WePlay AniMajor
Tournament information
SportDota 2
Month playedJune
Established2021
AdministratorValve
Tournament
format(s)
Venue(s)WePlay Esports Arena Kyiv
Participants18 teams
Websiteweplayholding.com
Current champion
PSG.LGD

The WePlay AniMajor Dota 2 tournament was organized by Valve, held and operated by the WePlay Esports media holding company. This was the first anime-themed Dota 2 event.[1]

History

On May 16, WePlay Esports announced that it would be hosting the second Dota 2 Major of the 2021 DPC season in the capital of UkraineKyiv.[2] Titled "WePlay AniMajor," the coveted tournament featured 18 of the best Dota 2 teams from around the world competing from June 2 to 13, 2021, for a total prize pool of $500,000 and the associated 2,700 Dota Pro Circuit (DPC) points.[3]

Tournament format

The WePlay AniMajor started with the Wild Card Stage which ran from June 2 to 3. Six teams fought in a single round-robin series at best-of-two. Only the top two teams moved to the next stage while the rest got eliminated.

Next was the Group stage which took place on June 4–7. Here, eight teams participated in a single round-robin at Bo2 as well. The top two teams advanced to the Upper Bracket of the Playoffs, while the next four teams went to the Lower Bracket. The bottom two teams got eliminated.

The Playoffs started on June 9 and were played in double-elimination best-of-three series. The Grand Final, were a best-of-five.[4]

Participants

Playoffs

Region Team
Europe Alliance
China Team Aster
Southeast Asia T1
CIS Virtus.pro
North America Quincy Crew
South America NoPing e-sports

Group stage

Region Team
Europe Team Liquid
China PSG.LGD
Southeast Asia TNC Predator
CIS Team Spirit
North America Evil Geniuses
South America Beastcoast

Wild Card

Region Team
Europe Nigma
Europe Team Secret
China Vici Gaming
China Invictus Gaming
Southeast Asia Execration
CIS AS Monaco Gambit[5]

Winners

Place Prize/ USD DPC Points Team
1 200 000 500 PSG.LGD
2 100 000 450 Evil Geniuses
3 75 000 400 T1
4 50 000 350 Vici Gaming
5–6 25,000 300 Quincy Crew, Team Nigma
7–8 12,500 200 Team Spirit, TNC Predator
9–12 Virtus.pro, Alliance, Team Aster, NoPing Esports
13–14 Team Liquid, beastcoast
15–18 Invictus Gaming, Team Secret, Execration, AS Monaco Gambit

“Unfortunately, the epidemiological situation in Kyiv does not allow us to receive guests: the tournament will be closed to spectators, as the players and employees’ safety is our highest priority,” said WePlay Esports.[6]

WePlay AniMajor was the final opportunity for many teams in the circuit to earn the all-important DPC points to go towards securing a direct invite to The International 10 (TI10) with a US$40 million prize pool.[7] Upon participation in WePlay AniMajor, Team Spirit obtained enough DPC points to qualify for TI10, which they won, earning $18.2 million.[8]

References

  1. ^ WePlay AniMajor: Results, format, prize pool, where to watch
  2. ^ WePlay Esports Arena Kyiv will host the second Major tournament of the current Dota Pro Circuit season
  3. ^ WePlay AniMajor in Kyiv Announced as the Second Dota 2 Major of the 2021 DPC // Afkgaming
  4. ^ Which Dota 2 Teams Made it to WePlay AniMajor // Player.One
  5. ^ Every team qualified for the Dota Pro Circuit WePlay Esports AniMajor
  6. ^ WePlay AniMajor Announcement
  7. ^ "WePlay AniMajor, second Major of 2021 DPC, to be held in Kiev in June". Yahoo News Singapore. May 17, 2021. Retrieved November 28, 2021.
  8. ^ Underdogs Team Spirit are TI10 Champions, winning $18.2 MILLION