scheduled for April 4.

COVID affected teams

As already mentioned, the Dota 2 Singapore Major is already affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, and the event has event gotten underway just yet. beastcoastGG has sadly had to withdraw from the event, due to one player contracting COVID-19. The player, unfortunately, had contact with his team while incubating the virus. While the rest of the team has tested negative, there is always the chance it could flair up while they are at the Singapore Major. Therefore, the organization has chosen to drop out of the event with safety in mind.

Beastcoast is not the only team to have issues with COVID 19. Natus Vincere had to pull out of the event on March 25, with two members of the roster getting COVID without being in contact with each other. 

There are several other teams competing at the event too that have had to make substitutes. Neon Esports has made one substitution, as well as Team Nigma. The Chinese side, Team Aster was also forced to make a change too. Although, the weirdest one of them all is the situation Quincy Crew finds itself in. The roster announced it was making a substitute days before flying out, but unfortunately, their sub was on the same flight as the now withdrawn Na’Vi. It could potentially mean that QC’s sub is a health risk, and there may be an announcement regarding QC’s withdrawal.

Either way, the Dota 2 Major is not the best return to LAN events since January 2020. Hopefully, the event is an absolute spectacle, given the changes to the event and adaptation needed to keep it running.