The tournament will see 18 Dota 2 teams congregate in Singapore for the first-ever Valve-sanctioned LAN event in Dota 2 to take place in over a year. The event begins on March 27 with the Wild Card stage followed by the Group Stage on the 29th and the Main Event on the 31st, which will run through April 4. Being that this is the first Major of the Dota Pro Circuit 2021, there’s a lot on the line here with a healthy mix of fresh and old faces looking to start their year off with a deep run if not a trophy finish. Because of this, it’s well worth taking a close look at the tournament. So, who’s competing? How much is at stake? Scroll down below to find out.
What is the One Esports Singapore Major 2021? What’s at Stake?
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Valve had to shake up the Dota Pro Circuit structure once again. For the Dota Pro Circuit 2021, Valve split the competitive season in half and effectively cut down the number of Majors to just two, and replaced the Minors with six-week Regional Leagues, where all Dota 2 teams will have a chance to play for a spot at the Major at the end of the season. The first Regional League ran from mid-January until late-February where 18 teams eventually qualified for the ONE Esports Singapore Major 2021. The ONE Esports Singapore Major 2021 will take place at the Fairmont Singapore and will feature a $500,000 prize pool, as well as put 2,700 DPC points at stake. The winners will take home 500 DPC points and $200,000 of the prize pool, with the runner-ups going home with $100,000 and 400 DPC points respectively.
Which Teams Are Competing at the ONE Esports Singapore Major 2021?
The ONE Esports Singapore Major 2021 will feature 18 of the best Dota 2 teams in the world converging in Singapore for 9 days. Unlike in previous seasons, there are numerous ways to make your way to a Major during the Dota Pro Circuit 2021. The first way is for a team to place first in the Upper Division in their Regional League, which will secure the winning team a spot directly in the Playoffs portion of the Major. The Playoffs seeds for the ONE Esports Singapore Major 2021 are as follows:
Team Secret (Europe) Invictus Gaming (China) Fnatic (Southeast Asia) Evil Geniuses (North America) Beastcoast (South America) Virtus.pro (CIS)
Meanwhile, the second way to secure a spot at a Major is to place second in the Upper Division of the Regional League. A second-place placement will secure qualifying teams a spot during the Group Stages portion of the Major. The Group Stage seeds of the ONE Esports Singapore Major 2021 are as follows:
Alliance (Europe) Team Aster (China) Neon Esports (Southeast Asia) Quincy Crew (North America) Thunder Predator (South America) Natus Vincere (CIS)
The final six spots of the Major are reserved for the Wild Card stage of the event and will be given to the 3rd- and 4th-place teams in the Upper Division of the Regional League in Europe and China, as well as the 3rd-place teams in the Upper Division of the Regional League in Southeast Asia and CIS. The Wild Card seeds of the ONE Esports Singapore Major 2021 are as follows:
Team Nigma (Europe) Team Liquid (Europe) Vici Gaming (China) PSG.LGD (China) T1 (Southeast Asia) AS Monaco Gambit (CIS)
What is the Format of the ONE Esports Singapore Major 2021?
The ONE Esports Singapore Major 2021 will be split into three stages: the Wild Card, the Group Stage, and the Playoffs. During the Wild Card stage from March 27 to March 28, the Wild Card seeds will face off against each other in best-of-two matches on a single round-robin format. Only the top two teams will advance to the Group Stage portion of the event. The rest will not continue. Afterward, the Group Stage, which will run from March 29 until March 30, will see the top two Wild Card seeds join the rest of the Group Stage seeds in the same single round-robin format. The eight teams will play each other in best-of-two matches. However, this time around, six teams will advance to the Playoffs portion. Of the six, the top two teams will advance to the Upper Brackets of the Playoffs portion while the 3rd-place until the 6th-place teams will play in the Lower Brackets. Following the Group Stage is the Playoffs portion, which will compose the majority of the event. From March 31 until April 4, the eight remaining teams will play each other in best-of-three matches in a double-elimination bracket. In the Grand Finals, the two remaining teams will play each other in a best-of-five match to determine the winner.
How to Watch ONE Esports Singapore Major 2021
Audiences can watch the ONE Esports Singapore Major 2021 live, for free, via YouTube, Twitch, and the Dota 2 client.
