StarLadder ImbaTV Minor Preview!

StarLadder ImbaTV Minor, Dota Pro Circuit’s fifth rating tournament this season, will begin today at Cybersport Arena Kiev. Eight teams from all over the world will come together in a battle to determine the last, sixteenth participant of DreamLeague Season 11, and also to divide the 300 thousand dollars prize fund. 

The format of the competition will be slightly different from what we saw in Stockholm and Bucharest. We've got  a group stage to result in only four teams — then the Single Elimination playoffs.

It seems Valve and the tournament organizers realized that the Minors are not very well performing their function. The points that teams get in the tournaments almost don't affect the distribution of vouchers for The International in any ways, and it is unlikely that all participants and spectators will be happy with such a large number of matches. 

The 'last chance qualifying' function coped well with the Majors (as well as giving prize money to teams that rarely get to big tournaments), but the experiment with 'sharing experience' failed, didn't it? 

Now on the Minor matches will be even tougher, since, in fact, only in the first two days teams have the right to fail. Meetings on March 9 and 10 are knockouting. The viewers will only be pleased with this, as there are no more 'meaningless' games.

There are three nominees favourites: Vici Gaming, Gambit Esports and OG. The Chinese team at home Major took 7-8 place, and at MDL Macau 2019 did well.

Gambit showed a fantastic game, reaching the final of the ESL One Katowice 2019. They might be the main favourites of the tournament. But, there's a 'but': the team plays the tournament with a substitution: fn replaces Afoninje, because he decided to go to WESG 2018. Despite that there is a definite logic in the decision of the mid-laner, it is at least ambiguous.

Finally, OG. You know them. The International 2018 champions do not show their former game so far, but this is a team that in no case can be discounted.

The tournament will start with matches in group A. In the opening match, scheduled for 11:00 CET, Royal Never Give Up and Flying Penguins will meet.

Schedule:

March 7

11:00 CET — Royal Never Give Up vs. Flying Penguins

14:30 CET — OG vs. Old but Gold

18:00 CET — Group A winners match

March 8

11:00 CET — Vici Gaming vs. Demolition Boys

14:30 CET — Gambit Esports vs. BOOM ID

18:00 CET — Group B winners match

March 9

11:00 CET — Group A losers match

14:00 CET — Group B losers match

17:00 CET — Group A decider match 

20:00 CET — Group B decider match 

March 10 

11:00 CET — Semifinal #1

14:30 CET — Semifinal #2 

18:00 CET — Grand Final

All matches are held until two wins, except the Grand Final — its format is Bo5.