Top Five Dota Teams at ESL One Hamburg 2018 | Gaming News

The much awaited ESL One Hamburg 2018 that took place in Germany, where the top twelve teams went head to head in the battle to hopefully win the competition. The competition was victoriously won by Team Secret who took home a whopping first prize of $125K.

What is interesting is the gaming journey that each squad have gone through to be where they are today. Over the past few months, each unit made a name for themselves in the esports scene, garnering fans from around the world who share their love and support. Other gaming fans who could not travel, followed the online live streamed tournament ESL One Hamburg 2018 on Twitch, or YouTube while placing their best dota bets to predict the results of matches.

Here are the Dota 2 teams that placed in the top five at ESL One Hamburg 2018 competition.

5. Evil Geniuses

The North American professional team, Evil Geniuses are known worldwide as one of the most successful units in the esports scene. They are a squad that have won several prestigious dota events, one of which has gone down in esports history as the winners of The International 5. Over the years, the squad has become fan favourites at many esports tournaments.

Over the past few years, EG did not see much improvement in results at tournaments nor rankings, so rosters changes had to be made. Saahil ‘UniVeRsE' Arora was the first to be released from the active roster which was eventually filled by Rasmus ‘Misery' Filipsen and this change shook up the roles within the team. However, after another seven months, Clinton ‘Fear' Loomis retired from competitive gaming and MiSeRy was dismissed from the team. Replacing them were top players, Gustav “s4” Magnusson and Tal “Fly” Aizik who previously played for Team OG.

EG's first competition with the new active lineup was the China Supermajor held last June. With less than a week for the event, there was not enough time to get to know the players or practice well enough. However, they achieved their expectations finishing in twelfth place. Their gaming experience and skills tested at the Dota Summit 9, the squad went through to the finals, EG outplayed Fnatic 3-0, taking the title.

With more time to practice and drive to win for TI8, the team performed their best at the qualifying matches beating Backstabbers and Immortals for their spot at The International. A renewed motivation brewed in the Evil Geniuses under the Fly's leadership, with their powerful teamwork and communication, they managed to place third. A sign that EG still has what it takes to be the world's top dota team where each player played an important role to finish in fifth place at ESL One Hamburg 2018.

4. PaiN Gaming

The South American dota team, PaiN Gaming have managed to rank among the top five over the past year. Their struggle and performance in matches have led the unit to take on a risky roster change last April by signing on Aliwi ‘w33‘ Omar. The switch proved to be what the team needed to improve their results and rankings. The squad won the qualifying match of ESL One Birmingham 2018 to reach the Semi-finals finishing in third place, taking home, a fantastic $100K.

The well-renowned player and captain of his previous team Evil Geniuses, Rasmus ‘Misery' Filipsen joined Pain Gaming as their coach in time to practice for The International 2018. Unfortunately, the dota unit got eliminated early in the Group Stage of TI8. The players needed more time to bond and are now looking up to Misery to bring out the best gaming skills of the squad.

Pain Gaming won the South America qualifier matches of The Kuala Lumpur Major held this November 2018. Their practice certainly paid off big time beating PaiN X with a remarkable score of 2-0. Full of hope, the Pain Gaming team played their outstanding gameplays that South America had to offer in the new Dota 2 season. The professional unit have all the tools the squad needs, together with Misery's coaching to bring out the best skills in the team.

Pain Gaming is known for their unpredictable strategies however, they struggled against Secret who managed to counter their every move. Seventeen minutes into the Lower Brackets Round three in the first game seemed hard to recuperate losses. In the second match, Pain Gaming implemented a different tactic but it was not enough against the might of Team Secret who won the game with a sweeping 2-0 score. All future bets on dota 2 were off when Pain Gaming was eliminated, finishing in fourth place.

3. Virtus.Pro

The Russian team, Virtus. Pro has been unstoppable over the years, building up a reputation of being one of the best dota 2 teams in the world. The squad is famous for the mechanics, versatility and adapting to different kinds of situations that make them a dangerous contender. Some of VP's accomplishments include ESL One Hamburg 2017, Dota Summit 8 and ESL One Katowice.

Another tournament worth mentioning is The Bucharest Major adding on more dota pro circuit points for a spot at The International. Virtus. Pro managed to progress to the Finals defeating VGJ. Thunder with an unbeatable 3-0 sweep, showing all esports fans why they should be in the top rankings.

While Virtus. Pro player Pavel ‘9pasha' Khvastunov is on his wedding honeymoon; the squad brought in a stand-in gamer ‘ferzee' to compete in The Kuala Lumpur major qualifying matches. Although the team roster changed, VP took first place in the qualifiers.

