Just a day after the EPIC Grand Final at the OGA Dota Pit Minor, information for the upcoming Major slowly starts to emerge. Today, we learned the groups as well as the schedule for the one-of-a-kind tournament. The MDL Disneyland Paris Major will take place from the 4th to the 12th of May in Paris, France.

Schedule

Following @NiPGaming's success at the OGA Dota Pit Minor, we have now confirmed all the 16 competing teams at the MDL Disneyland® Paris Major. We are therefore glad to announce the groups and schedule for #MDLDisney. Which group do you consider to be the group of death? pic.twitter.com/ZU9h3bLvVo — Mars Media (@MarsMedia) April 29, 2019

Following NiP’s success at Dota Pit, all sixteen teams are now confirmed. Fifteen of them had to go through the regional qualifiers in order to play at this Major. Three are from the EU, China, and NA, whereas CIS, SEA, and SA have two representatives.

The sixteen teams are going to be divided into four GSL groups of four teams each. The top two advance to the Upper Bracket, whereas the bottom two go to the Lower Bracket of the playoffs. All games are going to be played in a best-of-three format.

The Playoffs themselves will also be played in a Bo3 format. However, the LB round 1 will be Bo1 and the Grand Final is, of course, Bo5.

Groups

Group A

The first group of the MDL Disneyland Paris Major could be considered as the “group of death.” Team Liquid, Virtus.Pro, Team Team and Keen Gaming will have to give it all out to determine which one will go to the Upper Bracket. If we judge the teams by their recent performance, VP is probably the biggest favorite. They have been one of the most stable teams around. What’s more, they’ve already secured their TI spot, which means that they have no pressure on their shoulders.

However, the other three contenders are not going to go down without a fight. Keen Gaming has just won ESL One Mumbai, which was a clear message that they are one of the top Chinese teams right now. Team Liquid has been in stagnation for some time now, but they can explode at any moment.

EternalEnvy’s Team Team will have an arduous task here. However, it is certainly not impossible. After all, EE is famous for eliminating favorites while being the underdog.

Group B

At first glance, Team Secret and NiP are undoubtedly the strongest teams here. TS is having one of their best seasons yet as they managed to win most of the tournaments that they took part in. This makes them one of the strongest foes and a definite contender for TI 9.

On the other hand, NiP just won OGA Dota Pit Minor, which will surely boost their confidence. Chaos EC has proven themselves to be one of the best South American teams right now. In their last tournament, they were able to surprise some of the top teams, which makes them a dangerous enemy should they be underestimated.

King R’s Team Empire somehow managed to get a spot here. However, unless they bring their A game, it will be tough to survive.

Group C

It looks like Vici Gaming and PSG.LGD won’t be having much trouble here. The two Chinese teams have been outstanding during this DPC season. This definitely puts them among the biggest favorites to win this tournament. It will be interesting to see which one will be able to actually finish first in this group.

Mineski is one of those teams that is capable of winning and losing against everyone. They stomped their enemies during ESL One Mumbai, even though Keen Gaming kind of wiped the floor with them in the Grand Finals.

If paiN Gaming doesn’t do something extraordinary, they will be having a very hard time here.

Group D

Probably the second most intriguing group at this Major is Group D. Evil Geniuses will have to prove themselves yet again against OG, Fnatic and compLexity Gaming.

The NA powerhouse is certainly the strongest team here, even though Fnatic is very close behind in my opinion. EG has been very consistent during this DPC season, which makes them a very hard opponent to face.

On the other hand, OG definitely improved their gameplay after Ana returned to the squad. This will actually be their first “test” to see if they still got what it takes to wear that TI champions title with pride. Just a few days ago, OG lost to OpenAI, which is not a good sign.

Fnatic finished 3rd at DreamLeague Season 11 last month. This was a clear indication that they have no intentions in just attending tournaments. They are here to win.

Complexity Gaming is having a pretty bad DPC season so far. Unless they change something dramatically, succeeding at this Major seems like a nearly impossible task.

Conclusion

The MDL Disneyland Paris Major is going to be an amazing and significant event. Only four teams have secured their spot for TI 9, which means that there is a lot at stake for the rest.

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