More than half of the events in the current Dota 2 Pro Circuit season have been completed. This means that the competition for spots at The International 8 is getting intense.
Only the top eight teams with the most points will secure guaranteed places at TI8. Every point matters at this stage, especially for those below the top four.
Reviewing the Points Table
With the recent conclusion of ESL One Katowice, it’s the perfect time to review the points table and the performance of the top eight teams and those below them.
Commanding Leads
Virtus Pro, Team Secret, and Team Liquid are comfortably sitting in the top three positions. Team Liquid has nearly double the points of the team in second place, Vici Gaming. VP has won two out of the three Pro Circuit Majors so far, while Secret won the other one. Liquid has been performing well in the Minors.
These three teams are untouchable, except by each other. Their skill and talent, combined with their consistent performances, have put them at the top. It’s unlikely they will lose their status as the best in the world anytime soon.
Special mention goes to Vladimir “RodjER” Nikogosyan, who gained a remarkable 840 points after just one tournament with VP. He performed exceptionally well at ESL One Katowice without relying too much on his teammates.
Top Eight Standings:
– Virtus Pro: 4947 points (ESL One Hamburg, ESL One Katowice)
– Team Secret: 4260 points (DreamLeague Season 8, Captains Draft 4.0)
– Team Liquid: 4185 points (SL i-League Invitational Season 3, AMD SAPPHIRE Dota PIT League, SL i-League Invitational Season 4)
Solid Performances
The middle spots in the leaderboard belong to Vici Gaming, Newbee, and Natus Vincere. Vici Gaming has been doing well, despite not being considered one of the strongest teams after TI7. Zhang “Paparazi” Chengjun and Zeng “Ori” Jiaoyang have played a major role in their success.
Newbee, after securing second place at TI7, has been taking part in various tournaments to improve their standings. Winning the Perfect World Masters and ESL One Genting has boosted them to fifth place.
Natus Vincere is an outlier in this group with a lower average of points. The addition of Ilya “Lil” Ilyuk, who transferred from Virtus Pro, contributed to their current position. However, their performances prior to the acquisition were unimpressive.
Standings:
– Vici Gaming: 2160 points
– Newbee: 1725 points (Perfect World Masters, ESL One Genting)
– Natus Vincere: 1109 points
Hanging on by a Thread
Teams in ninth and tenth place, Mineski and Evil Geniuses, are trying their best to avoid dropping below the cutoff or break into the top eight. Mineski had a good start in the season but has been struggling to add more points to their total.
Evil Geniuses, despite occasional displays of strength, such as eliminating Newbee from ESL One Katowice, has been facing internal issues.
OG and Fnatic are in close competition, with only 16 points between them. OG has the potential to close the gap and Fnatic’s third-place finish at Katowice shows their potential.
Standings:
– Mineski: 900 points (PGL Open Bucharest)
– Evil Geniuses: 885 points
– OG: 630 points
– Fnatic: 614 points
Full Standings
For the full Pro Circuit standings, you can visit the Dota 2 website.
Dota 2, Pro Circuit, The International 8, points table, top eight teams, Virtus Pro, Team Secret, Team Liquid, Vici Gaming, Newbee, Natus Vincere, Mineski, Evil Geniuses, OG, Fnatic