2018-2019 DotA 2 Changes

This season, Valve has made some changes that were well-received by the community. One of them is the removal of the blocking process since there is no particular date to lock a roster. Teams can now make changes to their roster at any point of the season without risking to get disqualified from a competition. However, Valve has introduced some penalties. The reason for doing so is to protect the player as well as the teams. The penalties include deduction of a certain percentage of points with the lowest penalty being 20% deduction while the highest is 40% deduction of the earned points.

Another rule is regarding several teams of a single organization.

This year, we saw three teams at TI: VGJ.Storm, VGJ.Thunder, and Vici Gaming that are all owned by one organization. But Valve has announced that one organization can play with one team only at TI from now on. One organization can enroll multiple teams in the DPC. However, if two teams manage to qualify for TI then only one team will be permitted to proceed.

Ninjas in Pyjamas is Back

Ninjas in Pyjamas had a DotA 2 line-up 2 years ago. However, they weren’t very successful and had to let it go. Now they seem too interested in the new season and have recruited a five-star roster:

• Marcus “Ace” Hoelgaard
• Adrian “Fata” Trinks
• Neta “33” Shapira
• Martin “Saksa” Sazdov
• Peter “ppd” Dager

Not long after the announcement of a new roster Ninjas in Pyjamas received an invitation to the ESL One Hamburg 2018. Twelve teams will participate in the tournament with eight of them being directly invited while four more will be determined in regional qualifications in Europe, America, China, and South-East Asia. The organizers also invited Virtus.Pro, Team Secret, Evil Geniuses, and Mineski.

First bootcamp with our @DOTA2 was great! We are very happy with our performance in The Kuala Lumpur Major EU Qualifier.

We are looking forward to @ESL One Hamburg! 😍
📅 23.10 – 28.10

P.S. Time for a small giveaway? 👀 @betwaydota2 pic.twitter.com/bauCJrA6Fo

— Ninjas in Pyjamas 🇸🇪 (@NiPGaming) 25. September 2018

ESL One Hamburg 2018 will not be a major or minor. The tournament will be held from October 23rd to October 28th, featuring a $300,000 prize pool.

So, it looks like NiP is ready to make a big name for themselves this season. They certainly have the right team and talent to show a good fight this time.

Another team to keep an eye on this season is CompLexity Gaming. It includes one of the most unpredictable players, Jacky “EternaLEnVy” Mao who will be playing the role of a position five support.