Mineski enjoyed a relatively successful 2018/19 season with the roster that consisted of Nikolay “Nikobaby” Nikolov, Kam “Moon” Boon Seng, Ryan “Bimbo” Jay Qui, Michael “ninjaboogie” Ross Jr. and Damien “kpii” Chok.
As far as their performances throughout 2018/19 DPC season are concerned, Mineski did not shock anyone, with an 18th-place finish on DPC standings, which unfortunately, was not enough for them to qualify for The International for the second year in a row.
That being said, Mineski did get one last chance to prove themselves and qualify for the most prestigious Dota 2 event of the year via Southeast Asia Qualifiers. The Filipino outfit grabbed the opportunity with both hands, pushed through the tedious qualifiers and went on to defeat Team Jinesbrus (3-2) in the grand finals to claim the final ticket for TI9.
There they performed admirably well, got out of the group stage, and even defeated NaVi (1-0) in round one of lower bracket to enter round two, only to suffer a painful 1-2 defeat at the hands of the eventual finalists Team Secret, who ended Mineski’s TI run at ninth-12th place.
Their fairytale, however, ended soon after TI9 came to a close, when one after another all five of their players announced their departure from the team.
First to leave were Bimbo and Nikobaby, who both went on to Twitter to post a message stating “LFT” (looking for a team), whereas Ninjaboogie took his time to write a Facebook post, thanking the fans and revealing, he as well will be leaving the team.
https://www.facebook.com/ninjaboogiee/
Ninjaboogie, Bimbo and Nikobaby left the team on August 28, 2019 and are as of today still looking for a new team, except Ninjaboogie, who rumoured to join a newly formed Dota 2 team. Moon and Kpii, who left Mineski a couple of weeks later, however, already found new homes in Fnatic (Moon) and TNC Predator (Kpii).
As of now, there are no news nor rumours about which players will wear Mineski jersey in 2019/20 DPC season, however, the organization already revealed they have “candidates on trial”.
Which five players will prove themselves in the trials and will get a chance to represent Mineski is expected to be revealed in the upcoming week, seeing how the qualifiers for the first Dota 2 Major are set to kick off on October 5, 2019.
]]>After losing in the upper bracket at the MDL Disneyland Paris Major, Virtus.pro now take on Mineski in a best-of-three series which promises to provide some fireworks.
The best CIS team finished top of Group A despite failing to beat Beastcoast with Broodmother in game two.
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Virtus still dominated the group by taking down Beastcoast and Team Liquid and tried out plenty of core heroes in the draft, with Troll Warlord and Doom among their favourites.
They also showed the other participants that they are comfortable with Drow Ranger��s strategy together with Storm Spirit as position two, as per the second game against Team Liquid.
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Even when Liquid drafted Drow Ranger as well, Virtus still came out on top.
They could not get past OG, however, and must now take the long route towards the finals.
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Mineski never stood a chance of finishing top two in Group C, where Vici Gaming and PSG.LGD romped into the upper bracket.
The Southeast Asian side experimented with several heroes in the group stage, but LGD had all the answers and countered Mepoo��s play perfectly with Somnus��s Storm Spirit in the laning phase.
Mepoo will not work against such a formidable squad as Virtus.pro, who will be well aware that Mineski spammed this hero twice in the group stage.
Virtus.pro vs Mineski betting prediction
We give Virtus.pro a 70 per cent chance to win this match-up in a clean sweep.
This is a high-class team that has eyes for a top-eight finish despite slipping from the upper bracket.
Virtus.pro to win 2-0 – $1.66 at GG Bet
]]>After surviving an elimination match against Natus Vincere two days ago, J.Storm must now face Mineski in the Lower Bracket of DreamLeague Season 11.
Different from the previous one-off match, this is a best-of-three series.
J.Storm��s performances at Stockholm have not set the world alight, as they have only one win from five games played.
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That victory was an important one, however, as it gives them a chance to progress in the lower half of the draw.
J.Storm did their homework on Natus Vincere, banning Oracle at the first opportunity and also securing Nyx Assassin in case they had to face Medusa.
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The draft went as expected and the North American team used Nyx Assassin to burn the mana of Medusa and Spiked Carapace to stun and distract Leshrac in the team fight.
Mineski, as one of the top contestants in Group C, played a total of nine games in the group stage.
They have displayed a versatility of heroes in every role and showed real quality when they took a game off Virtus Pro in the first round of the Upper Bracket.
Mineski vs J.Storm betting predictions
Although J.Storm have proven to be canny drafters, we give Mineski a 60 per cent chance of winning this match-up.
