Virtus and EHOME match up as groups are announced for The Chongqing Major

Days before The Chongqing Major begins, the 16 competing teams have been split up into four groups to compete for playoff positioning.

The second Major of the Dota Pro Circuit’s 2018-19 season is host to 16 of the best Dota 2 teams in the world and the group stage will be a fierce competition.

Each series in the group stage will be a best of three and no teams will be eliminated until the main event begins. Of the four teams in each group, the top two teams will advance into the Upper Bracket while the bottom two will drop into Lower Bracket.

Group A currently looks like it will be the most intense of the event, featuring previous Major winner Virtus Pro, the red hot EHOME, TNC Predator, and Chaos Esports Club.

Group B is made up of Team Secret, LGD Gaming, Forward Gaming, and Thunder Predator.

Group C hosts Team Liquid, Vici Gaming, J. Storm, and the recently rebranded The Pango—formerly NoPangolier.

And lastly, Group D features what might be the second closest competition with Evil Geniuses, Fnatic, Alliance, and Team Aster.

Once the Group Stage is settled the rules change slightly. The first round of the Lower Bracket will be a best-of-one, winner takes all match, followed by a switch back to the standard best-of-three format until we reach the grand finals, which will be best-of-five.

The team that wins the Major will receive $350,000 and 4,950 Dota Pro Circuit points—automatically pushing them into the top two of the DPC rankings as we approach the halfway point of the season.

The event will run from Jan. 19 to 27 with the group stage lasting through the first two days. Matches kick off at 8pm CT when Virtus and EHOME battle in the opening match for Group A.