As it currently stands, Evil Geniuses, complexity Gaming, The Dire, and Immortals will be the only North American representation at the next coming Minors and Majors. One to represent each qualifier, and EG gets an extra in way of invitation. This leaves out top teams like Digital Chaos and VGJ.Storm from playing at circuit events.
Overall the region has been looking strong. In the first round of invitations NA was only able to secure one, with the rest going to EU and CN. That at least means NA rates higher than CIS, SEA, and SA, who all didn’t receive an invite.
Based on win-rates, results, general opinion of those who organize the invitations to minors and majors, EG is top of the scene. Having only played 18 games in the new 2017/2018 Pro Circuit, they’re toting a whopping 0.722 win-rate, flawlessly qualifying for the first Major of the year with 7-0 score. You’ll be able to watch EG compete at both the ESL One Hamburg 2017 Major and PGL Open Bucharest Minor.
Closely behind the former TI champions, we find complexity Gaming, having returned to an old roster and thriving in this highly competitive environment. Having placed third at their first three qualifiers, they managed an 8-1 run through the StarLadder i-League Invitational. They currently hold a 0.676 win-rate in the Pro Circuit for 2017/2018.
Another one of our NA qualifier winners, the Dire, is the most anticipated team of the season. The team came out to an explosive start, qualifying through King’s Cup for DOTA Summit 8 and earned a 0.660 win-rate and the most games of any team in the region at 47. This means more than 36% of all NA qualifiers games were versus The Dire.
Digital Chaos, the only team in this ranking yet to have qualified for a Major or Minor this Pro Circuit season is the last team in the region to show a win-rate higher than 0.6 at 0.618. They aren’t standing out much statistically, and are probably the poorest performers in comparison to expectations (except for maybe EG losing to Team Leviathan). Luckily for us, we’ll see them compete in DreamLeague Season 8 North American Qualifier along side EG and The Dire.
The last team to fit into our exclusive top tier category is Immortals, better known as team Korea or team Phoenix. Having won their way to PGL Open Burcharest, managed to secure a win rate of 0.565, but I would have to bet they would rank higher, possibly rate in the top 3, had they participated in King’s Cup as originally hoped after Iceberg Esports departure.
Other honorable mentions include VGJ.Storm holding an early lead in King’s Cup, and Team Leviathan for defeating Evil Geniuses in the StarLadder qualifier.
Article originally from omwproductions.com.