Dota 2 International 10: what's in store?
Yuriy SheremetFor more than a year, fans have been eagerly waiting for one of the largest eSports events - TI10. The tenth anniversary tournament held by Valve, originally slated for last summer, was postponed, the kick-off date and venue were changed several times. And the entire eSports community was almost in the dark about the event until the last moment. But finally, at the beginning of this month, the hosts announced the championship to take place in Bucharest at the National Stadium of Romania, with a seating capacity of 55.6 thousand spectators, on October 7-17.
What's more, two weeks ago, all eighteen participants were determined! So, please welcome the world's strongest teams, worthy to compete for a record-breaking prize pool of $40 million and the champion title!
Twelve teams qualified through the Dota Pro Circuit:
- Evil Geniuses
- LGD
- pro
- Quincy Crew
- Invictus Gaming
- T1
- Vici Gaming
- Team Secret
- Team Aster
- Alliance
- beastcoast
- Thunder Predator
And six more slots went to winners of the regional qualifiers:
- Team Spirit
- Undying
- SG e-sports
- Fnatic
- Elephant
- OG
Although all teams are worthy of victory, and TI is quite an unpredictable tournament, experts have already determined several favorites that significantly stand out from the rest. PSG.LGD leads this list. The Chinese squad is notable for very experienced players. And they are currently in great shape as well. Their performance at both Majors has demonstrated this pretty well.
The next contenders for the champion title are Evil Geniuses with their Major 2021 silver medal and Team Secret with a solid performance at DreamLeague Season 14 and DreamLeague Season 15. However, their form and current level of strength remain unproven.
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T1 with ESL One Summer 2021 success and Virtus.pro with regional DPC league victories show great promise, as well.
Eastern European Team Spirit and China's Team Aster are considered average performers, they will hardly manage to break into the top five.
Among the outsiders are Thunder Predator, Team Undying, and SG e-sports. They are ranked at the bottom with the fewest Dota Pro Circuit points. For their victory, most bookmakers offer the highest odds values.
Many must be wondering whether the reigning champions, OG, manage to win a third consecutive title. Given their underperformance in two regional league seasons and failed WePlay AniMajor qualifiers, it's difficult to call them TI10 favorites. However, they are notable for making miracles, turning from one of the worst teams into one of the best ones. They always bring something special to almost any match and win when, in theory, they have no chance.
Favorites, outsiders, dark horses, and mid-rank players... Every year we divide teams based on previous results, players' skills, or even rumors. And at The International, everything turns out to be quite different - the strongest participants break down, while the main outsiders pull ahead. That's the whole point!
Also, we would like to remind you that Cyber.bet company will cover the International and accept bets for this tournament. Enjoy winning with us!
Yuriy Sheremet – Expert in mobile gaming and esports among shooters and MOBA games.
At EGamersWorld, Yuriy, as in 2020 when he joined the portal, works with content, albeit with adjustments to his area of responsibility.