The DOTA Summit 12 will feature six unique teams participating at the Beyond The Summit studios in Los Angeles. The six teams will be fighting for the lion’s share of the $150,000 prize pool, with this event taking place just five days before the ESL One Los Angeles Major! The tournament will be the perfect warmup opportunity for the teams going to the major and an ideal chance for the teams that didn’t make the DPC events to show what they are made of. The Dota Summit events are well known for their lighthearted tone compared to your typical Dota 2 competition, typically filled with hilarious sketches and banter along with top-class production value. I’m sure we will all be given a treat over the next three days of Dota action!

DOTA Summit 12 Format:

The tournament is divided into two stages: the Group Stage and the Playoffs.

The Group Stage will be played in a round-robin format. All six teams will compete in one group. All matches played will be Bo2s. The bottom two teams of the group will be eliminated from the competition.

will be played in a round-robin format. All six teams will compete in one group. All matches played will be Bo2s. The bottom two teams of the group will be eliminated from the competition. In the Playoffs, the four remaining teams will start in the Upper Bracket, with a Double-Elimination Bracket. All playoff matches will be Bo3 encounters with the exception of the Grand Final, which will be a Bo5 engagement.

Evil Geniuses, Time To Finally Win A Tournament?

Since TI9, Evil Geniuses have finished 2nd at the DreamLeague Season 13 Major and at the ONE Esports Singapore Invitational. In fact, EG hasn’t won a tournament since the DOTA Summit 9 back in July of 2018! If there was ever an event for the NA (kind of) roster to break their duct, this is it! With only Fnatic and Team Liquid as real challengers, it is truly now or never for Evil Geniuses. $150,000 is up for grabs plus the confidence boost of winning a tournament so soon before the major. Don’t mess this up, EG. You’re NA’s last hope!

Fnatic, Show Me What You Got!

Fnatic has had a very odd DPC season so far, failing to finish further than 9-12th at both majors. Yet they have shown glimpses of greatness; they played in the upper bracket of the last major and were one of the only teams to take a game off of the eventual winners Team Secret! Interesting fact: Fnatic has never actually won a Dota 2 event before. Could this be the tournament where it finally happens? Maybe (with EG allergic to winning competitions and Team Liquid looking shaky) Fnatic have a real chance to win the DOTA Summit 12 and come into the ESL ONE: LA Major with a huge confidence boost! Do it for Southeast Asia, Fnatic!

OG Seed, Make The Most Of This Chance!

Now this is an interesting invite. OG Seed doesn’t go to many LANs due to competing in the EU territory, which is by far the most stacked region in Dota, so this is a rare opportunity to play on LAN against Tier 1 competition! However, I don’t expect much from diet OG. The best placing I can see is a top 4 finish, but given the impressive form of certain teams, I predict a 5-6th place finish.

Team Liquid, What Is The Major Missing?

After an impressive 5-6th placing at the DreamLeague Season 13 Major, things seemed to be looking up for Team Liquid after a rocky start to the Dota 2 season. However, Team Liquid then went on to fail to qualify for both the ESL One Los Angeles Major and the StarLadder Minor! The Dota Summit 12 will be the last time we see Team Liquid until the EPICENTER Major Qualifiers. Considering that Team Liquid isn’t going to the LA Major, the EU roster will surely be aiming for a Top 3 finish. But could they go even further?

Thunder Predator, The Perfect Event To Practise At.

Coming into this event, Thunder Predator are looking very strong! The South American roster only dropped one game during the ESL One LA Major qualifiers, even beating Beastcoast 2-0! A very impressive achievement, but can they now show that form on LAN and more importantly against tier-one competition? I doubt it, although I do believe a top 4 finish is possible. However, the main focus of this event should be to prepare for the LA Major. Test some drafts/strategies, get a feel of the meta, and show that South American Dota is nothing to laugh about!

Cloud9, The Return Of EternalEnvy! … Again.

One week ago, Cloud9 announced the acquisitions of EternalEnvy, Ace and Sneyking, replacing Skem, vtFαded and FLee. This is now the third time that ”EternalEnvy” has played for Cloud9, first in 2014, then in 2017 and now in 2020! In addition to EE, Marcus “Ace” Hoelgaard (former carry player for Team Secret and Ninjas in Pyjamas) and Jingjun “Sneyking” Wu have joined Cloud9.

With these signings, Cloud9 now have a very solid North American roster. In an ideal scenario, Cloud9 would be looking for a 3rd or 4th place finish. However, given the small amount of time the roster has had to practise, I don’t believe they will make it out of the Group Stage, although anything is possible when EternalEnvy is in the server.

In Conclusion:

So who do you believe will win the DOTA Summit 12? Leave a comment below!

The DOTA Summit 12 begins on March 10th 2020 and concludes on the 13th. The opening match will be Fnatic vs Team Liquid starting March 10, 2020 – 17:00 CEST

WATCH: twitch.tv/beyondthesummit

For more Dota 2 content go to gamezo.co.uk