Esportal In less than two weeks time, the Esportal Dota2 league will kick off – pitting some of the top teams in the world against amateurs in a never before seen setting.

And David ”LD” Gorman, whose BeyondTheSummit will be casting the games, is looking forward to some possible underdog scenarios

– Esportal is a bit unique in that regard, a lot of teams will cause upsets and surprise the viewers, he says.

As the game grows ever bigger, the amount of tournaments featuring Dota2 is also increasing and the top teams in the world are filling their schedules to make time for all of the events. But there hasn’t been all that many competitions where amateurs and semi-professionals have had a chance to fight it out against the pros in a league format – until now.

When Esportal Dota2 League launches it will host three open qualifications where 256 teams battle for a spot in the grand finals. All teams from all skill levels are invited to play, something caster David ”LD” Gorman thinks could lead to new Dota2 talent being discovered.

– Esportal is cultivating the amateur scene and we’ve never worked with anyone with a full scale system for all teams to rise throughout the ranks. We’re hopeful it’ll grow the amateur scene, he says.

”A chance for an underdog”

Between November 28 and December 1st, the 256 teams who’ve signed up for the first open qualification will compete for a prize pool of 4500 Euro. And in mid december, the second qualification will take place, but this time with 8 invited professional teams and a prize pool of 15 000 Euro. And despite the professional teams being heavily favored in match ups with the lesser knowns, LD doesn’t rule out an upset here and there.

– There’s definitely a chance for an underdog. When you look at where the game was when it began, the chance of that happening was low. Not many people had access when it was a Beta, normally it was professional players or testers. So it was very unusual when the game began, but now upsets happen all the time. Some CIS teams have consistently managed to take games from teams that should be better.

”Will surprise the viewers”

And he expects new players to make their mark on the Dota2 community.

– A lot of players that nobody know can play at a professional level, not necessarily when it comes to team play but mechanically. Esportal will be a bit unique in that regard. A lot of teams will cause upsets and surprise the viewers.

What do you think the main difference for you will be when casting some of the amateur teams playing?

– I would say the main difference is that it’s more interesting because you don’t know what heroes they’re gonna draft. Pro teams pick the same heroes often, because they’re good at them and they know how to use them. Amateurs have an element of unpredictability to spice things up. And it’s just fun to see how the players are so excited if the games are being streamed. Some of the pros are a bit jaded.

SIGN YOUR TEAM UP FOR THE ESPORTAL DOTA2 LEAGUE HERE.