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North American Dota 2 pros will have more to keep themselves entertained during the year, as Faceit Pro league, an in-house league for high-level players in the region, sources have confirmed to The Flying Courier.
A page from the books of the Warcraft 3 days, fans got their first taste of the unofficial circuit Monday night, with skilled players coming together for some “preseason games.” In-house leagues typically score such players onto a “ladder,” an internal rating-ranking system, but FPL won’t start keeping track until September 1st.
Not much has been revealed officially about the league, though it’s shaping up to become a pretty big deal. Ex-EG captain and EG CEO Peter “PPD” Dager put out an open call several weeks ago for the league, asking for potential players to contact him and/or several other notable NA players:
NA Pro players looking to play IHL this fall please contact myself, @ixmike88 @Arteezy @BuLbaDotA_ or @melonzzdota for vouching.
— Peter Dager (@Peterpandam) August 23, 2017
Since then, PPD has said very little about it. However, FaceitMikey, an admin for the company, confirmed on Reddit September 1st is the official start date of the ladder season, and others have confirmed Faceit’s involvement plus the starting date to The Flying Courier as well.
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The comment plus sources also confirm that Faceit will be helping to run the league. For now, the “preseason” is a test run of the system, according the sources.
Many players streamed the preseason matches for fans to follow, including Dager himself and ex-EG teammate Artour “Arteezy” Babaev. It became a night of stargazing for fans of NA Dota as countless other pros and pubstars were spotted alongside (and up against) the players.
Other pro players that appeared in the various confirmed games Monday night include Avery "SVG" Silverman, Mason "mason" Venne, Quinn "CC&C" Callahan, Jaron "monkeys-forever" Clinton, Arif "MSS" Anwar, David "MoonMeander" Tan, Enzo "Timado" Gianoli and much more.
Also spotted were Gabriel "Lyrical" Cruz and Grant “Grandgrant” Harris casting the private lobbies.
The last FPL took place in 2015 as a European in-house ladder.