Dota 2 China Supermajor Group Stage Results

The China Supermajor is the last stop on the Dota 2 pro circuit, before the best teams in the world will take a shot at eternal glory at The International 2018. The group stage for the event has now concluded, and the playing field has been divided into the upper and lower bracket. Some of these teams desperately need to win, while others are content to play spoilers for any potential rivals. Here’s a brief rundown of how the group stage played out.

The games of the group stage followed a fairly straightforward rule set. The group stage matches would be split, with each group setting up their own upper and lower bracket. For example, team A would play Team B, while Team C would play Team D. The winners of the respective matches would go to the upper bracket where they would play for the top spot of the group, while the losers would play to determine who would get a second chance. The winner of the upper bracket match would go straight through, while the loser would play against the winner of the lower bracket match, to determine who would be the second team to go through to the overall tournament upper bracket. As an example play through, Team A defeats Team B, while Team C defeats Team D. Team A and Team C will play a series, while Team B and Team D would play a series. The winner of the A/C series goes through to the upper bracket, while the loser must battle the winner of the B/D series, to determine the second team to go through to the upper bracket. Losing in the group stage doesn’t mean you’re out of the tournament, but rather that you get sent to the lower bracket.

Group A

Group A saw Team Liquid, Newbee, Team Spirit, and Natus Vincere battling it out for a spot in the upper bracket. Team Liquid managed to defeat Team Spirit 2-1 to gain a spot in the winner’s match, while Newbee defeated Natus Vincere to claim their spot. The winners match went in favor of Team Liquid 2-0, while the losers match was claimed by Team Spirit 2-0, setting up a deciders match between Newbee and Team Spirit. The deciding match was won by Newbee, meaning that Team Liquid and Newbee go through to the upper bracket, while Team Spirit and Natus Vincere go through to the lower bracket.

Group B

The matches from Group B saw Virtus.pro defeating TNC Predator, while Vici Gaming defeated Evil Geniuses. The winners match between Virtus.pro and Vici Gaming went to VP, leaving Vici to take on TNC Predator for a second chance at the lower bracket, after TNC defeated EG in the lower bracket match. TNC ultimately prevailed in the deciding match, booking a spot in the upper bracket with VP, and sending Vici and EG to the lower bracket.

Group C

Group C saw Team Secret defeating The Final Tribe, while VGJ.Storm defeated Mineski, setting up a clash between Secret and VGJ.S. The upper bracket match was won by Secret, while the lower bracket match was won by Mineski, setting up a decider match between Mineski and VGJ.S That Mineski would ultimately win. Mineski would join Team Secret in the upper bracket, while VGJ.Storm and The Final Tribe were sent to the lower bracket.

Group D

The final Group saw PSG.LGD taking down Infamous, while OpTic defeated VGJ.Thunder. PSG.LGD defeated OpTic in the upper match, while VGJ.T defeated Infamous in the lower match, setting up a rematch for the decider. OpTic would claim their second victory over VGJ.T, joining PSG.LGD in the upper bracket, while Infamous and VGJ.T were sent to the lower bracket.

With the group stage complete, the teams must get ready for the grueling playoff stage, which will thin out the crowd significantly. For more information on the event, check out the Official Website, here, and for more Dota 2 news, check out the allegations of match fixing in SEA, here.

(all images via dota2.pglsports.com)