Secret +350 Favorite to Win ONE Esports Dota 2 World Pro Invitational

• The ONE Esports Dota 2 World Pro Invitational takes place December 17-22
• Will Team Secret carry over their dominance from last season?
• Best bets to take home the trophy in Singapore

The ONE Esports Dota 2 World Pro Invitational is set to start December 17 and will see 12 teams go head-to-head in Singapore with the top team walking away with $200,000. The teams will be split up into two groups of six, with the top two teams in each group advancing to the upper bracket playoffs, and the third and fourth teams moving into the lower bracket playoffs.

Team Secret, sit on top of the odds table heading into the World Pro Invitational despite not having played in a meaningful tournament since TI9 where they fell short to Liquid in the semifinals. Are the Europeans bound to repeat their 2018-19 performance where they were the best team in Dota2? Or is there another behemoth on the horizon for the upcoming season?

Dota 2 World Pro Invitational

Odds taken on Dec. 16

Starting Off Their Year Hot?

They have yet to play in anything other than some tournament qualifiers this season, but with their dominant performance last year, Secret, has earned the top spot in the odds table at the World Pro Invitational. The EU mixsquad was the best team in the Dota world last year, with two DPC Major wins, and two more top-4 finishes.

They were the tournament favorite heading into more or less every event of the year, and it looks like that trend may continue early into this year even though they are looking a bit different this season. TI7 winner, MATUMBAMAN, has taken over the role previously fulfilled by MidOne, and they have also had a change at their coaching role bringing in Heen.

It will be interesting to see how the new look Secret come out and perform in their first real event of the year, but if they are able to replicate or at least get close to last year’s level of play, they are definitely a threat to win at the Dota World Pro Invitational. I would say they do stand a pretty good chance of coming away with the title, but there are two other teams that stand a better chance and offer more value.

A Second Win of the Year on the Horizon?

After a fairly underwhelming year in 2018-19, TNC, head into the DPC season fresh off of making two roster changes which saw them bring in kpii and March, and so far it looks to have been for the better. They’ve already found a DPC Major win on the year when they beat ViCi Gaming 3-1 in the Grand Final of MDL Chengdu in late November, which slotted them into first place in the DPC standings early in the year.

Though they were able to find the W at MDL Chengdu, TNC, managed to dodge quite a few of the highly touted teams en route to hoisting the trophy. Was it just a case of drawing the better side of the bracket and getting a little lucky when it mattered, or are they the real deal? I would say with certainty they will make the playoffs of the Dota World Pro Invitational, but I would be surprised if they were able to find back-to-back tournament wins in Singapore.

Revenge in Singapore?

The last team I would suggest taking a serious look at to come out on top at the Dota World Pro Invitational is ViCi Gaming. They were one of two teams in the 2018-19 DPC Season that managed to take home two majors, and they have already managed a major final this season in the first of the year at MDL Chengdu.

The Chinese squad has proven that they can win in big tournaments, but they also are pretty inconsistent. They did take home two majors last season, but in the other three they paced in the 5-8th range. Not bad results per se as that’s a quarterfinal exit, but at the same time there were a few teams that managed to place more consistently last season.

I think they get it done this time around though, and with their added value at the Dota 2 World Pro Invitational, I would say look to ViCi Gaming to win it all in Singapore.

Pick: ViCi Gaming (+450)