The DPC (2021-22) Eastern Europe is home to the recent champions, Team Spirit. We demand someone do something about this outrageous team!

We will keep the introduction short on Spirit this time, since their name has been all over the news since they won TI10. For the record, none of the select candidates in DPC EEU Regional Finals has snatched a game, let alone a series.

That said, they are fearsome team not because of their playstyle nor drafts, but their enlightening spirit in the game. Following the champion’s journey throughout TI10, one aspect that made them stand out was their unbothered attitude towards the tournament. At some point, these gleeful boys wouldn’t have been disappointed if they didn’t win either.

They are currently hard flexing on the entire scene with no challenger in sight.

The first challenger: HellRaisers

For a team formerly in Division 2, HellRaisers is deserving of our respect as an underdog. The young squad has certainly grown stronger since their debut last November 2021.

Now, HellRaisers’ timeline might seem like things don’t add up. After all, the current line-up was announced last November 2021, when HellRaisers already scored top seeds in Division 2 of the last DPC season. Well, turns out the former line-up that earned HellRaisers a Division 1 slot, left the org early. Hence, HellRaisers moved on to recruit their new class of players for the recent DPC2021-22 EEU season.

On the plus side, the current HellRaisers line-up aren’t too shabby themselves. They were on a close tie with Virtus.pro before the tiebreakers set them apart. Perhaps it’s been the storyline since Spirit won the International, as we enter a new era of young guns. HellRaisers’ line-up is considerably new players in the scene, so consider themselves the generation of miracles.

Team Spirit vs HellRaisers

Unfortunately, HellRaisers will likely be Team Spirit’s first victim at the DPC EEU Regional Finals. There’s no questioning Team Spirit’s dominance over HellRaisers, and plausibly every opponent regardless of region. There isn’t much of a feasible gamble here, besides selecting those that are in favor of Team Spirit.

Alternatively, there are potential ‘what-if’ scenarios for HellRaisers. The underdog had the right idea to pick typical Team Spirit tactics, such as having an elusive mid hero and the rest of the hero combo to be of strong magic damage nukes. To play that midgame, with better development into late-game is risky, considering Team Spirit’s proficiency in controlling late-game fights.

When HellRaisers attempted to play the cheese picks, like last-pick Broodmother, Team Spirit simply picked elusive and sustainable heroes. Heroes such as Razor, Juggernaut and Morphling are often durable enough to survive an initiation with no reliable chain stuns.

Tactics aside, Team Spirit will likely still overwhelm the rest of the league with its versatility and many tricks up its sleeves.

PuckChamp, the young yet worthy contender

A new “player” in the EEU scene is always a great sight and foretelling of what’s brewing in the region. Underdogs, young prodigies, wunderkind, EEU has never been so blooming with fresh faces, aching to play some good Dota.

PuckChamp is definitely one on the list of rising stars, especially after their flawless performance. Even though PuckChamp lost against Team Spirit, there’s a huge power gap between PuckChamp and Virtus.pro, the third-place team at DPC2021-22 EEU Division 1.

Their recipe for success boils down to key players making their way into the team’s core line-up. Notably, Nikita “young G” Bochko and Abdimalik “Malik” Sailau, as the mid player and offlaner respectively. The two roles are vital in helping PuckChamp diversify from their amateur plays, which barely spared them from demoting back to Division 2.

Virtus.pro become the hunted

Virtus.pro, an iconic name in the CIS region for ages, has finally toppled down to lacklustre standards for a powerhouse. The once glorious team that has represented DPC EEU in many tournaments, is now just an empty husk of their past titles.

Nevertheless, it’s not like VP hasn’t followed recent trends to nurture the young generation of players. In fact, they have been cultivating new talents before Team Spirit left a mark on the Internationals. Unfortunately, giving up Egor “Nightfall” Grigorenko to Evil Geniuses at DPC NA Regional Finals, proved to be a poor move.

PuckChamp vs Virtus.pro

In terms of past encounters and scores, PuckChamp takes the cake as the stronger candidate. These folks take pride in playing play-based heroes to pull off some eye-catching combos and skill shots, which they had to hit.

PuckChamp isn’t a team that plays conservatively, and often takes opportunities to one-up opponents as early as midgame. They are relentless when the timing hits, and many teams aren’t seasoned enough to persevere past PuckChamp’s prime moment in the game.

Whereas VP seemingly looked like they are missing an important piece of the puzzle. Their executions lack the wow factor, which Nightfall used to deliver, despite being the hard carry. Hence, VP would likely not stand a chance against PuckChamp, not without an equally flamboyant playmaker.

Assuming the two series go in favor of their respective favorites, Team Spirit vs PuckChamp should be more intense of a match-up. Of course, Team Spirit still has a clean record on their book, but PuckChamp should have something up their sleeves.

Well then, it begs the question, will Team Spirit remain the undisputed champions at the DPC EEU Regional Finals?