Fourteen of the world’s best teams have gathered in Stockholm, Sweden to take part in yet another Dota 2 Major. Sadly, Chinese teams have been left on the sidelines because of the Covid-19 situation in China at the moment, but we still have a stacked major to look forward to this week.

Let’s have a look at the format before we dive into some of our favourites for the tournament.

Format (Group Stage)

• Two Groups of Seven
• Round Robin (BO2)
• Top 4 Advance to Upper Bracket
• 5th and 6th advance to Lower Bracket
• Remaining teams are eliminated

Format (Playoffs)

• Double-Elimination Bracket (BO3)
• Grand Final (BO5)

ESL One Stockholm at a glance

• Location: Stockholm, Sweden (Hovet Arena)
• Prize Pool: $500,000 USD
• Group Stage Schedule: (May 12th – May 15th)
• Playoff Schedule: (May 16th-May 22nd)
• How to Watch: ESL Dota 2 @ Twitch

Favourites

Spirit

• Yatoro
• TORONTOTOKYO
• Collapse
• Mira
• Miposhka

There weren’t many people that thought that Spirit would win The International in 2021, but the Russian pubbers proved the doubters wrong and took home a cool $18 million after beating in PSG.LGD in Bucharest. This time around, they are coming in as the odds-on favourite to win the tournament. Teams like BOOM and BetBoom have recently shown us that Spirit are more than beatable, however, making this tournament a tough one to predict.

OG

• Yuragi
• bzm
• ATF
• Taiga
• Misha

Another team to have an eye on is OG, who have been crushing it online. They posted an impressive 6-1 record in DPC WEU with a total of five 2-0 sweeps. Their only loss came to Team Secret, who will not be at the major after a 5th place finish in the DPC stage. There is no doubt that OG have the quality to become a major champion, but will they handle the pressure on LAN in front of a packed crowd in Hovet Arena? That is the question.

Liquid

• MATUMBAMAN
• miCKe
• zai
• Boxi
• iNSaNiA

Sweden and Finland have combined forces in the past and Liquid did so once more by picking up MATUMBAMAN in November of last year. A very solid addition to an already strong team. The Nordic side will undoubtedly have the support of the home fans in Sweden and this could give them the boost required to push for the trophy. Their LAN pedigree will also help them in this regard.

Tundra

• Skiter
• Nine
• 33
• Saksa
• Sneyking

Tundra picked up Saksa from OG back in February, moving Sneyking to hard support. Since then they have looked strong. A 2nd place finish to BOOM at the recent Gamers Galaxy in Dubai shows that they have what it takes on the grand stage. A definite contender for the trophy in Sweden.

Value Pick

BOOM

• JaCkky
• Yopaj
• Fbz
• TIMS
• skem

BOOM are coming off a win at GAMERS GALAXY: Dubai, where they beat teams like Secret, Spirit and Nigma Galaxy on route to the trophy. The bookies have teams like Gladiators and EG rated higher than BOOM at the moment, but the guys from Southeast Asia have shown that they can beat even the toughest of teams on LAN.

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