Valve and ESL have revealed the Frankfurt Dota Major direct and regional invites. Sixteen teams – eight directly invited and eight qualified ones – will travel to Frankfurt to compete for a $3 million prize-pool in this fall’s Dota Major.
The Frankfurt Dota Major will take place at the Festhalle Messe, from November 16th through the 21st. Sixteen teams will compete over six days in a double elimination tournament, using the same format as The International 5 main event.
According to Valve, the Frankfurt Dota Major will feature eight directly invited teams and eight teams coming from the Regional Qualifiers. A total of 40 teams will be competing in the Regional Qualifiers next week, with eight slots reserved to the winners of the Open Qualifiers that are set to start tomorrow, October 6th.
The eight teams that have received direct invites to the Frankfurt Dota Major:
- 1. Evil Geniuses
- 2. CDEC
- 3. LGD Gaming
- 4. ViCi Gaming
- 5. Vega Squadron
- 6. Team Secret
- 7. Virtus.Pro
- 8. EHOME
40 teams will participate in the Regional Qualifiers – 32 invited and 8 slots reserved for the winners of the Open Qualifiers:
Each of the four regional qualifiers (Americas, China, Europe, Southeast Asia) will feature eight invited teams. In addition, Open Qualifiers will be held for all regions. The winners from the four Open Qualifiers will earn the 9th and 10th spots of each of the four Regional Qualifiers. Registrations are now open.
Each region consists of two round robin groups of five teams. The top two teams from each group will advance to a double elimination bracket.
The winner and runner-up of each region will be invited to the Frankfurt Dota Major.
Teams invited for The Frankfurt Dota Major Europe Qualifier (October 10-13):
- 4 CLOVERS & LEPRICON
- 5JUNGZ
- ALLIANCE
- CIS REJECTS
- (MONKEY) BUSINESS
- NATUS VINCERE
- NINJAS IN PYJAMAS
- STARK ESPORTS
Teams invited for The Frankfurt Dota Major China Qualifier (October 10-13):
- CDEC.YOUTH
- FTD CLUB
- INVICTUS GAMING
- NEWBEE
- NEWBEE.YOUNG
- TONGFU
- WINGS GAMING
- TEAM FANTUAN
Teams invited for The Frankfurt Dota Major Americas Qualifier (October 10-13):
- CLOUD9
- COMPLEXITY GAMING
- DIGITAL CHAOS
- PAIN GAMING
- SECTOR V
- TEAM ARCHON
- TEAM IMAGINE
- VOID BOYS
Teams invited for The Frankfurt Dota Major SEA Qualifier (October 10-13):
- FNATIC
- GIGABYTE.MINESKI
- MVP.PHOENIX
- MVP.HOTSIX
- REX REGUM QEON
- SIGNATURE.TRUST
- TEAM SATUDUATIGA
- TNC GAMING
Frankfurt Dota Major directly invited teams
1. Evil Geniuses (Frankfurt Dota Major direct invite, American region)
For more than a year, Evil Geniuses have established themselves as THE number one team in America. Dominating tournaments, seizing titles and crushing opponents – the team continued to rise to glory.
In August, Evil Geniuses managed to turn the odds to their favor and claim the coveted TI5 Aegis of Champions and $6.6 million in prize money, thus becoming the first American team to win The International.
In a surprising turn of events, Kurtis “Aui” Ling was let go and replaced by Artour “Arteezy” Babaev not long after EG became The International 5 champions.
Evil Geniuses started off the new season on the wrong foot, being eliminated in a clean 2:0 sweep by Vega Squadron from the very first round of ESL One New York, their first official tournament of this fall.
Evil Geniuses roster:
Clinton “Fear” Loomis
Syed Sumail “Suma1L” Hassan
Saahil “UNiVeRsE” Arora
Peter “ppd” Dager
Artour “Arteezy” Babaev
2. CDEC (Frankfurt Dota Major direct invite, Chinese region)
A true Cinderella story in the making, CDEC have gone from rags to riches in a surprisingly short period of time. Without a single championship title under their belt, they have become the first Wild Card team that has ever advanced into The International Grand Finals.