Back them to go through at $1.50 odds with GG Bet.
]]>They are, without a shadow of a doubt, the strongest team in Group C at the DreamLeague Stockholm Major.
EHOME have performed well since Faith_bian and EGO joined the team, accumulating 900 DPC points from the Chongqing Major and climbing to eighth in the Dota Pro Circuit standings.
However, they were only able to retain 80 per cent of their points after releasing EGO in February and bringing in END to play at position one.
The bad news did not stop there, as Faith_bian left the team earlier this month.
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EHOME now have XinQ (on loan from Team Serenity) at position three and have to build their squad synergy all over again.
Mineski qualified from Southeast Asia and have yet to join any event by earning DPC points in season 2018-19.
Although considered one of the strongest teams in the SEA region, they have a long way to go before they can match it with the best on the global stage.
Forward Gaming have gained only 225 DPC points this season despite playing both the Kuala Lumpur Major and the Chongqing Major.
They were disappointing in both tournaments, placing 13-16th in Chongqing and 9th-12th in KL, and have made no improvements since finalising their squad in September last year.
DreamLeague Stockholm Major title odds
$5.00 – Virtus Pro
$21.00 – EHOME
$34.00 – Forward Gaming
$34.00 – Mineski
Group C betting predictions
Virtus Pro are the team to beat, while Mineski have a decent chance to take the second slot because EHOME’s latest squad is less than two weeks old and untested in professional play. If EHOME gel well enough, Forward Gaming will finish bottom of the group.
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Teams at ESL One Birmingham
Participants and competitive format ESL One Birmingham 2018 brings together 12 teams from a total of six regions:
North America: OpTic Gaming, Evil Geniuses
South America: paiN Gaming
Europe: Team Liquid, OG
CIS: Team Spirit, Virtus.pro
China: LGD.Forever Young, Newbee
Southeast Asia: Fnatic, Mineski
Tournament format
For the group stage, the teams will be divided into three groups of four:
Group A
? Evil Geniuses
? Fnatic
? Virtus.pro
? Team Spirit
Group B
? OG
? paiN Gaming
? Team Liquid
? Vici Gaming
Group C
? OpTic Gaming
? LGD.Forever Young
? Mineski
? Newbee
Each of these groups will be played in a double-elimination bracket format (GSL). The third- and fourth-placed teams from every group are eliminated. Second-placed teams advance to the quarter finals. First-placed teams play Bo1 matches against each other to decide who advances directly to the semi finals and who joins the remaining three teams in the quarters. The first- and second-placed teams of these three advance to the semis, while the other must play through the quarter finals.
ESL One prize money
Being a Major on the Dota 2 circuit, ESL One Birmingham 2018 offers not only prize money but qualification points as well. These rewards will be divided among participating teams in the following way:
1st place: 750 points; $500,000
2nd place: 450 points; $200,000
3rd place: 225 points; $100,000
4th place: 75 points; $60,000
5th-6th place: 0 points; $34,000
7th-9th place: 0 points; $16,000
10th-12th place: 0 points; $8,000
Teams to watch
Fnatic
Fnatic is one of those teams with a great roster, enormous potential and consistent results, except there��s one problem: these results are always slightly below what��s required to gain big qualification points for The International 2018 and climb faster in the Dota Pro Circuit rankings. Fnatic got many top four and top six finishes this season, but it still has problems against most of the top teams. The team should do enough to finish top six in Birmingham, but it is unlikely to climb any higher than fifth-sixth.
Vici Gaming
Vici Gaming finished third at the recent MDL Changsha Major. The Chinese team is currently sitting at number six in the Dota Pro Circuit rankings and has multiple top four finishes in DPC events this year, including four grand finals. These guys have to be considered an excellent chance to reach the semis.
Newbee
The TI 7 finalists have had a pretty rough season, but the team��s results have been good enough for a top eight placement within the Dota Pro Circuit rankings. Newbee is currently sitting at number seventh in this hierarchy with 2445 points. The team finished fourth at the recent MDL Changsha Major, proving that it��s still one of the world��s best.
Team Liquid
Team Liquid performs very well when there��s no pressure, so this tournament might just be the perfect opportunity to win another title. Liquid is already qualified for The International 2018, so this is just a rehearsal for the most awaited event of the year. The team is currently sitting at number three in the Dota Pro Circuit rankings with 6084 points, but KuroKy and his squad will surely want to prove to everyone that they��re capable of becoming the first team in the history of Dota to win two TIs. Given the group seedings and the level of opposition at ESL One, Team Liquid has a high chance of reaching the grand final.
