Dota 2 Berlin Major 2023 Update: How to Watch, Qualified Teams, and Visa Issues

The Dota 2 Berlin Major 2023 is one of the most anticipated global tournaments of the beloved game and features 18 of the best teams in the world that would fight for the $200,000 grand prize.

The much-anticipated tournament is set to be played in Berlin and will feature three stages and will run from Apr. 26 to May 7. Qualifying teams are now looking to gain as many Dota Pro Circuit (DPC) points as possible in the run-up to The International, the highest-level tournament in the Dota 2 scene.

Dota 2 Berlin Major 2023 Kicks Off Apr. 26

The tournament comes as Valve recently released the game's 7.33 update, and fans are eager to see just what kind of impact the latest patch changes will have on the Major. The teams participating in the tournament are also looking to get a piece of the 2,700 DPC points allotted for the Berlin Major, as per Dexerto.

The first part of the Berlin Major is the group stage that features all 18 teams and will run from Apr. 26 to Apr. 30. After a grueling first part, only be 12 teams remaining who will go on to the second stage, the Playoffs, which is scheduled for May 2 to May 4. The last phase of the tournament, the Finals, will be hosted at the Velodrom in Berlin from May 5 to May 7 and include the top six teams.

The participants were also divided into two groups, with Group A featuring BetBoom Team, Evil Geniuses, ex-HellRaisers, Execration, Gaimin Gladiators, PSG.LGD, Team Aster, Team Liquid, and TSM.

On the other side, Group B featured beastcoast, Invictus Gaming, OG, Shopify Rebellion, Talon Esports, Team SMG, Team Spirit, Tundra Esports, and Xtreme Gaming. Fans who cannot watch the tournament live can view the matches when the Berlin Major is streamed live on the ESL_Dota2 Twitch channel.

Widespread Visa Issues

While many fans are looking forward to watching their beloved teams take their shot at winning the Berlin Major, some organizations are facing visa issues that have impacted their rosters. It has caused some teams to be unable to bring some of their starting players to Germany and forced them to settle with stand-ins, including OG.

The organization announced that two of its starting members, Evegenii "Chu" Makarov and Dmitry "DM" Dorokhin, were unable to get their visas in time to fly to Berlin. OG worked to finalize its roster with stand-ins Ivan "MinD_ContRoL" Ivanov and Kartik "Kitrak" Rathi, according to DotEsports.

The change comes after OG had a relatively impressive series at Dreamleague Season 19, where it made it to the second group stage before being eliminated and unable to qualify for playoffs. The switch to having stand-ins is seen as a challenge for the team in the upcoming Berlin Major 2023, said AfkGaming.

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