The qualifiers for the upcoming Dota 2 DreamLeague Season 13 have arrived. Dubbed the Leipzig Major, the tournament is scheduled for January 2020 and offers a total prize pool of $1 million and 15,000 DPC points. Making the qualifiers all the more exciting is that many of the top teams are making a return, along with a few new ones. There's no question that MDL Chengdu Major champion TNC Predator has their work cut out for them.
Today we look at what's been happening in the qualifiers of the different regions.
Tournament Format
Before we go to the qualifiers, let's take a quick look at the format. A total of fifteen teams are included from the regional qualifiers. One team got to join by winning the WePlay! Bukovel Minor 2020.
However, the Minor has a different rule this time around. Instead of having its own qualifiers, those who place high enough on each qualifier for the Leipzig are going to be the ones to get the chance to be part of the Minor. That means if a team is eliminated from a regional qualifier for the Major, they no longer have a chance to join it through the Minor.
North America
For the upcoming Major, North America is given two seats. The teams have been divided into two groups with the top two teams of each group advancing to the playoffs and the third placer automatically getting a spot at the qualifiers for the Minor. So far, the top teams of the region are leading the pack. In Group A, the top two belong to Chaos Esports Club and Fighting Pandas, with the third place going to J.Storm. Group B, meanwhile, has Evil Geniuses and Ninjas in Pyjamas as the top two with Team Xolotl coming in third.
Group matches are still ongoing with Playoffs scheduled to begin this Wednesday.
South America
The SA region also has two seats for the upcoming major. It's no surprise that paiN Gaming is leading, particularly in Group A. What is surprising, however, is that beastcoast is only in third place. Infamous just might be eliminated altogether. In Group B, Team Unknown is at the top followed by EgoBoys.
Europe
The Europe region is fortunate enough to be given three seats to the Major. The qualifiers are exciting for many fans as they feature the return of the former Team Liquid roster through Nigma. However, a surprise and confusing announcement was OG revealing that it wouldn't be taking part in the qualifiers, but is fielding a second team with OG Seed. Sadly, OG Seed was eliminated after it got swept by Nigma 0-2. Nigma dominated all opponents in its bracket. Team Secret did pretty much the same with theirs.
For the closed qualifiers, it is indeed exciting knowing especially that in Group A, Nigma is in second place behind Liquid. What comes as no surprise is Secret leading Group B. Settling so far in second place is Alliance.
There are some matches currently being played before the Playoffs begin.
CIS
CIS also has two seats for the upcoming Major. The results so far are not that all surprising, to say the least. Playoffs are expected to start soon with the first semi-finals match being Gambit Esports against Virtus.pro and the other featuring Natus Vincere versus Team Spirit.
China
With three seats and some of the top Dota 2 teams in the world, there was the expectation that good fights were coming and the qualifiers did not disappoint. For starters, powerhouse team PSG.LGD got eliminated during the open qualifiers. That means its next chance is going to be at the third major.
The top four teams have been selected and the first match of the semi-finals sees EHOME versus Invictus Gaming, with the second match being Team Aster versus Vici Gaming. Meanwhile, Newbee and Royal Never Give Up are fighting to get the last spot for the Minor and join CDEC Gaming and Look for Smile.
Southeast Asia
Finally we head on over to Southeast Asia, which has been given three seats to the Major. It's no surprise that Fnatic and TNC are in the semi-finals. However, the two teams are set to go against each other in the semi-finals. What this means is that whoever loses needs to win one more in order to be part of the Leipzig Major.
Which teams are you most excited for seeing to be part of the Leipzig Major?
