Dota 2 Boston Major Day 1 Results Show Troubles with Tournament Format

Day 1 of the Boston Major main event began on Wednesday and, unsurprisingly, it was a fine day of Dota 2. Virtus.Pro seems poised for a strong run through the field after a strong showing against iG Vitality. TI5 winners Evil Geniuses faced TI6 winners Wings Gaming. OG once again showed that their new roster is very, very good.

Four of the odds-on favourites to win the tournament played on the first day and, unfortunately, not all of them will have their fair chance at a spot in the grand finals because of the tournament’s inappropriate format.

Dota 2 tournaments almost always use the same two-bracket formula. Group stages determine whether teams start in the upper or lower bracket, giving weight to the early matches. Teams face off in best-of-three series, with losing upper bracket teams being sent to the lower bracket and losing lower bracket teams being sent home.

It’s not perfect, of course. The long duration of Dota 2 games prevents organizers from resetting the grand finals match if the lower bracket team wins, in comparison to fighting game tournaments where someone is only eliminated after losing two sets. Still, it’s a good approach, all things considered.

The Boston Major, however, sees Valve and PGL go in a more traditional sporting direction; a 16-team, single-elimination tournament with the seeding decided in the group stages and the teams filling rigid brackets from there.

Theoretically, that makes sense. In practice, though, its pitfalls become obvious.

The Boston Major group stages consisted of four groups made up of four teams, who played a combined five series in each group. The matchups are arranged to result in a defined hierarchy, with one team going 2-0, one going 2-1, one going 1-2 and one going 0-2. From there, teams are inversely matched with opponents from other groups, with first-place facing fourth-place and second facing third.

The problem there is that five group stage matches just aren’t enough to accurately seed a tournament in a game where upsets are fairly common. As such, some teams can be stuck with brutally difficult paths to the $1 million top prize while others having a relative cakewalk.

Take, for example, Day 1’s biggest series, between Wings Gaming and EG. Both teams received a direct invite to the event. Both were ranked as the best teams in their regions. Both were common picks for first-place.

Unfortunately, they were pitted against one another on the first day of the tournament, with Wings dropping the series 2-0 and getting booted from the proceedings as a result.

In any other tournament, they would have the chance to dust themselves off and work their way towards a higher place and a bigger paycheck. In the Boston Major, though? They share a last place finish with the likes of iG Vitality and compLexity Gaming.

That stinks for them, but it’s not much easier for EG, who face another brutally stiff test on Friday in Virtus.Pro. If they can make it through Europe’s most dominant team, they will have to face the winner of OG vs. WG.Unity, in another tricky matchup.

A quick look at the other end of the bracket shows how unfair this format is. Take, for example, Digital Chaos. The TI6 runner-up will face Team Faceless on Thursday, which has looked shaky against international-level competition. From there? The winner of Team NP vs. EHOME, neither of which have been regarded as top-end contenders.

This isn’t to say that Faceless, NP or EHOME are easy outs. Past Majors and Internationals have shown that “getting hot” at the right time can help push a mid-level team to the top, and one bad day can lead to an early ticket home for a seemingly dominant group.

Still, the Boston Major just doesn’t feel fair. Not to EG, who fell into an absolutely brutal schedule. Not to Wings Gaming, which will receive the same paycheck as teams that it would likely dominate. And not to the fans that miss out on watching some of the best teams ply their craft in a high-stakes lower bracket game.

The 16-team single elimination tournament works in the NHL, where it is preceded by an 82-game season. In Dota 2, though? Not so much.