Top-5 matches of the first week of the DPC Winter League

Competitive Dota 2 is finally back and starting with the winter DPC Regional Leagues. We've compiled a list of this week's Top-5 matches that you shouldn't miss in any way.

Alliance vs Tundra Esports

• League: DPC: EU
• When: November 30 at 15:00 CET

The European Upper Division will open with a match between Tundra Esports and Alliance. Tundra Esports is considered a favorite for the match, with victory odds at 1.4.

Despite missing The International 10, Tundra Esports didn't change their previous roster and concentrated on preparing for the new season. The team's results in August and September have been impressive, winning ESL One Fall 2021 and finishing 3rd at the OGA Dota Pit Invitational. If the team has maintained their playing form for this season, they will likely be one of the main contenders for the league's champion.

Alliance, in turn, replaced 3 members at once after a weak performance at The International 10: ??fng, ??s4, and ??Limmp left the team and were replaced by ??Aramis, ??Supreme, and ??Leslão. Statistically, the newcomers are better than the old players, but it is unclear how long they will find their playstyle.

Team Secret vs OG

• League: DPC: EU
• When: November 30 at 18:00 CET

This encounter can be described as a battle of youth versus experience. In this competitive season, 2 of the most famous organizations in Europe have taken 2 different paths.

Despite finishing 3rd at The International 10, Team Secret parted ways with their 2 veterans, ??MATUMBAMAN and ??Zai, signing equally experienced ??iceiceice and ??SumaiL instead. Team Secret has denied the trend for young players this year and prefers to work exclusively with famous Esports players. Interesting to see what will eventually come out of this.

OG has removed all the old players from the team and completely changed their roster. Moreover, 4 players are young and promising Esportsmen who have almost no serious experience in the pro scene. It is not clear yet what to expect from this team, but to watch their first match will be interesting.

Talon Esports vs Polaris Esports

• League: DPC: SEA
• When: December 2 at 09:00 CET

In the Lower Divisions of the DPC Winter, we also have some interesting matches. One notable example is the meeting between Talon Esports and Polaris Esports. On paper, both teams look like top contenders to advance to the Upper Division.

Talon Esports is considered the favorite so far, with odds of 1.5. The newly formed team consists of big-name players, and its captain is ??Fly, who previously played for Evil Geniuses. Talon Esports made their way to the Lower Division through qualifiers, but only on their second attempt.

Polaris Esports is another strong team that has only recently formed. Their roster is not as prominent as Talon Esports, but they had more time to prepare since the team was formed in September 2021. In addition, they have already managed to take second place in the BTS Pro Series Season 9: SEA, losing only BOOM Esports there.

Natus Vincere vs PuckChamp

• League: DPC: CIS
• When: December 2 at 18:00 CET

The first official match of the new Natus Vincere roster will take place on December 2, and the team will play against PuckChamp. The favorite of the meeting, of course, is Natus Vincere.

Even 3 months ago, before The International 10 ended, Natus Vincere announced their updated roster, after which they haven't played a single official match. It is known that the entire roster has been on bootcamp for a long time. Soon, we will find out how effective this has been.

This match will mean a lot for PuckChamp because its coach from last season, artstyle, left the team to join Natus Vincere. It was after he left that the team's results fell.

Team SMG vs Fnatic

• League: DPC: SEA
• When: December 4 at 09:00 CET

Saturday morning will be brightened up by an incredible Southeast Asian derby between Team SMG and Fnatic. According to the bookmakers, the teams have an even chance of winning at the moment.

Team SMG seems more stable, with their core team that has been playing together for several months. During the transfer period, it had 1 substitution. ??kpii will now be replaced by ??RagingPotato. The team hasn't had any official matches since October 3, but the players have had a long bootcamp and a lot of time to prepare for the season.

The underdog of last week's The International 10, Team Fnatic, made 2 substitutions just before the transfer period closed. ??Jaunuel and ??Armel will play instead of ??Chuan and ??Deth. There are serious concerns that the team hasn't had enough time to play. However, we will only see that after the first match.

These are the 5 matches of the first week that we think deserve the most attention. Follow the whole schedule of the Regional Leagues on the DPC Winter page.