Evil Geniuses
Evil Geniuses have a lot to play for at ESL One Birmingham 2018 and need a top three finish in order to climb back into the eight and secure a direct invite to The International. If they fail to do this, there is a very high chance we won��t see EG at TI8, simply because two of their regional opponents – VGJ.Storm and OpTic Gaming – are incredibly strong right now. EG��s best results this season were a title at GESC: Indonesia Dota2 Minor and a third-place finish at DreamLeague Season 8. It’s not very likely that EG will get a top four finish in Birmingham, but a top six should be within their reach.
OpTic Gaming
OpTic Gaming is the strongest underdog of this tournament and we��ve yet to see how much ppd and his teammates have improved since their title win at StarLadder ImbaTV Invitational Season 5. Given the group seedings and the level of competition at ESL One Birmingham 2018, it will be difficult for OpTic to get out of the group stage. Still, the team is led by a former TI champion and should be regarded as a strong contender that could produce big upsets.
Virtus.pro
Virtus.pro is another team that��s famous for performing well at big events and has already won two ESL One Majors this year. Solo and his teammates will probably experiment with original drafts and strategies at this tournament, so from a betting perspective it might be risky to take VP��s side in certain matches – especially against world-class opponents. Still, Virtus.pro is a top three contender for sure and should have a deep run at ESL One. Currently the number one team in the Dota Pro Circuit rankings, VP is expected to get a top four finish at this event.
Mineski
Although not that far from peak form, Mineski is still slightly weaker than the other top candidates. Currently sitting at number five in the Dota Pro Circuit rankings, the Southeast Asian team finished fifth-sixth at MDL Changsha Major after losing to Newbee. A similar outcome looms at ESL One Birmingham 2018.
Betting tips for ESL One group stage
Fnatic vs. Evil Geniuses
Wednesday, May 23 – 11am BST
This is a match between two teams of similar strength, but Fnatic has the upper hand. EG showed many signs of weakness in their last tournament and lost against multiple teams, including Fnatic. Both EG and Fnatic have everything to play for at ESL One Birmingham 2018, so this battle will no doubt be fierce. Betway puts the odds at $1.85 each, anticipating a close match in which anyone could win.
Betting prediction: Fnatic to win
Virtus.pro vs. Team Spirit
Wednesday, May 23 – 11am BST
The skill difference between these two sides is absolutely huge. Unless VP decides to go for a weird draft and just YOLO it, Solo and his squad should get a quick victory over Team Spirit. Betway has installed Virtus.pro as overwhelming $1.12 favorites, but even that price seems high considering the enormous likelihood of victory.
Betting prediction: Virtus.pro to win
Team Liquid vs. paiN Gaming
Wednesday, May 23 – 12:10pm BST
This is another match in which one of the teams is much stronger than the other. No doubt, paiN Gaming has improved a lot after w33��s transfer, but the squad is still light years away from Liquid in terms of overall strategy and team play. That is not even to mention the fact that Liquid has one of the strongest players in the world for each role. Betway puts the odds at $1.15 to $4.75 in favor of Team Liquid, giving you a 15 per cent profit for an almost certain result.
Betting prediction: Team Liquid to win
OG vs. Vici Gaming
Wednesday, May 23 – 12:10pm BST
OG had a short period of glory at MDL Changsha Major, defeating iG Vitality and even Mineski. However, the rest of the teams quickly realized what their strategy was and simply banned their favorite heroes. After that it was back to struggle town for the Europeans, who have had a rough season so far and clearly lack a set of coherent strategies that have been properly tested and implemented. Given Vici Gaming��s strength and versatility, it is hard to see OG having any chance whatsoever. Betway is paying $1.40 odds for Vici, which makes this easily the best betting opportunity for the first day of ESL One Birmingham 2018.
Betting prediction: Vici Gaming to win
OpTic Gaming vs. Newbee
Wednesday, May 23 – 1:20pm BST
This is perhaps the most balanced match on day one, taking place between two strong opponents that have excellent rosters and great team strategies. Both have formidable captains, but Newbee has a slight advantage in terms of experience and individual skill. It has also been performing quite well recently, which is why Betway is giving them a slight edge at $1.70 against OpTic’s $2.05 return.
Betting prediction: Newbee to win
Mineski vs. LGD.Forever Young
Wednesday, May 23 – 11pm BST
It has been a while since we’ve seen LGD.Forever Young on the big stage, so it��s a complete mystery what this team is capable of at this point. LFY qualified for this event by defeating Keen Gaming, VGJ.Thunder and Invictus Gaming in the Chinese qualifier, which suggests that it might be a fairly strong contender. And given Mineski��s rather mediocre form in recent weeks, this match is the perfect opportunity to have a crack at the underdog. Betway puts the odds at $1.45 to $2.55 in favor of Mineski, so there is plenty of value in tipping an upset.
