ESL Berlin Group Stage Unveiled

ESL, the tournament organization for the Summer Major in Berlin, unveiled the Berlin group stage seeds on their Twitter page. Unlike the previous Spring Major in Peru, there is no information on how the seedings were made. However, the arrangements on the teams made for an interesting kind of high-stakes professional Dota. Group stages will see two teams at the bottom of their respective groups eliminated from the Major. 

Gaimin Gladiators vs. Team Liquid in Berlin Group Stage A

The announcement brings us the 18 teams in both groups right away. Some members of the community are quick to catch Team Liquid and Gaimin Gladiators in group A. Alongside the likes of BetBoom, Team Aster, and LGD, some say group A is the death group. Meanwhile, group B boasts the top-heavy side of NA, SA, and SEA regions. 

Berlin offers plenty of storylines to follow for the fans. First is the EG and Beastcoast rivalry from the regional leagues and the Lima Major. Second is team OG competing with a stand-in Offlaner and Hard Support in MC and Kitrak. Third would be this era’s el classico between Team Liquid and Gaimin Gladiators.

Another storyline would be Tundra Esports, proving they are not a one-patch team. With the 7.33 update, teams are hard at work in theory crafting and practice. Most of the teams competing in ESL Berlin competed in DreamLeague 19, organized by ESL as well. The ending saw defending Major champions Gaimin Gladiators take it all.

This major will also answer whether the Chinese DPC deserves its four slots. In the eyes of many observers, China’s quality of Dota diminished in the past months. LGD, China’s front-runner, together with the three other qualified teams, look to disprove and place high. Also in this major are ex-Hellraisers, now picked up by Serbian Organization 9Pandas.