The semifinals

Wings vs. Fnatic

Fnatic has had a strong showing in the group stage going 2-0 against both EHOME and Team Empire. Wings journey to the semifinals was a more difficult but still quite impressive – they lost 0-2 to team Liquid but won 2-1 twice against compLexity. The first semifinal game went over to Fnatic who seemed like team more likely to take the series. Wings, however, were determined to make a stance in Manila and they took the next two games, both in under 30 minutes, and made their way into the grand final.

Team Empire vs. Team Liquid

Team Liquid, the runner ups at the Shanghai Major, have been one of the favorites to take the whole tournament and performed according to expectations in the group stage. Two 2-0 wins over Wings and Mineski secured them a slot in the playoffs. Team Empire had an amazing start to the event, as they took down Team Secret 2-0 in their first match. They did fall to Fnatic 0-2 and had to face Secret again for a slot in the semifinals. After a thrilling best of three series, Team Secret had to say goodbye to ESL One manila as Empire moved forward to the playoffs.

The grand final

Wings vs. Team Liquid

In the end, it all came down to the European favorites, Team Liquid and the Chinese wonder, Wings. Wings were the clear underdog in this matchup, especially after Liquid having defeated them in the group stage 0-2. The grand final was, however, a completely different story – a Cinderella story to be exact. The series was a best of five but we only saw three games as Wings dominated Team Liquid and with a 3-0 score secured their first major LAN tournament win.

From the Chinese qualifier all the way to the grand final and the ESL One Manila 2016 championship title – Wings have definitely left a strong mark in the competitive Dota 2 scene.

Find all of the VODs on our YouTube channel!

Thank you for an amazing event!

ESL One Manila 2016 was an event to remember with great matches, moments on stage and a fantastic, passionate crowd. Thank you to everyone who helped making this event happen and to everyone who joined us in person or tuned in online. The next ESL One stop for Dota 2 is ESL One Frankfurt 2016, happening at the Commerzbank Arena on June the 18th and 19th – be sure not to miss Europe’s biggest Dota 2 festival and get your ticket here!

To stay up to date with all of the Dota 2 action happening at ESL, remember to follow ESL Dota 2 on Twitter and Facebook.

The home ground advantage

The entire crowd will be on the side of Team Mineski, who will have all the cheers they could possibly hope for in order to crush their enemies. However, ESL One Manila might also be something of a nerve-wracking experience for the Filipino squad, with the whole country’s hope resting squarely on their shoulders.

Mineski’s full lineup for ESL One Manila will be as follows:

• Ryan “Bimbo” Jay Qui
• Benhur “Ben” Lawis
• Jun “Bok” Kanehara
• Julius “Julz” De Leon
• Jessie “JessiVash” Cristy
• Mark “Cast” Pilar – Sub

A long and difficult road to travel

Mineski currently ranks among the top five teams in SEA. Placed in Group A with Team Liquid, compLexity Gaming and Wings Gaming, Mineski might have to do a lot of homework prior to their matchups.

Still, they might consider themselves lucky by having not being placed in Group B with the likes of Team Secret, EHOME, Fnatic and Team Empire. Going into Group A, Mineski’s toughest opponents will come in the form of Team Liquid, with winning two out of the three matchups a must if Mineski wants a spot in the playoffs.

Will this be Mineski’s time to shine? We’ll find out on the 22nd of April…

Four days until faceoff

Watch Mineski take on Team Liquid in ESL One Manila’s opening match at the Mall of Asia Arena! With the teams finalized and ready to battle for a humongous US$250,000 prize pool, ESL One Manila is an event you definitely don’t want to miss. Be sure to book your ticket for the event here!

Stay up to date with the latest ESL One Manila happenings by checking out the official website, Twitter and Facebook. 

Road to ESL One Manila

Fnatic’s roster having a mixture of talent and experience has given them glory against many of the world’s top Dota 2 teams. Coming into the ESL One Manila qualifiers, Fnatic started off by defeating local teams in a best-of-three format. Though not equal opposition, the Fnatic’s wins grabbed attention from around the community as they were playing without their most experienced member, star player Chai Yee “Mushi” Fung, who had been taking a break from competitive gaming for some time. However, that didn’t stop Fnatic’s domination in the qualifiers, with their latest addition Yeik “Miduan” Zheng wreaking havoc over their enemies.

Fnatic’s lineup for ESL One Manila will be as follows:

• Chai Yee “Mushi” Fung
• Yeik Zheng “Midone” Nai
• Chong Xin “Ohaiyo” Khoo
• Djardel Jicko “DJ” Mampusti
• Wai Pern “Net” Lim

Tough times ahead

Going into ESL One Manila Fnatic was on a 22-win streak, although this was ended recently. Having defeated Korean giants MVP Phoenix three times along the way, the newly formed team will be battling it out for international recognition in Manila. The SEA giants have been placed in a tough group where they will face off against EHOME, Team Secret and Empire to qualify for the semifinals.

