Europe East is wrapping up season 1 of its 2022 Dota Pro Circuit with regional finals taking place from February 18 to 20. This gives us three days of matches between the best teams of the region, with one being crowned the season 1 champion.
These regional finals come in as a replacement to the season 1 major, which was canceled by developer Valve due to coronavirus concerns. Instead of the international event, we see regional finals in each region, giving us one extra opportunity to get some matches – and bets – in for season 1.
Before we get into the event, make sure to familiarize yourself with all things Dota 2, and let’s dive right in.
Find the best esports lines and odds over at our top esports book, Sportsbook:
Who’s Playing At The Dota Pro Circuit Europe East Regional Finals?
We’ll see just four teams competing at the regional finals: Team Spirit, PuckChamp, Virtus.pro and HellRaisers. These are the teams that placed in the top four of the regular season and they’re now given the chance to earn some extra DPC points, a share of the $100,000 prize pool and, of course, the season 1 title.
Each match will be of the utmost importance here, as every single DPC point is incredibly valuable. Teams earn a spot at Dota 2’s world championship event, The International, by gathering these points over the year and the more you have, the higher your chance to make it.
The event itself is short and sweet, played in a double-elimination format. Teams are first seeded based on regular-season results, then play best-of-three matches up until a best-of-five final. The format means that teams are eliminated after two series losses and the last team standing wins.
| Team | Odds |
|---|---|
| Team Spirit | -139 |
| Virtus.pro | +275 |
| PuckChamp | +400 |
| HellRaisers | +1400 |
Odds as of January 30 at Sportsbook
Team Spirit Looks To Continue Dota Dominance
Team Spirit is definitely the team to watch at the regional finals. They come in hot off a win at The International 10 as well as a nearly flawless run in the regular season.
The reigning world champions finished top of the regular season, dropping only one map in 15 games and going undefeated in series. It would seem that there really isn’t any team that can match them in their region and the odds point at just that with -139 on Sportsbook representing odds of 58.16 percent, according to our Super Calculator.
Honestly, considering the team’s recent success and the regular season, these odds seem like a bit of a steal. It’s very difficult to see any of their competitors taking a map off of Spirit, never mind defeating them in a series.
While Spirit has been the dominant team of the season, PuckChamp has created an interesting storyline of their own. Originally coming in as one of the favorites for regulation, they’ve had an incredibly strong season, taking second place in fairly dominant fashion.
PuckChamp has lost just one series this season (unsurprisingly to Sportsbook favorites Team Spirit), taking down some of the biggest names in Dota 2 like Virtus.pro and Natus Vincere.
They’ve managed to pull off a truly impressive underdog run and are a good candidate to make it to the grand finals at this event. However, they’ll face the challenge of having to take down one of the best in the world, Spirit, to win it all, which may be a step too far for these plucky underdogs.
What Can We Expect From An Incomplete Virtus.pro And A Drab HellRaisers?
Our last two teams are a bit uninspiring to say the least. Virtus.pro is a top side in Dota 2 but has been forced to field a substitute for the entire season. HellRaisers, meanwhile, are just the best of the rest this season – not really seeming like a threat to either of the top two teams.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem like we should expect much from either at the regional finals. Virtus.pro was handily dealt with by both Spirit and PuckChamp in the regular season, and with a substitute playing, it’s hard to blame them. Fielding an incomplete roster is never easy.
HellRaisers, meanwhile, have been completely destroyed by all three of their opponents. PuckChamp and Spirit both easily swept them aside and their match against Virtus.pro was one of the most one-sided in Dota history. They were absolutely demolished by VP in two 25-minute games – a very rare occurrence as most Dota matches take at least 30 to 40 minutes.
So, overall, with Virtus.pro having a sub and HellRaisers simply being a level below, we’re most likely in for a two-horse race at the Europe East regional finals.