They did not lose a single match until the TI5 Grand Finals, taking down Cloud 9, LGD and even future champions Evil Geniuses along the way. They eventually lost to EG in the Grand Finals, 1:3, and walked away with $2,848,562.
CDEC roster:
Sun “Agressif” Zheng
Huang “Shiki” Jiwei
Chen “Xz” Zezhi
Liu “Garder” Xinzhou
Fu “Q” Bin
3. LGD (Frankfurt Dota Major direct invite, Chinese region)
LGD Gaming has undergone significant roster changes following TI5.
EHOME’s captain, Fan “rOtk” Bai, and player Liang “DDC” Faming have both joined LGD Gaming, while Zhang “xiao8” Ning and Yao “Yao” Zhengzheng will step back from the active roster.
During the International, in Group A, LGD would not only lead the group with 17 points, but all of the teams in points. Their last win against Fnatic gave them the top position in the group, over Team Secret.
By the end, LGD came in third, with a $2,205,338 share of the prize pool.
LGD roster:
Liu “Sylar” Jiajun
Lu “Maybe” Yao
Lei “MMY!” Zengrong
Bai “rOtK” Fan
Liang “DDC” Faming
Yao “Yao” Zhengzheng – Substitute
Zhang “xiao8” Ning – Substitute
4. ViCi Gaming (Frankfurt Dota Major direct invite, Chinese region)
With some of the most exceptionally talented players, Vici Gaming’s recipe for success has been set. When Vici Gaming have failed to advance to the Upper Brackets of The International 5 main event, they fought valiantly in the brutal best-of-one elimination series and progressed all the way to the semifinals to claim fourth place.
Following the event, Chen “Hao” Zhihao returned to Newbee and the squad recruited Xu “BurNIng” Zhilei as a replacement.
ViCi Gaming roster:
Xu “BurNIng” Zhilei
Xie “Super” Junhao
Daryl “iceiceice” Koh
Lu “Fenrir” Chao
Xu “fy” Linsen
5. Vega Squadron (Frankfurt Dota Major direct invite, European Region)
The squad surprised many when they surged forward, showing strong performances in the TI5 European qualifiers and grabbing the Wild Card Series slot for the biggest tournament of the year.
Although they failed to advance in the main event of TI5, the squad remained committed to each other and did not fall victim to post-TI roster changes. They have continued to show strong performances and development of their potential ever since, which seems to have paid off.
They managed to upset TI5 champions Evil Geniuses in a clean 2:0 sweep and cruised to the ESL One New York grand finals to defeat Team Secret, 2:1, and claim the championship title.
Vega Squadron roster:
Semen “Cema” Krivulya
Pavel “9pashaebashu” Khvastunov
Vladimir “no[o]ne” Minenko
Andrey “Mag” Chipenko
Aleksey “Solo” Berezin
6. Team Secret (Frankfurt Dota Major direct invite, European region)
Team Secret’s legacy began shortly after the team was formed in August 2014 and peaked in the spring of 2015. In a sweep of pure dominance, Team Secret stormed forward at an alarming rate to claim four consecutive LAN championship titles in major/premier tournaments, in only six weeks. Starting in early May at Red Bull Battle Grounds in California, then at the Summit 3, followed by MarsTV Dota 2 League and ending with ESL One Frankfurt, in June.
After a disappointing eighth place finish at TI5, Team Secret announced a completely revamped roster on August 22nd. Clement “Puppey” Ivanov is the only original member remaining on the roster.
Jacky “Eternal Envy” Mao and Rasmus “MiSeRy” Filipsen from Cloud 9, Omar “w33haa” Aliwi from 4CL and Johan “pieliedie” Åström from Mousesports joined the ranks of the new roster.