Out of the total eight teams going into the event, Fnatic have to go a long way to prove their might and how they perform when up against the cream of the crop. Playing in South East Asia might be to their advantage, but the pressure will also be a huge factor in making or breaking the team’s composition at ESL One Manila.

Don’t miss out on the action!

Everything kicks off on the 22nd of April, with a prize pool of US$250,000 that the winner will take home a hefty US$100,000 of as well as the all-important title. The event will be held in the Mall of Asia Arena, Manila, Philippines, and seats are already filling up fast. Haven’t booked your ticket yet? Get it now!

Track all the major details for ESL One Manila by visiting the official website or following ESL Dota 2 on Facebook and Twitter.

The invited teams were Mineski, TNC Pro Team, Execration and Extremist, all of whom got a bye in the first round of the closed qualifier This left the other eight teams having to battle it out among themselves for a slot in the quarterfinals.

The qualifier

All of of the qualifier matches except the final were best of three and ended with decisive 2-0 scores. Three out of four invited teams made it to the semifinals: Mineski, TNC and Execration, who were joined by winners of the Luzon qualifier Acion Arena. In the end, it was Mineski and TCN Pro Team who emerged victorious and met in the qualifier finals.

The qualifier final was a best of five and consisted of quick matches, with only one of them going slightly over 30 minutes. The series started out well for Mineski, who took the first game, but TCN made an immediate comeback by taking game two. The rest of the series belonged to Mineski, who took the next two games and the series 3-1.

Home crowd favorites

Mineski is a very well-known esports organization in the Philippines, and they will no doubt have the support of the home crowd in the Mall of Asia Arena. They are one of the top teams in their region and have also made appearances in the international scene, including participating in the Frankfurt Major last year.

Mineski finished second in their group with a 2-1 score and moved on to the upper bracket, where they fell to later finalists, Team Secret. They then moved to the lower bracket, where they had to face later Frankfurt Major champions OG. OG ended their run at the major with a 0-2 defeat.

Can Mineski be the hometown heroes?

There will be a lot of pressure on Mineski, with them being the only Filipino team to compete in ESL One Manila. Will the support of the enormous home crowd help them beat the odds and clinch the trophy? We’ll find out next month!

ESL One Manila takes place on April the 23rd and 24th at the Mall of Asia Arena in the Philippines. Tickets are still available so be sure to grab yours here!

For all the important information about the event, visit the ESL One Manila official website and follow ESL Dota 2 on Twitter and Facebook.

Three of the eight attending teams have received direct invitations: EHOME, Team Liquid and Team Secret. Joining them will be five teams who have or will come out on top in the American, Chinese, European, Filipino or Southeast Asian qualifiers. Two of these qualifiers have just concluded, and we are happy to announce that Team Empire and compLexity Gaming will be joining us in Manila!

American qualifier

compLexity Gaming started their journey to ESL One Manila in the qualifier quarterfinals thanks to their tier one seeding. Their opponent was Infamous, a Peruvian team formed by the former members of Unknown.xiu who we saw at the Frankfurt major. They didn’t prove a match for compLexity, however, with the latter taking the best-of-three series 2-0.

Next compLexity faced Digital Chaos, whose lineup included TI champion Aui_2000. Digital Chaos proved to be a more difficult opponent, and all three matches had to be played out before compLexity took the win 2-1. The qualifier final came down to compLexity and another Peruvian team – Elite Wolves. compLexity had no trouble defeating this opponent and took a swift 3-0 victory which secured them a slot at ESL One Manila.

European qualifier

Similar to compLexity Gaming, Team Empire got seeded as tier one and waited for their first opponent in the qualifier bracket. It was hellRaisers who they met following their win over STARK in round one. Things were looking good for HellRaisers as they took game one in the best of three, but Team Empire pulled it together and won the next two. In the semifinals, they met with Nordic team London Conspiracy, which proved to be a fairly easy matchup as Empire took two games in under 30 minutes.

The qualifier final was a real treat for all Dota 2 fans – el clasico between Team Empire and Natus Vincere. We were treated to four great matches, with the first two going to Team Empire and putting them only one win away from Manila. However, giving up was not in Na’Vi’s plan, with them managing to take game three in just under an hour. Unfortunately, it was not enough, and after another nearly hour-long game Team Empire clinched the European slot at ESL One Manila.

Only three slots left!

We now know five of the eight teams who will compete in Southeast Asia’s biggest Dota 2 tournament. Be sure to keep an eye on our qualifier page to see which teams complete the lineup. If you’d like to join the crowd at the Mall of Asia Arena in person, you can grab yourself a ticket here!

Can’t make it to the Philippines? Europe’s biggest Dota 2 tournament and gamer festival is coming back to Frankfurt in June this year – join us then at the Commerzbank Arena!

For all important updates, make sure you’re following ESL Dota on Twitter and Facebook.