Virtus.pro secure first Major of the season

CIS powerhouse Virtus.pro secured the first Major title of the season. VP had a fantastic run, beating TI7 champions Team Liquid in the group stage and dominating the finals with a 2-0 victory over Team Secret Secret. Winning the ESL One Hamburg Major means that VP will take home 750 Qualifier Points per player, accumulating to a 2250 QP team total, leading the team standings over Team Secret (1240) and Team Liquid (1035).

An overview of the tournament can be found here.

7.07 hits, Dark Willow and Pangolier added

The first big balance patch since 7.00 has launched. As promised, the Dueling Fates update brought two new heroes, namely Dark Willow, an intelligence based nuker, and Pangolier, an agility based initiator. Both heroes have started with rather low win rates, especially Pangolier (currently 39%). Aside from the two new heroes, Valve brought in several new changes, such as seasonal ranks and a sixth ban to Captain's Mode.

A detailed patch analysis can be found on our blog.

Tournament Overview:

The DotaPit Minor is well underway and Team Liquid & Vici Gaming have secured a top 3 finish by placing in the upper bracket finals, securing 45 QP per player each.
The next week will be the first in a while without a Major or Minor LAN event, but qualifiers for Captain's Draft, DreamLeague and more will continue.
Alongside DotaPit, the Americas finals for the ASUS ROG Masters take place this weekend. Team Leviathan, OpTic Gaming, VGJ Storm and Digital Chaos will compete for one spot at the global LAN finals.

Also Noteworthy

TI7 champion and Finnish pro player Matumbaman is the first ever esports player to be nominated at the Finnish sports gala, in this case for the "most thrilling sport moment of the year".
Virtus.pro's Solo was nominated as the MVP of the ESL One Hamburg Major and was awarded a Mercedes Benz.
The Clip of the week goes to SG's 4dr, who shuts down Newbee with a TRIPLE RAMPAGE to secure game 1 in their series.

Thanks for catching up with us. We hope you enjoy your weekend.