Shanghai major dota 2 invited teamsnap

Shanghai Major invites are out: Eight teams receive direct invite

Update: The rolling release of the direct invites has started

First invite: OG is the first invite revealed on Valve’s official Winter Major website.

Perhaps the most predictable direct invite for the Winter Major, OG were the champion of the Fall Major at Frankfurt last November. Followed by a 1st place at Dream League Season 4 and a 2nd place at The Defense 5, OG’s invite is well-deserved. OG sure look to repeat their success at Shanghai.

Second invite: Team Secret’s direct invite was nothing surprising, for they have always been a formidable force in the scene.

Winning MLG World Finals as well as Nanyang Dota 2 Championships, the team looked incredibly strong coming into the Frankfurt Major. There, they managed to place second, losing only to OG in the grand finals. Puppey and co. surely aim nothing but a championship this time!

Third invite: Evil Geniuses is the third team being directly invited, which is also a bit of a no-brainer.

The American squad, following their championship at The International 5, has consistently managed to place high in premier tournaments. They came third at the Frankfurt Major and first at The Summit 4. EG seem to find their footing very quickly after replacing Kurtis ‘Aui_2000‘ Ling for Artour ‘Arteezy‘ Babaev.

Fourth invite: EHOME is another direct invite for the Shanghai Major. They achieved a respectable standing at The Frankfurt Major, placing 4th.

Most recently, they won the Dota 2 Radiant and Dire Cup 2015, having beaten CDEC in the grand final. A great mix of veteran and young blood under the leadership of Zhi Cheng ‘LaNm‘ Zhang, EHOME is a strong contender for the upcoming Major.

Fifth invite: Vici Gaming is the second Chinese team getting a direct invite.

With the addition of Xu ‘BurNing‘ Zhilei, VG came second at the Nanyang Dota 2 Championships and 5-6th at Frankfurt Major 2015. With the recent 2-0 defeat at the hands of Virtus. Pro* at The Summit 4, the squad placed 3rd in the tournament. VG is expected to carry their consistent form into the Winter Major.

Sixth invite: CDEC Gaming is another Chinese team that has received Valve’s direct invite.

The International 5’s runner-up has had quite a good run since September. With the same roster, they achieved joint 3-4th place at MLG World Finals and 5-6th place at The Frankfurt Major. Most recently, the team placed first at ECL 2015 Dota 2 Autumn. CDEC will look to repeat their magical run at TI5 in Shanghai.

Eighth invite: The Alliance is the final direct invite for the Shanghai Major. The recent win at World Cyber Arena surely played the crucial role as Alliance was without a major LAN victory in 18 months prior to it. Placing first secured the Swedish squad a direct invite and the invite will surely be a huge boost in morale for the team, after the returning of Jerry ‘EGM‘ Lundkvist. The Alliance is back!

*Update: The lists of teams competing for Regional Qualifiers are also announced:

Each region consists of two round robin groups of five teams. The top two teams from each group will advance to a double elimination bracket. The winner and runner-up of each region will be invited to The Shanghai Major.