Betting prediction: LGD. Forever Young to win
]]>Mineski has stunned the Dota 2 world with a win over heavy favourite LGD Gaming in the final on Saturday.
Except for Virtus.pro, the event had three outsiders in the top four, two of which played in the grand final.
If you��ve been following the Dota Pro Circuit this season, you might be asking yourself: how was this even possible? How did TNC Pro Team, LGD Gaming and Mineski climb all the way up to top 4 in a Major event attended by the best 16 teams in the world?
Here’s how:
DAC 2018 summary
DAC 2018 was full of surprises and many of the top contenders were eliminated much sooner than people expected. After the Group Stage, OG, Keen Gaming, Effect and paiN Gaming left the tournament. This had been anticipated, as all of these four teams were either in bad shape or too inexperienced to deal with the other participants.
Virtus.pro and Mineski dominated group B, finishing with a record of 7W �C 0L and 6W �C 1L respectively. In Group A, no less than 5 teams finished with a record of 4W �C 3L and had to play tiebreakers. During these tiebreakers, two unlikely underdogs (TNC and LGD) rose above everyone else and won the group, qualifying directly for the first round of upper bracket matches.
After the Group Stage, DAC 2018 had an unusual Breakout Stage in which 8 teams (3rd-6th from each group) had to fight for a place in the actual Playoffs. And it was during this phase that three top contenders got eliminated from the tournament: Team Secret, VGJ.Thunder and Newbee.
In the first round of upper bracket matches even more upsets occurred, as Virtus.pro and Evil Geniuses got sent to the lower bracket. Together with them, OpTic Gaming and TNC Pro Team were also thrown in the crocodiles�� pit.
From this point onward, Virtus.pro had a good run in the lower bracket, getting all the way to the lower bracket finals, which they lost against LGD Gaming. In the upper bracket, Mineski and LGD won their battles against Vici Gaming and Team Liquid respectively, qualifying for the upper bracket finals.
This last match was won by Mineski.
The grand final saw the Southeast Asian team take on LGD Gaming one more time. The match was much closer this time, but still ended with a victory in favor of Mineski.
The most obvious question after this tournament victory is ��how did Mineski make such a spectacular recovery, after vanishing from the spotlight many months ago?��. And the short answer to that question is Tang ��71�� Wenyi. The man who coached EHOME at the very first edition of The International, where EHOME finished in 2nd place, is now Mineski��s coach.
He��s been with the team for just 3 months and the results are already obvious. Based on this spectacular success, I��m pretty confident that we can expect more top placements from Mineski in the months to come.
Following this tournament, the Dota Pro Circuit rankings table has changed significantly and the new top eight teams are the following:
- Virtus.pro: 7872 points
- Team Liquid: 4734 points
- Team Secret: 4710 points
- Mineski: 3150 points
- Newbee: 2220 points
- Vici Gaming: 2160 points
- LGD Gaming: 1821 points
- VGJ.Thunder: 1665 points
Between March 29 and April 7 the best bookmakers will be offering you plenty of chances to put your esports knowledge to use. DAC 2018 is regarded as the most important tournament of the season with the exception of The International, so you can be sure that special attention will be given to this event by all of the top betting operators.
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Participating teams
Dota 2 Asia Championships 2018 will bring together 16 teams from all over the world:
- North America: OpTic Gaming, Evil Geniuses.
- South America: paiN Gaming.
- CIS: Effect, Virtus.pro.
- Southeast Asia: TNC Pro Team, Mineski.
- Europe: OG, Team Secret, Team Liquid.
- China: VGJ.Thunder, LGD Gaming, Vici Gaming, Newbee, Keen Gaming, Invictus Gaming.
Tournament format
Dota 2 Asia Championships 2018 will take place in 3 stages. In the Group Stage, the 16 teams will be divided into two separate groups.
Group A: Team Liquid, Newbee, LGD Gaming, Vici Gaming, TNC Pro Team, OG, OpTic Gaming, Keen Gaming.
Group B: Team Secret, Evil Geniuses, Virtus.pro, Invictus Gaming, Mineski, VGJ.Thunder, paiN Gaming, Effect.
One best-of-1 match will be played by each team against every other opponent from its group. At the end of this stage, four teams are eliminated (7th and 8th from each group), eight teams (3rd �C 6th) qualify for the Breakout Stage of the main event (which consists of four elimination matches played in a Bo3 format) and four teams (1st-2nd from each group) qualify for the first round of upper bracket matches.
