On Thursday, a Dota major will be played in front of an audience in Stockholm for the first time in almost two years. Despite the pandemic and the war in Ukraine, many teams have made it to ESL One. Only the strong Chinese region will not be represented.

"It's a big factor, because China is the only region where the meta has developed in a different direction than the Western European one," Alvaro "Avo+" Sanchez told the German Press Agency, referring to the prevailing strategies. "Southeast Asia is the other region to keep an eye on, but I have the feeling that there you have an optimized version of the European meta rather than your own idea.»

Dota-Major Stockholm without Chinese teams

Especially the absence from the Chinese star team PSG.LGD will probably have a big impact on the competition. The squad that won the Kiev Major last year and reached the World Cup final is often a pioneer in new strategies.

It is difficult to assess whether the world champions of Team Spirit were able to keep their form, since the Eastern European League was held in a very reduced format due to the war.

Two Canadian players the Dota Major

With Erik "tOfu" Engel from Gladiators and Leon "Nine" Kirilin from Tundra Esports, two Canadian players are also represented at the Major. Before the start of the major, Nine spoke to dpa about its expectations: "In my opinion, Western Europe is the strongest region, since China cannot participate. Individually, however, I consider Boom and Team Spirit to be the strongest teams.»

For almost two years, there has been no major that has been played in front of live spectators. This brings more excitement, but also more pressure into the competition. "Playing in front of spectators again inspires me so much that I can hardly put it into words," Nine said. "It motivates me a lot to make it to the playoffs. Maybe it also makes me a little nervous, but I don't think it will affect me much.»