A Primer on the Manila Major
The Manila Major is just around the corner, and as always, it can be a bit difficult to truly experience it all. If you are interested in everything related to the third and final Valve Major, then read on through as we guide you through what you need to know.
Format & Schedule
The Manila Major Groups Day 1 Schedule. Games begin in 12 hours. #ManilaMajor pic.twitter.com/gVX6R3zyj6
— Wykrhm Reddy (@wykrhm) June 2, 2016
We’re going back to basics as the groupstage will take place across only two days again, similar to the Frankfurt Major. Starting on June 3rd, from Friday to Saturday, four groups will play out in the classic “GSL-Style” format, meaning a double elimination bracket within each group.
Every match is a bo3 encounter, and the top two teams of each group advance to the upper bracket, as the bottom two teams drop to the lower bracket. Groups A and B are scheduled to be played out on Friday, followed by groups C and D on Saturday. Every day is scheduled to start at 10am local time (GMT + 08.00), which translates into either 3am CEST or 10pm EST the day before.
Unlike previous Majors, the first round of the playoffs is the only one with best-of-one games, meaning there will be more games to follow this time around.
The playoffs are set to begin on Tuesday, June 7th and will conclude on Sunday, June 12th.
You can follow the action live on Twitch, in-game for free, and if Valve’s API stays stable, we will of course provide you with live information via Trackdota and all match details, fully parsed, in our tournament hub here.
Major Storylines to look out for
The shuffle for this season had a lot of spice in it with last minute changes between 
Shopify Rebellion, 
Team Secret and 
Digital Chaos. As it so happens, both Digital Chaos and Team Secret will play each other early on in group B, giving both MiSeRy- and w33ha the chance for “payback” against their former teammates.
It is only one of many storylines though, with another one being the big advent of coaches in Dota 2, as more and more players transition into--albeit temporary--coaching positions.
You can read all about it in detail as eggs breaks down these storylines for you in his article.
Meta expectations
Patch 6.87 was released just over a month ago, and we have seen various tournaments, both offline and online, with different approaches to the new meta. It certainly seems as if the trend of picking tanky cores stays true, with some teams opting for heavy teamfighting and early pushing. Some heroes have stood the test of time and still persist in the meta, such as 
Beastmaster, 
Doom or 
Lion, but there are new heroes that emerged again in this particular meta, like 
Phoenix or 
Dragon Knight. When looking at the Manila Major Compendium predictions, it becomes evident that the meta currently revolves around these heroes.
As always though, a tournament of this scale will have its own meta developing throughout the event. So who’s to say, we won’t see Roaming Riki in action?
Introducing PGL
One of the biggest questions following the Shanghai Major was how production would be handled this time around. What could only be described as one of the worst produced events on such a scale in Esports history was supposed to stay that: history. As such, every event afterwards was measured against Shanghai and suddenly everything seemed magical again. Epicenter: Moscow in fact had marvellous production that was praised on all ends by the community.
Enter PGL. The Romanian production company has to follow suit on KeyTV’s disaster at Shanghai and should have it rather easy to at least not disappoint the community--what’s there to expect when the last Major was a major disaster. That said, PGL has proven time and time again that they are willing to go the extra mile to deliver in regards to #productionvalue.
This clip was released a few months ago already, showing that the production team was very well invested into preparing properly for the Major.
While PGL’s resume may be rather short in regards to Dota 2--hosting the TI5 Qualifier hub and producing a StarLadder LAN finals was certainly their biggest foray into the scene--but they have a lot of experience in CS:GO, producing their own tournament with a LAN finals and producing even a CS:GO minor as well as a Major.
They are not afraid to experiment and could potentially set the bar in regards to production for future events to come. Check out their Facebook page for some early insights into what goes on behind the scenes.
TI6 direct invites are at stake
As the season progresses towards TI6, teams are now facing the largest hurdle when it comes to securing a direct invite. A top 8 placement seems like the biggest qualifying factor for a direct invite to an event with what could possibly be the largest prizepool in Esports yet. Some teams may already be on the path they wish to take, like Liquid or OG, but others have a long way to go still, like Secret or EG.
No roster changes can take place without being disqualified from a direct invite to either the Major itself or the regional qualifier. Teams like EHOME and Vici Gaming have already accepted that fate and changed their roster, knowing they will have to fight through not only the main but also the open qualifier. The Manila Major could open the eyes of a few other teams who believed in their roster up until now. Who’s to say there won’t be a slight shuffle afterwards again?
1st XD. Vote arcana ember please
Hurp meh senpai
xd 3rd
Just instant delete posts like 1st, 2nd etc. Those kids are just awkvard and it is all pretty disruptive . Ban(1day,week, etc.) would be helpful in this case.
xd 5th
Sharky..... y? who cares honestly.............................................. so you have to scroll down a little further to read comments??????
You know it's actually possible that Secret won't face DC. If secret beat Navi and Wings beat DC, they won't meet each other at all in the group...
9th xD
all vote arcana for troll ,phoenix is for click clack guys ,troll for hc right clickers !
11st
Hihihi.....
Vote arcana trolll....!!! Woooooo!!!!!
So if i live on the East Coast, this would start at 10 pm on thursday?
Vote Leshrac!
Yep, 10PM EST ... can't wait!
Vote ember!
All i need is just wait the highlights on utube :D
Longest game prediction was wrong. rip 200 points
Why the only thing I see is votation campaing?
Because everyone wants their favorite hero to get an arcana they couldn't possibly afford.
Which reminds me: vote Rubick!
vote for enigma .. meh, cant even afford an arcana .. might as well cry in the corner
vote invoker, just imagine this arcana :D
vote bane arcana guys he needs an item
"Just instadelete posts like 1st, 2nd etc." This. Please.
Guys,I have a question,does the battle pass continue to level up and get items even if it has ended?