Virtus. Pro has recently participated at the Dota 2 minor tournament, Maincast Autumn Brawl that proved their remarkable capabilities. The dota squad dominated the event reaching the Finals, defeating the brand new team, NoPangolier with a record 3-0. Even though the virtuous dota players were struggling in some instances, they proved to be a mighty team.

The Russian squad reigned at the ESL One Hamburg 2017, however, they failed to defend their title this year. Having won four Majors in the last season, it was a disappointing result for Virtus. Pro at ESL One Hamburg. After failing to win the Upper Bracket Finals against Vici Gaming, they proceeded to the Lower Brackets facing an even stronger squad, Team Secret. The first game ended after 40 minutes of back and forth intense play which saw Virtus.Pro lose their first game. VP hoped for a turnaround to regain control of the game, however Secret were clear they wanted to win and closed off the match after 21 minutes with an unbeatable record of 2-0. Despite their great efforts Virtus.Pro finished in third place taking home a prize of $35K.

2. ViCi Gaming

The Chinese players of Vici Gaming are brilliant at what they do, competing in Dota 2. One of the impressive accomplishments goes back to ESL One Katowice 2018, reaching the finals but lost to Virtus. Pro, finishing second place. Their next exceptional result was in April 2018 at the Dota 2 Professional League Season 5 – Top. Vici Gaming defeated Newbee with an unbeatable score of 3-0, claiming the first prize.

After excellent results in the Dota 2 Professional League Season 5 and MDL Changsha Major, you would think they would keep up their outstanding performances in the next few matches. However, at ESL One Birmingham, Vici Gaming failed to progress through the Group stage which led to their early elimination from the event.

Entering the new Dota season, Vici Gaming has brought in a mix of players from VGJ. Thunder and VG.Potential. The Chinese team seem to have bonded well together with their first success of qualifying to earn their place to compete in The Kuala Lumpur Major under the guidance of the coach Bai ‘rOtk' Fan

Vici Gaming have competed at ESL One Hamburg 2018 where they dominated in the Upper Brackets beating Team Aster and Virtus.Pro consecutively. Proceeding to the Grand Finals, VG faced Team Secret, who dominated the first game right from the start which saw Vici stumbling after the 35th minute which lost them the match. The second round saw Vici Gaming pick up the pace with their fantastic gameplays and teamwork to close the game within an hour to tie the score 1-1. The third round dominated by Vici saw them take the early advantage and kept their consistency. In the next two games, VG could not take control of the game in time and lost both rounds to secret.

1. Team Secret

The Europeans players of Team Secret have a reputation for being a squad that is entertaining to watch but also the one to beat. The dota 2 unit was victorious at the Captains Draft 4.0 and DreamLeague Season 9 Major tournaments in 2018.

Team Secret's ticket to The International 8 was ranked fourth place in the China Dota 2 SuperMajor. The result led them to finish in fourth in the DPC standings to acquire a direct invitation to TI8. They started their journey through the Upper brackets but lost to Evil Geniuses, moving down to the Lower Brackets. They proceeded on until Round 4 to be defeated by Team Liquid to rank in 6th place, one of the best results so far. Their latest accomplishment was winning the PVP Esports Championship, where Team Secret outplayed Fnatic 3-2 in the finals.

Two months after The International 7, Secret managed to beat TI 7 champions, Team Liquid 2-1 in the Semi-finals. The Dota squad advanced to the finals, overcome by Virtus. Pro to finish in second place. Coming so close to a win, it seemed like it was Team Secret's turn to win and hoped to last to the finals in the Dota tournament once again in 2018.

At ESL One Cologne 2018 Secret proved their winning powerful streak. Their journey through the Dota 2 tournament was reminiscent of how Team Liquid won TI7. Having started on the wrong foot, Secret lost to Virtus.Pro in the Upper Bracket Round 1 that saw them move to the Lower Brackets. The dota squad took over the event beating Evil Geniuses, Pain Gaming and Virtus.Pro with three wins in a row of an unbeatable score of 2-0.

Reaching the Grand Finals, Secret met their match in Vici Gaming. Having come so close, the European team were not going down without a fight. The best of five series game one saw Team Secret win with an early advantage while Vici worked their way picking up their pace to take over the second and third rounds. Getting to know how Vici played, Secret learnt how their opponents implement their tactics. The in-game predictions helped Team Secret to win victoriously over Vici Gaming in the next two rounds. The European Champions closed the tournament with a remarkable score of 3-2 taking home their first prize of $125K.

With a drive to succeed these top five dota teams were at ESL One Hamburg to win, competing for their share from a total prize pool of £300K. The support from gaming fans all over the world got to share their common interest for esports games. Watching the online streaming gaming event, bettors placed their best dota betting on their favourite teams.