After the Breakout Stage ends, the main event will be played in a GLS format (double-elimination bracket).
Prize distribution
Like all Major tournaments that belong to the Dota Pro Circuit, Dota 2 Asia Championships 2018 offers 1 million dollars in prizes and a total of 1500 qualification points for the next edition of The International. The event��s rewards will be divided among participating teams in the following way:
- 1st place: 750 points; $370,000.
- 2nd place: 450 points; $135,000.
- 3rd place: 225 points; $105,000.
- 4th place: 75 points; $85,000.
- 5th-6th place: 0 points; $67,500.
- 7th-8th place: 0 points; $35,000.
- 9th-12th place: 0 points; $15,000.
- 13th-16th place: 0 points; $10,000.
Dota 2 Asia Championships betting predictions
Mineski vs. paiN Gaming
After their 2nd place finish at StarLadder i-League Invitational Season 3 and 1st place finish at PGL Open Bucharest, Mineski��s results dropped like a rock and the team disappeared from the spotlight for a few months. Then it resurfaced with top 4 finishes at two other Minors (StarLadder i-League Invitational Season 4 and Captains Draft 4.0) but in the last 2 months, Mineski has had a disappointing run.
Still, in spite of all this, the Southeast Asian team is much stronger and has a much better record in Dota Pro Circuit events than paiN Gaming, who always seems to get eliminated first, no matter what the tournament is. The South Americans�� only remarkable result this season was their 2nd place finish at World Electronic Sports Games. However, that kind of performance is irrelevant when considering Dota Pro Circuit events, simply because WESG did not bring together the typical world class Dota 2 teams, but rather a bunch of made-up teams. That��s because of the tournament��s fundamental rule: only teams with players of just one nationality were allowed to enter the event.
Odds analysis: Bovada puts the odds at -275 / +180 or around 1.36 �C 2.80 in favor of Mineski and at these odds, a bet on Mineski is definitely worthwhile.
Best bet: Mineski to win $1.36 with GG Bet
OG vs. Keen Gaming
With just two notable results in the last 6 months (5th-6th place at ESL One Hamburg 2017 and 5th-8th place at World Electronic Sports Games), Keen Gaming is an outsider to the world of big Dota and has a mountain to climb if it wants to be competitive against most opponents in this tournament.
OG is not exactly in good shape right now. In fact, quite the opposite. However, the Europeans still have a lot more experience and much better results over the past 6 months, which indicates that they��re more likely to win this match against Keen Gaming.
Odds analysis: Bovada puts the odds at -200 / +135 or around 1.50 �C 2.35 in favor of OG and the reason why these odds are so high on OG��s side is because they recently said farewell to their carry player, Resolut1on, after a series of poor results. At these odds, betting on OG would be a a wise decision.
Best bet: OG to win $1.50 with GG Bet
TNC Pro Team vs. OpTic Gaming
Both of these teams had a number of notable results this season. TNC won China Top 2017, placed second at MDL Macau and had three other LAN event participations: Galaxy Battles II: Emerging Worlds (5th �C 6th), ESL One Genting 2018 (9th �C 12th), and The Bucharest Major (5th �C 8th). OpTic, on the other hand, took part in five tournaments: Midas Mode �C North America (1st), ROG MASTERS 2017 (2nd), DOTA Summit 8 (6th-7th), ESL One Katowice 2018 (9th-12th), The Bucharest Major (5th-8th).
The last direct match between these two teams (at The Bucharest Major) was won by TNC. The Southeast Asian team is considered to be the favorite this time again, although OpTic Gaming has shown obvious signs of strength recently, by defeating Evil Geniuses (the GESC: Indonesia champions) in the NA qualifiers for MDL Changsha.
Odds analysis: Bovada puts the odds at -160 / +110 or around 1.63 �C 2.10 in favor of TNC, but the chance of an upset is very high. As a result, betting on the underdog would probably be a better idea.
Best bet: OpTic Gaming to win $2.10 with GG Bet
How to bet on the Dota 2 Asia Championship
Dota 2 Asia Championships 2018 offers a lot more matches and betting opportunities besides the ones presented above. To find out more about them, check out our guide to the best esports betting sites and visit our partners�� websites. Also, keep in mind that the top contenders for winning this tournament are Virtus.pro, Team Secret, Team Liquid, VGJ.Thunder and Evil Geniuses. It��s very likely that these teams won��t be defeated in matches until they start encountering each other.
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