posted by Olucaron,
It’s finally here: the first sizeable tournament of the new season begins in just over an hour. We’re hyped for some top-level Dota 2 action at ESL One Hamburg 2018, and it all kicks off with a stormer.


The teams are split into two groups of six and played in a best-of-two round robin format. The top two from each group move into the Upper Bracket of the playoffs, while the third and fourth-placed teams join the Lower Bracket. Finish in the bottom two, and it’s goodbye.


Nisha vs Arteezy in battle of the carries



The first round of matches kicks off at 12:00 CEST (less than half an hour from now), with Group A the focus to begin with.

The big, hype match is Team Secret vs Evil Geniuses, but with Sumail 'SumaiL' Syed Hassan missing due to visa issues, will EG manage to find balance? Quinn 'CCnC' Callahan stands in. The other matches see paiN Gaming* take on Vici Gaming, and Alliance take on Mineski.

The second round of matches in Group A follows immediately, with a provisional start time of 14:20 CEST. Alliance take on VG, paiN face Evil Geniuses and Secret do battle with Mineski.


DPC leaders or Chinese legends?



Then the focus switches to Group B. To begin with, Virtus.pro take on Roman 'Resolut1on' Fominok and his Forward Gaming side, although like SumaiL, Yawar 'YawaR' Hassan is missing due to visa issues. Swedish carry Steve 'Xcalibur' Ye takes his place. Team Aster face Ninjas in Pyjamas, while rounding things off is EVOS Esports — late replacements for TNC Predator — versus compLexity Gaming. These matches are scheduled to get under way at 17:00 CEST.

The final round of matches for the day are pencilled in for a 19:20 CEST start. EVOS take on NiP, Forward take on compLexity in a battle of North America, and in possibly the day’s most hype match, Virtus.pro take on Aster.

Will the Chinese roster prove to be strong, given the status of its legendary players, or will VP continue their DPC-beating form from last season? One thing is for sure, we’re in for a feast of Dota.


Which match are you most looking forward to today?


Header image © Adela Sznajder | ESL

  • Olucaron
    Olucaron

    Olucaron

    David W. Duffy
    Editor
    • Contact:
    • Location:
      Germany

Comments