Dota 2 Champions League Season 14 and Europe’s wildest talent

The Dota 2 Champions League Season 14 (D2CL) is what’s brewing over at the European scene. While it’s certainly not as fancy as the coveted ESL One Malaysia 2022, the event features a vast selection of EU candidates.

Several of which are competing in the International 11 (TI11) regional qualifiers, such as BetBoom Team, One Move, Pari Parni, and SG esports.

Recap on Dota 2 Champions League Season 14

The Dota 2 Champions League Season 14 has been ongoing for a week, and is down to only six candidates. Since the Dota 2 Champions League Season 14 features double-elimination playoff for sixteen teams, we get quite a thrilling showcase.

The top dogs in upper bracket

We expected no less from BetBoom to make it into semifinals and is still kicking it. They initially defeated Anime Enjoyers and meme squad cleanly, where their drafts revolved around meta and cheese picks. For instance, Zeus is among the most picked heroes in recent meta, so it was a no-brainer to pick it whenever possible. However, what’s interesting is that they often overwhelm their opponent in the second game with a disgusting pushing line-up, consisting of Nature’s Prophet, Chaos Knight and Lycan.

BetBoom did not face any obstacle versus One Move. They are not facing Cybercats, another promising contender still rocking it here after defeating seasoned opponents, SG esports, and IVY. They are the Division 2 runner-up of DPC Tour 3, so they surely lived up to their names. Cybercats are no stranger to well-made drafts, as they deliver incredible plays and initiations with Void Spirit and other initiators. Hence, Cybercats certainly does give off the Team Spirit vibe for their reliant playmaking playstyle to win their matches.

We are in for a banger upper bracket final.

The lower bracket survivors

Meanwhile, the lower bracket quarterfinals, werethe end for Anime Enjoyers, which proved to be more than just a cringy random team name. They managed to defeat IVY, a DPC contender, which is decent enough to be in everyone’s expectations to win matches against nobodies. On paper, Anime Enjoyers seem to play around heavy damage nukes, which are great in midgame timings. Their tactic however, bode badly versus One Move in the quarters.

Empire Hope is also garnering some attention after they seemingly defeated their fair share of stronger opponents. Firstly, they defeated SG esports, alongside Pari Parni, which be reminded, is a Division 1 participant in DPC Tour 3. What’s fascinating is that they picked heroes out of regular pub matches, such as Pudge, who is currently very powerful. Thanks to its inert third skill that grants him absolute invulnerability to all damage, the hero can be played in various roles, including carry and roamer roles.

Empire Hope and One Move are playing for a shot at the third place decider later today. My wager is on an Empire Hope stomp.

The Dota 2 Champions League Season 14 rages on as we head into the final days of the event. With $50,000 on the line, the grand finals will surely be a fantastic performance of the best EU teams, especially after recapping the great accomplishments many teams delivered.

Regardless, we have our expectations on BetBoom and Cybercats to make it into the grand finals. The grand final is a decisive best-of-five, so may the stronger team prevail.