The developmental squads for two of the top Dota 2 teams in the world are playing in the big leagues now. OG.Seed and VP.Prodigy will compete in the WePlay! Pushka League, the organizer announced today.
Both teams dominated their short closed qualifier runs and will now be competing against 12 other squads in a regional bout for $250,000.
The Pushka League will begin on April 23 and run until May 13. The event will feature two divisions made up of a grand total of 22 teams split between the two of them. Division One hosts all of the top teams from each region, while the lower division is a way for strong teams, like Vikin.gg, to test themselves and try to qualify for the eventual Pushka League Season Two.
In Division One, the group stage is split between CIS and Europe. The bottom three teams will be eliminated from the tournament and the lowest-placing team in each region will be relegated to Pushka League Division Two for the next season. Meanwhile, the top two teams in the current Division Two will be promoted to the upper division next season.
Here are the teams competing for the $250,000 prize pool in each region.
Europe CIS
Nigma Natus Vincere
Team Secret Virtus Pro
OG B8
Team Liquid HellRaisers
Alliance FlyToMoon (replacing Gambit Esports)
Ninjas in Pyjamas Team Spirit
OG.Seed (EU qualifier) VP.Prodigy (CIS qualifier)
As of now, VP and OG are going to be the early favorites depending on OG’s stand-in situation, while Secret, Alliance, and Nigma will be close behind them. The EU bracket is completely stacked, so don’t be surprised if you see two strong teams relegated next season due to major upsets.
Matches begin at 6am CT on April 23, with Na’Vi and HellRaisers kicking off the first day of competition.