7 facts about the WePlay AniMajor

William Davis Published 27/06/2021

The WePlay Animajor isn’t that far in the past, but fans are already holding it up as one of the greatest Dota 2 tournaments of all time. PSG.LGD capped an impressive run in the event by taking first place and cementing itself as the favorite to win The International 2021. 

But while PSG.LGD’s performance was impressive, the AniMajor will also be remembered for having high production values to complement these high-level games.

Here are some facts about one of the most grandiose esports events in the history of professional Dota 2.

1. The main theme of the AniMajor was anime

WePlay Esports is famous for creating themed events. The Bukovel Minor was a winter wonderland, there was a futuristic cyberpunk-esque city for Tug of War: Mad Moon, and the ancient Greece-inspired Omega League. 

For the AniMajor, WePlay decided to go with an anime theme because of the crossover between the anime and Dota 2 fandoms. WePlay created countless anime-style videos, like this opening, which presents the tournament’s talents:

2. The AniMajor decided the teams to compete in The International 2021

In order to secure enough points and receive a direct invite to The International, Team Nigma, led by the 2017 world champion Kuro “KuroKy” Salehi Takhasomi, needed to reach the Grand Final of the WePlay AniMajor. Quite the tall task for Nigma, as they started playing in the earliest stage of the tournament, the wild card stage.

Nigma came very close to pulling this off, but they were one of many teams that fans had to keep an eye on as the AniMajor finalized the list of invitees to TI10. The regional qualifiers are underway and six more teams are looking to earn a spot in the event

3. The WePlay AniMajor is looking to break the viewership records of every Dota 2 Major

The WePlay AniMajor was about anime, but WePlay also dedicated a lot of promotional effort to highlight that the company was looking to break the record viewership of The Kiev Major 2017. A number of giveaways were put together for this, including a top prize where WePlay would pay to send a fan on an all-expenses-paid trip to the next The International event to allow an audience.. 

4. Lion is the most picked hero of the WePlay AniMajor

The most contested heroes of the WePlay AniMajor were some old favorites for pro players, but also some newcomers. Templar Assassin, Broodmother, Puck, Timbersaw, and Faceless Void were among the most-contested heroes of the event. There were also a lot of heroes that haven’t traditionally been especially popular at the pro level, including the most-picked hero, Lion. 

5. 18 heroes went un-picked and un-banned in the AniMajor

Dota 2 is a very well-balanced game, and the AniMajor was another example of that. Unlike most prominent events, no hero had a picked-or-banned rate of 100% or even particularly close. Templar Assassin was the most-contested hero, and appeared in just 80% of drafts.

18 heroes went untouched in drafts at the event, however. Pubstomp favorites like Zeus, Tinker, Techies, and Pudge never got acknowledged in drafts. Strangely, so did Earthshaker, Alchemist, and Meepo. And of course, new hero Dawnbreaker didn’t get touched as she remained banned for the AniMajor

6. Out of every country, China has the most representatives at the WePlay AniMajor

As per usual, China sent the most players to the event with 18 Chinese players going to Kyiv. The second and third-most represented countries are the Philippines with 13 and Russia with 11. 13 countries are represented only by one player. In total there are 90 players from 28 different countries.

7. The shortest series of the tournament lasted just 40 minutes

In the group stage, Team Nigma destroyed Vici Gaming. The Chinese powerhouse was not prepared for the fierce pressure and was forced to call “gg” at 16 minutes, 28 seconds on map one and 23 minutes, 57 seconds on map 2. The longest game of the tournament, the second map of the match between PSG.LGD and Vici Gaming, lasted a little more than 65 minutes. The average game length was 37 minutes.

Join the final battle on Twitch and YouTube.

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