The eight teams with the highest amount of points will be directly invited. The other teams will earn their way to attend via the regional qualifiers. No longer an ambiguous or covert process riddled with speculation and uncertainty, the point system is transparent, objective with a leaderboard updated and displayed for all to keep a close eye on.
As the first wave of the ProCircuit Minor/Major events are getting ready to kick off in less than two weeks, several frontrunners have emerged. These teams have dominated their regions or invites, claiming several places and multiple opportunities in the proving grounds as they aim to collect as many qualifying points for TI8 as they can.
ProCircuit Minor/Major point system:
Over the course of the next two months, there will be four minors – Starladder Invitational, PGL Bucharest Open, Dota Pit. Perfect World Masters and one major – ESL One Hamburg. Minors give a total of 300 points while the Major will distribute a total of 1500 points.
For tournaments that don't differentiate between third and fourth place, the point distribution is as follows:
1st: 50%
2nd: 30%
3rd/4th: 10% each
For tournaments that do differentiate between third and fourth place, the point distribution is as follows:
1st: 50%
2nd: 30%
3rd: 15%
4th: 5%
ProCircuit Major/Minor schedule October and November:
Starladder i-League Invitational Minor will kick things off next week in Kiev October 10th-15th with $300,000 and 300 points on the line.
PGL PGL Open Bucharest Minor will take place October 19th-22nd with teams competing for $300,000 and 300 points.
ESL One Hamburg Major will be happening in Germany October 26th-29th with a whopping $1,000,000 and 1500 points up for grabs.
Dota Pit Minor is set in Split, Croatia from Nov 2nd-5th boasting $300,000 and 300 points.
Perfect World Masters Minor is scheduled for China between Nov 20th-26th featuring the $300,000 and 300 points.
The second wave of events are already looming on the horizon starting in December with DreamLeague Season 8 Major starting December 1st followed by MarsTV in China and BTS set for the United States. Quaifiers, invited teams, format and details are yet to be released.
Headed for gold; Teams to appear in 4 of the first 5 events:
Tournament appearances: StarLadder i-League Invitational (invite), ESL One Hamburg (invite), Dota Pit (invite), Perfect World Masters (invite)
Possible Points: 1,200 points maximum
The International 2017 was the final and the biggest test for Newbee’s roster. Their second place in Seattle was a great achievement, especially that they made it to the TI7 Grand Finals from the upper bracket. Their success was a testament to the cohesion of their roster, sticking together for the new season to try their hand once again at snatching the Aegis for TI8.
Newbee roster :
Xu 'Moogy ' Han
Song 'Sccc' Chun
Damien 'kpii' Chok|
Zeng 'Faith' Hongda
Hu 'Kaka' Liangzhi
Tournament appearances: StarLadder i-League Invitational (EU qualifier), PGL Open Bucharest (EU qualifier), ESL One Hamburg (EU qualifier), Perfect World Masters (invite)
Possible Points: 1,200 points maximum
Team Secret took just over two weeks since releasing 2 players - Maurice 'KheZu' Gutmann and Noa 'MP' Pyo from their TI line up to announcing their new squad. Their new carry role would be picked up by Marcus 'Ace' Hoelgaard, while their offlane position has been filled by Adrian 'Fata' Trinks. The team has reached soaring heights with the new lineup, dominating all of the qualifier events they have participated in.
Team Secret roster:
Marcus 'Ace' Hoelgaard
Nai Zheng 'MidOne' Yeik
Adrian 'Fata' Trinks
Yazied 'YapzOr' Jaradat
Clement 'Puppey' Ivanov
Tournament appearances: StarLadder i-League Invitational (SA qualifier), ESL One Hamburg (SEA qualifier), Dota Pit (SA qualifier), Perfect World Masters (SA qualifier)
Possible Points: 1,200 points maximum
SG e-sports released entire roster at the end of August, before the start of the new Minor/Major season. The history making Brazil organization had reported they are expecting to remain in the Dota 2 scene and will be picking up a new team/players in the future. The organization then went on to retain one former player and picked up 4 players from Midas Club Elite.
SG e-sports roster:
Guilherme Silva 'FuckinEh' Costábile
Adriano '4dr' Machado
Rodrigo Lelis 'Liposa' Santos
Thiago de Oliveira 'Thiolicor' Cordeiro
Lucas Raphael Ferreira 'bardo' Barbosa
Tournament appearances: StarLadder i-League Invitational (SEA qualifier), PGL Open Bucharest (SEA qualifier), Dota Pit (SEA qualifier), Perfect World Masters (invite)
Possible Points: 600 points maximum
Mineski announced their full roster for the upcoming season early on, immediately following TI7. With both Mineski and Team Faceless experiencing a very disappointing run in the TI7 SEA regional qualifiers, the captains of the two teams joined forces to head into the new season. The merge seems to have been the key ingredient for success as Mineski has brought their A form to each of the events, becoming the team to beat in the region.
Mineski roster:
Chai 'Mushi' Yee Fung
Kam 'NaNa' Boon Seng
Daryl Koh 'iceiceice' Pei Xiang
Anucha 'Jabz' Jirawong
Michael 'ninjaboogie' Ross
Impressive starts; Teams to appear in 3 of the first 5 events:
Tournament appearances: StarLadder i-League Invitational (invite), ESL One Hamburg (invite), Dota Pit (invite)
Possible Points: 1,050 points maximum
Team Liquid made one change in January 2017 to their roster, bringing on board Maroun 'GH' Merhej to replace Sam 'BuLba' Sosale. The change was exactly that the lineup needed to become a championship team, turning everything they touched to gold. Claiming title after title, the team went into TI7 on fire and emerged holding the Aegis of Champions. Without any changes going into the new season, they will be making their re-entry into the competitive season in Kiev as the event is the first of the new Minor/Major system and first LAN of the new year.
