Disneyland, the happiest place on earth, will soon see Dota 2 pro players head down to compete at the Disneyland Paris Events Arena for the Mars Dota 2 League Major.
The Major, taking place from May 4 to 12, will see 16 teams — with 15 already qualified — battle it out for 15,0000 Dota 2 Pro Circuit points and a US$1 million prize pool. Earning enough points would qualify a team for the biggest Dota 2 tournament of all, The International 2019 in Shanghai.
With the qualifiers being split up to different regions of the world, teams went through a group stage and playoff stage format including a lower bracket stage to find out which teams would qualify for the Paris Major.
Larger regions such as North America, Europe, and China had three qualifier spots to fill, while regions like CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States), South America, and Southeast Asia featured two spots.
Team Secret and Team Liquid were the first two teams to finish their qualifiers and secure a spot at the upcoming MDL Disney Major. Team Secret showed us at the qualifiers that they are favorites to win the Dota Pro Circuit Major, cruising through undefeated through the groups and playoff stages.
Meanwhile TI7 winners Team Liquid struggled to find their stride in each of their series matches before qualifying. The last spot in the European qualifier went to OG as the defending TI8 champions went undefeated in the lower bracket before beating out Alliance and The Final Tribe to finally qualify for a Major.
Russian powerhouse team Virtus.pro are currently ranked first in Dota Pro Circuit standings and so it’s no surprise that they went undefeated in the group stages and only losing two matches in the playoff stages to secure their spot.
Another team that had an impressive run during the qualifiers was Team Empire as they displayed glimpses of dominance as they demolished Virtus.pro in one of their upper bracket matches.
In South America, paiN Gaming finished first in the group stages and Chaos Esports Club climbed their way up the loser’s bracket to secure their spots for the MDL Disneyland Major.
Evil Geniuses, compLexity Gaming, and in a shocking upset, Team Team are packing their bags to Paris. While EG coasted through most of their matches, compLexity battled hard and beat Forward Gaming to secure their spot but the Cinderella story of the qualifier was clearly Team Team, being comprised of what most fans would consider aged players who beat Forward Gaming in the lower bracket.
Meanwhile, ViCi Gaming, PSG.LGD and Keen Gaming beat out all other Chinese teams showing that they are the best the country has to offer. Keen Gaming and PSG.LGD won in their upper bracket matches, ViCi Gaming dominated through the lower bracket to secure their spot.
Another two teams securing their spot to the Disneyland Major are Fnatic and Mineski from Southeast Asia. It was a tough qualifier overall but both teams beat out TNC to secure their placements.
The final and 16th spot for the Major will be taken by the winner of the OGA Dota PIT Minor 2019, set to take place in Split, Croatia on April 22. Eight teams will battle it out for the final chance at a Major spot.
