Group D emerges as ‘group of death’ at EPICENTER Major

As the final Major of the 2018-19 Dota Pro Circuit season draws near, EPICENTER has revealed the groups for the opening round, which features a single group that looks like utter hell.

Group D has LGD Gaming and OG matching up for the first time since the grand finals of The International 2018, as well as StarLadder Ukraine Minor champions Ninjas in Pyjamas and TNC Predator, who are having a solid month as well. And while LGD is still the favorite, no one would be surprised to see any of those four squads in the playoffs.

Team Secret was placed into Group A and at least on paper, it would appear they have a relatively easier road to the main event. Fnatic seems to be the only team that can upset the best team in the world, but paiN Gaming has made some waves recently with their new roster. Royal Never Give Up is in danger going without a win in groups, however.

Group B looks like it will be a good fight if Team Liquid gets things sorted in time to rival Evil Geniuses, who has been a dominant force this season and will probably make a deep run at TI9.

Liquid made the first change to their roster in two seasons last week, which could mean disaster for their chances at winning the Major. Depending on who they bring in to fill Lasse “MATUMBAMAN” Urpalainen’s spot, they could be challenging EG for the top spot in the group or they could struggle to secure wins.

Infamous and Gambit Esports join Liquid and EG in Group B. Both Infamous and Gambit are unproven at big events this season because while they both have performed well at several Dota Pro Circuit events, they tend to fold against powerful teams.

Group C might be a wash for teams who have to play Virtus Pro. Alliance isn’t afraid of top-level teams anymore, but they don’t have a good track record against teams like Secret and Virtus. Forward Gaming had some flashes in the middle of the season, too, but they have since cooled off and appear to be one of the weaker teams at the tournament.

If anything, Vici Gaming is going to be the one to rise up and challenge Virtus. They had a weak qualifier run, but this low seeding shouldn’t stop them from making it to the next round of the event.

As always, you can expect a few surprising upsets in groups, but most of the top teams don’t have much to worry about either way since their tickets for TI9 have already been punched.

The EPICENTER Major will run June 22 to 30 and will be the last chance for several teams at the event to improve their DPC ranking and get a direct invite to this year’s International.