In the world of eSports, some games and leagues are massive in terms of viewership and prize money, but some of the smaller events are really intriguing. It is in the events where future big name players start out, and where fledgling teams go to cut their teeth. The Dota 2 Arena of Blood event is now in its second season, with a $10,000 prize pool, including $6,000 for the winners, up for grabs. The group stage is over and the early playoff rounds are already in the books. We will have 3 games set to go on June 30, including a game in the upper bracket and a pair of games in the lower bracket. Once those are done, we will be ever so close to the Grand Final. Let’s take a look at the matches and the teams involved in those upcoming games so you can set you bets down against their Dota 2 odds.
Dota 2 EGB.com Arena of Blood Season 2 Playoffs June 30th
Family Team Vs Team Empire Hope
This is the second and final game in the upper bracket, with Nemiga Gaming and Extremum battling it out as I write. The winners move on to the upper bracket final, while the losers drop into the lower bracket. We will look at the teams down there once we finish this preview.
Family Team were fortunate in that they got to skip the group stage, as they are in by direct invite. While that means getting straight into the playoffs, it also means not knowing that much about the team that they are about to face. It’s tough to know if that is an advantage or not.
Team Empire Hope played in Group A in the regular season and ended up finishing second in there, going 2-1, with the lone loss coming at the hands of Nemiga Gaming, who won the group with an unbeaten record.
This is a tough one to pick given that we have little to go on with Family Team. That has me leaning towards Team Empire Hope.
The Teams Already Through in the Lower Bracket
There are two teams who have already made it into the next round of the lower bracket and who are sitting waiting for the losers in the upper bracket.
Cyberium S. made it into this tournament via a closed qualifier, which put them right into the playoffs in the lower bracket. They opened up against Khan, who had gone 1-2 in the group stage and got on via a 3rd place finish in Group A. it was a close one, but Cyberium S. managed to grind out a 2-1 win to move on.
Team Unique played in Group B and ended with a 1-2 record. Not what you would call a convincing showing, but it was enough to get them 3rd and into the lower bracket. They faced Team Heroic, who did not play in the group stage, and came away with a convincing 2-0 win. Perhaps Unique are gearing up for a surprising run in the playoffs.
