Whenever the group stages of a Major come towards the end, there are always a lot of possibilities that spring up. In most cases, tie breakers are decided based on additional games played. But not at Epicenter XL. Here the rules are a bit tweaked and different. Group A is done and dusted but there are endless possibilities on how Group B will look after all games are completed.

Epicenter XL group B standings (image taken from www.liquipedia.com)



Epicenter XL final day games for Group B (image taken from www.liquipedia.com)

The way things work in case of a tiebreaker are:

If two teams are tied, their head to head results will be looked at. The team that won in the group stage gets the higher rank.

If multiple teams are tied and have the same head to head record, then the difference between wins and losses will be calculated and the team with the higher score will get the higher rank.

If their win-loss difference is also the same, their results against the top non-tied team will be compared. If let’s say teams A, B and C are tied and A and B beat the group leader, they get a higher rank than C. The higher rank between A and B will be decided by their head to head results.

Now let’s get to the scenario we have here. There are two main divisions:

Top 3 ranks and who makes the Upper Bracket

Bottom 3 ranks and who gets eliminated

1) Newbee

Let’s start with Newbee. They have it very simple. They have been eliminated and can’t change that! Even if Newbee beat OG tomorrow, they end up with a score of 2-3. In that case, if

Na’Vi beat Pain, Na’Vi end up with a score of 3-2, Newbee and Pain Gaming get eliminated

Pain beat Na’Vi, all three end up with a score of 2-3. However, in that scenario, Pain will have a superior head to head record against both, Na’Vi and Newbee and will advance leaving the other two to pack their bags.

2) OG

OG can get any position between 1 and 3, but the chance of ending up 3rd is very bleak.

If OG defeat Newbee and Virtus Pro beat Secret, both VP and OG end up with a score of 4-1. VP will top the group because they beat OG in their matchup. Secret beat VP, then the top spot is assured for OG. Basically, they need to win their game and still, the top spot will not be guaranteed to them.

If OG lose to Newbee and VP win against Secret, VP get the top spot. OG will have to settle for second in the group. Secret win against VP, the three teams will be locked in a three-way tie with a score of 3-2. In that case, their record against the fourth position team will be checked (Na’Vi or Pain Gaming). If Na’Vi defeats pain gaming, it will be a four-way tie between Na’Vi, OG, VP and Secret (what a mess!). This situation will be better explained by the Dota 2 stats fiend Noxville:



if OG and VP lose, and NaVi wins; then Navi, Secret, VP and OG are 3-2. Head to head tiebreaker for these 4 teams puts VP at 1-2, OG at 2-1, Secret at 1-2 and NaVi at 2-1. This means OG and NaVi are top 2, Secret and OG are 3rd/4th. — Ben Steenhuisen (@followNoxville) May 2, 2018

*Ben meant Secret and VP are 3rd/4th

If Pain Gaming end up fourth, the head to head between VP, OG and Secret will be considered which will be 1-1 for all teams. That will then bring into account the difference in wins and losses.

3) Virtus Pro

Like OG, they can land up in a number of positions as mentioned above. As VP have lost to Na’Vi, if Na’Vi win their game against Pain Gaming and VP lose to Secret, they will find themselves in the fourth position. But the good thing is, their fate rests in their own hands. Defeat Secret, secure top spot. Simple!

4) Team Secret

Secret cannot get top position in the group. The best they can do is get 2nd place.

If Secret beat Virtus pro and OG beat Newbee, OG top the group and Secret get second place. OG lose to Newbee, then the messy tie breaker scenario happens.

If Secret lose to Virtus Pro, they finish either 3rd or 4th depending on who wins in Na’Vi vs Pain Gaming. If Na’Vi win, Secret end up 4th but if Pain win, Secret end up 3rd (based on head to head).

5) Natus Vincere

For Na’Vi the equation is simple in case of a loss. In case of a win, they stay in the tournament, but their position will be determined by other results, which Noxville elaborated on in his tweet. Win against Pain Gaming to stay in the tournament, see where it goes from there.

If Na’Vi win, they secure their lives in the LAN stages of Epicenter XL

If Na’Vi lose, they are eliminated from the tournament.

6) Pain Gaming

For Pain Gaming, the equation is much simpler than Na’Vi’s. 3rd position is not a possibility for them. Even if they get into a four-way tie, Pain have lost to all the top three teams – OG, VP and Secret. They will get the lowest position, which is 4th.

Win – 4 th place and lower bracket

place and lower bracket Lose – 6th place and eliminated

It is a big mess, nut it will all be cleared tomorrow wtihout any of the teams having to play any extra games. I think I have covered all possible scenarios but there’s a high chance I might have missed a few because of all the permutations and combinations! If I have, let us know in the comments and I will rectify that.