Team Secret to Return at Leipzig Major, PSG.LGD to Skip It

• Dota 2 Leipzig Major will take place on January 18 through January 26, 2020
• PSG.LGD will skip a second major for the year, putting the team’s chances of qualifying into TI20 in question
• Team Secret are returning after skipping the Chengdu major for a chance to storm the top once again

With the WePlay! Bukovel Minor 2020 underway, the full field of contenders for the Dota 2 Leipzig Major is nearly complete. Here is everything we know about the event. 

Second Dota 2 Major for 19/20 DPC Season: Overview

DreamHack Leipzig is the second Dota 2 Major for the 19/20 Dota Pro Circuit season and an opportunity for teams to tap into a total prize purse worth $1 million, along with 15,000 Pro Circuit Points (PCP).

Fifteen teams have been admitted to the draft with a sixteenth contender being decided as we speak at the WePlay! Bukovel Minor 2020. With Team Secret returning to the competitive Dota 2 scene, the tournament promises to be action-packed. Here’s a quick overview of what to expect:

• Date: January 18 – 26, 2020
• Venue: Leipzig Messe, Leipzig, Germany
• Purse: $1,000,000

The group stages will take place from January 18 through January 19 with the playoffs kicking off on January 21 through January 26. Live attendance will be allowed from January 24 through January 26, and the grand final will be played in a Best of Five (BO5) format.

What to Expect at Leipzig?

Leipzig is bringing together a top talent of teams, with one of the largest highlights the return of Team Secret. Team Secret opted out of the first major for the season, the MDL Chengdu Major, citing fatigue and burnout as the reasons why.

Who is going to be the winner of our next DreamLeague trophy?

Come find out and watch it live from our Leipzig Major!
Jan 24 – Jan 26
$1,000,000 up for grabs
https://t.co/Gplz0rBXqb #DHDL13 pic.twitter.com/JHDC5WuODO

— DreamHack Dota (@DreamHackDota) January 8, 2020

With the roster now returning to the tournament, hopes are high for Secret to once again dominate the top echelons of the competitive Dota 2 world. The team finished fourth in the overall standing in The International 2019. Yet, Secrets’ players are generally given the best odds to tackle the Leipzig major.

Secret’s main opponents this round will be TNC Predator and Vici Gaming who pulled an outstanding performance during the Chengdu event and placed first and second respectively. Team Liquid, who have had no trouble staying at the top, are also perceived as another great challengers for the title, although Secret seem to have the upper hand historically.

Ready to Rumble with PSG.LGD?

The major is once again pitting a talented field of contenders who have every reason to want to stay at the top. One of the notable names to miss out on the event is PSG.LGD, who secured third spot in TI9, but were eliminated in the Chinese Open Qualifiers.

Dota2 Announcement:

1. Yao '357' Yi leaves the team and we send him our most sincere wishes.

2. Xu 'FY' Linsen will return to the team after 3 month rest due to eye surgery.

3. PSG.LGD will miss first Major event of the new season.
Full Story: https://t.co/HWQpJSYaCK #LGDWin pic.twitter.com/nkpnzuZyZi

— LGD Gaming (@LGDgaming) August 29, 2019

PSG.LGD also skipped Chengdu and then had to qualify through Open Qualifiers, but couldn’t run past FTD.Apollo, a fairly unknown competitive outfit who defeated them making use of the Outlanders Update.

Perhaps even more importantly, PSG.LGD now have to play without key drafter, Yao “357” Yi who retired from the team following TI9. This and the fact that PSG.LGD will be missing a second round of the DPC will definitely put the organization on edge.

PSG.LGD was established following the merger between Paris Saint-Germain, a soccer club in France, and LGD, a popular Chinese gaming organization. The merger seemed to be successful as shortly after, the team placed second in TI18, winning over $4 million in prize money.