DPC 2021 Season 2 Week 5: Western Europe Predictions

The 5^th competitive week of the second season of Dota Pro Circuit 2021 has begun and only a small number of matches are left to be played. In most cases, these matches will determine who goes to the upcoming Major. Given that The International 10 has a prize pool of 40 million dollars, I’m pretty sure that every competitor wants to finish in the top 12 and get a direct invitation to the tournament. But the problem is that most of the qualification points are offered in the Majors. And the next one will be the last.

Alliance Will Win the Tournament

In Western Europe, Alliance will most likely be the winner. With 5 wins, 1 loss, and just one more match to play, Nikobaby and his crew look set for the Playoffs of the 2^nd DPC Major of 2021. To make matters even easier, Alliance will face Hellbear Smashers (0 W – 6 L) in their last match.

The Big Battles Ahead

The big battles in this region will take place between OG and Nigma, and between Secret and Liquid. The first of these matches will most likely determine who will finish 3^rd and who will finish 4^th or at least compete in the tiebreaker for the 4^th place.

OG seems a bit stronger than Nigma at this point, while Liquid is likely to beat Secret given how poor Puppey’s team was in the last month. It’s not clear to me what‘s going on internally but it’s obvious that they haven’t managed to adapt to the new meta. The last Dota 2 patch seems to have nerfed all of their good strategies.

If Secret loses this next match, they risk relegating to the Lower Division. This would be an absolute disaster. The fate of one of the strongest teams of the last few years will be decided today, May 12^th, and next week, on May 18^th. Of course, Puppey won’t make any serious changes until the end of TI 10. But missing the Major and potentially relegating will certainly cause him to make some serious roster moves.

 

Photo credit: Valve