The world of Dota 2 is having a bit of a tizzy this week, after the release of what seems like the biggest gameplay update seen in a long long time. Patch 7.20 has got the village up in arms and the first major to be played on the new patch announced the seedings for their qualifiers, meaning we’re just days away from our first look at the new hotness, with matches scheduled online from November 25th to 30th.
Live and upcoming: All the Chongqing Major qualifiers and live streams
With that in mind, Starladder has announced the seedings for their groups, and things are looking pretty spicy with all of the big names in attendance.
Tasty ties
OG are due to arrive without Anatham ‘Ana’ Pham after the Aussie prodigy announced he needs more time away from the game, with his announcement yet to be confirmed, and the TI8 champions now know what is ahead of them with the groups public.
As you can see, there are some really tasty matchups, with TI7 winners Team Liquid also in the fray, and due to face The Final Tribe, but the standout match looks like it’ll come from Group B in Europe. There, OG will face off against Alliance, once a mighty name in the Dota 2 world, who are looking to make an impact once more as we approach the last knockings of 2018.
Points to prove
The last four teams from the Chinese region are yet to be confirmed, with an Open Qualifier taking place at the time of writing and it’ll be interesting to see how PSG get on after news several of their players were fined by the team recently. Likewise, Vici Gaming will feel they have something to prove after disappointing in Kuala Lumpur, especially when they started well at ESL Hamburg.
As is often the case, the groups don’t look the most balanced, with Europe and China clearly very strong, while other regions seem more free. A good example is the fact Secret, OG, Liquid and Alliance are battling for two spots between the four teams, meaning that at least two huge teams won’t be in China, and two very good teams will be waiting at home.
7.20 patch
Deciphering the way it might change the elite meta has been everyone’s priority since the moment details of the 7.20 patched dropped. There are plenty of guides and videos online, but for sheer weight of information and comprehensive coverage you can’t do better than Purge’s eight-hour effort. Just be sure you’ve got a full day free ahead of you before you sit down to watch it…
He’s also run the rule over the balancing patch that accompanied 7.20, with the video linked below, so there is no excuse for not having complete knowledge of all the new dos and don’ts in Dota 2 long before we get to China in January.
One thing we can be happy about is the reception of the new patch, which has been largely positive and suggest Chongqing could be a cracking event for the fans and the game, which is what we all really want. Let’s see who makes it there.