Team Liquid roster:
Lasse 'Matumbaman' Urpalainen
Amer 'Miracle' Barqawi
Ivan 'MinD_ContRoL' Borislavov Ivanov
Maroun 'GH' Merhej
Kuro 'KuroKy' Salehi Takhasomi
Tournament appearances: StarLadder i-League Invitational (CN qualifier), Dota Pit (CN qualifier), Perfect World Masters (CN qualifier)
Possible Points: 450 points maximum
The two legends Chen 'Hao' Zhihao and Wong 'ChuaN' Hock Chuan were dropped from the main squad, along with Xu 'Hym' Zhi who was announced to have joined EHOME already. VG’s offlaner Zhou 'Yang' Haiyang was also transferred to the VG J squad, leaving the main team only with the young Zeng 'Ori' Jiaoyang. The team was then reformed with decorated veterans and fan favorites - creating a chemistry of success.
Vici Gaming’s roster:
Zhang 'Paparazi' Chengjun
Zeng 'Ori' Jiaoyang
Ren 'eLeVeN' Yangwei
Zhang 'LaNm' Zhicheng
Lu 'Fenrir' Chao
Honorable Mentions; Teams to appear in 2 of the first 5 events:
Tournament appearances: ESL One Hamburg (CIS qualifier), Dota Pit (CIS qualifier)
Possible Points: 900 points maximum
Virtus.Pro had announced prior to TI7, in mid July, that their contracts had been extended through 2018. Their commitment is truly commendable especially in the grand picture of CIS shuffles that made the region famous for its instability and opportunistic moves. The powerhouse of a team had an outstanding year and aim for a repeat with even better results for TI8.
Virtus Pro roster:
Roman 'Ramzes666' Kushnarev
Vladimir 'No[O]ne' Minenko
Pavel '9pasha' Hvastunov
Ilya 'Lil' Ilyuk
Alexey 'Solo' Berezin
Tournament appearances: PGL Open Bucharest (invite), ESL One Hamburg (NA qualifier)
Possible Points: 900 points maximum
Evil Geniuses made a thrilling announcement at the start of the new season. Clinton 'Fear' Loomis had played for Evil Geniuses almost his entire career. He joined the boys in blue in 2011 and after he was forced to an extensive break due to a wrist injury in 2014, he returned and won TI5 from the carry position. He then finished on the third place at TI6 and immediately after the event he announced his retirement, transitioning into the team coach. Returning to competitive play, Fear assumed the support and captain position as they bid farewell to Ludwig "zai" Wåhlberg.
Evil Geniuses roster
Artour 'Arteezy' Babaev
Sumail 'SumaiL' Syed Hassan
Saahil 'Universe' Arora
Andreas 'Cr1t-' Nielsen
Clinton 'Fear' Loomis
Tournament appearances: StarLadder i-League Invitational (CIS qualifier), PGL Open Bucharest (CIS qualifier)
Possible Points: 300 points maximum
At the end of July Na'Vi released their two European players Per Anders Olsson 'Pajkatt' Lille and Malthe 'Biver' Winther and began to search for new replacements. In just over a month, the team finalized the roster bringing back the organzation to full CIS lineup. The players have all gathered in the Ukraine for the upcoming Minor/Major qualifiers, a move that has seemingly paid off as fans cheer "Na'vi's back!".
Na'Vi Roster:
Vladislav 'Crystallize' Krystanek
Danil 'Dendi' Ishutin
Viktor 'GeneRaL' Nigrini
Akbar 'SoNNeikO' Butaev
Vladimir 'RodjER' Nikogosyan
Tournament appearances: StarLadder i-League Invitational (NA qualifier), Perfect World Masters (NA qualifier)
Possible Points: 300 points maximum
compLexity Gaming reunited one of their most success Dota 2 rosters - formed from November 2015-August 2016 and reminiscent of their HON StayGreen roster from 2013-14. CoL had welcomed back the Swedish brothers to relive their success, and so far the reunion has been a joyous occasion.
compLexity Gaming roster
Rasmus 'Chessie' Blomdin
Linus 'Limmp' Blomdin
David 'Moo' Hull
Kyle 'swindlemelonzz' Freedman
Zakari 'Zfreek' Freedman
Tournament appearances: PGL Open Bucharest (NA qualifier), Dota Pit (NA qualifier)
Possible Points: 300 points maximum
After nearly one year of playing with different teams outside their region, the five ex-MVP Phoenix players reunited for the new competitive season. Staying in North America, the team was then picked up by Immortals, who made their foray into the competitive Dota 2 scene for the first time. A fair start to the season, the team picked up two spots in the new ProCircuit Minor/Major system.
Immortals roster:
Kim 'QO' Seon-Yeob
Pyo 'MP' Noa
Sang-Don 'FoREv' Lee
Kim 'Febby' Yong-min
Kim 'DuBu' Duyoung
Tournament appearances: PGL Open Bucharest (invite), Perfect World Masters (invite)
Possible Points: 300 points maximum
LGD.Gaming completeD their roster with Xu 'Fy' Linsen in early September when Ren 'eLeVeN' Yangwei's loan contract came to an end and headed to ViCi Gaming. This has been a new challenge for Fy as he takes on a completely new role, but the team was still able to clinch two spots in important events with their direct invites.
LGD.Gaming roster:
Wang 'Ame' Chunyu
Lu 'Maybe' Yao
Xu 'Fy' Linsen
Chen 'Victoria' Guanhong
Yao 'Yao' Zhengzheng