The last time a Major was held in SEA was the Kuala Lumpur Major in 2018, and before that, it was the Manila Major in 2016. Join me for a stroll down memory lane as we look back at what happened at SEA ’ s former Dota Majors .
The Manila Major
Credit: Valve
- Date: June 7-12, 2016
- Location: Mall of Asia Arena, Manila, The Philippines
- Champions: OG
- Prize Money: US$3,000,000
The Manila Major was the largest and most prestigious Dota 2 tournament always held in South East Asia at the time. The event itself took identify in the Mall of Asia Arena which could seat 16,000 Dota fans at soap capacity. And yes, tickets sold out for the august final weekend. To top it all off, the Manila Major had a humongous USD $ 3,000,000 choice pool ! Who wouldn ’ thymine want a slice of that pie ?
Whilst besides being the stopping point Major for the 2016 DPC, many teams saw this as their last opportunity to receive a steer invite to TI6 alternatively of playing the dangerous crippled called TI qualifiers.
Over the course of the event, the universe learned of SEA ’ s heat for Dota 2 through Jake “ SirActionSlacks ” Kanner ’ s sports fan segments that were peppered into the main broadcast .
You thought that was impressive ? To this day, fans hush reminisce of the legendary Manila crowd who frequently overshadowed evening the casters during independent stage matches. late on during the independent event, event organizers PGL had to lower the volume of the crowd mic because it was so deafen ! Turn down your volume before watching the clip below, you’ll thank me later .
The Major besides stands out for a few moments that will go down in history as some of the greatest to ever happen in the Dota 2 esports world. First up, the global learned of Djardel Jicko B. “ DJ ” Mampusti ’ second fabled Enigma whose devastating Black Holes knocked chinese powerhouse LGD down to the lower bracket .
That wasn ’ metric ton all. Actor Kristian Nairn, who played Hodor in Game of Thrones, LITERALLY held the door open for the Manila Major finalists, OG and Team Liquid !
The Major ended with OG proudly clutching the trophy in movement of a broad house. This was a momentous affair for the team as OG became the first team to win two Majors in a competitive season after their dream lower bracket run at the Frankfurt Major .
Credit: Valve
The Kuala Lumpur Major
Credit: PGL
- Date: November 9-18, 2018
- Location: Axiata Arena, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
- Champions: Virtus.pro
- Prize Money: US$1,000,000
It was Kuala Lumpur ’ s call on to host a Major in 2018, making Malaysia the irregular SEA state to host a Major. The event took place at Axiata Arena and boasted a US $ 1,000,000 loot consortium. Unlike the Manila Major, the KL Major was depart of the new DPC system that was implemented back in 2017. Teams were no longer competing for a lineal invite but alternatively DPC points that would determine who would qualify directly into TI9.
The KL Major birthed some of the greatest side content to grace the Dota 2 setting. Back in 2017, Henrik “ AdmiralBulldog ” Ahnberg was denied entrance into the US for TI7, due to not having the correct Visa to work in the country. Since then, the community has turned the event into a meme where Bulldog would never be able to leave Sweden. Yes, PGL went along with the meme and yes, it ’ s worth watch .
The limelight wasn ’ metric ton just on Bulldog either. Shoutcaster Owen “ ODPixel ” Davies used the KL Major to show off precisely why the Dota 2 community calls him the “ Rap God ” .
Fans at the Major witnessed a european expansive final between Virtus.pro and Team Secret. Leading up to the thousand concluding, Team Secret had beaten VP 2:1 in the upper berth bracket concluding. Yet, during the bo5 distinguished concluding, Secret went on to draft midlaner Yeik “ MidOne ” Nai Zheng, core Shadow Shaman .
An unconventional hero to put in the midlane, Team Secret wanted to overwhelm Virtus.pro with Terrorblade and Shadow Shaman ’ s pushing capabilities. The CIS team weren ’ triiodothyronine going down well however as they had drafted a superior team fight batting order that halted any kind of aggression Secret tried to apply. In game one, at 34 minutes, Team Secret were the ones to call gg.
The teams continued to go back and away in the grand final but with the score tied 2-2, only one would emerge victorious. It all came down to the fifth bet on .
Game five looked like it was in the bag for Team Secret. The panel praised Team Secret ’ s Timbersaw pick, which theoretically should destroy VP ’ s Dragon Knight, Tiny, and Magnus. And all was going well for Team Secret until VP ’ s Roman “ RAMZES666 ” Kushnarev revealed the Black King Bar on his Terrorblade .
With Clement “ Puppey ” Ivanov ’ second Global Silences now nullified by the Black King Bar, there was nothing stopping RAMZES666 from steamrolling Team Secret with his mighty Terrorblade. At 42 minutes, Secret conceded the match and Virtus.pro became the champions of the Kuala Lumpur Major.
Screenshot by Danelie Purdue/ ONE Esports
The Singapore Major
Credit: ONE Esports
- Date: March 27 – April 4, 2021
- Location: Singapore
- Prize Money: US$500,000
Dota will return to SEA with the ONE Esports Singapore Major presented by PGL. The Singapore Major will feature 18 of the best teams from around the world, and will be the first gear Major broadcast in glorious 4K resolution at 60 federal protective service .
Be certain to bookmark this page for the latest updates and information on the Singapore Major, including participating teams, agenda, tournament format, and more .
READ MORE: Every team that has qualified for the ONE Esports Singapore Major
