ESL One Los Angeles

ESL One Los Angeles is the third dota major of the year and it is packed with the world's best teams. In addition to the $1,000,000 prize pool, valuable Dota Pro Circuit points are at stake. These points are crucial for teams looking to get into the Dota TI known as, The International 10, which will be played in Stockholm in August. For the tournament, Team Secret comes out as the favorite, as they dominated the previous Leipzig Major. The biggest challenger is OG who returns to the professional scene after a break since their win in The International 9, which was their second TI victory in a row. As we get closer and closer to the big event, these Majors mean so much more.

ESL One Los Angeles Competitors

• Beast Coast
• Chaos Esports Club
• EHOME
• Evil Geniuses
• Fnatic
• Geek Fam
• Invictus Gaming
• Natus Vincere
• Ninjas in Pajamas
• OG
• Royal Never Give Up
• Team Adroit
• Team Secret
• Thunder Predator
• Virtus.Pro
• The winner of StarLadder ImbaTV Minor

ESL One Los Angeles Prize Pool

1 $300,000
2 $160,000
3 $110,000
4 $80,000
5-6 $60,000
7-8 $40,000
9-12 $25,000
13-16 $12,500

ESL One Los Angeles Formats

Group stage

• The teams are divided into four groups of four teams each.
• Played in GSL format.
• All matches are best of three.
• The top two teams go to the playoffs upper bracket.
• The two worst teams go to the playoffs lower bracket.

Playoffs

• Double elimination.
• The first round of the lower bracket is best of one.
• The finals are best of five.
• Remaining matches are best of three.

ESL One Los Angeles Expectations

Favorites

Team Secret

As usual, Secret dominates the beginning of the season and the year. Everything is the same, but the question is whether the team should be able to stay in shape for the TI. It remains to be seen, but the team comes to this major as a massive favorite alongside OG. In DreamLeague, which was played in January, Secret was dominant and it is difficult to say who should be named the team's star. Yes, almost anyone can be chosen, but in our eyes, Michał “Nisha” Jankowski is making this team what it is this year. There’s an argument to be made that he is the best player in the world after his move to Mid. That, combined with Lasse "Matumbaman" Urpalainen's playing style from the carry position makes this team extremely difficult to beat. It's safe to say that Clement "Puppey" Ivanov built a machine that looks immortal yet again. If this team does not play in the final of ESL One Los Angeles, it will be a major disappointment.

OG

Johan "N0tail" Sundstein and Topia's "Topson" Taavitsainen are the only ones left of the legendary five who managed to win TI twice, but that shouldn’t stop them from being dominant. In qualifying for this tournament, the team looked just as fierce as before. OG seemed to be playing with their opponents because of how bored they looked. The team's new trio in Sumail "SumaiL" Hassan, Yeik "MidOne" Nai Zheng and Martin "Saksa" Sazdov are incredibly skilled on their own, but they also seem to have adapted perfectly in this team in a very short time. OG is simply brilliant at adapting and the only question that remains is who deserves the credit. It does not matter much in the end and this team seriously looks to challenge just about anyone. A final against Team Secret would be the dream scenario, but with that said OG is still a new team and it is difficult to truly rank their level of play with how little we’ve seen of the new squad.

Challengers

Evil Geniuses

The EG squad has been entirely rebuilt and we weren’t sure what to expect from them coming into the season. So far, they have done well with a second place in the ONE Esports Invitational, which was followed up with another second place finish in the DreamLeague Major. Wins against teams like Nigma, Invictus Gaming, Alliance and Vici Gaming along the way to the final is quite the feat. The fact that the team also pushed Team Secret to a full five matches in the final shows that this team will be a big threat this year. Abed “Abed” Yusop seems to have finally found a team he thrives in and can show off his great individual skill. For ESL One Los Angeles, the team does not come in as a favorite, but they shadow the two giants, but, on a good day, they can beat the best.

Invictus Gaming

Whith Vici Gaming missing this major, IG is the biggest Chinese team in the tournament. The team has very stable results this season with a third place in the MDL Chengdu Major and a 5-6th place in the DreamLeague Major, where the team fell against a very strong EG. Should the team have gotten a little luckier, they could have ended with a much higher placement. The puzzle pieces around team leader Hu “Kaka” Liangzhi are starting to fall into place and with the enormous potential the team possesses, they will likely go very far in Los Angeles, although an appearance in the finals seems too far out of reach.

Underdogs

Fnatic

Fnatic is by far the best representative from SEA in this major as their arch enemy TNC.Predator failed to qualify and lost not only the major, but also the minor. They ended the DreamLeague Major in 9-12th place and although it hardly sounds impressive, the team's play was beyond expectations. They pushed Team Secret rock hard in the upper bracket, but had to fold. After that match they played against TNC.Predator, which felt unfortunate as Fnatic looked really hot against teams outside their own region. They fell at the finish line and were disappointed to go home, but we think the team can get their revenge in this tournament. The team possesses much more than what the results show. A top 6 finnish, or even better, looks possible for the Southeast Asian squad