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Captains Draft started in 2014 and is a tournament that is characterized by forgetting the classic Captain Mode. In the tournament, a different mode with the same name is used, which is basically well-known as «Random Draft”. However, it has 27 heroes: 9 of strength, 9 of agility, 9 of intelligence.
The mode allows captains the possibility of banning a total of 6 heroes before beginning. From then on, you will have to choose the remaining heroes. This happens to be one of the most interesting tournaments in the competitive world of DotA 2.
In its first edition, Fnatic defeated Na’Vi and won the first title awarded by the tournament. In the following years, Team Secret (2015) and Evil Geniuses (2016) were consecrated victorious. At that time, the total prize pool of the tournament was $ 100,000 dollars.
To qualify for the upcoming DotA 2 World Championship, teams must earn qualifying points this season. The points are awarded in so-called major and minor tournaments. The best eight of the season qualify for The International with the help of the points. So, all other teams have to beat one another through the Pro Circuit to be at the top of the food chain.
After the DotA scene has a Christmas break, it continues on January 4 with the Captains Draft 4.0. The minor tournament awards a total of 300 points and $ 300,000 in prize money. The whole thing takes place in Washington, DC, and there are some high-caliber teams like Evil Geniuses and Team Secret that received the direct invitation from the organizer. In addition, compLexity Gaming, PaiN Gaming, OG, Team Empire, Vici Gaming, and Mineski were able to prevail in the regional qualifiers. In DC, the teams will play for four days for the coveted prize money and qualifying points. For the winner, the reward is $108,000 USD and 150 points.
For those asking, here are the general time/dates for all days of the Captains Draft 4.0 Minor #cd4 #DOTAinDC pic.twitter.com/0shYMOOPLs — SUNSfan (@SUNSfanTV) 1. Januar 2018
For those asking, here are the general time/dates for all days of the Captains Draft 4.0 Minor #cd4 #DOTAinDC pic.twitter.com/0shYMOOPLs
— SUNSfan (@SUNSfanTV) 1. Januar 2018
Only one squad is missing: Team Liquid. The reigning world champion resigned at the minor tournament. Team Secret and OG will represent the European region in Washington.
The tournament will be held in two stages. The participants will determine the strongest in the group stage according to the GSL system (all matches to one victory). The two best teams from each group will go to the single-elimination grid. In the play-off, semi-finals will be played to two wins, and the grand-finals to three.
Here are your #cd4 groups. It’s almost time for #dotaindc ! Happy New Year! pic.twitter.com/ukQycU5lLu — moonduckTV (@moonduckTV) December 31, 2017
Here are your #cd4 groups. It’s almost time for #dotaindc ! Happy New Year! pic.twitter.com/ukQycU5lLu
— moonduckTV (@moonduckTV) December 31, 2017
Here are how the teams are divided into two groups:
In this team’s composition, there are already two pairs of brothers. This is the only professional team for DotA 2 that features brothers. Players hope that in 2018 their bet on blood ties will justify itself.
In American DotA, everything has changed. Compositions, leaders, sometimes even schedules. Only one thing remains unchanged: If Evil Geniuses wants to go to the tournament — they go to the tournament. The American team ignored all the minors and concentrated on preparing for the majors, and they received the direct invite to the Captains Draft unexpectedly. However, they also secured the qualification for DreamLeague Season 8 and managed a third-place finish. Now as Artour «Arteezy» Babaev and Syed Sumail «SumaiL» Hassan pack their suitcases for another trip to Washington DC, they could be the best team in the world on their day.
On December 20, Evil Geniuses kicked Saahil «UNiVeRsE» Arora. Nobody expected this from a team that ranks fifth in the DPC ranking. Will it help Evil Geniuses to climb higher? Will UNiVeRsE take revenge with a new team? Only time will tell.
Previously, Mineski won anything they wanted, but now they are taking only what they can. In the last two months, the team showed excellent results in the region and in the world. However, with the release of the new patch, their leadership began lacking confidence. Mineski played in three finals of the Pro Circuit but won only one of those. In this case, fans of the team began to complain about the strategies. Now after securing a qualification to a minor, we will see that how the strategies of Mineski have changed since then.
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Attention, OG is going to a tournament! Yes, and not just one, but three majors. At The Summit, they were directly invited by the organizers. However, the other two trips were earned in a fair fight where, fortunately for OG fans, there was neither Team Secret nor Team Liquid. So far this seems to be the only option for Tal «Fly» Aizik’s team to compete for qualifying points. But the result shown is clearly higher than a month ago when the former major champions could not beat teams from open qualifiers.
OG did beat mousesports in the final of the European qualification for Captains Draft 4.0. The match ended with a score of 3-1. The team won a ticket to the competition.
Did you miss the illusions running around the map? It seems the era of OG returns. Now the illusions receive the effect of restoring health and mana. Even to those who have stronger nerves, the players will fear the presence of Chaos Knight. With good control of his illusions, the hero is a difficult one to kill.
Team Secret, it seems, finally unravelled the recipe for victory. The team dominated DreamLeague, losing only once in the whole tournament. Will the team keep up the tempo when the holidays are over? Will Team Secret finally surpass the expectations of fans at The International 2018? The domination of the side is set to continue.
Below are the odds currently available at 10Bet:
Team Secret – 2.50
Vici Gaming – 4.50
OG – 4.50
Evil Geniuses – 8.00
Mineski – 11.00
CompLexity – 13.00
Team Empire – 33.00
PaiN Gaming – 61.00
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