Bear Power at The Kuala Lumpur Major
The first Major tournament of the ongoing DPC season, The Kuala Lumpur Major, came to an end yesterday. The 16 best teams from all around the world were competing for 15,000 DPC points and the $1,000,000 prize pool at the Axiata Arena. The Major began on November 9 and ran through November 18.
Group Stage
During the group stage the teams were divided into four groups of four teams each. The top two teams from each group reached the Upper Bracket playoff, the other two went into the Lower Bracket. All the group games were played Bo3.
Group Stage Results:
Group A:
- Team Secret
- NIP
- Pain Gaming
- j.Storm
Group B:
- Evil Geniuses
- Vici Gaming
- Team Aster
- TNC Predator
Group C:
- PSG.LGD
- Fnatic
- Tigers
- Gambit Esports
Group D:
- Virtus.pro
- Alliance
- Forward Gaming
- Pain X
There were lots of iconic moments during the group stage. For all Dota 2 fans as well as occasional players who just enjoy the Dota universe, we got them covered and made a list of the best Dota 2 wallpapers.
Playoffs
The playoffs followed a double-elimination bracket system. The first round of the Lower bracket was played Bo1, with the Grand-Finals being Bo5, and the other matches were Bo3.
Playoffs Results:
Before the tournament started, the teams of Virtus.pro, Team Secret, Evil Geniuses and PSG.LGD were the heavy favorites. As the event kicked off, it became evident that Team Secret gained its best form, which together with its Captain Clement “Puppey” Ivanov won flawlessly all the maps up to the Upper bracket finals.
The other favorites had good form also, barring some slip ups during the group stage and the playoffs. All the favorites, except PSG.LGD, eventually managed to advance into the top 3.
The first truly equal bout took place between VP and Team Secret during the playoff stage in the Upper bracket finals. The European team succeeded by winning the match with a score of 1:2.
The Bears easily won the Lower bracket finals against EG 2:0 and qualified for the Grand Finals. The final match was quite long and intense, where the championship was played out on 5 maps. In the end, Virtus.pro beat its rivals from Team Secret with a score of 3:2 and became the victor of The Kuala Lumpur Major, gaining 4950 DPC points and $300,000.
New trophy for Bears! #GOGOVP pic.twitter.com/6yza1T6DlO
— Virtus.pro (@virtuspro) November 18, 2018
This success was not for the first time, since VP won several Majors at ESL One Hamburg 2017, ESL One Katowice 2018, The Bucharest Major and ESL One Birmingham 2018 throughout the last season.
The shares of the prize pool for the finals look as follows:
According to estimates, Virtus.pro are surefire qualified for an invitation to The International 2019, the main tournament of the season. Last year’s median rate was 2,800-3,000 DPC points, however it dropped a bit to 1935, because VP scored 12,372 DPC points.
This year the difference gap is going to be even more distinct due to the fact that the number of slots has increased, whereas the list of Majors grows smaller with more DPC points to be awarded for each Major.
Season 2018/2019 DPC points rankings after The Kuala Lumpur Major:
The next Major tournament to come – The Chongqing Major. The upcoming event will begin on January 19 and run through January 27 in Chongqing, China. Earlier on, a Minor will take place in Bucharest, Romania from the 9th to 13th of January, 2019.
Once the tournament is through, all game fans will be looking forward to a new patch release. In the meanwhile, newcomers to Dota 2 can enjoy the essentials of the title with our comprehensive Dota 2 Beginner’s guide.
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