In 2020, we already saw Cloud9 return to Dota 2, while T1 and CR4ZY took their first steps in the highly competitive title. Who has special chances?

The popularity of Dota 2 has arguably declined recently, at least according to some fans. Yes, player numbers have really declined, but the competitive scene is as good as ever – if not better. Even though Dota 2 is still in the early months of 2020, it’s already attracted some new organizations from the industry.

Cloud9

Cloud9 is a large organization with teams in Overwatch, Hearthstone, Fortnite, Rainbow 6, League of Legends, CS:GO, Rocket League, and most recently Dota 2. This isn’t the first time we’ve seen Cloud9 with a Dota 2 team. The North American organization has been dabbling with the MOBA on and off since 2014. In 2015, they disbanded their Dota team, returned in 2017, and disbanded again in the same year. 2020 marks Cloud9’s third return to Dota. The organization has achieved various successes over the years and their current team was officially created on March 3.

• Jacky “EternalEnvy” Mao
• Marcus “Ace” Hoelgaard
• Jingjun “Sneyking” Wu
• Rasmus “MISERY” Filipsen
• Johan “pieliedie” Åström

The squad already participated in two events: the qualifiers for the ESL One Los Angeles Dota 2Major and DOTA Summit 12. In the qualifiers, they were eliminated by Trust Gaming. At Summit 12, the team failed to win a single match and left the event after the group stage with a final score of 0-0-5. We’ve definitely seen better from Cloud9 in the past and hopefully it’s only a matter of time before the team bounces back.

T1

Starting with their StarCraft team Orion in 2003, the organization eventually switched to League of Legends. Formerly known as SK Telecom T1, the South Korean organization enjoys worldwide fame, mainly due to their success in League of Legends: three times they won the World Championship (2013, 2015, 2016). T1’s possible entry into the world of Dota 2 was long discussed by fans, but the rumors were finally confirmed when Lee “Forev” Sang-don was announced as the first signing member in August 2019. The full roster was finally announced on March 3 (the same date as Cloud9).

• Dominik “Black^” Reitmeier
• Muhammad “inYourdreaM” Rizky
• Lee “Forev” Sang-don
• Tri “Jhocam” Kuncoro
• Yixaun “xuan” Guo

Like Cloud9, T1 also participated in the SEA qualifier for the ESL One Los Angeles Major and just like Cloud9, they didn’t make it to the end. Losing to IO Dota in the finals shattered T1’s dreams of making it to their first Major. Next, the team tried to qualify for the ESL SEA Championship, recently announced by ESL as a regional format for the best teams. In the first qualifier, T1 lost to Trust Gaming, and in the second, the team lost to Army Geniuses. We last saw the squad at the ONE Esports Dota 2 Invitational in Jakarta: Indonesia qualifier, where T1 lost to Team Oracle.

T1 had a tough time in their first couple of tries, but they are showing more success than Cloud9 so far. In due time, we’ll see if the organization’s fame from League of Legends will translate well to Dota 2.

CR4ZY

CR4ZY is a Croatian Esports organization formerly known as Valiance & Co. The organization, which mainly celebrates victories with their CS:GO team, recently sold their squad to c0ntact Gaming and acquired a brand new squad. Their Dota 2 team was announced on March 3:

• Oliver “Skiter” Lepko
• Jonathan “Bryle” Santos De Guia
• Maurice “KheZu” Gutmann
• Kurtis “Aui_2000” Ling
• David “MoonMeander” Tan

Unlike the other two organizations on this list, CR4ZY has signed an existing team, those of Fighting PandaS. The team released a video that makes it clear that their goal for the – Season is to make it into The Internationale.

So far, the team has only participated in one event: StarLadder ImbaTV Dota 2 Minor – Season 3. CR4ZY finished in 5th-6th place and received $24,000 in prize money. However, they were not able to improve further as the Chinese team Aster qualified for the ESL One Los Angeles Major. All three teams (Cloud9, T1, CR4ZY) tried to qualify for the ESL One LA Major and all failed. Eventually, the event itself was cancelled due to the Coronavirus outbreak.

Valve Corporation recently announced that there will be some really big changes in the pro scene next – Season . Just to name a few: Smaller events will no longer exist, while each region will get its own pro league, similar to what we’ve seen in China, but this time it will be part of the official Dota Pro Circuit. The emerging regional leagues are especially important for the development of the pro scene. As an added bonus, it is expected that many more organizations will try to find their way into Dota 2, as the new system promises long-term sustainability and a bit more security.

And speaking of security, the Dota 2 Esports community hasn’t let Corona put them completely out of business, but is hosting their own online event: No Major No Problem. You have to be creative!

Overwatch

Overwatch is a computer game by Blizzard Entertainment (Diablo 3, World of Warcraft) and a first-person shooter with individual fantasy elements. The game was released in May 2016.

In Overwatch, the player must choose between 21 unique characters, which can be freely selected in a loosely held classification system (offensive and defensive class, support unit and tanks).

A character’s three to four different abilities can be controlled and activated through the mouse and keyboard. The game modes already vary from scoring points to cargo hauling. Team play is required in both modes, as each character takes on a specific role in the battlefield (e.g. heal teammates, provide backup, or secure defensive lines).

The name Overwatch derives itself from a fictional elite military unit that came together when robots tried to subjugate humanity in a near future. Individual characters are associated with this unit in the game, while others oppose it. It is not yet known whether the storyline will continue in multiplayer.

Brawl

Brawl is a game mode in which time-limited rule variations of the well-known modes are drawn. Sometimes completely new game modes are used in Brawls.

Rule variations include, for example, the restriction to certain heroes or classes, changes to the cool-down times or certain cards. New game modes that have been playable so far include a soccer game and a PvE mode.

Usually, Brawls are restarted as Brawl of the Week every Tuesday at 22:00 UTC and are then playable for a week. On certain occasions, such as – Season al events, Brawls may also be playable for a longer or shorter period of time.

The game mode is comparable to the card chaos from Hearthstone and was activated for the first time in the beta phase on March 22, 2016 through a patch.

Actions

• Arcade: More health, shorter skill and ultimate cooldowns, and faster resurrection after death.
• Girl Power: Female heroes only.
• Head’s Up!: McCree, Genji, Hanzo, and Widowmaker. Only head hits count.
• High Noon: High Noon on Route 66, only head hits with McCree count.
• Highly Offensive: Only offensive heroes. Limit is two of the same hero per team.
• Junkenstein’s Revenge: Soldier, Hanzo, Ana, Mc Cree only (1 each). The first co-op PVE mode in Overwatch. Part of the – Season al event Halloween Horror.
• Justice rains from Above: Only Mercy and Pharah playable.
• Moba Watch: Only unique heroes per team. No hero switching allowed.
• Mystery Heroes: Upon death, you will be resurrected as a randomly selected Hero.
• Overly Defensive: Only defensive heroes. Limit is two of the same hero per team.
• Show Your Support: Support Heroes only. The limit is two of the same Hero per team.
• Super Shimada Bros: Welcome to Hanamura. Only Hanzo and Genji are playable. Shorter skill cooldowns, longer ultimate cooldowns.
• Tanks A Lot: Tank heroes only. Limit is two of the same hero per team.
• The Good, the Bad and the Ugly: Only McCree, Reaper and Roadhog playable.
• We’re all Soldiers now: Only Soldier: 76 playable on control cards.
• Lucioball: Lucio only: Soccer mode, 3 vs 3.
• Yeti Hunt: Five meis against a yeti that has the characteristics of Winston.

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