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DPC Season 2 is scheduled to begin on 13 April, and all the top tier Dota 2 teams are gearing up to showcase their potential on the main stage.
The Singapore Major was a tournament of upsets, as the heavy favorites to win it from the EU region, Team Secret lost out to two Chinese Dota 2 teams, The International (TI) 8 runners up PSG.LGD and the eventual champions of the Dota 2 major, Invictus Gaming (IG).
IG went on to defeat the star-studded Evil Geniuses (EG) when they came back from 2-0 in the Grand Finals to win 3-2, securing 500 DPC points, which almost confirms them a place at TI.
This article will feature Dota 2 teams to watch out for in the second season of DPC which kicks off on 13 April.
Also Read: Top 5 Dota 2 players from North America to watch out in the second DPC season
Dota 2 teams to watch out in the second DPC season 2
#1 Team IG
The champion of the previous Dota 2 Major, who defeated favorites Team Secret and Evil Geniuses, is looking very strong with their mid player IG.Emo’s surprise but very effective carry Io, and flyfly’s major flop Faceless Void being back in meta. They are probably the best team in China, and we can definitely root for them to see some beautiful plays and more “?”s from Emo.
#2 Team OG
The two-time TI champions were underwhelming in the last DPC season, failing to qualify for the Dota 2 major, courtesy of the meme strategies from the chaotic mid-laner Topias “Topson” Miika Taavitsainen, like Mid-lane Omniknight, and the weird strategies of a 5-core lineup.
Their coach-turned player Sebastian “Ceb” Debs is in the form of his life as can be seen from the recent pub matches, where he played a lot of conventional off-lane heroes (Nature’s Prophet, Sand King) as well as some unconventional ones (Monkey King, Alchemist).
The X-factor, which makes OG the team to watch out for is their returning carry player, the two-time TI champion, the legendary Ember Spirit player Anathan “Ana” Pham. He had taken an extended break after TI9 and returned as announced on 11 April in the official OG Esports' Twitter handle. It will be a treat to watch the back-to-back TI champions play in sync again.
#3 Evil Geniuses (EG)
North American Dota 2 giants Evil Geniuses are a star-studded team who can boast of having 3 of the best cores and 2 of the best support players to ever grace the game.
With Arteezy, Abed and iceiceice spearheading the team, and Cr1t and fly as the supports, many were surprised at their loss in the grand finals of the Singapore major at the hands of IG. As many people in the Dota 2 community would like to refer to EG's choking as the " Curse of Arteezy," their matches will definitely be a treat to watch.
#4 Team Nigma
Team Nigma put up a disappointing showing in the Singapore Major. As a result their mid-laner Omar "w33" Aliwi was moved to the inactive Dota 2 roster. They still have the revered Amer "Miracle" Al-Barkawi as their carry/midlaner, and the inclusion of iLTW, the prodigious carry player, will definitely bolster their team by a long shot.
It will definitely be very exciting to watch the TI7 champions' roster at play if Miracle returns to play his much coveted mid-laner role.
#5 Team Liquid
The new look Team Liquid has some of the best players in the current pro scene. They performed exceptionally well in DPC season 1, defeating the reigning TI champions OG, where Liquid.Boxi's offlane Outworld Destroyer played a key role in the game.
Although they failed to live up to their hype in the Singapore Major, their carry Michael "m'icke" Vu and mid-laner Maximillian "qojqva" Bröcker are raring to go in the upcoming DPC where we surely shall see some of their unorthodox plays.
Special Mentions
Team Secret, the absolute favorites to win the Singapore Major fell victim to two Chinese Dota 2 teams (PSG.LGD and IG) back to back to bow out of the major. They will surely be one of the teams to watch. Other than that, Team Alliance, spearheaded by Linus "Limmp" Blomdin and Nikolay "Nikobaby" Nikolov, is also a dark horse of the EU Dota 2 circuit with the potential of upsetting any team at any given point.
Additionally, Elephant Gaming led by Xu "fy" Linsen, widely regarded as one of the best position 4 players in the world will also be teams to keep and eye on.
