Start of DPC in Eastern Europe: favorites, contenders, and outsiders
On May 14, a new Dota Pro Circuit round and the start of Division 1 in Eastern Europe will begin. In this article, we will talk about favorites, contenders, and outsiders of the upcoming season.
Favorites
Team Spirit (Yatoro, Larl, Collapse, Mira, Miposhka)
A lot of criticism was directed at Larl after they left the ESL One Berlin Major 2023. Spirit took 9th-12th place there, losing in the decisive game to Team Aster by a 0:2 score. The roster remained the same, which means it is worth looking at what will change in their game.
Results of Team Spirit in the Dota Pro Circuit 2023:
- 2nd place in the DPC Winter Tour
- 2nd place in the DPC Spring Tour
9 Pandas (RAMZES666, kiyotaka, MieRo, Antares, Solo)
That's who pulled off the miracle at the ESL One Berlin Major 2023. Together with RodjeR, they made it to the Top-3 and are already virtually guaranteed a slot at The International 12. It will be interesting to see how 9 Pandas and Solo will play in the new patch, as we haven't seen them together in official matches since the release of 7.33.
9 Pandas is already 90% in TI12, which means they can relax and play the tour not to their full potential.
Results of 9 Pandas in the Dota Pro Circuit 2023:
- 3rd place in the DPC Winter Tour
- 1st place in the DPC Spring Tour
BetBoom (Nightfall, gpk, Pure, Save, TORONTOTOKYO)
This team has no problems in the DPC Regular Season with teams from their region. The main difficulties start with the international championships. Despite the failure at the ESL One Berlin Major 2023, where they had to play with forced substitutions, they kept the roster. Out of the important, the players switched roles: Pure will now be on the three, and Nightfall on the carry.
Results of BetBoom in the Dota Pro Circuit 2023:
- 1st place in the DPC Winter Tour
- 3rd place in the DPC Spring Tour
Team Spirit, BetBoom, and 9 Pandas have no competition in their region, which means getting to the Bali Major 2023 is almost a guarantee for a slot at The International 12. 9 Pandas don't need points here, but BetBoom and Team Spirit need to play this tour with dignity.
Contenders
Virtus.pro (Kiritych, squad1x, Noticed, sayuw, fng)
"Bears" started the season with Koma` and Dukalis, but then their carry got banned for account-sharing and foul play, which brings krylat to the team instead of Koma`. Along with Dukalis, they played quite a bit for PuckChamp. After the Top-4 in the first tour of the DPC, Virtus.pro replaced the bunch in the safe line, signing fng and Kiritych. The result remained the same, Top-4 again. This was the reason to sign God as a coach and move Ahilles to the analyst position. Virtus.pro is the main contender to impose competition on the favorites for the Major slot.
Results of Virtus.pro in the Dota Pro Circuit 2023:
- 4th place in the DPC Winter Tour
- 4th place in the DPC Spring Tour
Nemiga Gaming (v1olent, Malr1ne, Vazya, Hellscream, so bad)
The team hasn't made any dramatic changes in the roster for a long time. In the last two years, they only changed their carry: v1olent from Sigma.YNT came instead of Kiritych, with whom they lost only 3e cards and won 14. Nemiga Gaming has every chance to consolidate in the middle of the table and even take maps from the favorites.
In the first DPC tour, Nemiga c Kiritych dropped out of the first division, finishing in 7th place, but with v1olent they're back in line.
Results of Nemiga Gaming in the Dota Pro Circuit 2023:
- 7th place in the DPC Winter Tour
- 1st place in the DPC Spring Tour (Lower Division)
One Move (Munkushi, Ainkrad, AfterLife, Gilgir, pantomem)
The team hasn't had many replacements since 2022 either. Smiling Knight moved to Thunder Awaken, mellojul went to NAVI, and sayuw went to Virtus.pro. Munkushi~, Ainkrad, and Gilgir were the newcomers at the time. The main change in 2023 was that Sergey "God" Bragin quit as their coach and moved to Virtus.pro, who are their direct competitors. Although, rumor has it that One Move and Virtus.pro are managed by the same management.
Results of One Move in the Dota Pro Circuit 2023:
- 5th place in the DPC Winter Tour
- 5th place in the DPC Spring Tour
Outsiders
HYDRA (dream, Worick, Cloud, Lil, HappyDyurara)
The scandalously famous team will continue to play in the third tour of the DPC. They only had one replacement in the offseason: instead of Lefitan came Lil, who we haven't seen on the competitive Dota 2 scene in a while. Morph's investigation damaged the reputation not only of Lefitan. The community has also been paying close attention to the play of the rest of the team. It's hard to believe that HYDRA will be able to handle the pressure and show a decent game.
Results of HYDRA in the Dota Pro Circuit 2023:
- 1st place in the DPC Winter Tour (Lower Division)
- 6th place in the DPC Spring Tour
UALEIKUMNIHAO (Palantimos, CHIRA_JUNIOR, Shergarat (Vladimir), b1kA, Mary_y)
The team has come an incredible way. From the third time, they managed to make it to the closed qualifiers to the Lower Division. hAze was originally on the midlane in the roster, but despite reaching the Upper Division, he was replaced by former cybercats player CHIRA_JUNIOR. UALEKUMNIHAO had only one defeat against Nemiga Gaming. The team will surprise and take maps, but it's hard to imagine them in the middle of the standings.
Results of UALEIKUMNIHAO in the Dota Pro Circuit 2023
- 2nd place in the DPC Spring Tour (Lower Division)
The Upper Division of the DPC Eastern Europe will be held online from May 14 to June 6 in the Summer Tour. The teams will play for $205,000 and 1,150 DPC points. The Top-3 teams from the regular season will qualify for the Bali Major 2023, while the top 2 teams will be down to the Lower Division.