The Pro Circuit

In July 2017 Valve announced significant changes to the Major Championship circuit. Following The International 2017, Major Championships other than The International will be third-party tournaments chosen to receive a $500,000 USD funding in addition to the events own prize pool. In order to qualify for that the tournaments must have at least $500,000 USD prize pool and at least one qualifier from the regions around the world.

After over twenty tournaments, the first official Pro Circuit Season finally came to an end. This was surely the most packed schedule of professional tournaments yet in the history of the game.

Many people believed that perhaps it was a bit too packed, considering the fact that there were times where the was a Minor and a Major in the same week. Having said that, after many, many battles the final top eight is finally decided. Those teams will be getting a direct invite for the biggest event not only in Dota 2, but outside too – The International 2018.

The International 2018

TI 8 will be special for many reasons. It will most likely surpass its predecessor by achieving even higher prize pool. On top of that, it will be the first TI (after TI 1 in Germany of course) that will be hosted outside the US. It will be played in Vancouver, Canada.

Some people believe that TI 8 will not surpass TI 7 in terms of the prize pool because Valve has banned many accounts for bad behaviour in Dota, which ultimately resulted in less people playing the game. However, we are yet to see if this will be the case.

China Dota 2 Supermajor

The first ever Supermajor tournament featured the biggest prize-pool yet and some of the best teams in dota. With the end of the event also came the end to the current Pro Circuit. Few days ago Valve have introduced the rules for the upcoming Post-TI8 Pro circuit, so be sure to check them out.

Now the teams that did not manage to finish in the top 8 will have to battle out in the qualifiers in order to secure their spot in the event. That means that we will have some action yet again comming pretty soon.

The current top eight

After the end of the Supermajor, top Eight in the offical rankings looks like this:

Virtus.Pro

The CIS powerhouse were the first team which has secured their place for the upcomming event. VP have completely demolished their opponents in several tournaments in a row, which gave them a huge qualification points advantage and ultimately led to their qualification for TI. Now the question is whether the team has what it takes in order to bring the trophy to the CIS scene yet again. The last time that this happened was during the original TI back in 2011.

Team Liquid

The current TI champions and also the winners of the China Dota 2 Supermajor are the second team that will go directly to TI 8. This is surely the team that deserves this the most. They have been always in top four throughout the entire Pro Circuit Season. What’s more, they have the legitimate chance to actually win yet another TI, which is something that has never happen before. We are yet to see will be their destiny.

PSG.LGD

PSG.LGD (a.k.a LGD GAMING) are the first Chinese team that is getting a direct invite for TI 8. LGD were somewhat unnoticeable in the beginning of the Pro Circuit. However, during the last couple of months they made a clear point that they are one of the top teams and earn their spot among the top eight. It will be really interesting to see if they have what it takes to win a TI. After all, if we follow the tradition, this year the winner should be from China and if this happens, LGD are surely our number one favorites.

Team Secret

Team Secret has had many ups and downs this season but in the end they have managed to secure themselves that direct invite. Following the lead of their long term captain – Puppey – Team Secret are always capable of winning a tournament. Make sure to keep a close eye on them as they might be a profitable betting option.

Mineski

The only SEA region representative that managed to get a direct invite is Mineski. They biggest success this year is surely their win in DAC. They have stomped their opponents and managed to win one of the most interesting Majors of the season. Despite that, their performance after that was not the best and they are not looking that good right now. We can only hope that they will step up their game yet again for TI 8.

Vici Gaming

One of the most unpredictable team and also the second Chinese team to get a direct invite is Vici gaming. Like we’ve said countless times, Vici gaming are a team of momentum. If they have the momentum on their side they are an unstoppable machine. If they want to have a legit chance to win TI 8 they need to try and figure out what drives them to get that momentum and use it in their advantage.

Newbee

The third Chinese team which is going to TI is Newbee. Much like Team Secret, they have had many ups and downs but in the end after a close call they have managed to secure their spot. Newbee are usually a really strong “player” in TI and they have proven countless times that they have what it takes in order to win it. If they manage to win this year they will be the only team which has won two TI’s.

VGJ.Thunder

Last and certainly not least, VGJ.Thunder are the eight team which will be going to TI. The squad has shown some clear signs of their strength in many events so far, which means that they are a worthy foe for the other top teams in the world. We are yet to see if they have what it takes to be the next TI champion.

Final Thoughts

The only thing that is left now is to wait and see how the qualifications will turn out and which teams will fill in the other spots in TI. There will be some pretty interesting games ahead of us so make sure to follow us on our social media for further updates and betting tips.

Don’t forget to follow us on Facebook and Twitter for the latest eSports news and predictions.