ROAD TO BERLIN MAJOR - DPC TOUR 2 ANALYSIS

Metro Manila (April 24) - With only one more Tour remaining in this year’s DPC season before The International or TI, veteran Dota2 caster and analyst Gaevary “Gaev” Mercado says winning the DPC, or at least scoring big on this tournament, is the best way to qualify for the esport’s biggest annual competition.

“DPC is the main path for every team wishing to join the TI, compared to the other tournaments that don’t have DPC points. Although there is an alternative way to join TI like last chance qualifiers and open qualifiers, DPC tournament is the best route to take,” he says.

In an email interview with Rivalry, Gaev highlighted the importance of being in the Division I setup through the lens of two Division II teams that were promoted to Division I for this tour: Army Geniuses and Polaris Esports.

Polaris will be brought back to Division II after placing dead last in the DPC SEA Division I Tour 2 field, with a 1-6 win-loss record. On the contrary, Army Geniuses will remain in Division I after a 4th place finish, winning 4 games and dropping three.

“Army Geniuses dominated the DPC division II for being unbeatable in all series, while Polaris being the 2nd placer in that tournament, lost only 1 series vs Army Geniuses. Sadly, when it comes to division 1, we saw the difference between the Div 1 and Div 2 teams,” he echoed.

Geek Slate - a Lima Major qualifier and the runner-up to the DPC SEA Division I tour behind Execration, will be relegated to Division 2 after a shocking 7th place finish in this tour.

Tour II was won by Tour I’s third-placer Talon Esports, and they will qualify for the Berlin Major after a flawless 7-0 win-loss record in this tour. Tour I winner Execration will qualify for the Berlin Major - its second major for this year, after landing in second place. 

Team SMG will also qualify for the Berlin Major after winning third place, with 5 wins and 2 losses. Rounding out the tour are Blacklist Rivalry at 5th place with a 3-4 win-loss record, and 6th placer Bleed Esports, who won 2 games and lost 5.

Gaev also highlighted the importance of reshuffling, especially in the buildup to The Berlin Major and TI 2023. “Reshuffling is a big part of team development. Being on a team and building a chemistry is the hardest part or thing to develop (in a Dota2 team). But, it is also a risk changing players and changing roles - sometimes it works, sometimes it does not. It will be needing a lot of studies or observation before a team decides to make reshuffles,” he told Rivalry.

Among the recent reshuffles that happened on the scene was the departure of Nico “eyyou” Barcelon from Blacklist Rivalry, which was announced last April 15.

In a statement posted on their Facebook page, Blacklist International said the decision to let go of eyyou was done after discussions with the team and management.

“Entering a new esports title always comes with multiple tough decisions, and in the beginning, we wanted to try to field the best possible full-Filipino roster we could to represent Blacklist in the Dota 2 scene. After two tries and failing to make the Majors, a change was needed for our roster to take things in a new direction. We are committed to trying to qualify for TI and will be making further announcements on our roster soon,” Blacklist International announced.

Sources close to Rivalry revealed that player tryouts are being held to find eyyou’s replacement, but these sources did not disclose who these players are and how long they will try out to fill eyyou’s vacant slot.

Gaev’s Keys to Victory for all 8 DPC SEA Tour 2 Division I teams

The veteran Dota 2 broadcaster also gave teams some possible pieces of advice on how all eight DPC SEA Division I Tour 2 teams can beat out the competition regardless of their Division placement.

Army Geniuses

They need more experience in terms of high-tier games. 

Polaris Esports

They need to make adjustments with their drafts and play style.

Bleed Esports

They may need more chemistry, since they are a new team.

Team SMG

Consistency in their game play is their key to victory.

Talon Esports

There’s really nothing much to say, since they are the 1st placer in the division!

Blacklist Rivalry

BLR needs a better play style, since their plays are already studied by other teams.

Geek Slate

Two words: Decision making. 

Execration

Just like Talon, there’s really nothing much to say since they are already there at their peak.

Rivalry also asked Gaev to describe the season for each of the teams in one word.

Army Geniuses – Upgrade 

Polaris – cold 

Bleed – Bleeding 

SMG - Reloaded 

Talon Esports - Talon (jump) 

Blacklist Rivalry – Passive 

Geek Slate – slide 

Execration - Execution