The team made their LAN debut in the new season at ESL One New York, where they placed second, after being overpowered by Vega Squadron, 1:2, in the Grand Finals.
Team Secret roster:
Clement “Puppey” Ivanov
Omar “w33haa” Aliwi
Rasmus “MiSeRy” Filipsen
Jacky “Eternal Envy” Mao
Johan “pieliedie” Åström
7. Virtus.Pro (Frankfurt Dota Major direct invite, European region)
A team that has historically had struggles with consistent achievements due to frequent roster and structural changes, Virtus.Pro has broken free of the ill fated-pattern and has soared to great heights with their stable roster.
Since they found stability in the spring of 2015, their results have been undeniable: top three finishes in numerous major tournaments in the months leading up to The International 5.
At The International 5, Virtus.Pro managed an unexpected performance when they saw odds-on favorites Team Secret eliminated, 2:1. They recovered from a one-game deficit and flat out outplayed them – an even more remarkable performance considering that the CIS team had never won a full series against Secret before.
They came in a commendable 5th-6th place at this year’s International championship and walked away with close to 1.2 million dollars.
Virtus.Pro was one of the few teams to keep their rosters intact at the height of the post-TI5 reshuffle period and they have continued to show strength in their recent official matches.
Virtus.Pro roster:
Ilya “Illidan” Pivcaev
Sergey “God” Bragin
Alexander “DkPhobos” Kucheria
Artem “fng” Barshak
Ilya “Lil” Ilyuk
8. EHOME (Frankfurt Dota Major direct invite, Chinese region)
EHOME is one of the oldest Dota 2 organizations in China. With their inconsistent formation and rosters, the team had to battle their way through the qualifiers in order to obtain their place at TI5. They then impressed fans as they finished the group stage second in their group and 5th overall in the main event.
Comprised of some top notch stars, veterans with extensive experience, EHOME is aiming to resurface as one of the greatest Chinese teams in the world and recreate their stunning performance at The International 1, where they rose up to glory in the grand finals.
Despite being subjected to some of the roster changes that always follow The International championships, EHOME has been demonstrating top performances ever since.
The Chinese team claimed back to back qualifier spots. History repeated itself between EHOME and Invictus Gaming, as EHOME seized the qualifying spot for Nanyang Championships from IG. Just one day prior, EHOME qualified for ESL One New York after defeating IG in the grand finals, 3:1. Invictus Gaming ended up replacing EHOME in New York, due to EHOME’s unfortunate visa issues.
EHOME roster:
Chen “Cty” Tianyu
Wang “old chicken” Zhiyong
Ren “eLeVeN” Yangwei
Hu “KaKa” Liangzhi
Zhang “LaNm” Zhicheng
Frankfurt Dota Major will feature $3 million in prize money
The first Dota Major will be held in Frankfurt, Germany, at the Festhalle Messe – a multi-purpose hall with an area of 6,000 square meters, which can accommodate up to 13,500 visitors. Sixteen teams will be competing over six days, between November 16-21, in a double elimination tournament. The total prize-pool of $3,000,000 is a fixed amount and ESL will be in charge of production.
Valve originally announced the implementation of the Majors system at the end of April 2015. The concept is believed to be a proper solution to some significant problems in tournament quality and control that had been voiced in recent times.
Over the last five years, The International has become the pinnacle moment for the world of professional Dota. Now the excitement of the biggest event in esports is coming to the Majors, a series of seasonal marquee tournaments, which will take place throughout the year and around the globe. Dota’s newest tradition begins this fall with the Frankfurt Major.
Frankfurt Dota Major tickets
- Attendance to the Frankfurt Major will be open to the public and will not require a ticket for any day except for the day of the finals.
- The finals will take place on Saturday, November 21st.
- Tickets can be purchased from Eventbrite, for €50 each.
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