Virtus Pro win first Valve Major at ESL One Hamburg

In a historical moment for the team, Virtus Pro have taken their first Valve Major by winning ESL One Hamburg. They took an aggressive and impressive victory against Team Secret, with solid drafts capped off with terrifying last-picks that proved to be too much for the European rivals.

The Valve-sponsored event victory is a long time coming. Virtus Pro’s roster stuck together after their run at The International 7, meaning they’ve been together for over a year—since early August 2016. During this time, they qualified for the Boston Major, took second at the Kiev Major and won two Dota Summits in a row. At TI7, they fell to eventual champions Team Liquid, but didn’t disband regardless. After taking this Major, it’s certainly paying off.

Meanwhile, Team Secret played strongly as well, given their recent mix-up after TI7. Fan expectations were high for the team given their reputation in the region, and they proved it with their solid run through the event—and some of the top teams in the world.

Team Secret took on their regional rivals Team Liquid in the semis—but Secret finally got the victory any team in Dota 2 would dream of. Meanwhile, Chinese TI7 finalists Newbee finally had some time in an event’s semifinals and even showed a glimmer of hope for Chinese fans, but Virtus pro dashed that hope in a 2-1 show.

The Qualifying Point distributions for this event are as follows, per the Pro Circuit standards:

1. Mineski — 750 Points/player
2. LGD-Gaming — 450 Points/player
3. Evil Geniuses/Immortals — 150 Points/Player*

(*The teams shared an equal third-place position at the event, thus they receive the same number of points.)