Ranking each Dota 2 region after the Bali Major

The Bali Major has concluded and it's time to look into which Dota 2 region thrived, and which faltered at the last major of the year.

In this article, we will be ranking every Dota 2 region based on their performance at the Bali Major, along with what each region took home in DPC points. Then we'll look at exactly how these results came to be.

How did each Dota 2 region fare in the Bali Major?

Southeast Asia

Execration (15-16th), Bleed Esports (13-14th), Blacklist International (13-14)

Average team placement: 14th.

Talon Esports has been carrying the SEA region this year, with a bronze medal at Lima and a top-eight finish at Berlin. With SEA's strongest team taking it easy in the last DPC Tour, three other representatives qualified for Bali and each of them could have qualified to The International 12 if they performed well in the tournament.

Unfortunately, none of the SEA teams made it through the group stage. While Blacklist and Bleed at least forced tiebreakers for a spot in the playoffs, Execration was dead last in the tournament. The poor showing among the SEA teams means only Talon Esports will make it to TI12 through DPC points, with everyone else fighting for one spot at the Regional Qualifiers.

North America

Nouns (15-16th), Shopify Rebellion (9-12th)

Average team placement: 13th

With 1170 points secured, Shopify Rebellion was guaranteed a spot at The International 12 before the Major even began. Shopify Rebellion had an overall solid showing at the tournament, although people expected more from the star-studded North American squad.

The dark horse of the region was Nouns, a team that has steadily improved throughout the year. In the end, despite doing well in the final DPC Tour of the year, Nouns fell short at their first Major, getting eliminated at the group stage.

In the end, the region failed to acquire any DPC points in the final Major of the year, with an average team placement of 13th, just slightly ahead of SEA.

South America

Evil Geniuses (17-18th), Beastcoast (7-8th)

Average team placement: 12th

The most surprising result of the Bali Major came from South America, which saw powerhouse Evil Geniuses fail to perform for the first time this year. After two top-six finishes in the first two majors, EG came in dead last in Bali. It's not a big issue for the squad though, as they had their TI invite in the bag at the end of the second DPC Tour.

It was a different story for Beastcoast, the second-strongest lineup from SA. The team had recently replaced their carry Héctor "K1" Rodríguez with David "Parker" Nicho Flores and fans were wondering if Beastcoast can make the deep tournament run they needed in order to qualify for TI12.

In the end, Parker had a standout performance in Bali, helping the team secure the 300 DPC points necessary to become the second South American team to qualify for TI12.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=neKiPD1exHU

China

Team Aster (9-12th), Azure Ray (7-8th), PSG.LGD (5-6)

Average team placement: 10th

It has been a rough year for the Chinese Dota 2 region, as multiple teams have been accused of match-fixing, and over 40 players have either received lifetime bans or years of suspension from the pro scene. The Bali Major was a return to form for the region though.

After great performances in the first two Majors of the year, Team Aster failed to replicate that success in Bali. It's the first time Aster couldn't make it to the top eight in a Major this season and because of that, the team couldn't earn the DPC points necessary to qualify directly for The International.

Luckily for fans of the region, PSG.LGD is shaping up to be an international beast once again, mainly thanks to their new offlaner Li "niu" Kongbo. Another that impressed fans was Azure Ray. Made up of veterans Lu "Somnus" Yao, Yang "Chalice" Shenyi, and Xu "fy" Linsen, the team had only been together for two months and still managed to bring down Goliaths such as BetBoom Team.

Overall, it was a strong showing for China, taking home 700 DPC points in total and giving the region much-needed momentum heading into The Riyadh Masters and TI12.

Eastern Europe

BetBoom Team (9-12th), Team Spirit (9-12th), 9Pandas (5-6th)

Average team placement: 9th

There was a lot of excitement around Eastern Europe heading into the Bali Major. BetBoom Team and Team Spirit have been competing against each other for the title of the best team in CIS all year, while 9Pandas included notable players Roman "RAMZES666" Kushnarev and Alexey "Solo" Berezin on the squad.

After struggling at International tournaments all year, BetBoom finally lived up to their potential at Bali, taking down Tundra Esports in an explosive series. Unfortunately, due to breaking rules during the match, BetBoom's victory was rescinded and the team received a loss instead, sending them to the lower bracket and elimination.

Team Spirit fell to long-time rivals PSG.LGD in the first round of the lower bracket and it was all on 9Pandas to carry the region. 9pandas secured 400 DPC points for CIS, giving the region three representatives at TI12.

Western Europe

 

Quest Esports (4th), Tundra Esports (3rd), Team Liquid (2nd), Gaimin Gladiators (1st)

Average team placement: 2nd

If anyone is surprised that Western Europe (WEU) is top of this list, then boy do I have a bridge to sell for you.

Western Europe has dominated the Dota 2 region this year. In Lima, three WEU had three teams in the top six of the Major. In Berlin, four out of the top six were teams from WEU, and in Bali the dominance of the region was fully established, as the top four teams were all from one region.

The three top finishers in Bali placed top three in the DPC rankings this year, ensuring all of them will be at TI12. Quest Esports had the impossible task of making it to the top two in order to earn the points necessary to attend TI12 but unfortunately couldn't make it.

In the end, WEU took home the biggest haul possible, with 2,100 DPC points secured, more than half of the 3,500 points up for grabs.

Featured Image Source: Valve