This is part of “Regional League Roundup“, a series on the teams competing in the DPC 2021 Regional Leagues.

We’re back with yet another breakdown of the teams that’ll be competing in the Dota Pro Circuit 2021. Today, we’re looking at the European region, arguably the most stacked division in all of the DPC.

Join us as we take a closer look at the 16 contenders in the European region and take a look back at their most recent tournament performances. We will also share how some of the teams made it through the closed qualifiers. 

Upper Division

The four teams that received direct invites to Europe’s upper division were Team Liquid, OG, Team Secret, and Team Nigma. These four teams produced the best tournament results during the DPC’s hiatus, which is why we’re not surprised to see them in the upper division.

Team Secret had an incredible eight-straight tournament win streak in 2020 where they looked virtually unstoppable.

For Dota 2 fans who’ve forgotten, they were also the last team to win a DPC Major prior to Valve postponing the 2019-2020 season. With that said, they are the overwhelming favorites to win in the upper division, after which they could advance straight into the DPC 2021 Major playoffs.

Though Team Liquid was on the rise based on their ESL One Germany 2020 tournament win, we still see both Team Nigma and OG as the teams to look out for in the upper division. OG is a team that has won back-to-back TI championships, which means they should never be counted out.

Meanwhile, Team Nigma had a rough 2020 season with their team captain Kuro “KuroKy” Takhasomi out due to an injury. But they still managed to win OGA Dota PIT Season 1: EU/CIS with their coach Roman “rmN-” Paley as a standin.

Joining the invited teams are Vikin.gg, Alliance, Mudgolems, and Chicken Fighters — the four teams that earned a spot in the upper division after their impressive closed qualifier runs.

The DPC hiatus has been difficult for most teams and has resulted in multiple organizations making drastic roster changes. This has caused many unsigned pro players to make a mad scramble and put together a squad for the return of the DPC season. These stacks included Mudgolems and Chicken Fighters, who managed to make it into the upper division.

However, the two teams that have the best chances to advance to the Major are Viking.gg and Alliance. Viking.gg’s roster might not have pro players that Dota 2 fans are familiar with, but they’ve pulled together and produced impressive tournament results, such as two online tournament wins in the BTS Pro Series Season 3:EU/CIS and the DOTA Summit 13 Online: EU/CIS.

In Alliance’s case, they went through adversity during the 2020 season, as most tournaments were hosted online. But the squad has managed to finish as the runner-up of the ESL One Birmingham 2020 Online: EU/CIS and OGA Dota Pit Season 2: EU/CIS tournaments.

Lower Division

Looking into the teams of Europe’s lower division, the field is notably stacked with orgless Dota 2 squads that will definitely be exciting to watch and filled with surprises.

The four teams that fell into the lower division from the decider tournament were Spider Pigzs, Brame, Hellbear Smashers, and Hippomaniacs.

These teams received direct invites to the decider tournament but unfortunately lost to the four previously mentioned teams in the upper division. Out of these four teams, Hellbear Smashers is the stack fans should keep an eye for, as they are led by Dota 2 veteran and TI6 runner-up Rasmus “MISERY” Filipsen.

The remaining four teams in the lower division are Creepwave, burjui, No Bounty Hunter, and Meta4Pro, who all advanced from the open qualifiers. These squads are looking to make a name for themselves in the competitive Dota 2 scene. But the one squad that consists of tried and tested players from the pro scene, Remco “Crystallis” Arets and Dzmitry “Fishman” Palishchuk, is Creepwave.

With all of that explained, fans of the European Dota 2 region can tune into DreamLeague Season 14 for the upper and lower division broadcasts set to begin on January 18 until February 28. And who knows? One of these teams could very well be the next TI champion.

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