ESL’s Dota 2 Spring Major will have a revamped format without the Wild Card

ESL One Stockholm Dota Major 2022 organizers clarified the rules of the e-sport tournament. At the spring Major there will be no Wild Card stage – all participants will begin their matches at the group stage of the tournament.

18 teams will be divided into two groups, where they will compete in a round-robin with matches in the best-of-2 format. The top four teams will qualify for the playoffs, the squads from 5-6 places will play in the lower bracket, and the others will leave the tournament. Matches of the final stage of ESL One Stockholm Dota Major 2022 will take place on the stage of Hovet Arena. Best E-sport players will play for the championship title in a best-of-5 grand-final.

This format was specified on the ESL One Stockholm Dota Major 2022 page on the day of the announcement, but the Wild Card stage was originally mentioned there in the detailed description of the tournament. Later on, additional information was removed.

ESL One Stockholm Dota Major 2022 will be held from May 12 to 22 in Sweden on LAN with spectators. The tournament will feature the top 18 teams from the Dota Pro Circuit 2021/2022: Season 2 regional leagues. Participants will compete for $500,000 and 3,530 DPC points. The exact E-sport match schedule is not yet known

The following teams have the best chance of qualifying for the Major right now:
● China: PSG.LGD, Royal Never Give Up, and Xtreme Gaming
● Western Europe: Gaimin Gladiators, OG, and Tundra Esports
● Southeast Asia: Fnatic, Polaris Esports, T1, and Team SMG
● North America: TSM, Evil Geniuses, and Quincy Crew
● South America: beastcoast and Thunder Awaken

In Eastern Europe, online E-sport DPC league is not played because of the war in Ukraine. The fate of teams from the region is unknown, most likely Eastern European clubs will miss the Stockholm Major and most of the upcoming E-sport tournaments.