We’re almost entering the autumn season, and that means we’re four months away to January 2021! While things seem no better than last March, our beloved games are still carrying on with the competition in the form of updates in the competitive scene, giving us something to expect for the coming weeks.
More Dota 2 and League of Legends news are on your way; check them out below!
League of Legends
Worlds 2020 Updates
It’s only three weeks until the 2020 World Championships will start, and we’re almost complete with the list of qualifying teams in different regions!
To start off, Riot has announced a format change in light of the Vietnamese teams that are prohibited from traveling to the Shanghai bubble due to the global pandemic. As a result, there will be 22 competing teams instead of 24, and the Play-In stage format has been heavily changed, and the Main Stage seed for Vietnam was given to Korea, whose Regional Finals is ongoing.
To quote the League of Legends Esports team on the new format:
“The 10 Play-In teams will be split into two seeded groups of five teams each. Each of these groups will play a single round-robin cycle, with the first-place teams both advancing to the Group Stage, and the last place teams being eliminated. The third- and fourth-place teams in each group will play a best-of-five series, with the loser being eliminated and the winner advancing to a best-of five-series against the second-place team from the other group. The winners of those matches also will qualify for the Group Stage.”
It’s unfortunate that Vietnam will not be able to send representatives to compete for the coveted Summoner’s Cup, but this could give them a much bigger drive to make sure to qualify next season for the Cup.
LCK 2020 Summer Playoffs
The LCK 2020 Summer Playoffs just concluded, and DAMWON Gaming has made history! They won their very first title in the LCK 2020 Summer season, and they secured the first seed from LCK in Worlds 2020.
They have proven themselves to be the better team since the regular season with a clean 3-0 against DRX in the Grand Finals. DRX takes the second seed into the Group Stage for having the highest championship points.
The last seed for the Group Stage is now depending on the results of the upcoming LCK Regional Finals. Afreeca Freecs, KT Rolster, T1, and Gen.G are all on their last straw for the possibility of making into Worlds. Afreeca Freecs and KT Rolster will play each other on September 7, with T1 waiting on Round 2 and Gen.G on Round 3. May the best team win!
Dota 2
Quincy Crew wins OMEGA League: Americas Divine Division
Quincy Crew beat 4 Zoomers in the Grand Finals of the OMEGA League Americas Divine Division in a neat 3-0 clean sweep fashion!
Both teams matched each other in the Upper Bracket finals, ending in a 2-1 in favor of Quincy Crew. After 4 Zoomers bounced back from the Lower Bracket finals against Thunder Predator, Quincy Crew already had the download on 4 Zoomers and were able to settle things relatively quickly in the Grand Finals. In Game 3, 4 Zoomers really stretched the game for a chance at a second wind, but failed to make the time count.
Well played for all the teams that competed in the American scene!
Team Secret awaits in OMEGA League: Europe Immortal Division Grand Finals
Team Secret defeated OG in 2-1 reverse sweep fashion just last September 5, sending the latter down to the Lower Bracket finals. Now, they wait for the mighty challenger that will come out of the lower bracket runback between Team Nigma and OG.
To recall, OG beat Team Nigma in Round 1 of the Upper Bracket with a clean 2-0, sending them down to struggle back from Round 2 of the Lower Bracket.
Will it be OG, the victor of the first duel who fell short from the Upper Bracket finals, or will it be Team Nigma, who swept every foe they faced in the Lower Bracket?
Dota Team posts an Update on the Competitive Scene
Last September 4, the Dota 2 team posted an update on their website blog detailing what the future of competitive Dota 2 may look like in the following months, since The International 10 still is being indefinitely postponed due to the ongoing pandemic.
During Spring 2020, they remarked that The International 10 and the Spring season of the new Dota 2 Pro Circuit (DPC) could not push through with the situation not getting any better in a global sense. Upon approaching third party organizers, they have agreed to host their own events to cover the lack of the DPC tournaments—which is why we see the many events hosted by Omega League, ESL One, Beyond Epic, and the like.
Now that it’s the middle of the Summer season at this point, the Dota 2 team is getting worried about providing any dates, since the pandemic has not shown any signs of lessening in severity anytime soon. They mentioned that cross-regional play will be unlikely at all, thus they have to cancel on the upcoming Fall and Winter DPC seasons, with the most plausible resumption of the DPC being on January or February 2021 if the situation becomes more manageable for predicting any movement and travel restrictions.
There were no updates on what will happen to The International 10’s prize pool, now that it is still postponed indefinitely.
