The Boston Major, held at the Wang Theater in Boston, Massachusetts, is only a few days away, and it’s going to be one of the mostly tightly contested tournaments we’ve seen in a while. This is the first Valve sponsored event at which the sixteen invited teams will be seeded into a single elimination bracket, based on performances in the group stage, instead of a double-elimination bracket. You can practically guarantee there will be some early upsets. Let’s check out the major talking points going into this tournament.
Wings remain dominant
Wings Gaming look to have shaken off the TI winner curse that has afflicted most of the previous World Champion sides. Instead of spiraling towards complacency and lackluster performances, Wings have largely remained on top of their game. They’ll certainly be one of the most intimidating teams to go up against. They aren’t unbeatable though, as was shown at the Summit 6, so they’ll have to bring their A-game if they want to take home the title.
The most diverse meta ever
6.88 has well and truly become the most versatile metagame we’ve ever seen. Almost every hero in the pool is viable and this makes drafting a headache for even the most experienced captains. What does this mean for teams though? Well, for one thing it means that cheesy strats—pulling out a Meepo or Huskar, for instance—are easier to execute because they’re harder to spot. More importantly, it favors teams with more creative, versatile players, who are happy to experiment a little, and it favors captains who have a deeper understanding of the game.
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Virtus.Pro are on the rise
Virtus.Pro are definitely one of the most promising sides on the circuit. According to many online bookmakers, they’re the favorites to win the whole thing. They’ve gone from strength to strength this year and all their talented young players seem to thrive in this diverse metagame. Lil and Solo have formed a formidable support partnership, able to utilize heroes like Disruptor so effectively it’s attracting respect bans. The cores, No[o]ne and RAMZES666, play with the skills and composure many much more experience players rarely show. Their newest member, 9pasha, has fit right in and established himself as one of the trickiest offlaners to shut down. The terrifying thing is, they’re only going to get better.
No Miracle
There was a huge amount of hype over the past year surrounding Miracle, with many players and commentators suggesting he was the best player in the world. He went on to hit the 10K MMR mark and helped OG win multiple majors. After a disappointing result at TI and his move to Team Liquid, much of the hype has died down. Similarly, Team Secret failed to qualify for the Boston Major after a disappointing run at the qualifiers. It just goes to show how competitive the field is and that teams are constantly striving to gain the upper hand over their opposition.
