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Dota 2: WePlay! Bukovel Minor – China, SEA, CIS and Europe Attendees

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Dota 2: WePlay! Bukovel Minor – China, SEA, CIS and Europe Attendees

Our attendees from the rest of our regions are now confirmed, we can expect to see RNGU, Geek Fam, Gambit and Nigma.

This last week was full of Dota 2 action, as teams were battling out to claim the slots for DreamLeague Season 13, a.k.a the Leipzig Major. In the end, the usual suspects (with a few exceptions) were able to win the qualifiers.

However, those that won’t be going to Germany now have the chance to win their place in the WePlay! Bukovel Minor. The $300K USD tournament will take place in Ukraine, starting from the 9th of January.

Now that some regions are ready, let’s take a look and see which teams will be going to Bukovel.

China

One of the strongest Dota 2 regions will be represented by Royal Never Give Up. This was expected because this team did very well in the Major qualifier, even though they got eliminated after a series of mistakes. Luckily, Du “Monet” Peng was able to snatch the victory after a very stellar performance.

In fact, RNGU lost two games in all four matches and nearly lost. With their back against the wall, the Chinese powerhouse suddenly “woke up” and ripped through their competition three matches in a row, without dropping a single game.

Their last challenge was CDEC, where they also played very well until their match. Unfortunately for them, RNGU was way too motivated and got a 3-0 victory. Nevertheless, CDEC showed their prowess, especially in game three where they were defending their high-ground heroicly against the deadly pushing draft of RNGU. Despite that, they eventually ran out of buybacks and had no other choice but to call GG.

Southeast Asia

After being underrated for so many years, SEA is now one of the most interesting Dota 2 regions. There are many great teams here, such as Fnatic and TNC. But now one more name joins this list: Geek Fam. Carlo “Kuku” Palad and his squad won the Minor qualifiers without dropping a single game.

We can’t say we are surprised by this result because this team is very strong. In fact, we expected them to qualify for the Lepzing Major, but after a series of unfortunate results, they finished third in their group.

Unlike the first two series today, the Grand Final against Cignal Ultra was amazing to watch. Every single game was very close and could go in either teams' favor. This is especially true for game three, where Cignal Ultra had a massive lead. They tried to use it this lead to secure mega creeps but that didn’t happen. Instead, Kenny “Xepther” Deo and his Rubick shined bright in the last team fight after he stole Luna’s Eclipse. This completely shifted the balance of power as Geek Fam eliminated their enemies.

CIS

After Virtus.Pro did their roster changes a couple of months ago, the CIS Dota 2 scene has been absolutely mad. Every single series is a joy to watch because you never know what will happen.

Having said that, VP and Natus Vincere played exceptionally in the last couple of days. As a result, both of them qualified for the Major, which means that the likes of Gambit and Team Spirit had to fight for the two slots leading to the WePlay! Bukovel Minor.

The first CIS team that secured its spot there is Gambit. They had absolutely no problems against their enemies in both series. Actually, their longest game in both series was just 37 minutes, which is a clear sign of Gambit’s class. Its no wonder people think that they will be one of the biggest favorites at this Minor.

After Gambit, the second team that qualified is Team Spirit. However, their run was definitely not a walk in the park. They had to go through hell and back after suffering a loss against Gambit. This pushed them into the Lower Bracket were they had to play five hard games against HellRaisers.

Europe

Last, but definitely not least, we have the European powerhouse Nigma. The ex-Team Liquid squad decided to return to the professional Dota 2 scene after taking a long break since TI 9. Unfortunately, things didn’t go as planned for them after suffering a series of losses in the qualifiers. As a result, they were unable to secure their slot for the Leipzig Major.Luckily, Kuro “KuroKy” Salehi Takhasomi managed to win the Minor qualifiers. However, even this win wasn’t easy as Nigma lost to Vikin.gg and had to go through the Lower Bracket.

In the end, they met Vikin.gg for a second time in the Grand Finals. After three very intense games, the TI 7 champions delivered their knock-out punch and will be going to Bukovel.

Dota 2: WePlay! Bukovel Minor – China, SEA, CIS and Europe Attendees
Zlosterr
Zlosterr has been a fan of esports for many years and mainly focuses on Dota 2. He has more than five years of experience writing Dota 2 content for numerous platforms. Besides being a passionate fan of the game, he's also played for various amateur teams.