Halfway through the MLG Pro League, it's SmAsH and the new NoT lineup conquering both Americas, but the Evil Geniuses threat still looms over the competition.
The Major League Gaming Pro League Season 1 online qualifiers have begun only two teams from the Americas can move on to the LAN playoffs at MLG Arena in Columbus, Ohio on April 10th, while Asia dukes it out for just a single seat. At stake is a part of this season's $75,000 base prize pool and, for the overall winner, a further invitation to the MLG World Championships later this year.
In the Americas, it's the South American teams who have flipped the script, starting out at the top of the rankings. The shepherd himself, Freddy 'SmAsH' Sina, has led Not Today's new, reinvigorated roster to the number one spot, only dropping a single game to Team Team Team. Pain Gaming have a tenuous hold on second place, bolstered by their 2-0 victory over Team Fire, who are tied with Union Gaming for third. These rankings, however, will undoubtably change when Dota Asia Champions Evil Geniuses finally schedule their matches, though team Captain Peter 'ppd' Dager voiced his annoyance with the seemingly constant stream of qualifier matches and its adverse effect on the NA Dota scene.
Compared to the other regions, the Asian qualifiers have yet to fully develop, but it is sure to heat up with only one slot at the LAN playoffs available. Invasion currently sits atop the rankings with half of the teams sitting in the middle of the pack at 2-2, including the newly formed 5eva. Still, Rave and MVP.Phoenix have yet to compete, both having recently returned from China. Rave, in particular, have all the momentum after their surprise success at DAC and are the clear favorites to represent SEA at Columbus.
The next MLG Pro League Asian Qualifier game will feature Signature vs. Arcanys February 19th at 13:00 CEST. The next game in the Americas qualifier is eHug vs. Team Fire February 20th at 23:15 CEST. All coverage will be provided by joinDOTA and MLG.TV.
Headline photo from Not Today (Facebook)
More content on GosuGamers
