Alliance and Team Liquid have qualified for the first Major of the 2018-2019 Dota Pro Circuit (DPC) season in Chengdu through the European (EU) qualifier.
Both Alliance and Liquid topped their respective groups to proceed to the qualifier playoffs, where they swept their first-round opponents, Team Singularity and Ninjas in Pyjamas (NiP), respectively, to face off for the first direct invite to the Major.
In what is shaping up to be one of the new rivalries that could end up shaping the region, Alliance’s new squad defeated its former squad, who departed for Liquid last week, 2-1, to qualify for the Chengdu Major.
Nikolay “Nikobaby” Nikolov continued to be the standout player for Alliance, as he punctuated his impressive run throughout the qualifier with a perfect 12-0-14 KDA on Bloodseeker in the decisive game 3.
- NA teams EG, Fighting Pepegas, and J.Storm have qualified for the MDL Chengdu Major
- SEA teams Fnatic, TNC, and Adroit have qualified for the MDL Chengdu Major
Liquid got another chance at the second EU spot at the Major when they faced off against NiP, who swept Singularity out of contention prior to the matchup.
Despite having veterans and TI5 champions in Peter “ppd” Dager and Saahil “Universe” Arora on their roster, Liquid capitalized on a lack of experience and decisiveness from NiP’s other young players in Nico “Gunnar” Lopez and Oliver “Skiter” Lepko to sweep the series, 2-0, and grab the second direct invite.
With the top EU teams in OG, Team Secret, and the ex-Liquid squad (Kuroky and co.) electing to skip the Chengdu Major, both Alliance and the new Liquid roster will have a chance to make a splash and get a leg up in the DPC race early.
The MDL Chengdu Major will be held from November 16-24, with a US$1 million prize pool and 15,000 DPC points up for grabs. The Major will be preceded by the Dota Summit 11 Minor on November 7-10.
READ MORE: Chinese teams VG, Team Aster, and EHOME have all qualified for the MDLChengdu Major
