The popularity of eSports has now gone well beyond just the major sports game. We are now seeing online battle games flourish, too, with the likes of CounterStrike, Overwatch, and Dota 2 all having competitive leagues playing all over the globe. For the purposes of this piece, we are going to focus on the European Epulze Dota 2 league. We will get into breaking down upcoming matches in a separate piece, but for now, we thought it might be a good idea to look at the format of this league and the teams that are involved along with their Dota 2 betting odds, so let’s get right to it.
Epulze Global Dota 2 League | Europe
League Format
There are 8 teams taking part in this league, all of whom made their way in via open qualifiers. The group stage, which runs from May 13th through the 23rd, is played in a single round robin format. One thing that is a little different about this league is that there is the possibility of having a tie, as the group stage games are all best of 2. That certainly makes things a little more interesting, as it creates some serious tiebreaker possibilities.
The top 4 teams in the group will make it into the playoffs, while the other 4 teams are automatically eliminated. The playoffs begin on May 29th and run through to the 31st. The format there is a double-elimination bracket, with each of those games played as a best of 3. The top 2 teams advance to the Grand Final, which is played as a best of 5. The total prize pool for the League is $3,000.
The Teams
As mentioned earlier, there are 8 teams taking part in the league, although that number is now down to 7 after one of the teams officially dropped out. The teams are listed below in order of their current standing in the league:
- KVP – They have a pretty comfortable lead at the top of the league, with a 3-1-0 record. The lone black mark is a 1-1 tie with You Should Ran. In terms of games, they are 7-1.
- Astronauts – With a record of 3-0-1 and 6-2 in games, the Astronauts are currently in second. Their lone loss of the season came in a 2-0 defeat at the hands of the league leaders.
- HeHe United – They are n third and have played one more game than most, going 2-1-2 through their first 5 matches, which includes a combined game score of 5-5.
- You Should Ran – Formerly called Justice League, this team is sitting in the final playoff spot at the moment with a record of 1-3-0 and a combined game score of 5-3.
- syndereN Fanclub – This team has some work to do to get into the playoffs, but they have also played just 3 games, going 1-2-0, with a combined score of 5-3. One to watch.
- No Bounty Hunter – Sitting down in the #6 spot, this team looks to be in a little trouble given that the teams directly above and below them have played one game less. They are 1-2-1 (4-4).
- Let’s Have Fun – While they are second from bottom, they are by no means out of the playoff race. They have a 1-1-1 (3-3) record right now.
- Kill Steal Kommando – Now out of the competition and all games forfeited.
