Image from ProDota blog
Following quickly from the success of the ProDota Cup Season 2, the 3rd iteration began play in the second week of February. There are 16 teams competing in the European region, and 10 teams battling it out in the US region. The European region runs from the 9th to the 22nd of February. Play in the US region began on the 10th of February, and will conclude on the 20th. Considering the differing number of teams between the two regions, there will be different formats used to determine the winners. One thing is certain across both regions: there will be high-quality Dota to be watched!
The invited teams for the Europe region are:
STARK
Enso
Danish Bears
HWA
Prodota Gaming
Elysium
Burden United
Oogway
Yellow Submarine
hehe United
HellRaisers
XPC
PRIES
Ad Finem
Samurai Champloo
Abraxas
The European region sees double-elimination play between all 16 teams. All 16 teams begin the tournament in the upper bracket. All matches in the upper bracket are best-of-three. If a team loses a match in the upper bracket, they are dropped to the lower bracket, where they have to win more cut-throat best-of-one matches.
In the US region, play begins with a small group stage. The 10 teams are divided into two groups of five teams. All matches in this group stage are best-of-two. The top four teams from each group will progress to the single-elimination winners bracket. In the winner’s bracket, the matches will be best-of-three. Winners will progress to the next round, with losers being eliminated, until only one team remains!
The invited teams for the US region are:
Shazam
Not Today
Power of Friendship
Elite Wolves
unknown.xiu
EnemyGG
EverNova
InFamous
Balrogs
Leviathan
With dozens of games across both regions, there will be plenty of tense, hard-fought games for the Dota 2 enthusiast to observe. With many of the teams still exploring the limits of the 6.86 metagame, there will undoubtedly be pocket strategies that you can take to your pub and ranked gameplay. Be sure not to miss out!
Source: ProDota blog